Top news: Supreme Court dissatisfied with operations to rescue Meghalaya trapped miners
The biggest stories of the day.
The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the fate of 15 miners who have been trapped in a rat hole mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district since December 13. The court said it was not satisfied with the operations and asked why the Army had not been asked to join in to rescue the miners.
The police on Wednesday night took into custody Yogesh Raj, who is the main accused in the violence that took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr in December after an alleged incident of cow slaughter. Police officer Subodh Kumar Singh and a 20-year-old man were killed in the violence on December 3.
Jammu and Kashmir: One soldier killed and another injured in Poonch avalanche
A soldier died and another was injured on Thursday morning after an avalanche hit an Army post in Sawjian sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, PTI reported. The deceased soldier was identified as Lance Naik Sapan Mehra of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. Sepoy Harpreet Singh of Punjab was taken to a nearby health facility for treatment.
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SC declines urgent hearing to plea against Centre’s order allowing agencies to monitor computers
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to urgently hear a petition against the Centre’s notification authorising 10 central agencies to monitor, intercept, and decrypt information on computers. The court said it would hear the petition “as and when required”.
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Modi in Punjab: Congress is rewarding those accused in 1984 anti-Sikh violence cases, alleges PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took on the Congress, saying the country should be wary of the Opposition party because of its alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. Modi addressed a rally in Gurdaspur after inaugurating the 106th edition of the Indian Science Congress at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar.
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Brexit: Sushma Swaraj says migrant Indians will not face problems till process is over
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said Indians who have migrated from European Union countries to the United Kingdom will not face any problem until the Brexit process gets over. The UK’s exit from the European Union on March 29 will follow a transition period till the end of 2020, and EU citizens can continue living in the country in that period, Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha.
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‘Some people remind me of my caste quite often,’ says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who belongs to the Ezhava community, on Thursday said that people continued to talk about his caste. “Some people remind me of my caste quite often,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. “I am the son of a toddy tapper. And they believe that Vijayan should also be a toddy tapper.”
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Centre is ready for J&K polls along with General Elections, Rajnath Singh tells Rajya Sabha
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the government would have no objection if the Election Commission wants to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir along with the General Elections scheduled this year.
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India responds to Donald Trump’s mockery of funding for library in Afghanistan: Reports
A day after United States President Donald Trump mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India’s funding for a library in Afghanistan, government officials on Thursday said developmental help can play a critical role in “transforming human lives”, NDTV reported.
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Jammu and Kashmir: Three militants, one soldier killed in encounter at Tral, say police
One Indian Army soldier and three suspected militants were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Tral on Thursday, the police said. The militants have been identified as Zubair Bhat, Shakoor Parray and Tawseef Thokar. The police recovered arms and ammunition from the encounter site and registered a case in the matter.
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Karnataka: Income Tax officials search houses of Kannada actors, producers
Officials of the Income Tax Department on Thursday searched the houses of Kannada actors Puneeth Rajkumar, Shivrajkumar, Yash, Sudeep, and producers, including Rockline Venkatesh, on Thursday.
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Bihar: Mob allegedly lynches man in Araria on suspicion of cattle theft
A 55-year-old man was beaten to death by over 300 people in Bihar’s Araria district on suspicion of cattle theft last month. The incident took place in Simarbani village, about 300 km from state capital Patna, on December 29.
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Rafale deal: ‘PM fled Parliament to lecture students in Punjab,’ Rahul Gandhi mocks Narendra Modi
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being absent in Parliament a day after the Congress president challenged Modi for a debate in the House on the Rafale jet deal.
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Maggi ban: Supreme Court lifts stay on Centre’s case against Nestle India
The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a stay on the proceedings in a case filed by the Centre in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Nestle India, seeking damages of Rs 640 crore on charges of unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.
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Delhi airport: Dense fog in morning stalls flight departures for two hours
Dense fog in Delhi on Thursday morning forced the Indira Gandhi International Airport to put departures on hold for two hours. The departures were stalled between 7.30 and 9.30 am after visibility dropped to around 50 metres in Palam area.
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Editors Guild expresses concern over CBI arrest of ‘Ei Samay’ editor in chit fund scam
Chattopadhyay has been booked for alleged money laundering and round tripping of funds by creating bogus companies and routing illegal money using multiple transactions.
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Madras High Court stays ban on online sale of medicines
The interim stay will remain in place until the Centre notifies rules to regulate the online sale of medicines. The High Court clarified that the judge’s order directing the central government to notify the proposed Drugs and Cosmetics Amendment Rules, 2018, by January 31 remains in force. The move came after e-pharmacy companies affected by the ban filed an appeal.
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New investments in India declined to 14-year low in October-December: Report
The figure is 55% lower than the same quarter last year, and just a fifth of the Rs 5.1 lakh crore investment in January 2017-March 2017. The investment was nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in the first quarter of 2018.
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Sabarimala row: Kerala CM says 100 people, including 38 policemen, injured in clashes
Offices of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) were attacked throughout the state in the clashes, Vijayan said. He said Thursday’s shutdown is the fifth state-wide strike organised by the Sangh Parivar and blamed the continuing protests on Hindutva outfits.
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Meghalaya trapped miners: SC not satisfied with rescue efforts, asks why Army was not included
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was not satisfied with the rescue operations in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills where 15 miners have been trapped in a rat hole mine since December 13.
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Sterlite: Supreme Court to hear plea against reopening of Thoothukudi plant on January 8
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on January 8 the Tamil Nadu government’s plea against the reopening of Vedanta’s Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi.
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Parliament: Lok Sabha adjourned for the day, Speaker suspends AIADMK and TDP members
The Lok Sabha on Thursday was adjourned for the day after members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telugu Desam Party continued their protests over a range of issues.
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West Bengal ‘rath yatras’: Supreme Court to hear BJP plea against Calcutta HC order on January 8
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on January 8 the Bharatiya Janata Party’s petition against a Calcutta High judgement that had upheld a West Bengal government order disallowing the party’s “rath yatras” in the state.
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Delhi: Woman dies after being shot in head by former JD(U) MLA at New Year’s party
The woman who was allegedly shot in the head by a former Bihar legislator at a New Year’s Eve party in Delhi died on Thursday.
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Chhattisgarh: Controversial former Bastar Inspector General SRP Kalluri gets key posts
The Congress-led Chhattisgarh government on Wednesday appointed controversial former Bastar Inspector General of Police SRP Kalluri as the head of the Economic Offences Wing and the Anti-Corruption Bureau in state capital Raipur.
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Madhya Pradesh government suspends monthly pensions for those detained during Emergency
The newly-elected Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has suspended the payments of pension to those who were detained during the Emergency under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act and Defence of India Rules.
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Sabarimala: BJP MP Udit Raj supports women’s visit to temple
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Udit Raj on Wednesday said he is happy that two women of menstruating age were able to enter the Sabarimala temple and pray there. The two women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, both in their 40s, visited the shrine under police protection.
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‘I don’t know who’s using it’: Trump mocks India over Afghanistan aid, says nobody will use library
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday brought up India’s aid to Afghanistan and suggested that some of it was of no help, during a press appearance at his first cabinet meeting of the year. The US president cited India’s efforts towards peace and development in Afghanistan, but appeared to be critical of a library funded by India in Afghanistan.
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Main accused in Bulandshahr violence arrested, say reports
Police on Thursday arrested Yogesh Raj, the main accused in the violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr in December after an alleged incident of cow slaughter.
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Sabarimala row: Shutdown in Kerala after two women enter hill shrine, protestor dies in clashes
A dawn-to-dusk strike began in Kerala on Thursday to protest against the entry of two women who offered prayers at the Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala on Wednesday. The strike has been organised by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi, a platform created by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Two women below the age of 50 had entered the hill shrine for the first time early on Wednesday to offer prayers.
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Most of the ‘cow meat’ seized from 2014 to 2017 was of bulls, buffaloes, says study: Times of India
Most of the “cow meat” that police and animal husbandry officials seized from 2014 to 2017 was of the bull and buffalo, a study has revealed.
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‘Introduce ordinance on Ram temple immediately’: VHP asks Modi not to wait for SC judgement
Hindutva organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Wednesday reiterated that the Centre should immediately introduce a legislation or ordinance to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya.
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Madras High Court asks Income Tax Department to share data of Jayalalithaa’s assets
The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Income Tax Department to submit details about former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s assets and liabilities.
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Odisha: One dead, seven missing after boat capsizes in Kendrapara district
At least one person died and seven were reported missing after a boat capsized in the Mahanadi river in Odisha’s Kendrapara district on Wednesday.
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Consensual sex between live-in partners is not rape if the man fails to marry woman, says SC
The Supreme Court has ruled that a consensual physical relationship between live-in partners cannot be termed as rape if the man does not marry the woman because of “circumstances that are not in his control”.
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