Breaking News, December 31 | LIVE

Pakistan had planned to invite a select group of people from India to visit Teri temple in Pakistan in a non-transparent manner. This was not acceptable to us. This was also contrary to the spirit under which the two sides conduct pilgrimages, said Sources. Now, around 160 Indian pilgrims, selected by Indian organisers, will cross over to Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari border tomorrow. As in the past, Govt of India is fully committed to providing all assistance to the Indian pilgrims, they added. 

Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj, arrested over alleged derogatory remarks about Mahatma Gandhi, was on Friday sent in judicial custody by a court in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district.

The police produced him in the court a day ahead of the expiry of his police remand, saying they had questioned him and did not need his further custody.
After his arrest from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh on Thursday early morning by Raipur police, the Raipur court had sent him in police custody for two days.

 Four persons were killed on the spot while 20 others were injured after a bus overturned and fell on an auto-rickshaw van on a highway under Ullapara Upazila in Sirajganj district on Friday.

The injured persons were rushed to the Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib General Hospital in Sirajganj, where one breathed his last on Friday evening, taking the death toll to five.

Lutfar Rahman, officer-in-charge of Hatikumrul Highway Police, told IANS that the bus was on its way to Dhaka from Rajshahi when it lost control near the Goja Bridge at around 10.30 a.m. and hit a battery-run auto-rickshaw van.

He said that four passengers travelling in the van, including a woman, were killed on the spot and 20 were others injured, three of them critically, of which one succumbed to his injuries later.

The Centre has approved additional assistance of Rs 600.50 crore for the flood-affected Gwalior-Chambal division and Bidisha district in Madhya Pradesh.

A high-level committee, headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, gave the approval for the central assistance of Rs 600.50 crore, the Union agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had visited the food-hit districts and also requested the Centre and Madhya Pradesh government for providing assistance.

Eight districts of the Gwalior-Chambal division and Bidisha district were badly impacted due to heavy rains during the south-west monsoon season.
A central team was sent in August to affected districts to assess the damage.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik appoints former DGP Abhay as chairman of the State Task Force for Narcotic drugs-related issues in the state, in the rank and status of chief secretary: CMO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 10th installment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on January 1, said the PMO.

VS Pathania appointed as new Indian Coast Guard chief

Income Tax Department carried out search & seizure operations pan-India on December 21 in the case of certain foreign-controlled mobile communication & mobile handset manufacturing companies and their associated persons, said CBDT, adding "Search action has revealed that two major companies have made remittances in the nature of royalty, to and on behalf of their group companies located abroad, which aggregates to more than Rs 5500 crores. The claim of such expenses does not seem to be appropriate"

The Delhi Traffic Police on Friday issued an advisory restricting the entry of the vehicles at Connaught Place, considered a 'celebrations hub', on the eve New Year after 8 pm.

According to the advisory, police have made elaborate traffic arrangements throughout the city for the smooth flow and regulation of traffic on the eve of New Year. There will be well laid arrangements covering the national capital where such celebrations shall be organized.

Special arrangements have been made for the Connaught Place. The restrictions shall be imposed from 8 pm onwards on Friday in Connaught Place till the conclusion of New Year Celebrations. It will be applicable to all private and public transport vehicles, the advisory stated.

No vehicle shall be allowed to proceed towards Connaught Place beyond round about Mandi House, Bengali Market, North foot of Ranjit Singh Flyover, Minto Road - Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg crossing, Chelmsford Road near Munje Chowk, RK Ashram Marg-Chitragupta Marg Crossing, Gole Market, Patel Chowk etc.

 California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a state of emergency in the wake of recent winter storms, which caused power outages, damaged structures, uprooted trees and barricaded roads across the state.

The order said that starting from December 10, a series of winter storm systems struck the Golden State, bringing substantial precipitation, including record-breaking snowfall, damaging winds, and flooding, reports Xinhua news agency.

He was arrested by Chhattisgarh Police from Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) yesterday for his alleged derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.

A 60-year-old woman was arrested from east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area for allegedly supplying illicit liquor, police said on Friday. The accused has been identified as Nanki Kaur, a resident of Kalyanpur, they said.

On Wednesday, policemen were patrolling in Kalyanpuri. Around 1 pm, when they reached near mother dairy, they saw a woman sitting with a polythene bag in her hand, a senior police officer said.

After seeing the police, the woman started running away with the polythene bag, but was later apprehended. Police recovered illicit liquor from her possession, Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Priyanka Kashyap said.

Five people, including a teacher of Barabanki polytechnic college, have been arrested for their alleged role in the murder and kidnapping of a medical institute employee, who was missing since the past 12 days.

Delhi woke up to cold wave conditions on Friday as the minimum temperature dipped to 3.8 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The city was swept by a cold wave on Thursday as well as the temperature dropped sharply to 3.4 degrees Celsius from 8.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Similar conditions are likely to persist for the next few days, the weather department has forecast. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 19 degrees Celsius and there will be shallow fog, it said. The weather stations at Delhi's Palam and Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius respectively on Friday.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 46th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi today. Union Ministers of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad will also attend the meeting.

"FM Smt @nsitharaman will chair the 46th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi, tomorrow. The meeting will be attended by MoS for Finance @mppchaudhary and @DrBhagwatKarad, besides Finance Ministers of States and UTs and Senior officers from Union Government and States," tweeted the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.