‘The watchman has become a thief’: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray criticises Modi over Rafale deal

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale jet deal, labelling him a thief. The Centre has been accused of overpaying for the fighter aircraft in a deal that has allegedly benefited businessman Anil Ambani.

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Meghalaya: Operation to rescue trapped miners temporarily halted after water level fails to recede

Search operations to rescue 15 people trapped in a flooded coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district were temporarily suspended on Monday. District Deputy Commissioner FM Dopth said the operations will resume once district authorities get access to more powerful pumps.

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Pollution body bans construction work across Delhi-NCR till Wednesday as air quality deteriorates

The Supreme Court-appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority on Monday banned construction work across Delhi and the National Capital Region, as well as industrial activity in heavily polluted areas till Wednesday. The authority took the decision in view of the “severe” air quality in New Delhi.

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Bihar: Former Union minister Jai Narain Prasad Nishad dies at 88

Former Union minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Jai Narain Prasad Nishad died at a hospital in New Delhi on Monday after a long illness. He was 88. Nishad had been undergoing medical treatment at the Max Hospital in Saket. “The former minister died today and the body was handed over to the family around 1 pm,” said an unidentified hospital official.

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Sterling Biotech case: ED files plea seeking open-ended non-bailable warrants against accused

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday filed a plea in a Delhi court asking it to issue open-ended non-bailable warrants against four promoter-directors of a pharmaceutical firm in Gujarat in a money laundering case. An open-ended non-bailable warrant does not carry a time limit for execution. Additional Sessions Judge Siddharth Sharma said the next hearing will be held on January 5.

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West Bengal ‘rath yatras’: Supreme Court declines BJP’s plea for an urgent hearing

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to list the Bharatiya Janata Party’s petition, which challenged the Calcutta High Court’s decision prohibiting it from holding public rallies in West Bengal, for an urgent hearing during the winter break.

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Chhattisgarh: Land acquired for abandoned Tata Steel project to be returned to Adivasi farmers

The Congress government in Chhattisgarh has decided to return the land that was acquired from Adivasi farmers in 2005 for a project by Tata Steel in Lohandiguda in Bastar district. Party chief Rahul Gandhi had promised to return the land during a public meeting in Jagdalpur on November 10, ahead of Assembly elections in the state.

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Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif sentenced to seven years in jail in corruption case

An anti-corruption court in Pakistan on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to seven years in jail and fined him $2.5 million (approximately Rs 17.5 crore) in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.

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Srinagar records coldest night in 11 years as temperature drops to minus 6.8 degrees Celsius

Srinagar recorded its coldest night in 11 years on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to a minimum of minus 6.8 degree Celsius. The India Meteorological Department on Monday forecast that severe cold wave conditions will continue in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other parts of North West India for the next three days.

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Power is like oxygen for some, they get restless when they stay out of it, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said power is like “oxygen for some people” and politicians nowadays get restless if they stay out of it for even “two or five years”. Modi was speaking at an event where he released a Rs 100 commemorative coin in memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a day before 94th birth anniversary.

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Haryana: Eight killed as dozens of vehicles pile up in dense fog in Jhajjar

Eight people were killed and 10 injured in collisions involving multiple vehicles in Haryana’s Jhajjar early on Monday because of dense fog, reports said. Around 50 vehicles reportedly piled up as they rammed into a pair of vehicles that had collided.

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Petition filed in SC against Centre’s order allowing agencies to monitor computers

Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the Centre’s notification authorising 10 central agencies to monitor, intercept, and decrypt “any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer”.

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Uttar Pradesh: Man named in a Muzaffarpur riots case found dead, son claims he was killed

A 60-year-old man accused in a case related to the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 was found dead on Sunday, PTI reported. Police have filed a case against four persons after Sodan Singh’s son claimed he was murdered.

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Single GST rate may replace 12% and 18% tax brackets in the future, says Arun Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said a single tax rate might replace the 12% and 18% brackets of the Goods and Services Tax in the future, and termed the 28% tax bracket a “dying slab”. The minister said there has been a gradual transformation in the tax system since its implementation in July 2017.

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Rajasthan: 23 ministers inducted into Ashok Gehlot’s government

The Congress on Monday inducted 23 ministers in the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan. Governor Kalyan Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 13 Cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state at an event held in the Raj Bhavan. Rashtriya Lok Dal legislator Subhash Garg, a Congress ally, was among those sworn in.

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Delhi-NCR air quality drops to ‘severe’ category, officials advise residents to stay indoors

The Central Pollution Control Board on Sunday said the air quality level was in the “severe” category at 450 on its index, the second highest pollution level recorded so far this year. The authorities have advised people to keep outdoor activities to a minimum for the next few days and avoid using their private vehicles.

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Sexual harassment case: Court martial orders dismissal of senior Army officer

A General Court Martial on Sunday ordered the dismissal of a serving major general in the Indian Army over allegations of sexual harassment, The Indian Express reported. The verdict is subject to confirmation by Army Chief Bipin Rawat, unidentified officials said. The trial had started in June in Ambala in the jurisdiction of the western command.

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Draft rules want web platforms to help government trace, remove ‘unlawful’ content: Indian Express

Draft rules prepared by the Centre propose to make it mandatory for online platforms to help the government trace the origin of “unlawful content” whenever requested by authorities. This, in effect, will require platforms to break end-to-end encryption of data, including WhatsApp messages.

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Veteran CPI(M) leader Nirupam Sen dies in Kolkata at 72

Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former West Bengal minister Nirupam Sen died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Kolkata on Monday. He was 72. Sen was being treated for a prolonged illness at a city hospital and had been on life support since early December.

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Haryana: Man gets death penalty for allegedly raping and killing eight-year-old

A court in Haryana sentenced a man to death for allegedly raping an eight-year-old in Rewari in June. Additional sessions judge Naresh Kumar described the crime as the “rarest of rare” cases and compared it to the Delhi 2012 gang rape.

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Sabarimala row: Two women abandon plan to enter shrine in the face of mounting protests

Two women escorted by the Kerala Police attempted to visit the Sabarimala temple on Monday morning, but were forced to turn back due to mounting protests. This came a day after protestors stopped a group of 11 women from visiting the hill shrine.

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Indonesia: Toll rises to 281, disaster management authorities warn of another tsunami

Indonesia’s disaster management officials on Monday warned of another tsunami after one struck without warning in areas around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait on December 22. The toll from the tsunami, which had hit the Sumatra and Java islands about 9.30 pm local time (8 pm Indian time) on Saturday, is now 281 and the number of injured is pegged at 1,061.

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‘A new front’: K Chandrasekhar Rao meets Odisha CM, hints of alliance for 2019 elections

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in the state’s Khordha district. He is also expected to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Uttar Pradesh leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.

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Ayodhya: Ram temple can be built only by the BJP, claims Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Sunday said only the Bharatiya Janata Party can build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Hindu culture was the country’s only culture, he added. Adityanath was speaking at the Yuva Kumbh programme at Smriti Upvan in Lucknow.

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CBSE Class 10 exams to begin on February 21, Class 12 on February 15

The Central Board of Secondary Education on Sunday announced the timetable for the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams. The Class 10 examinations will begin on February 21 and end on March 29. The Class 12 tests will start on February 15 and finish on April 3.

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Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel rules out withdrawal of security forces from Maoist-hit areas

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday ruled out withdrawal of security forces from Maoist-affected areas in the state. He said the newly elected Congress government will hold dialogue with people affected due to Maoist activities.

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