Breaking News, January 25 | HIGHLIGHTS

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday stated that his party members will "act accordingly" if the police in the state "failed to stop behaving like TMC cadres".

The Balurghat MP, while urging the party workers to prepare themselves for the upcoming rural polls, said the saffron camp “will have to resist atrocities by the ruling TMC”, especially at the grassroots level.

Amid the ongoing controversy over Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Pathaan", the police in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city on Wednesday registered a case against unidentified persons after the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) alleged that a provocative slogan - "sar tan se juda" (beheading) - was raised during a protest by "jihadi elements" here, police said.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, among the first politicians to raise objection against the Bollywood film 'Pathaan' over certain scenes, on Wednesday said there was no point in protesting anymore against the Shahrukh Khan-starrer movie as the Censor Board has already "taken care" of controversial words.

Some right-wing organisations held protests against the movie in parts of Madhya Pradesh on the day of its release on Wednesday over certain scenes, forcing some theatres in Indore and Bhopal to cancel the morning shows.

Kishore Biyani has stepped down from the suspended board of Future Retail and has resigned as chairman and director of the company, which is currently facing insolvency proceedings before the NCLT.

In his emotional farewell, Biyani, who was associated with Future Retail Ltd (FRL) since 2007 when it was incorporated, said it was facing CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process) as a "result of unfortunate business situation".

The CPI-M-led, five-party Left Front would contest 47 seats in Tripura in the February 16 elections, leaving 13 seats to their new ally Congress, Left leaders announced here on Wednesday night. Congress leaders are visibly unhappy over the meagre allotment of seats to them. Announcing the names of candidates, Tripura Left Front convener Narayan Kar and CPI-M state Secretary Jitendra Chowdhury said that former four time Chief Minister and the party's Politburo member Manik Sarkar, party stalwart Badal Chowdhury, three former ministers - Tapan Chakraborty, Sahid Chowdhury, Banulal Saha - would not contest the elections due to health grounds.

Days after an anti-superstition crusader lodged a complaint against self-styled godman and Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri for allegedly promoting superstitious activities in his public programmes in Nagpur, the city police on Wednesday gave a "clean chit" to the latter.

Talking to PTI, Nagpur Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that during an inquiry into the complaint and the examination of "evidence" submitted by complainant Shyam Manav, founder of 'Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti', nothing was found that could attract action under the Black Magic Act.

Police arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's senior leader Fawad Chaudhry during a predawn raid on Wednesday on charges of "inciting violence against a constitutional institution", prompting the party chief and former prime minister Imran Khan to slam the state institutions and demand his immediate release.

Fawad, a close aide of Khan, was taken into custody from his residence in Lahore after a case was registered against him at Islamabad's Kohsar Police Station on the complaint of the Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for "threatening" the electoral body's members and their families.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday met the special advisor to the Japanese premier and discussed the impact of Japanese technology on India's growth and progress. "Glad to meet Dr. Masafumi Mori, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan. Our discussion focused on the impact of Japanese technology on India's growth and progress," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Nearly 150 people were taken ill after eating food at a religious programme in Rajasthan's Dausa district. The victims were taken to hospital after they complained of stomach pain and vomiting. Around 100 were sent home after primary treatment while 50 were admitted, Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Subhash Bilonia said.

India and Egypt on Wednesday decided to elevate their ties to the level of strategic partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi vowing to broadbase the relations in a time-bound manner in areas of defence and security, trade, counter-terror cooperation and culture.

Two men have been booked for uploading child porn videos on social media in Karnataka's Shivamoga district on Wednesday. Karnataka Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) Crime Police action comes on an input provided by the US-based Cyber Tipline organisation. The accused are residents of Shikaripura and Bhadravathi taluks of the district. Watching child porn photos and videos, making and sending porn videos is banned. The offence invites imprisonment and fine up to Rs 10 lakh.
 

 Three persons were arrested Wednesday for allegedly robbing Rs 32 lakh from a district cooperative bank here, police said on Wednesday.

The three robbers included their kingpin Suresh Umke alias Sagar Deshmukh of Maharashtra who had in 2010 carried out plastic surgery on his face to evade arrest, Superintendent Police Ganesh Prasad Saha said.

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party senior leader Fawad Chaudhry, hours after he publicly censured the government for scheming to arrest party chairman Imran Khan.

Fawad, a close aide of ousted prime minister Khan, was taken into custody from his residence in Lahore after a case was registered against him at Kohsar Police Station on the complaint of the Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked a special court in Ghaziabad, which has summoned journalist Rana Ayyub in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to adjourn the proceedings scheduled for January 27 to a date after January 31.

The apex court said it will hear on January 31 the petition of Ayyub challenging the summons issued to her by the special court.

After weeks of hesitation that saw growing impatience among Germany's allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that his government would provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks and approve requests by other countries to do the same.

In a statement, the government said it would initially provide Ukraine with one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which comprises 14 vehicles, from its own stocks.

Swashbuckling Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav was on Wednesday named the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year for his ridiculously good run in the shortest format of the game.

Surya had a stellar 2022, breaking an array of records and setting a benchmark in the format.

Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the CBI and expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving a life term for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao in 2017, on a plea by the victim seeking cancellation of his interim bail. Sengar has been granted interim bail to attend his daughter's wedding.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Sanjeev Palande, former private secretary of NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Former Maharashtra minister Deshmukh, also an accused in the case, is currently out on bail.

 The Delhi Police Wednesday said they have detained four students after the Left-affiliated Students' Federation of India (SFI) announced plan to screen a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus.

The university administration said the screening will not be allowed and that they are taking all measures to prevent people and organisations with a "vested interest to destroy the peaceful academic atmosphere of the university".

A court in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday awarded death sentence to a man for raping and killing his relative, a seven-year-old girl in July 2021.

The Judge of the Special POCSO court M A Somasekhar found the accused D Siddaiah guilty under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and IPC and sentenced him to capital punishment.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra was meant to unite the country and was against hatred being sown between communities for electoral gains. Stressing that people should unite for each other’s welfare, he said hate will only lead to misery. “The aim of the Yatra is to unite the nation and break the (walls of) hatred. The message of this march is that unless we unite and think together for the welfare of each other, we cannot make the nation that our forefathers had dreamt of and given sacrifices for, " Abdullah told reporters at Aushmuqam in Anantnag district. The NC president was in the south Kashmir town to attend a condolence meeting. Abdullah said hatred was being spread between communities in the country for "just winning the elections".

A six-year-old girl and her grandmother were killed in an LPG cylinder explosion at their house in Medak district of Telangana. According to police, the incident occurred in Chinna Shivanoor village on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. The house caught fire in the explosion, which is suspected to have been caused by gas leakage. The blast triggered the collapse of a portion of the house. The elderly woman along with her grand-daughter were sleeping in the house when the mishap took place. The duo died on the spot, they said. A case was registered and investigation is on.

Every one in four Indians is concerned about the threat of job layoff while three out of four are worried about rising inflation yet half of them believe that the country's economy will grow in 2023, according to a survey by marketing data and analytics firm Kantar. In its second edition of India Union Budget survey, Kantar found that consumers expect an announcement in policy changes with respect to income tax, with increasing basic income tax exemption limit from current Rs 2.5 lakh being the most common expectation.

Bad weather and landslides on Wednesday led to the cancellation of the second leg of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra that was scheduled to start this afternoon in the nearby highway town of Banihal. Amid incessant rains, Gandhi resumed the march from Ramban Wednesday morning but inclement weather forced its suspension. The march will now resume on Friday as tomorrow is a rest day.

Former Odisha Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang on Wednesday resigned from the BJP, alleging that he faced “humiliation” in the party. Gamang is likely to join K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), sources said. Gamang’s son Sishir also quit the saffron party. “I can tolerate insult, but not humiliation,” Gamang told reporters. 

The Congress is sharply focusing on women voters promising cash transfers and separate manifesto months ahead of Assembly elections in Karnataka as it aims to wrest power from the BJP. Seeking to raise the pitch, women aspirants have also been pushing for allotment of at least 15 per cent of the tickets. The Congress has announced that Rs 2,000 would be credited to the account of woman head of households every month if it's voted to power.

Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar has likened the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government to the Nizam rule and claimed that his "autocratic" rule will soon end. At the BJP's state executive meeting in Mahabubnagar on Tuesday, Kumar criticised Rao for not attending the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India's presidency of G20. 

A sector officer of Sabroom assembly constituency in poll-bound Tripura has been suspended for allegedly "defacing" a poster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a drive to remove hoardings and banners from public places, an official said. The action was taken a day after the ruling BJP had urged the Election Commission to take steps against poll officials who “defaced” PM Modi’s photograph in banners and hoardings put up in public places in the state, instead of removing them.

As many as 147 candidates have suffered injuries during physical tests held as part of the ongoing recruitment drive of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the city civic body said. While142 of them received minor injuries, five aspirants suffered fractures and were hospitalised, a release of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

Ships searching in wind-whipped waters between South Korea and Japan have picked up at least 12 of the 22 crewmembers from a cargo ship that sank early Wednesday. Officials said only one of them remained conscious, but they did not immediately confirm any deaths. South Korean and Japanese coast guard vessels and aircraft as well as two commercial cargo ships were continuing to search for the 10 missing crewmembers but the efforts were being slowed by strong winds and waves, South Korean officials said.

A traffic police official was killed here after being hit and dragged by a mini-truck that drove through ignoring his signal to stop at a checkpoint, officials said. Assistant sub-Inspector Malkiat Singh had gestured the vehicle to stop for checking near the DC Chowk on Tuesday afternoon but the driver hit him, traffic in-charge Sukhwinder Singh said.

The Editors Guild of India has written to Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to "expunge" the amendments to IT Rules that seek to direct social media platforms to take down news or information identified as "fake" by the PIB's Fact Checking Unit.

The third-gender personnel from 'Bastar fighters' will be taking part in Republic Day Parade for the first time. "The parade will be held in Bastar. It will send a positive message in the region," said IGP Bastar P Sundarraj.