Breaking News, January 9 | HIGHLIGHTS

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai on Yogi govt's new order | "It is the government's right if they want to shut schools or liquor shops on the day of Ram Temple 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony..."

"Pained by the demise of Ustad Rashid Khan Ji, a legendary figure in the world of Indian classical music. His unparalleled talent and dedication to music enriched our cultural world and inspired generations. His passing leaves a void that will be hard to fill. My heartfelt condolences to his family, disciples and countless admirers," PM Narendra Modi posts on social media platform X.

"Unknown hackers made an attempt to hack my Facebook account this evening. Preliminary information suggests the hacker might be operating from Pakistan. Investigation is underway to identify the perpetrators," Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma informed.

Kufri, a hill station in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district, received a light spell of rainfall earlier today. | Watch

Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon offered prayers at Goddess Kanaka Durgamma Temple in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, earlier today.

Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon on India-Israel economic collaboration | "We have surpassed the 10 billion dollar mark in trade between Israel and India... India and Israel are natural partners in the high-tech sector."

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav on I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting | "The meeting was held in a very positive environment. Everyone is happy. More progress will take place on January 12."

NCP-Sharad Pawar faction leader, Dr.Jitendra Awhad on I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting | "...There was a discussion on all the seats & everything is positive. The meeting was successful more than what was expected... there are no differences among us..."

Shiv Sena (UBT faction) leader Sanjay Raut on I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting at Congress leader Mukul Wasnik's residence | All of the members of Maha Vikas Aghadi came out of the meeting with a smile...Maha Vikas Aghadi members - Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP, sat down to discuss seat-sharing... I want to assure everyone that we will fight elections together. We have no differences about seat sharing...We discussed in detail about the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA)..."

On invitation for the Pran Pratistha ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says, "...Who has been invited & not invited is well known... Some people who have been invited have said that they don't want to go, so it is their lookout. People will not judge them if they go or not, but if they criticise Sanatana Dharma..."

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrives in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, to take part in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

PM Modi and UAE president will also hold a roadshow shortly.

Authorities here have allowed Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to travel to Delhi for a "personal" visit. "Mirwaz-e-Kashmir Mohammad Umar Farooq was allowed by the state authorities to travel to New Delhi yesterday (Monday). Mirwaiz had conveyed the personal nature of his visit after which the authorities allowed him," Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the management body of the 14th-century mosque in Srinagar, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Nineteen persons have tested positive for JN.1 sub-variant of coronavirus in Mumbai, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Tuesday. Out of 22 samples found positive for JN.1 subvariant in Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis, 19 were from Mumbai, Daksha Shah, executive health officer of the BMC said.

India has logged 475 new cases of Covid, while the number of active cases of the infection stood at 3,919, the health ministry said on Tuesday. Six deaths -- three from Karnataka, two from Chhattisgarh and one from Assam -- have been reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

Two persons were arrested for allegedly threatening an auto-rickshaw driver with a revolver in Kolkata's Garia area on Tuesday, police said. The incident took place around 5.10 am when the two accused approached the auto-rickshaw driver and asked him to take them to Sonarpur area, an officer of Patuli police station said.

The police on Tuesday registered an offence against four persons for allegedly holding a tribal man from Maharashtra's Palghar district captive and beating him up, an official said. Based on a complaint, a first information report (FIR) has been registered under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at Koregaon police station in Satara, the official said.

Noted Hindi and Bhojpuri poet, lyricist and litterateur Pandit Hariram 'Hari Bhaiya' Dwivedi passed away after a prolonged illness, his family said on Tuesday. He was 87. According to his family members, Dwivedi -- who had been ailing for a long time, died on Monday afternoon at his residence in the Mahmoorganj area of this Uttar Pradesh district. His last rites will be performed at Manikarnika Ghat on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed condolences at his death.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath offered prayers at Ram Mandir 'garbh griha' in Ayodhya.

Two men were killed and one seriously injured when their motorcycle collided with a truck in the Musafirkhana area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Tuesday. Brothers Ram Samuj Maurya (65) and Tung Nath Maurya (60) of Kanjas village had gone to the district headquarters Gauriganj with their lawyer -- Pankaj Kumar of Sultanpur -- in connection with a case, they said.

In-charge ED Director Rahul Navin will review the probe into the alleged public distribution and paddy procurement scam and discuss security concerns of the local ED establishment in the backdrop of the attacks on the search teams of the central probe agency in West Bengal, official sources said Tuesday. The ED chief, who landed here midnight, is also expected to meet the injured officials along with senior officials of the agency's Kolkata-based regional office on Tuesday, the sources said.

Bihar's former CM Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, Hima Yadav, Hridyanand Chaudhary along with Amit Katyal have been named in this chargesheet. Two firms have also been accused.

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided the premises of Shive Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar and some of his linked entities in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in construction of a luxury hotel in Jogeshwari area of the city, official sources said. About seven locations in Mumbai are being searched by the agency, they said. These include the premises of Waikar and some of his partners and others, the sources said.

The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to the daughter and son of suspended Delhi government officer Premoday Khakha in a case of alleged sexual assault of a minor girl by the arrested official. A bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal granted the relief, noting that the petitioners have joined the investigation.

Several parts of eastern Rajasthan recorded rainfall overnight, the weather office said on Tuesday. Kota recorded 20 cm rainfall followed by 14 cm in Ladpura, 13 cm in Pipalda, 9 cm in Devgod, 8 cm each in Mangrol, Sawai Madhopur and Khandar, 6 cm each in Kishanganj and Anta, 4 cm in Chittorgarh and 3 cm in Sawai Madhopur tehsil on Monday night.

The next round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman will start from January 16 and the negotiations for the pact are progressing well, a senior official said on Tuesday. The talks on the text of most of the chapters have been concluded by both sides for the pact, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Lokayukta sleuths on Tuesday carried out raids on six government officials at about 30 locations in connection with accumulating assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, Lokayukta sources said. The raids were conducted at the locations of a Panchayat officer, an official in the Karnataka Infrastructure Development Corporation and a joint director in the Town Planning department of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, sources said.

Senior IAS officer Samir Kumar Sinha has been appointed as Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Defence Ministry, as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre. Sinha, a 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is currently working in his Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said his government has set a target to contribute 10 per cent to India's GDP and become a USD 500 billion economy by 2026-27. At present, Gujarat, with five per cent the country's population, contributes 8.3 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and in the previous year, the state accounted for 33 per cent of India's total merchandise exports, Patel said in an email interview to PTI ahead of the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

13 Indian fishermen were repatriated from Sri Lanka to Chennai today.

On receiving information about people facing difficulty in breathing due to leakage in the chlorine cylinder kept in the empty plot in the Jhanjra area of ​​Prem Nagar police station in Dehradun, Police, NDRF, SDRF and Fire team reached the spot and are taking action for safe disposal.

Cold and dense fog engulfed Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal on Tuesday morning.

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) is holding an indefinite strike across the state demanding the signing of the 15th wage revision agreement to increase the pay, filling vacancies in bus driver and conductor posts and releasing Dearnance Allowances (DA) for retired workers.

Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) strongly condemns the derogatory comments made by some Deputy Ministers on social media platforms, directed towards the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Narendra Modi as well as the people of India, Maldives Association of Tourism Industry said.