Breaking news on January 3

US Embassy Islamabad, Pakistan: Given possible reactions to recent events in Iraq, the US Embassy has restricted travel by US government employees.  US government personnel in Pakistan are required to postpone non-essential official movements and most personal movements.

Jawaharlal Nehru University Administration: At around 1 pm today, a group of students using masks on their faces forcibly entered the office of the Center for Information System, switched off the power supply, forcibly evicted all technical staff, and made servers dysfunctional.

As a result, the entire registration process was hampered and made it impossible for students to complete their registration process. University will take strict disciplinary action against the agitators who have caused enormous hardship to thousands of students.

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan tweets an old video of violence from Bangladesh and says, 'Indian police's pogrom against Muslims in UP.' Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has deleted all three videos from his Twitter timeline in which he falsely claimed that Police was carrying out a pogrom against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

Army Chief General MM Naravane is scheduled to visit Siachen glacier on January 9, as his first tour to an army base after taking over as Army Chief. He will pay homage to soldiers at the Siachen war memorial.

Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has filed a writ petition in Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Ranjit Savarkar, grandson of Veer Savarkar said: "Case must be filed against several people, including Rahul Gandhi and  Congress Seva Dal, for levelling allegations against Savarkar ji."

"I came to meet CM; I had sent several requests for appointment but I could not meet him today. He didn't have a minute to talk to me even when it's about Savarkar ji's respect. I am highly disappointed. It is an insult to Savarkar ji," he added. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's scheduled visit to India from January 14 to 16, 2020, has been cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances of the bushfires in Australia..

NHRC, India has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports about the death of more than 100 children at a government run hospital in Kota district of Rajasthan in the month of December, 2019. The Commission has issued a notice to Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan to submit a detailed report, within 4 weeks in the matter including the steps being taken to address the issue and to ensure that such deaths of the children do not recur in future.

Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren, along with his wife Kalpana Murmu Soren called on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan, today.

US Secretary Mike Pompeo said: "President Trump has decided to eliminate Iran's General."

MEA has released a statement: "We've noted that a senior Iranian leader has been killed by the US. An increase in tension has alarmed the world. Peace and security in this region are of utmost importance to India. It's vital that the situation doesn't escalate. India has consistently advocated restraint and continues to do so."

Prashant Kumar, ADG Meerut on reports of 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans raised in Mawana, Meerut said: "One person has been arrested, more arrests will be made. Nobody will be given the freedom to do anti-national activities."

Rajasthan Health Minister, Raghu Sharma on infant deaths in Kota said: "In 2012, when Congress was in power, 120 beds were approved for the hospital, of which 60 were for Pediatrics. But then the govt changed and only Rs. 1.7 crore out of Rs. 5 crores was released."

Massive protests have been taking place in Kargil after the killing of key Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani by US forces. 

Union Ministry of Home Affairs Sources: We have received a report from Uttar Pradesh on activities of Popular Front of India (PFI) in the state.

Five persons dead in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Naihati area of ​​North 24 Parganas district. Fire tenders present at the spot.

Presentation by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Human Resource Development will be given at the two-day meeting of the Union Council of Ministers, which is to start today under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The working of all the Ministries will be reviewed in this meeting, so that the priorities and strategies of the Modi government can be formulated for future.

Union Minister Smriti Irani on the launch of BJP's 'Meri Dilli, Mera Sujhav Abhiyaan' said: "Taking inspiration from the PM, to understand the 'Mann ki baat' of people of Delhi, this campaign will go on for two weeks. Suggestions received from people will be made a part of manifesto."
 

P Sreeramakrishnan, Kerala Assembly Speaker on State Governor's criticism of Assembly's resolution against CAA said: "It is unfortunate, we didn't cross our limit or constitutional obligations. We have the right to uphold values of Constitution, CAA is a violation of Article 14 and 15."

Jammu & Kashmir: Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing of small arms & shelling with mortars along LoC in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district today at about 1215 hours. Indian Army retaliated.

Market benchmark Sensex tumbled 162 points on Friday as global investors turned risk-averse after the killing of a top Iranian general by the US fuelled fears of a geopolitical conflict. Brent crude futures surged 4.4 per cent to USD 69.16 per barrel as investors turned jittery on supply concerns.

Foreign Affairs Ministry, Russia on killing of Iran's most senior commander Qassem Suleimani said: "It'll lead to further escalation of tensions in the Middle East region.  Condolences are sent to Iranians, who have lost Suleimani as true defender of national interests of the country."

Jammu & Kashmir: Four soldiers, including a Lieutenant injured in a mine blast along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district.

Home Minister Amit Shah in Jodhpur, Rajasthan said: "Gehlot ji, instead of opposing this (Citizenship Amendment Act) first focus on the children who are dying in Kota everyday, show some concern, mothers are cursing you."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Jodhpur said: "For vote-bank politics, Congress party is speaking against a great personality like Veer Savarkar as well. Congressmen should be ashamed of themselves."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Jodhpur said: "Even if all these parties come together, BJP will not move back even an inch on this issue of Citizenship Amendment Act. You can spread as much misinformation as you want."

The US killing of a top Iranian military commander has made the world “more dangerous,” France’s Europe minister said Friday, calling for efforts to de-escalate the deepening conflict in the Middle East.

“We have woken up to a more dangerous world,” Amelie de Montchalin told RTL radio, saying President Emmanuel Macron would consult soon with “players in the region.” The United States confirmed it was responsible for an airstrike early Friday that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, ratcheting up the proxy war between the two powers.

“In such operations, when we can see an escalation is underway, but what we want above all is stability and de-escalation,” Montchalin said.

“All of France’s efforts... in all parts of the world aim to ensure that we are creating the conditions for peace or at least stability,” she added.

“Our role is not to take sides, but to talk with everyone,” Montchalin said.

Iran President Rouhani has offered deep condolences over the martyrdom of IRGC Quds Force commander Gen Soleimani who was killed in US airstrikes at Baghdad airport early today.  Tehran Times carried Rouhani's statement that said killings of Gen Soleimani and its accompanying individuals, including PMU deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, will  “double the determination of the great Iranian nation and other independent states to stand against America’s excessive demands and to defend the Islamic values.”

“This cowardly act is, of course, another sign of America's frustration and helplessness in the region,” Rouhani was quoted by the Tehran Times.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri: I am fighting against National Register Of Citizens and Citizenship Amendment Act, join hands with me, requesting all people to come forward to save our democracy

BEIJING (AP): Asian stocks were mixed Friday and oil prices surged after an Iranian general was killed by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Benchmarks in Shanghai and Hong Kong declined. Australia and some Southeast Asian markets advanced. Japanese markets were closed.
News that Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an air attack at the Baghdad international airport prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation against U.S. and Israeli targets.

“A big fat dollop of geopolitical uncertainty has landed on investors desks,” said Jeffrey Halley of Oanda in a report.

Chris Doyle, Commentator on Middle East, international politics and Director of  @Caabu Council for Arab-British Understanding,says: "Hard to fathom the consequences of the assassination of Qasem Suleimani."

"Hard to fathom the consequences of the assassination of Qasem Suleimani. A man with an appalling record. No tears for him. Yet where does this end?  Fear is that in his death ordinary people will die, a bloody tribute that befits this murderer," Doyle tweeted. 

Iran's Minister of Defence Amir Hatami has echoed the sentiments of his Supreme Leader. Hatami said, "Tehran will take crushing revenge for killing of Soleimani."

Newsweek reports that a US aircraft carrying combat troops and special forces on board took off from bases on the East Coast Thursday night after President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike that killed a top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. The officials could not say where the transport aircraft were headed.

U.S. military Patriot anti-Missile batteries also were put on alert in Bahrain, headquarters of the Navy's 5th Fleet. The Green Zone in Baghdad, where the U.S. embassy is located, is on lockdown, sources told Newsweek.

The president was briefed at Mar-a-Lago and ordered the strike from the Florida resort, sources told Newsweek.

"I am also happy to learn that India’s ranking has improved in innovation Index to 52. Our schemes have created more technology business incubators in the last 5 years than in the previous 50 years. I congratulate our scientists for these accomplishments...Our successes in space exploration should now be mirrored in the new frontier of the deep sea. We need to explore, map and responsibly harness the vast oceanic resources of water, energy, food and minerals," said PM Modi at Indian Science Congress. 

Bangladesh's paramilitary force chief said that a total of 445 Bangladeshi nationals returned from India in last two months following the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) by the Indian government.

General Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian Major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and since 1998 commander of its Quds Force—a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. Quds Force of the IRGC is a US designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation. Read More 

During the morning trading hours in Asian markets, Brent crude soared 1.31 percent, while US crude jumped 1.24 percent, after reports emerged that a top Iranian military general had been killed in an airstrike in Baghdad. Read More 

Police on Thursday recovered the semi-decomposed body of an elderly man from a house in the city's Behala area where his son was living with the corpse for the last five days. Police received a call from Ashok Kumar Ghosh, the elder son of Rabindranath Ghosh (85), who informed them that his younger brother Ajit Kumar Ghosh, who is mentally ill, was living with their father's body, a senior police officer said. Read More

19 trains running late due to low visibility in the Northern Railway region

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 107th session of Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru today. In his 2-day visit to the state capital of Karnataka, Modi met Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Governor Vajubhai Vala at Raj Bhavan on Thursday. Read More

There was a drop in the number of deaths in road accidents in Kolkata in 2019 when compared to 2018, data released by traffic police here showed on Thursday. Two hundred and sixty seven people died in 260 accidents in 2019, while 294 deaths had occurred in 283 accidents a year before that, the data showed. Read More 

A Sudanese military plane crashed shortly after taking off from El Geneina airport in West Darfur State, killing 18, the army said. The Antonov 12 plane "crashed five minutes after taking off from El Geneina airport" on Thursday evening, said Amer Mohamed al-Hassan, spokesman of Sudanese army, in a statement. Read More

Earthquake of 5.9 magnitude hits Japan, no Tsunami warning yet An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on Friday struck off the east coast of Japan's Chiba Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Read More

Clashes were reported between members of two groups in a few pockets of West Bengal's 24 Parganas North district after a shopkeeper was found hanging in a local club, prompting the police to issue prohibitory orders on people's movements and temporary suspension of internet. Read More