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Lakhvi pleaded before the court that he was falsely implicated in this case. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

10:15 PM

Dominion sues Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for defamation

Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell on Friday, seeking at least $1.3 billion for Powell's “wild accusations” that the company rigged the presidential election for Joe Biden.
 

“Dominion brings this action to set the record straight,” the company said in the suit filed in federal court in Washington.
 

Powell has for weeks claimed without evidence that the election technology vendor, whose vote-counting equipment was used in several states, was part of a scheme to steal the election from President Donald Trump.
 

Powell has been representing Trump in a series of unsuccessful lawsuits filed to contest the election outcome.
 

She has claimed that the company was created in Venezuela to rig elections for the late leader Hugo Chavez and that it has the ability to switch votes.
 

There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country including Trump's former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed.
 

Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden's victory, also vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states.
 

Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-nominated justices.
 

9:37 PM

Trump to not attend President-elect Biden's inauguration on Jan 20

9:30 PM

104 samples sent to Ludhiana after birds found dead in Delhi amid flu scare

104 samples sent to Ludhiana after birds were found dead at three locations in Delhi - Mayur Vihar, Dwarka and Hastsal. Five more samples will be sent to Bhopal tomorrow. Animal Husbandry Department has not confirmed any instance of Bird Flu so far.

8:18 PM

Routine for Pak to come up with 'farcical actions' prior to key international meets: MEA on Lakhvi sentencing

India on Friday scoffed at Pakistan after a court there sentenced Mumbai attack mastermind and UN proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi to imprisonment over terror financing charges, saying it has become routine for it to come up with "farcical actions" prior to key international meetings.

 

Asked about the jail sentence to Lakhvi, and issuance of an arrest warrant against Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by another Pakistan court on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the timing of these actions clearly suggests the intention of conveying a sense of compliance ahead of APJG (Asia Pacific Joint Group) meet and the next FATF (Financial Action Task Force) plenary meet in February 2021.

 

"It has become routine for Pakistan to come up with farcical actions prior to important meetings," he said.

7:48 PM

Communication maintained at ground level to avoid any 'misunderstandings': MEA on Sino-India border row

India and China have maintained communication at the ground level to avoid any "misunderstandings and misjudgments" even as discussions continue for achieving complete disengagement in all friction areas, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

 

Asked about the status of talks with the Chinese side over the border row, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the latest round of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) was held on December 18 and the two sides have agreed to hold next round of senior commanders meeting. The two countries are in constant communication through diplomatic and military channels in this regard, he added.

 

"In the meantime, both sides have maintained communication at the ground level to avoid any misunderstandings and misjudgments even as discussions continue for achieving complete disengagement in all friction areas in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements to restore peace and tranquillity," he said.

6:51 PM

TCS Q3 profit jumps 7% YoY to Rs 8,701 cr, announces dividend at Rs 6/share

IT major Tata Consultancy Services on Friday posted a 7.18 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its December quarter (Q3FY21) profit at Rs 8,701 crore. The firm had posted a profit of Rs 8,118 crore in the same quarter last year.
 

On quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, the profit grew 16.4 per cent from Rs 7,475 crore posted for the quarter ended September 2020.
 

The company's revenue came in at Rs 42,015 crore, up 5.42 per cent YoY and 4.68 per cent QoQ. TCS' revenue stood at Rs 39,854 crore in the corresponding quarter last year and Rs 40,135 crore in the preceding quarter of FY21. The revenue rose by 4.1 per cent QoQ and 0.4 per cent YoY in constant currency terms. In dollar terms, revenue grew at 5.1 per cent sequentially from $ 5.424 billion reported in Q2FY21. The firm said it was the strongest third quarter growth in 9 years. READ ON...

6:25 PM

I&B Ministry launches digital calender diary for 2021

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday launched a digital calendar and diary for 2021, instead of printing them, which helped the ministry save nearly Rs five crore. The launch event was held at National Media Center, where Union minister Prakash Javadekar, with the click of a button, unveiled the Android and iOS mobile applications of the calendar and diary.

 

"Every year we print close to 11 lakh calendars and 90,000 diaries but we have gone digital this year," he told PTI.

 

Press Information Bureau Chief KS Dhatwalia told PTI that last year Rs 7 crore was spent in printing these calendars and diaries, but this time as the government went digital, the cost incurred by the ministry was close to Rs 2 crore.

 

"Last year around Rs 7 crore was spent in printing the calendars and diaries. This year the ministry has gone digital and the cost is Rs 2 crore," he said.

6:01 PM

Bird flu confirmed in 6 states; unusual deaths of 16 birds in Delhi

The Centre on Friday said bird flu has been confirmed so far in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, and asked these six states to contain the disease as per the action plan.

 

Unusual mortality of 16 birds has also been reported at DDA park Hastsal Village in the national capital, and samples have been sent to a testing lab.

 

"So far, the disease has been confirmed from six states (Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat). "It is learnt that culling operations have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala. The disinfection process is underway," according to an official statement. READ ON...

4:43 PM

LIVE: Mumbai attack mastermind Lakhvi sentenced to 15 years by Pak court

Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court here in a terror financing case on Friday. UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, 61, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province on Saturday.

 

"The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore convicted Lakhvi for commission of offences of terrorism financing in a case registered by the CTD for 15 years under different section of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, a court official told PTI after the hearing.

 

Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar sentenced Lakhvi to five years of rigorous imprisonment each on three counts with a fine of PKR 100,000 each on three counts. "In default of payment of fine, he will have to undergo an imprisonment of six months each on three counts. He has been sent to prison to serve the sentences, the official said.

 

Lakhvi pleaded before the court that he was falsely implicated in this case.

3:40 PM

Capitol Police rejected offers of federal help to quell mob

Three days before supporters of President Donald Trump rioted at the Capitol, the Pentagon asked the U.S Capitol Police if it needed National Guard manpower, AP reported. And as the mob descended on the building Wednesday, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.

 

Despite plenty of warnings of a possible insurrection and ample resources and time to prepare, the Capitol Police planned only for a free speech demonstration.

 

Still stinging from the uproar over the violent response by law enforcement to protests last June near the White House, officials also were intent on avoiding any appearance that the federal government was deploying active duty or National Guard troops against Americans.

 

The result is the US Capitol was overrun Wednesday and officers in a law enforcement agency with a large operating budget and experience in high-security events protecting lawmakers were overwhelmed for the world to see.

 

2:47 PM

Chief of the US Capitol Police will resign: Reuters

2:12 PM

Police officer injured in US Capitol riot dies, toll rises to five

A police officer who sustained injuries during the US Capitol violence has died, officials said, raising the death toll in the riot to five. US Capitol Police Officer Brian D Sicknick was injured while engaging with protesters on Wednesday and returned to his division office, where he collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he "passed away due to injuries sustained while on-duty" at "approximately 9:30 pm this evening", US Capitol Police (USCP) said in a late-night statement on Thursday.

 

The death of Sicknick will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch, the USCP and federal agencies, the statement said. Congressman Dean Phillips said, "My heart goes out to the family of the officer and to all who risk their lives every day to protect and serve our communities with dignity and principle."

 

A US Capitol Police officer has died from yesterday's riot. That makes five known deaths from Trump's insurrection. We must have accountability, Congressman Lloyd Doggett tweeted on Thursday.

1:30 PM

Capitol siege raises security concerns for Biden inaugural

The violent insurrection at the US Capitol is intensifying scrutiny over security at an inauguration ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden already reshaped by a pandemic and the prospect that his predecessor may not attend.

 

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office from the Capitol's West Front, one of the very locations where a violent mob overpowered police and stormed the building. They also scaled and occupied the scaffolding and bleachers in place for the ceremonies.

 

Inauguration plans were already scaled back because of the coronavirus. But the brazen attack raises new questions about preparedness for the event that welcome the new administration after a bitter election.

1:05 PM

US Capitol Attack: After Trump's concession, lawmakers seek his removal

A day after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol taking over the senate chambers, the Republican leadership began distancing itself from the president as a flurry of resignations rocked the White House. Meanwhile, the Democratic leadership is calling to impeach the president for inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol building.

 

In an unprecedented assault on democracy in the US, thousands of supporters of outgoing President Trump stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday and clashed with police, resulting in four deaths and interrupting a constitutional process by Congress to certify the victory of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the November 3 election. Read on...

12:46 PM

Earthquake of magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale occurred at Bageshwar, Uttarakhand

Earthquake of magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale occurred at Bageshwar, Uttarakhand at 1005 hours: National Centre for Seismology