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Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Photo: ANI)

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addresses the public meeting ahead of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, in  Bilaspur on Monday.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been relieved from the post of AICC in-charge of UP Congress. Sachin Pilot appointed as in-charge of Chhattisgarh Congress. Ramesh Chennithala appointed as AICC in-charge of Maharashtra. 
	 
	Reuters has reported a drone attack on an Indian vessel in the Indian Ocean, causing an explosion in vessel. The incident has been reported in South West of Veraval, India. UKMTO has issued alerts for other ships to transit with caution. 
	 
	India saw a single-day rise of 752 coronavirus infections, the highest since May 21, 2023, while the active cases have increased to 3,420, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll was recorded at 5,33,332 with four new deaths -- two from Kerala, one each in Rajasthan and Karnataka -- reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The country&#39;s Covid case tally stood at 4.50 crore (4,50,07,964).

LIVE: Priyanka Gandhi replaced as UP in-charge in Congress reshuffle

Business Standard

LIVE: Priyanka Gandhi replaced as UP in-charge in Congress reshuffle | India News - Business Standard

Fog covers skyline as temperature drops further in the capital

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		<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a> | Delhi: A blanket of fog covers the city as the temperature drops further 
		 
		(Visuals from RK Puram) <a href="https://t.co/LJ5dkmsnTd">pic.twitter.com/LJ5dkmsnTd</a>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1738389620856095212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
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It's very unfortunate: AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj expresses concern after Sakshi Malik's retirement

After Bajranj Punia&#39;s letter to Prime Minister Modi, returning his Padma Shri and Sakshi Malik&#39;s announcement of retirement, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that it&#39;s very unfortunate for India that our Olympian women, who made the nation proud, had to sit at the Jantar Mantar compound to seek justice against the former WFI chief.

Lifting Hijab ban raises concern about 'secular nature' of educational spaces: K'taka BJP

The BJP has strongly reacted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah&#39;s decision to lift the ban on wearing Hijab in classrooms, saying it raises concerns about the &quot;secular nature&quot; of educational spaces. Siddaramaiah on Friday said he has ordered withdrawal of the ban, observing that choice of dress and food is personal. BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, in a post on X, said the government is dividing young minds along religious lines.

Congress will form government in Odisha, says Sarat Patnaik

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Sarat Patnaik says, &quot;Congress will fight against BJD and BJP here and in the coming days we will form the government here. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi will come here next month to attend a program. Their arrival will give strength to the workers.&quot;

Merchant vessel with 21 Indians hit by drone in Arabian Sea, no casualties

A suspected drone attack on a merchant vessel with 21 Indian crew in the Arabian Sea off India&#39;s west coast caused an explosion on Saturday but there was no report of any casualties in the incident, according to PTI&#39;s military sources and a maritime agency.

	A P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, deployed by the Indian Navy after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, reported the incident, ascertained the safety of the vessel and its crew, PTI&#39;s Indian military sources said.

	An attack by Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) on a vessel 200 nautical miles South West of Veraval, India, caused &quot;an explosion and fire&quot;, the UKMTO said on its website.

After Punia, Deaflympics gold winner Virender Singh to return Padma Shri

Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav, better known as Goonga Pehlwan, has now decided to return his Padma Shri to the government, showing solidarity with the country&#39;s top wrestlers who have objected to election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh as WFI president.

	Throwing his weight behind Olympic bronze medallist grappler Sakshi Malik, who announced her retirement from the sport soon after Sanjay Singh&#39;s victory in the recent WFI polls, Virender said he would return the honour as a mark of protest against the election of Brij Bhushan&#39;s close aide.

Indian Navy warships moving towards ship outside Indian EEZ: Indian Navy Officials

Indian Navy warships in the vicinity are also moving towards the merchant ship MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea outside Indian EEZ: Indian Navy Officials

Indian Coast Guard ship moving towards vessel after reported fire incident caused by suspected drone attack

Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram is moving towards a merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea 217 nautical miles off Porbandar cost after it reported a fire incident suspected to be caused by a drone attack. The vessel has crude oil and was going towards Mangalore from a port in Saudi Arabia. As per inputs received, the fire has been extinguished but it has affected its functioning. The ICGS Vikram was deployed on the patrol of the Indian&nbsp; Exclusive Economic Zone when it was directed towards the merchant ship in distress. All crew are safe which includes around 20 Indians. The ICGS Vikram has alerted all ships in the area to provide assistance to it: Defence officials

Russia bars pro-peace candidate from presidential ballot: Russian EC

Russia bars pro-peace candidate from presidential ballot, reports AFP quoting Russian election commission

Ram Mandir opening to be discussed at BJP office bearers' meeting today

The closing day of the meeting of the BJP&#39;s office-bearers is ongoing, with the state in-charges, state presidents, general secretaries and other key office-bearers in attendance.

	CR Patil, G Kishan Reddy, Arun Singh, Tarun Chugh, BD Sharma, Dinesh Sharma, Vasundhara Raje and Tejasvi Surya are among the leaders attending the meeting.

	A top party source, privy to the minutes of the meeting, told ANI, &quot;The BJP presidents of 5 states, which polled for their assemblies last month, will give presentations on the party&#39;s performances.&quot;

President in Jaisalmer, to witness firepower demonstration at Pokaran firing range

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday reached Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to witness an integrated firepower demonstration at the Pokaran field firing range.

	She was received at the air force station in Jaisalmer by Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

	The president is scheduled to witness an integrated firepower demonstration at the Pokaran field firing range during her one-day visit, according to an official.

Income Tax dept notifies ITR forms 1, 4 for assessment year 2024-25

The Income Tax Department has notified ITR forms 1 and 4, which are filed by individuals and entities with annual total income of up to Rs 50 lakh, for assessment year (AY) 2024-25.

	Individuals, besides Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), firms having income up to Rs 50 lakh and those having earnings from business and profession in the current fiscal (April 2023-March 2024) can start filing returns for the income earned this financial year. Usually, ITR forms for a particular financial year are notified by the end of March or early April. But last year, the forms were notified in February.

Coal-based power generation rises 8.38% to 779.1 billion units in Apr-Nov

The domestic coal-based power generation increased 8.38 per cent to 779.1 Billion Units (BU) in April-November FY24 , an official statement said on Saturday. In the year-ago period, the domestic coal-based power generation stood at 718.83 BU.

	India&#39;s power generation increased 7.71 per cent in the period under review, the coal ministry said in a statement.
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Assam: Police recover large amount of ammunition in Karbi Anglong, two nabbed

Assam Police and CRPF personnel in a joint operation arrested two people and recovered a large amount of ammunition from the Bokajan area in Assam&#39;s Karbi Anglong district on Saturday.

	150 live ammunition of AK series rifle and Insas rifle, six magazines, and some other items were recovered from the possession of two people.

	Based on a tip-off, a joint team of police and CRPF conducted naka checking at Khatkhati area under Bokajan Sub-Division on Friday evening and intercepted a passenger bus that was coming from Dimapur, Nagaland.

752 new Covid cases, 4 deaths reported in 24 hours

India saw a single-day rise of 752 coronavirus infections, the highest since May 21, 2023, while the active cases have increased to 3,420, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

	The death toll was recorded at 5,33,332 with four new deaths -- two from Kerala, one each in Rajasthan and Karnataka -- reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The country&#39;s Covid case tally stood at 4.50 crore (4,50,07,964).

Number of new Covid cases increased 52% globally in past one month: WHO

The number of new COVID cases increased by 52 per cent during the past four-odd weeks, the WHO said, with over 850 000 new cases reported during the period. The number of new deaths decreased by 8 per cent as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3,000 new fatalities reported, World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest press release.

	As of December 17, over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths have been reported globally since the onset of COVID-19, the WHO noted.

Security forces searches forest area in J&K in connection with 21 December attack on Army

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
	
		<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a> | Search operations by the security forces in the forest area of Dera ki Gali in the Rajouri sector in J&amp;K continue after the terrorist attack on Army vehicles on 21st December 
		 
		(Visuals deferred by unspecified time) <a href="https://t.co/SYggTaVuhd">pic.twitter.com/SYggTaVuhd</a>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1738388335662715261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
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