LIVE: Indian spinner Ashwin says racial slurs must be dealt with iron fist

Indonesia's Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has confirmed the crash of a Boeing 737-500 plane of Indonesian airlines with 62 people on board that lost contact with the air traffic controller

5:25 PM

Big steel, cement firms operating as a cartel: Gadkari

Big players in the steel and cement industry are indulging in cartelisation to jack-up prices, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said, pitching to place a regulator for the sectors.

 

It will be difficult to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of making India a USD 5 trillion economy if the steel and cement prices keep going up, Gadkari said, pointing out the target of investing Rs 111 lakh crore on infrastructure projects in the next five years to aid the economy.

 

It can be noted that allegations of such cartelisation have been made in the past as well, especially by the real estate industry, which is impacted through higher input prices because of it.

5:16 PM

Karnataka Cabinet rejig soon: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa

B S Yediyurappa meets senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, says this is last meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Karnataka cabinet rejig

4:47 PM

Our party (JDU) stands strongly with NDA: Ranjan Singh

4:25 PM

Maharashtra hospital fire: Ignoring safety norms worrying, says expert

A day after a blaze at a hospital in Bhandara killed 10 infants, National Fire Service College Director Ramesh Kumar said fire safety standards were being ignored in sensitive establishments, including hospitals, and the issue requires a lot of attention.

 

Talking to PTI on Sunday, Kumar said advance fire safety equipment are needed to be installed in all buildings and they have to be then properly maintained by trained staff.

 

Three fire engineers from the National Fire Service College, a Nagpur-based autonomous body managed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, are part of the team conducting a probe into the fire in a hospital at Bhandara in Maharashtra, he said.

3:04 PM

ICC condemns racism during Sydney Test

ICC condemns incidents of racism during 3rd India-Australia Test in Sydney; seeks action taken report from Cricket Australia

2:59 PM

Indonesia plane crash: PM Modi expresses grief over loss of lives

2:58 PM

215 held in two months in fake GST invoice fraud cases

As many as 215 persons have been arrested in the last two months across the country in a drive against fake GST invoice fraud cases perpetrated through fake entities and fly-by-night operators who fraudulently availed input tax credit (ITC) in multi-layered scams.

 

Those arrested by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and the CGST Commissionerates include six Chartered Accountants and one Company Secretary, sources said.

 

Others arrested include 71 masterminds, 81 proprietors, 36 Directors or Managing Directors, 15 partners, three CEOs, and one each broker and GST practitioner, the sources added.

1:53 PM

Top Republican says Trump committed ''impeachable offenses''

Democrats' momentum for a fresh drive to quickly impeach outgoing President Donald Trump has gained support, and a top Republican said the president's role in the deadly riot at the Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters was worthy of rebuke.

 

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said Saturday he believed Trump had committed impeachable offenses. But he did not explicitly say whether he would vote to remove the president from office at the conclusion of a Senate trial if the House sent over articles of impeachment.

1:30 PM

Squelched by Twitter, Trump seeks new online megaphone

Though deprived of his big online megaphones, Trump does have alternative options of much smaller reach. The far right-friendly Parler may be the leading candidate, though Google and Apple have both removed it from their app stores and Amazon decided to boot it off its web hosting service. That could knock it offline for a week, Parler's CEO said. Trump may launch his own platform. But that won't happen overnight, and free speech experts anticipate growing pressure on all social media platforms to curb incendiary speech as Americans take stock of Wednesday's violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol by a Trump-incited mob.

1:27 PM

Faced racism in Sydney earlier too, needs to be dealt with iron fist: Ashwin

Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday said racist abuse from the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground is not new and needs to be dealt with an iron fist after some spectators were ejected for targetting Indian players during the ongoing third Test against Australia here on Sunday. Speaking at the end of the fourth day's play, Ashwin said the Indian players have faced racism in Sydney earlier too. "We have faced racism in Sydney earlier too. It needs to be dealt with iron fist," Ashwin told reporters at the post-day press conference.

R Ashwin, India vs Bangladesh

 

1:18 PM

Aus set 407 for victory, India reach 98/2 at stumps on Day 4

Set an improbable victory target of 407, India reached 98 for two at stumps on the fourth day of the third Test against Australia here on Sunday. At close of play, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were batting on 4 and 9, respectively, after Rohit Sharma (52) and Shubman Gill (31) had put on 71 runs for the opening wicket in their second innings. The visitors trailed by 309 runs when the stumps were drawn. Australia declared their second innings at 312 for six with Marnus Labuschagne (73), Steve Smith (81) and Cameron Green (84) making substantial contributions on the penultimate day of the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

1:08 PM

Bird flu spreads to 13 MP districts, poultry markets closed for 7 days

The spread of bird flu is increasing rapidly in Madhya Pradesh and has been found to be the cause of the death of crows in 13 districts in the state till now. The poultry market of Agar Malwa district has been closed for the next seven days as a precautionary measure. It is reported that bird flu has been confirmed in crows in 13 state districts -- Indore, Mandsaur, Agar, Neemuch, Dewas, Ujjain, Khandwa, Khargone, Guna, Shivpuri, Rajgarh, Shajapur and Vidisha. So far reports of death of nearly 1,100 crows and wild birds have been received from 27 districts. As many as 32 samples from various districts of the state have been sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal for examination.

1:01 PM

Class 9, 11 exams to be held in schools by April 24: Goa Board

The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has asked all its schools in the state to conduct examinations for Classes 9 and 11 students by calling them to the educational institutions. In a circular dated January 8, the board's secretary, Geraldina L Mendes, has said all the exams for Classes 9 and 11 shall be finished by April 24, 2021, to enable schools to provide infrastructure and manpower for the conduct of the board exams, which are going to start from April 26.

12:52 PM

6.1 magnitude earthquake in northwestern Argentina

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake has occurred in Argentina's northwestern province of Jujuy, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said Sunday. The earthquake was registered at 03:54 GMT, 90.7 miles west of the city of San Salvador de Jujuy, with its epicentre located at the depth of 112.4 miles, according to the EMSC. There have been no reports on victims and damage.

12:44 PM

OPEC crude output cuts should help U.S. shale profits in 2021

A decision by OPEC and allied countries to cut crude production through March delivered a late Christmas present for U.S. shale firms that have slashed costs, but any rise in prices spurred by the unexpected move may be just a modest stocking stuffer. US crude oil production has fallen 2 million barrels per day in the last year as low prices and demand forced shale producers to cut their losses. Investors had already been pressuring the industry to curb spending and boost returns before the pandemic hit. Shale output was quickly cut, but might return quickly if prices keep rising.