Breaking News, November 11 | HIGHLIGHTS

Ukraine's president said Friday that special military units have entered the city of Kherson. In a video address hours after Russia said it had completed withdrawing troops from the strategically key city, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “As of now, our defenders are approaching the city. In quite a bit, we are going to enter. But special units are already in the city." 

BJP will hold a meeting of its state office bearers and state working committee in Jhunjhunu on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, the party said. In the Saturday meeting, national general secretary and state in-charge Arun Singh, state president Satish Poonia, state organisation general secretary Chandrashekhar, and state co-in-charge Vijaya Rahatkar will review the programmes and work for various public interests of the state, a BJP spokesperson said on Friday. Kailash Vijayvargiya, the national general secretary of the party, will address the State Working Committee meeting on Sunday. According to the spokesperson, there will be a detailed discussion in these meetings about BJP's Mission 2023 and Mission 2024.

A rape suspect, who also ran over a security guard at his housing society with his car while fleeing a police raid two days ago, was on Friday arrested from Gurugram, Noida Police said. Neeraj Singh, a resident of Amrapali Zodiac society in Sector 120, works as a general manager in a private firm. He was accused of raping a woman associate of his, who had lodged a complaint against him at the Sector 113 Police Station earlier this week, police said. An FIR was lodged against Singh under Indian Penal Code section 376 (rape) and a police team had gone to his society, a high-rise building, on Tuesday to take him into custody, an official said. "However, the accused had got the input of the police team arriving there and he escaped the society immediately. In hurry to leave, he hit a security personnel of the society with his car. "The whole episode of him escaping and hitting the security personnel was caught in CCTV," a local police officier said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP from North West Mumbai Gajanan Kirtikar has joined his faction of the party, now known as the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. In a tweet, Shinde said, "I welcome him and wish him well for his future journey." Kirtikar, who won from the seat in 2014 and 2019, is the 13th Shiv Sena MP to rebel against former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. The former CM heads the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). In its original avatar, the Shiv Sena had won 18 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the 2019 polls, while its 19th member of the Lower House of Parliament is from neighbouring Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Kirtikar was, however, not available for comment. 

The upcoming Winter Session of Parliament is likely to be held from December 7 to December 29, this year. The Cabinet Committee for Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is also the Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha, has recommended the same, informed top sources.

The High Court of Jharkhand on Friday set aside criminal proceedings against Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a case of violation of the model code of conduct during the 2019 Assembly elections in the state. Soren had challenged the case registered at the Argora police station three years ago. The court of a judicial magistrate in Ranchi had earlier issued a summons to Soren and also ordered him to appear in person, which was also challenged before the court. During the hearing of the petition, the court of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi was informed that the case was filed by an executive magistrate whereas the law provides that only a complaint can be lodged in the matter. Soren was charged with the violation of an order promulgated by a public servant, which can only be initiated by way of a complaint. The court, after hearing all the parties in the case, was convinced that there was a technical flaw, and it quashed the criminal proceedings against Soren. 

Subhas Chandra Bose was the first prime minister of undivided India, in that he had formed the ‘Azad Hind Sarkar’ independent of the British rule, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday. He also said that Bose’s contributions were either ignored or undermined after the country got independence. The senior BJP leader also said that ever since Narendra Modi became the prime minister, continuous efforts are being made to accord Bose the respect which he rightly deserves. “There was a time in independent India when the contributions of Bose were either deliberately ignored or undermined, it was not evaluated correctly. It was done to the extent that several documents related to him were never made public,” Singh said while addressing a programme at a private university in Greater Noida.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday released the first list of 134 candidates for the high-stakes Delhi civic polls. The names were announced following a long meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the party. The list has more than 60 women candidates. Ninety per cent of the tickets have been awarded to AAP workers working at grassroots level, the party said in a statement. More than 20,000 workers had applied to get a ticket to contest the MCD polls, it said.

A school manager was booked on Friday for allegedly raping a student, police said on Friday. The accused manager named Shahadat used to repeatedly rape the girl after school time, threatening her with dire consequences if she discloses the matter to anyone. SP rural Iraj Raja said the girl told everything to her mother who lodged a complaint against the manager.  The manager is absconding from his residence, they said. Police after registering an FIR is conducting raids at his possible hideouts.

Union minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Friday said that India has requested Bangladesh for a dedicated or special space at its Chittagong port for smooth movement of goods, which will help bolster the economy of the northeastern region. India recently concluded trial runs for trans-shipment of cargo to connect northeastern states with the rest of the country using two major Bangladeshi ports – Chittagong and Mongla - via the India-Bangladesh Protocol Route. "We are requesting Bangladesh for a special space at Chittagong port that would help the North East immensely," Singh, the Union minister of state for external affairs, said at an annual session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

The Congress on Friday released its third list with seven candidates for the Gujarat assembly elections scheduled to be held in December in two phases. The total number of candidates declared so far by the party is 96. The Congress had last Friday released its first list announcing the names of 43 candidates for the elections.

A layer of smog shrouded several parts of Delhi as the air quality deteriorated to the very-poor category on Friday after marginal improvement over the last few days. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 346 in comparison to 295 a day ago, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The AQU was very-poor in 35 out of 37 monitoring stations, including 382 in Jahangirpuri, 377 in Nehru Nagar and 372 each in NSIT Dwarka and Bawana. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

The Centre's air quality panel on Friday said curbs under stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will continue in Delhi-NCR as the air pollution in the region is showing an upward trend. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index stood at 346 at 4 pm on Friday, deteriorating from 295 on Thursday. "The Air Quality Index (AQI) has been showing an increasing trend for the last two days in Delhi-NCR. Wind conditions have not been very favourable and accordingly dispersion of air pollutants has not been very effective," the CAQM said in a statement. Considering the need to continue with the steps to prevent deterioration of air quality, the sub-committee on Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has decided that the "ongoing action implemented under Stage III of GRAP shall continue and it should not be withdrawn at this stage". All construction and demolition work, except for essential projects, is banned in Delhi-NCR under the third stage of the GRAP. Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers are also not allowed to operate.

India's first privately developed rocket -- Vikram-S -- is set for a November 15 launch on a sub-orbital mission with three payloads, Hyderabad-based space startup Skyroot Aerospace announced on Tuesday. The maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, named 'Prarambh' (the beginning), will carry payloads of two Indian and one foreign customers and is set for launch from the Indian Space Research Organisation's launchpad at Sriharikota.
"Heartbeats quicken. All gazes are up to the sky. The earth is listening. It all points to 15 Nov 2022 for launch," Skyspace Aerospace said on Friday.
The launch is scheduled for 11:30 am, Skyroot Aerospace CEO and co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana had told PTI.

TMC leader Anubrata Mondal's judicial custody was on Thursday extended till November 25 by a special CBI court in West Bengal's Asansol on a prayer by the central agency probing a cattle smuggling case. Seeking bail on any condition, Mondal's lawyer had submitted before the court that he is ready to stay in Kolkata if so ordered. Opposing the bail prayer, CBI counsel submitted that Mondal is a very influential man and referred to a recent public statement made by a minister in the state, likening the arrested party leader with a tiger. Hearing both the sides, the special judge rejected the bail plea of Mondal and extended his judicial remand by 14 days, till November 25.

Security forces on Friday shot dead a foreign terrorist of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A police spokesman said the security forces, acting on specific information generated by police regarding the presence of terrorist in the Kapren area of Shopian, launched a joint cordon and search operation. "To avoid any civilian casualty or injury, the joint team of forces evacuated teachers and students from a nearby madrasa to safer places," he said. The spokesman said as the search party approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding terrorist fired indiscriminately which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter.

The Karnataka High Court has acquitted all the 12 accused in a case relating to the murder of RTI activist and editor of 'Maha Prachanda' newspaper Lingaraju back in 2012 citing lack of corroboratory evidence. Lingaraju was attacked by three armed men near his house on November 20, 2012 while he was drawing water from a public tap. His wife Uma Devi, who was with him on that day, filed the complaint and also named Govindaraju, a former BBMP corporator, as a suspect. She alleged that Govindaraju suspected Lingaraju's hand in a Lokayukta raid on his house and held a grudge against him.

Eight constables were sent to the police lines for dereliction of duty and inaction on contraband smuggling in the district, a senior official said. Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik said, "The constables were sent to the lines following several complaints of involvement of police personnel in drug smuggling and the inability of these constables to stop smuggling in their duty areas." The constables were posted in Sadar Bazar, Behta, Kutubsher and Deoband areas, he said. "The action is in line with efforts to completely stop the drug trade in the district. In the coming days, action will also be taken against station house officers where drug trades are reported," said Manglik. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made "Record seizures" during Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The seizures in Gujarat amounted to Rs 71.88 crores while seizures in Himachal Pradesh amounted to Rs 50.28 crores as per ECI's statement. The ECI in its press release stated that through "comprehensive planning, reviews and follow-ups" these seizures have been made.

Notably, on the occasion of the announcement of dates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly Elections, 2022, Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Rajiv Kumar has stressed inducement-free elections. The ECI in its statement called the seizure drive in Gujarat "encouraging" as Gujarat witnessed seizures of Rs 71.88 crores in just a few days of the announcement of the elections which surpasses even the seizures made in the entire duration of enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct in Assembly Elections, 2017 which was Rs 27.21 crores.

Similarly, the seizures in Himachal Pradesh are also significant amounting to Rs 50.28 crores as compared to Rs 9.03 crores during Himachal's last election in 2017, marking a more than five-fold increase.

ECI urges citizens to become vigilant and extensively use the cVigil App to curb the menace of money power in elections. The ECI charted out that efforts are being made to closely monitor the poll-going States and it would continue till the completion of the ongoing elections. ECI is confident that the figures for seizures are expected to rise further.

Global stock markets rose on Friday after US inflation eased more than had been expected, spurring hopes the Federal Reserve might scale down plans for more interest rate hikes. Hong Kong's benchmark surged 7.7 per cent while Tokyo and Shanghai also gained. London and Frankfurt rose in early trading. Wall Street futures were higher. Oil prices rose more than USD 2 per barrel. Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose by its biggest one-day margin in 2 1/2 years on Thursday after the government reported consumer prices rose 7.7 per cent over a year ago in October. That was lower than the 8 per cent expected by economists and the fourth month of decline.

Jet Airways, which is grounded for more than three years, on Friday reported a standalone net loss of Rs 308.24 crore in the three months ended September. The airline had reported a net loss of Rs 305.76 crore in the same period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. Through the corporate insolvency resolution process, the Jalan Fritsch consortium emerged as the winning bidder for the airline after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the consortium's resolution plan in June last year. However, the carrier is yet to resume operations. In the second quarter of the current fiscal, Jet Airways saw its total income plunge to Rs 13.52 crore from Rs 45.01 crore in the year-ago period.

Kerala police on Friday registered a case against three persons for allegedly attacking a panchayat member, who won the local body by-poll at Muthukulam panchayat near here as an independent UDF candidate. Police have registered a case after G S Baiju, who left the BJP recently and contested the election as an independent candidate with the support of the United Democratic Front (UDF), was attacked by bike-borne assailants on Thursday night. The by-poll was necessitated after Baiju, who had earlier won the seat as a BJP member, resigned from the post after he left the party owing to differences with its leadership. Police said the attack happened at around 8 PM on Thursday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday submitted to the Bombay High Court that there are serious allegations of corruption, extortion and conspiracy against Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and there was sufficient evidence to establish his criminal involvement. The CBI filed its affidavit opposing the bail plea of Deshmukh, who was arrested in November last year first by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case and later by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Gyanvapi Shivling case: Hearing on Supreme Court and Varanasi court on different pleas

Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that the government is taking steps to help the small tea growers (STGs) which contribute to more than 50 per cent of the country's production. Speaking at an event organised by Solidaridad Asia and Indian Tea Association on sustainable tea production through a video clip, Goyal said efforts are being made to strengthen the STGs and ensure them a safe source of supply to the factories for tea production.

At least 23 persons were arrested and 13 women rescued from an orchestra bar, which was allegedly being operated illegally in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar here, police said on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, the police's social service branch raided the bar, located on 90 feet road in Pant Nagar, around 11.15 pm on Thursday, an official said. Women were allegedly found dancing in the establishment, he said.

 Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar arrived in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh on Friday to attend the ASEAN-India summit and the East Asia Summit. During his three-day visit, Dhankhar will also hold bilateral talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He is likely to have meetings with leaders from several other countries. The Vice President is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and senior delegates.
Cambodia is hosting these summits in its capacity as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

An Indian-origin man was sentenced to five weeks in jail on Friday for stealing cash chips from other punters on 34 occasions at a casino in Singapore. Chinnasamy Muniraj, 26, pleaded guilty to one count each of stealing and fraudulently obtaining cash chips worth Singapore dollars 175 (USD 126) as winnings for himself when the winning bet belonged to another gambler, reported Channel News Asia.

The Indian Space Research Orgnisation (ISRO) has for the first time supplied a rocket system to support a private launch vehicle built in the country. Chennai-based space technology startup Agnikul Cosmos received its first flight termination system (FTS) on November 7 from ISRO, with the support of IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), a single-window autonomous government agency to promote, permit, and oversee private sector space-based activities.

Noted freedom fighter Raghuveer Charan Sharma died at the government medical college in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district, an official said on Friday. Sharma, 99, died while undergoing treatment at the hospital on Thursday, the official said. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, but was living alone, a social worker said. Sharma had donated Rs 25 lakh from the honorarium he had received to install statues of great leaders in the city and had established Shaheed Jyoti Stambh and Hindi Bhawan in Vidisha.

Himachal Pradesh BJP worker Anu Thakur (Anni) expelled from the party for a period of 6 years, on grounds of getting involved in anti-party activities.

Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday launched seven community jetties and laid the foundation stone for another eight jetties in Uttar Pradesh. According to an official statement, India's longest river cruise/Ganga Vilas between Varanasi and Dibrugarh will be launched soon. At the event, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present.

 The Supreme Court on Friday quashed an Allahabad High Court order granting bail to two men accused of firing at AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's vehicle in February this year and gave them one week to surrender. A bench of Justices M R Shah and M M Sundresh said the high court did not accord any reason while giving bail. The apex court remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh consideration and directed Sachin Sharma and Shubham Gurjar to surrender before the police within a week. 

BJP had promised to bring funds from Centre, make Delhi garbage-free but did nothing. It won't win more than 20 seats in MCD polls. AAP always fulfils its promises. BJP's intentions are dishonest, it issues 'Vachan Patra' and then does nothing for five years. AAP will ensure timely payment of salaries to civic body employees, end 'inspector raj' and open sealed shops. AAP promises to provide permanent solution to parking problem in Delhi, repair roads and improve MCD schools and hospitals: Kejriwal. 

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of three persons killed in an explosion in a crackers manufacturing unit in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh late on Thursday night. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed grief over the mishap and extended condolences to the bereaved families.

Hundreds of artists from across the country, representing different performing arts, dance, music and traditional folk forms, will perform during the month-long Sonepur Mela (festival) in Bihar, an official said. The Sonepur Mela, Asia's largest fair, was inaugurated by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stopped his car and waved at enthusiastic groups of party workers and supporters near the office of Karnataka Public Service Commission close to 'Vidhana Soudha' and at a key traffic junction in Bengaluru. He was on his way to the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) station here to flag off 'Vande Bharat' Express and 'Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan' trains.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien on Friday hit out at the government over the choice of chairpersons of Parliamentary committees, pointing out that his party has zero MPs heading such panels despite being the third largest in Parliament and the second largest Opposition party. "56 new Chairpersons for #Parliament Committees announced. BJP make a mockery of it. Parties (including some soft allies) with fewer MPs become Chairpersons. Third largest party in Parliament, second largest Opposition party TMC get ZERO!," he said in a tweet.

 Asian stock markets surged on Friday after US inflation eased by more than expected, spurring hopes the Federal Reserve might scale down plans for more interest rate hikes. Hong Kong's market benchmark jumped 5.7 per cent and Seoul rose 3.3 per cent. Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney advanced. Oil prices edged higher.

An Indian national in the US has been charged with a USD 8 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted, according to court documents. Abhishek Krishnan, 40, was a resident of North Carolina before he returned to his home country of India.
A federal grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, returned an indictment charging him with fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

There is a renewed momentum in the India-US relationship, New Delhi's top envoy to the United States told a think-tank here, observing that the strategic partnership between the two sides has deepened and the overall bilateral partnership broadened. He said the continuous high-level political engagements between India and the US signals bipartisan support on both sides for further deepening the partnership

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution Thursday accusing the Taliban of violating the human rights of Afghan women and girls, failing to establish a representative government, and plunging the country into “dire economic, humanitarian and social conditions.” The resolution also pointed to persistent violence in the country since the Taliban takeover 15 months ago and the presence of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State and their affiliates as well as the presence of “foreign terrorist fighters.”s

The US will send USD 400 million more in military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials announced Thursday, amid concerns that financial assistance for the war against Russia could decline a bit if Republicans take control of Congress. The aid comes as the vote counting from Tuesday's election continues, with Republicans inching closer to a narrow House majority and with control of the Senate hinging on tight races in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia.

 The U.N. atomic watchdog said Thursday it believes that Iran has further increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and criticized Tehran for continuing to bar the agency's officials from accessing or monitoring Iranian nuclear sites.

The world is projected to spew 40.6 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2) into the atmosphere in 2022, with no sign of the decrease that is urgently needed to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsius, according to a new report released on Friday, coinciding with the UN climate summit in Egypt.

Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis will have to pay USD 7.5 million in compensation as he has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a former film publicist following a movie premiere nearly a decade ago.

A massive fire broke out in the Shivarkar slum area in Wanvadi, Pune. No casualties or injuries reported.