LIVE news: Centre announces Padma awardees on eve of Republic Day

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Padma Awards (Photo: Ministry of Home Affairs)

6:40 PM

President Macron is on a two-day state visit to India

PM Modi and French President Macron will visit the Jantar Mantar, the famous solar observatory established by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, in Jaipur today. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2010. It includes a set of eighteen instruments and is the biggest stone observatory in the world. It consists of various instruments which include the Laghu Samrat Yantra which is a Sun Dial that can help to calibrate local time to an accuracy of 20 seconds.

6:39 PM

French farmers edge closer to Paris as protests ratchet up pressure on President Macron

Snowballing protests by French farmers crept closer to Paris on Thursday, with tractors driving in convoys and blocking roads in many regions of the country to ratchet up pressure for government measures to protect the influential agricultural sector from foreign competition, red tape, rising costs and poverty-levels of pay for the worst-off producers.

Traffic-snarling drive-slows, barricades of straw bales, stinky dumps of agricultural waste outside government offices and other demonstrations have rapidly blown up to become the first major crisis for newly appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, installed two weeks ago by President Emmanuel Macron in hopes of injecting new vigour into his administration.

Macron's opponents are seizing on the farmers' demonstrations to bash his government's record ahead of European elections in June. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose National Rally party is polling strongly, blamed free-trade agreements, imports and bureaucracy for farmers' economic woes.

6:36 PM

French President Emmanuel Macron interacts with students at Amber Fort in Jaipur

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on a two-day State visit to India, interacted with Indian students gathered to welcome him at the Amber Fort in Jaipur on Thursday.

On his visit to the Amber Fort, Marcron was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari. At the fort, Macron also posed for a photograph with Jaishankar and Diya Kumari.

The French President walked around the Royal Fort and took in its unique architecture, he was also given an overview of the history the fort carries.

Macron appreciated Rajasthani paintings and also interacted with artists at the Amber Palace Fort, which is one of the top tourist attractions of Jaipur. Situated atop a small hill the 16th-century fort located at a distance about 11 km from the main city has been built with pale yellow and pink sandstone, and with white marble.

6:33 PM

PM Modi and French President Macron visit Jantar Mantar in Rajasthan's Jaipur

6:32 PM

PM Modi, French President Macron meet at Jantar Mantar in Jaipur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday met at Jantar Mantar here ahead of their roadshow. Modi reached the observatory from Jaipur airport while Macron came to the site after visiting Amber Fort. The two leaders met there and hugged each other. Later, they visited the observatory. Jantar Mantar is one of the oldest astronomical observatories featuring the world's largest stone sundial.

6:21 PM

Pakistani Taliban pledge not to attack election rallies ahead of Feb 8 vote

The Pakistani Taliban pledged Thursday not to attack election rallies, saying their targets are limited to the military and security forces, as political parties and independent candidates ramp up their campaigns ahead of the Feb 8 vote, reports AP.

We have nothing to do with these elections and the parties participating in them, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said in a statement.

Other militant groups have not made similar pledges, and some previous Pakistani elections have been marred by violence. Two-time former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a bomb attack in 2007 minutes after she addressed an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

6:21 PM

A man is charged with 76 counts of murder in deadly South African building fire last year

A man was charged with 76 counts of murder and 86 counts of attempted murder on Thursday for allegedly causing a deadly fire at an apartment building in South Africa last year that was one of the country's worst disasters.

The suspect was also charged with arson and was ordered to be kept in police custody until a bail hearing next month. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison. South Africa has no death penalty.

Prosecutors said the suspect, Sithembiso Lawrence Mdlalose, made a written confession.

5:50 PM

Antisemitic acts have risen sharply in Belgium and France since the Israel-Hamas war began

The number of antisemitic acts registered in France and Belgium rose sharply since Hamas' attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, according to figures released on Thursday in both countries.

In France, data from the Interior ministry and the Jewish Community Protection Service watchdog showed that 1,676 antisemitic acts were reported in 2023, compared to 436 the previous year.

According to the Council of Jewish Institutions in France the country's main Jewish interest group the number of antisemitic acts in the three months that followed the October 7 attack equaled those of the previous three years combined.

5:48 PM

Fire at utensil manufacturing factory in Delhi's Wazirpur

A fire broke out at a two-storey utensil manufacturing factory in northwest Delhi's Wazirpur Industrial area on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

No one was injured in the incident, they said.

According to an official of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call regarding the incident was received at 12.40 pm and eight fire tenders were pressed into service.

The blaze was brought under control by 1.50 pm and five workers trapped inside the building were rescued, the official said.

The fire broke out at the first floor of the building and soon spread to the second floor, he said, adding that a short circuit is suspected to be the reason behind the incident.

He also said some articles and furniture were completely gutted in the fire.

5:48 PM

India all set to celebrate 75th Republic Day with grand display of military might, women power

President Droupadi Murmu will lead India in celebrating the 75th Republic Day with an imposing display of its rising military might and rich cultural heritage during a 90-minute parade at the majestic Kartavya Path on Friday.

The grand celebrations, with an overarching theme of projecting the nation's women power and democratic values, will be graced by French President Emmanuel Macron as the chief guest.

The armed forces will display an array of home-grown weaponry and military equipment such as missiles, drone jammers, surveillance systems, vehicle-mounted mortars and BMP-II infantry combat vehicles at the parade.

For the first time, an all-women tri-services contingent will be part of the country's biggest ceremonial event.

5:48 PM

A separatist rebel leader in Ukraine who called Putin cowardly is sentenced to 4 years in prison

The Moscow City Court on Thursday convicted a former Ukraine rebel leader who called President Vladimir Putin cowardly of extremism and sentenced him to four years in prison.

Igor Girkin, who used the surname alias of Strelkov (shooter), was the most prominent leader of Russian-backed separatist fighters in Ukraine's Donetsk region in 2014, when rebellion arose after the ouster of Ukraine's Russia-allied president.

He returned to Russia and became a nationalist commentator and activist. He supported launching Russia's war in Ukraine, but sharply criticised authorities for being inept and indecisive in carrying out the fight.

5:47 PM

Nepal asks Russia to send back Nepalis recruited to fight in Ukraine and the bodies of those killed

Nepal has asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who were recruited to fight against Ukraine and repatriate the bodies of those who died in the conflict, Nepal's top diplomat said Thursday.

The Russian army is estimated to have recruited more than 200 Nepali nationals to fight in Ukraine and at least 14 of them have died there, Nepal's Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said in an interview with The Associated Press.

5:44 PM

UNGA President Dennis Francis lays wreath at 26/11 Memorial in Mumbai's Taj Hotel

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis and Permanent Representative of India to United Nations Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday laid wreath at 26/11 Memorial in Taj Hotel in Mumbai.

On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists, unleashed mayhem on the streets of Mumbai, sending shockwaves across the country and the world. Targeting several key installations in Mumbai, including the Taj and Trident hotels and the Chabad House, a Jewish centre, the terrorists took 166 lives as they held the city at ransom over four days.

5:42 PM