Breaking News, January 23 | HIGHLIGHTS

A sessions court judge in Vyara town of Gujarat's Tapi district has stressed on the need to protect cows in the country, saying "science has proved houses made of cow dung remain unaffected by nuclear radiation." 

The toll in the suspected hooch tragedy in dry Bihar's Siwan district rose to five after two more deaths were reported on Monday, a senior police officer said. Seven people, who had also taken ill after allegedly consuming the spurious liquor, are currently undergoing treatment at a government hospital, he said. A probe has been initiated into the matter, and as many as 16 people, including two who had “50 litres spirit in possession”, have been arrested thus far in connection with the incident at Bhopatpur sub-division, the officer said.

There can be a difference of opinion between the government and the judiciary but that does not mean the two are attacking each other and a "Mahabharat" is going on as is being projected by some, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Monday, asserting there is "no problem among us." He asked if there is no debate or discussion in a democracy, "what kind of democracy is it."

Delhi's maximum temperature settled at 25.9 degrees Celsius on Monday, five notches above the season's average, while its air quality was recorded in the 'very poor' category. The minimum temperature was recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, the India Meteorological Department said. Humidity levels oscillated between 100 per cent and 37 per cent, it said.

The Gujarat High Court on Monday refused regular bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale in a case related to alleged misuse of money collected through crowd-funding. High Court Justice Samir Dave asked Gokhale to approach the court only after a chargesheet is filed.

Police have arrested a 19-year-old Pakistani woman for allegedly forging her identity and illegally staying in the city. According to the police, the woman identified as Iqra Jeevani had entered India last year through the porous India-Nepal border.

Punjab police have arrested 255 people in the last one month for allegedly selling banned "Chinese manjha" or synthetic kite strings. The state police is cracking down on the sale of banned 'Chinese manjha' following a spate of unfortunate incidents during kite flying competitions.

A court here on Monday fixed March 21 for the next hearing on a petition seeking to open and survey two basements in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex, a government lawyer said. District government counsel Mahendra Pandey said Varanasi District Judge A K Vishvesh posted the matter after almost two months as the Allahabad High Court last week postponed hearing in a related matter by eight weeks. The High Court case relates to the demand of carbon dating of an object, said to be a 'shivling', found during a court-mandated survey of the complex.

Cabin crew body, All India's Cabin Crew Association (AICCA), on Monday demanded that the airline should roll back derostering of the crew that operated the New York- Delhi flight where a male passenger allegedly urinated on a female co-passenger last November. Earlier this month, Air India issued show cause notices to the Pilot-in-Command and four crew members of the flight and derostered them pending investigation.

Former boxer Mary Kom to head five-member oversight committee that will probe sexual harassment allegations against WFI President.

Donning a white T-shirt, Rahul Gandhi's look-alike-- Faisal Chaudhary-- has become another attraction of Bharat Jodo Yatra, as people ask him to get photos and videos clicked with them. Faisal, who hogs the social media in Jammu and Kashmir says people who are unable to meet and click pictures with Rahul Gandhi, take pictures with him.
Faisal is the most 'clicked' man after Gandhi in Bharat Jodo Yatra which is in its last leg.

A 20-month-old baby girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour in Worli area of central Mumbai, police said on Monday. The incident came to light after the child's parents approached the police to lodge a complaint against their neighbour on Sunday, an official said.

Amid accusations of scuttling the elected government's work, Lt Governor of Delhi V K Saxena on Monday said he was only working for the betterment of the people of the city. The AAP dispensation led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has several times in the past few months accused Saxena of creating hurdles in government's works.

Moved by the pathetic condition of a road in his locality which led to his grandfather sustaining injuries after falling off his motorcycle, an eighth grade student in Puducherry decided to set things right on his own by filling the pothole which resulted in the mishap.

A 24-year-old woman was found hanging in her house in Kamheda village here, police said on Monday. The woman's family alleged that she was killed for dowry, while her in-laws claimed that she committed suicide. Roopa was found hanging from the ceiling in his house Sunday night, Circle Officer Ramashish Yadav said. Her body has been sent for post-mortem, he added.

A blast reported in a resto-bar in Mapusa in Goa may have been caused by a cylinder as per initial probe, a police official said on Monday. The explosion took place in the eatery situated in a residential complex in Dangui Colony, some 9 kilometres from here, in the early hours of Sunday, though no one was injured in the incident, he said.

Two IEDs were destroyed in a controlled explosion in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said on Monday. The IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices, were recovered during a joint operation by police, army, and CRPF from Dassal village, 4 kms from Rajouri town, Sunday evening, the officer said. He said the IEDs were located on an intelligence input.

INS Vagir, the fifth submarine of the Kalvari Class submarines, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Monday, giving a boost to the force's prowess. INS Vagir, which has been built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited here with technology transfer from France, was commissioned in a ceremony attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar.

Outrage over a Quran-burning protest in Sweden produced a second day of protests in Turkey, reflecting tensions between the two countries. Some 250 people gathered outside the Swedish Consulate in Istanbul, where a photo of Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan was set on fire. Paludan burned Islam's holy book outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, sparking protests in Istanbul and Ankara that night.

The speaker of the lower house of Russia's parliament warned Sunday that countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risked their own destruction, a message that followed new pledges of armoured vehicles, air defence systems and other equipment but not the battle tanks Kyiv requested.

A fire broke out in a market at suburban Kurla in Mumbai on Sunday night and has spread to multiple shops, officials said. Nobody is injured in the incident as per the information available so far.

Turkey's president has announced May 14 as the date for the country's next parliamentary and presidential elections. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who plans to seek reelection, made the announcement during a Saturday youth conference in northwestern Bursa province. A video of the event was released Sunday.