WhatsApp sets up system to store payment-related data in India

Messaging service WhatsApp on Tuesday said it has built a system in India to store payment-related data locally in the country to comply with data localisation norms that the Reserve Bank of India has listed, PTI reported.

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Narendra Modi has broken people’s trust, says Rahul Gandhi at rally in Rajasthan

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajasthan of corruption and indulging in “politics of hate”. He was addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Dholpur city. BJP President Amit Shah also addressed a rally in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

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Singer Chinmayi backs accusations of sexual harassment against lyricist Vairamuthu

Singer Chinmayi Sripaada on Monday endorsed the allegations of sexual harassment against Tamil poet-lyricist Vairamuthu after several users on Twitter accused him of inappropriate conduct and sexual abuse. On Monday, filmmaker Vinta Nanda alleged that actor Alok Nath raped her in her home nearly two decades ago. Nath questioned Nanda’s version of events, saying, ““It [rape] must have happened but someone else would have done it.”

Meanwhile, four journalists have levelled allegations of sexual harassment against veteran journalist and Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar.

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Delhi HC to hear CBI appeal against acquittals in 2G case on a fast-track basis from February

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it would hear the Central Bureau of Investigation’s appeal against the acquittal of former Telecom Minister A Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi and others in the 2G spectrum allocation case on a fast-track basis from February 7, 2019.

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Nine people killed and 14 injured in gas pipeline explosion at Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai Steel Plant

At least nine people were killed and 14 were injured in a gas pipeline explosion at the Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. The plant is operated by state-run Steel Authority of India Limited. The blast took place in a pipeline near the coke oven section of the plant situated around 30 km from the state capital Raipur.

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Overall 56.7% turnout in first phase of civic polls in Jammu and Kashmir

The overall turnout for the first phase of local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday was 56.7%, Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra said. However, the voting percentage in the Kashmir Valley was only 8.2%.

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SC rejects urgent hearing of review petition against its Sabarimala verdict

The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down the request for an urgent hearing of a review petition filed against its September 28 order allowing women of all age groups entry into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.

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All patients fitted with Johnson & Johnson’s faulty hip implants can claim compensation, says panel

A committee looking into compensation packages for patients who received faulty hip implants from from Johnson and Johnson said it would not be limited only to those who underwent revision surgery, Mint reported on Tuesday. Around 100 people fitted with Acetabular Surface Replacement have approached the committee, said panel chairperson Dr RK Arya. “The committee will take the final decision, based on the documents that are submitted by the patients. The extent of damage will be examined and thereafter the compensation will be decided,” Arya said.

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Health ministry confirms 22 Zika cases in Jaipur, deputes committee for control measures

The Centre has constituted a seven-member high level committee to seek a detailed report on the outbreak of Zika virus disease in Jaipur from where 22 cases have been reported so far, reported PTI. It said the situation was being monitored regularly. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the current outbreak was detected through the Indian Council of Medical Research surveillance system. The team has been deputed to Jaipur to assist the Rajasthan government for control and containment of the virus, the ministry said.

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Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga bags India’s first gold medal in Youth Olympics history

Jeremy Lalrinnunga became India’s first gold medallist in the Youth Olympics history when he lifted a total weight of 274 kg to clinch the top spot on the podium in the men’s 62 kg category in Buenos Aires late Monday.

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Mumbai Film Festival drops Rajat Kapoor’s ‘Kadakh’, AIB production from its line-up

The Mumbai Film Festival has dropped Rajat Kapoor’s dark comedy Kadakh and Chintu Ka Birthday, which was produced by the comedy collective All India Bakchod, following allegations of harassment by Kapoor and an AIB member and an associate.

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IMF predicts India will grow at 7.3% in 2018-’19

The International Monetary Fund on Monday said India will grow at 7.3% in the 2018-’19 financial year. The country’s Gross Domestic Product growth rate accelerated to 8.2% in the first quarter of 2018-’19. The international organisation also said that India’s growth has rebounded from “transitory shocks” such as the demonetisation of high value currency notes and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax.

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Chennai: Court declines police request for custody of Tamil magazine editor

A court in Chennai refused to grant the police custody of Tamil magazine Nakkeeran’s editor RR Gopal, who was arrested earlier on Tuesday after a complaint from Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s office. He was taken into custody from the Chennai airport when he was on his way to Pune.

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India will continue to import oil from Iran next month despite US sanctions, says petroleum minister

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said Indian companies will continue to import crude oil from Iran next month despite United States’ sanctions on Tehran coming into force from November 4. Pradhan said two state refineries have made nominations to purchase Iranian oil in November. The Indian Oil Corporation and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals have ordered a total 1.25 million tonnes of crude.

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RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter says relations between her brothers have strained

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti on Monday confirmed that relations between her brothers Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav have soured. There has been speculation for days that all is not well in the Yadav family. “Why talk about others when there are explicit differences among brothers in my own family,” Bharti told party workers in Maner town of Patna district in Bihar. However, she added that “differences exist in every family” just as all five fingers of a hand are not the same.

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