A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Mamata Banerjee to contest West Bengal Assembly elections from Nandigram: The seat was represented by Trinamool Congress rebel Suvendu Adhikari, who switched to the BJP last month. The TMC turncoat, meanwhile, said that, if fielded from the seat, he was capable of defeating the chief minister.
  2. China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh, says report, Centre says it is ‘keeping close watch’: Satellite images accessed by NDTV showed that China has built a village about 4.5 kilometres inside Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district.
  3. Farmers refuse to call off rally on Republic Day, say it’s their ‘constitutional right’: Leaders of farmers’ unions said they would take out the rally peacefully without disrupting the law and order situation. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court said the police should decide on the entry of farmers into Delhi.
  4. Arnab Goswami’s knowledge of Balakot strike is breach of national security, says Shiv Sena: The Nationalist Congress Party asked the Centre to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the purported WhatsApp chats.
  5. Over 3.81 lakh people vaccinated against Covid-19 so far, 580 adverse cases reported, says Centre: Meanwhile, a health worker in Uttar Pradesh died a day after getting vaccinated, but an official denied link to the inoculation.
  6. ‘Tandav’ cast and crew apologise, say no intent to hurt religious sentiments after complaint in UP: The apology was released by the director of the web series, Ali Abbas Zafar, who was named in the FIR along with three others.
  7. Republic TV, Times Now reporting on Sushant Singh death ‘prima facie contemptuous’, says Bombay HC: The court added that media should refrain from reconstructing crime scenes and leaking sensitive information.
  8. ‘Frontier Manipur’ editors released a day after they were arrested under UAPA, sedition charges: The editors issued an apology to the police for publishing the article against the state’s armed groups, which they said was ‘unverified’.
  9. TMC MP Satabdi Roy appointed West Bengal unit vice president after brief rebellion: Last week, Roy had expressed displeasure with the Mamata Banerjee-led party saying that she was facing problems.
  10. Rajinikanth’s Rajini Makkal Mandram says members can join other parties after workers move to DMK: The group said though they may join other parties, the functionaries should ‘not forget that they are fans of our beloved leader’.