Breaking News, December 16 | HIGHLIGHTS

A mild earthquake of magnitude 3.4 shook Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district on Friday night, officials said. The tremors were felt around 10.02 pm and the epicentre of the earthquake was Chango Nichla near Nako in Kinnaur, Special Secretary Disaster Management Sudesh Mokta said.

Sebi on Friday came out with performance reporting guidelines for portfolio managers, which will clearly distinguish categories of products and bring more transparency for clients by selecting appropriate benchmarks.

Delhi University on Friday announced that the admission process for the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for the academic session 2022-23 will conclude on December 31. It also announced that admission for its undergraduate programmes under a special spot round for certain shortlisted colleges will begin on December 18. The vacant seats in this programme will be displayed on Sunday.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a charge-sheet against 11 persons in the murder case of Amravati-based pharmacist Umesh Kolhe who had shared social media posts supporting BJP leader Nupur Sharma. The charge-sheet claimed that the accused had formed a terrorist gang to take revenge on Kolhe after he shared a WhatsApp post in support of Sharma's controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad.

Live performances were given on Friday night in a musical concert organised here to mark 100 days of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. Gandhi, along with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, attended the concert at Albert Hall here.

The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill to give scheduled tribe status to the members of the Hattee community in Himachal Pradesh. Piloting that Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that the bill seeks to provide justice to the Hattee community of Trans Giri area of Sirmour district in the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh.

Ten people, including five children died after a nighttime fire ravaged an eight-story apartment building Friday in one of the city of Lyon's poorest suburbs, French authorities said. The cause of the blaze — the country's deadliest in years — is under investigation, including to establish whether it had a criminal origin.

The US Department of Commerce is adding 36 Chinese high-tech companies, including makers of aviation equipment, chemicals and computer chips, to an export controls blacklist, citing concerns over national security, US interests and human rights.

A 37-year-old man from Kalyan town in Maharashtra's Thane district claimed to have lost nearly Rs 44 lakh after an unidentified person lured him into paying money by promising commission for using a gaming application, police said on Friday.

The death toll in the Chhapra hooch tragedy, due to the consumption of spurious liquor, in Bihar's Saran district has soared to 56 today (December 16). ​

A teacher of Prathmik Vidyalaya in Model Basti has been detained for hitting a girl of class 5 with a pair of scissors & pushing her off the 1st floor of the school. The girl has been hospitalised and a case is being prepared u/s 307 IPC on eyewitnesses' statements.

A meeting of the Union cabinet will be held in the evening today.

The first session of the 14th Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh will be held on December 22.

Shraddha murder case accused Aftab Poonawala has moved an application in Delhi's Saket Court seeking bail in the matter. He is in judicial custody after police interrogation. His bail plea will be heard tomorrow.

Bihar BJP leaders including LoP Vijay Sinha held a protest march to the Governor's House over the Chhapra Hooch tragedy today.

Drug Controller of India has written to WHO over the premature conclusion linking Indian-made cough syrups to deaths in Gambia.

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking SIT probe in Bihar (Chapra) hooch tragedy. The plea seeks an independent probe and formulation of action plan to curb the manufacturing, trading and sale of illicit liquor. PIL further seeks compensation for the victims’ families.

Asserting that the Indian Armed forces are firmly in control, Eastern Army commander Lt General RP Kalita Friday said that border areas along the northern frontier are stable. Stating that there are different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by the Indian Army and China's PLA at several points, he said that in one of these areas in the Tawang sector, the PLA transgressed, which was very firmly contested by Indian forces on ground. "It led to some amount of physical violence, but it was contained at local level resorting to existing bilateral mechanisms and protocols," Kalita said. He said that there were some minor injuries to soldiers on both sides.

In first official reaction from the Indian Army,  Eastern Army Command chief Lieutenant General RP Kalita has said that situation in Tawang is stable. Chinese PLA and jawans of Indian Army clashed in Yangtse region of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang on December 9. A few jawans sustained injuries in the face-off, however, the number of injured on the Chinese side was far more than the Indian side.

Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year by the Indian Army to mark its decisive victory over Pakistan and the Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Friday wrote to the Lok Sabha speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman urging them to suspend the day's business in both houses of Parliament to discuss the issue of women's safety on the 10th anniversary of the Nirbhaya gangrape incident. Crimes against women have reached an "epidemic proportion", she said, while highlighting that six rapes are reported in the national capital every day. "An eight month old baby and a 90-year-old woman have also been raped in Delhi!" she tweeted. Maliwal also highlighted the recent acid attack on a 17-year-old girl in west Delhi. "The problem of increasing crimes against women and girls has reached an epidemic proportion and governments are failing to take steps to counter it. Even the Nirbhaya Fund that was set up for providing relief and rehabilitation for women and girls has been reduced substantially," she said.

The Assam Congress’ ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ concluded at Sadiya in the easternmost point of the state after covering a distance of 835 km in the last 45 days. Addressing a public rally at Chapakhowa playground, AICC General Secretary Jitendra Singh said that although the long march has come to an end on Thursday, it is only the start of a "revolution against the BJP's injustice and iniquity". The 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' of the state Congress started from Golakganj in Dhubri district on November 1 and passed through 15 districts, nine Lok Sabha constituencies and 51 Assembly seats. "During our journey, people cutting across communities, religions, languages and castes have responded and showed their support to the Congress party," Singh said.

A landslide on Friday at a tourist campground in Malaysia left two people dead and authorities said 51 people were feared buried at the site on an organic farm outside the capital of Kuala Lumpur. A total of 79 people were believed to have been at the campsite in Batang Kali in central Selangor state, around 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, when the incident occurred, Malaysia's fire and rescue department said in a statement. The campsite, where people can pitch tents or rent them from the farm, is popular with locals. A child and a woman were found dead, a fire department official told The Associated Press. Three people were injured while rescuers were searching for the estimated 51 missing people, the department said.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren said those opposing the 1932 'Khatiyan' (land records)-based domicile policy of his government are opponents of Jharkhand. Accusing the Centre of step-motherly treatment to Jharkhand, he alleged that BJP plundered the state's wealth for the last 20 years. Addressing a rally in Godda as part of the 'Khatiyani Johar Yatra' to mark three years of UPA government in the state on Thursday, he said that fixing 1932 Khatiyan as the cut-off year to determine domicile 'Jharkhandis' is a historical step of his JMM-led government. "We have delivered whatever we promised to the people," he said.

India is facing the danger of becoming a Hindu nationalist State, an outgoing Democratic Congressman known for his anti-India tirade said on Thursday. Describing himself as a “lifelong human rights advocate” Congressman Andy Levin (62) in his last speech on the floor of the US House of Representatives said the US has had more success in human rights, although the situation was dire in many parts of the world. “I have been a vocal advocate for human rights in places like India, which is in the danger of becoming a Hindu nationalist State rather than a secular democracy, the world's largest democracy,” alleged Levin, who represented the ninth Congressional District from Michigan. In the next Congress, it will be represented by Lisa McClain of the Republican Party. “I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism and other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there. Whether they're Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains,” Levin, said.

A day after the Supreme Court agreed to list pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, senior CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami on Thursday said it is a welcome step. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha on Wednesday agreed to examine and list pleas challenging the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. "It is a welcome step. Before this as well, the former CJI had said that the pleas will be taken up after the Dussehra holidays. Now, yesterday, the CJI said they will examine and list the pleas. I am hopeful that there is a possibility that they will be taken up soon," Tarigami told reporters in Kulgam district.

A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the Senate on Thursday and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The bill provides for about $45 billion more for defense programs than Biden requested and roughly 10% more than last year's bill as lawmakers look to account for inflation and boost the nation's military competitiveness with China and Russia. It includes a 4.6% pay raise for servicemembers and the Defense Department's civilian workforce. The Senate passed the defense policy bill by a vote of 83-11. The measure also received broad bipartisan support in the House last week.

A pilot safely ejected from a plane Thursday after a failed landing that was caught on video at a North Texas military base, officials said. The Marine Corps variant of a fighter jet, known as a F-35B, took a nose dive and spiralled after its wheels briefly touched down on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth. Video taken by people who were watching the plane come in show it slowly descending in a straight line as smoke appears in the rear of the aircraft before the nose digs into the runway and the jet spins to a stop. The F-35B has special modifications that allow it to take off and land vertically like a helicopter. At the Pentagon, a spokesman said the aircraft was being flown at the time of the crash by a U.S. government pilot, although it had not been transferred to the military yet by manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The pilot safely ejected from the airplane, according to Pentagon spokesman Air Force Gen. Pat Ryder. The condition of the pilot is not known.

Brazil's Federal Police began serving dozens of search warrants Thursday targeting supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro for blocking highways after his election loss, according to a statement. The operation was ordered by Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who also presides over the nation's electoral authority. He is responsible for two investigations into Bolsonaro supporters regarding allegedly anti-democratic acts and the spread of fake news on social media regarding the election. The Supreme Court said in a statement the investigation related to the 81 search warrants is proceeding under seal, and the police said warrants were being served in seven states and the Federal District. Separately, Federal Police officers carried out 23 searches and at least four preventive detentions in Espirito Santo state related to electoral fake news, police said.

The Delhi government has prepared a new school cab policy that will allow private cars to be registered as commercial vehicles and ferry schoolchildren after certain alterations, sources said Thursday. Under the policy, the transport department plans to allow the owners of private cars to operate their vehicles as commercial ones by making certain modifications like installing speed governors, and roof carriers to carry bags. 

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the U.S. delivers sophisticated air defense systems to Ukraine, those systems and any crews that accompany them would be a “legitimate target” for the Russian military, a blunt threat that was quickly rejected by Washington. The exchange of statements reflected soaring Russia-U.S. tensions amid the fighting in Ukraine, which is now in its 10th month. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the U.S. had “effectively become a party” to the war by providing Ukraine with weapons and training its troops. She added that if reports about U.S. intentions to provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missile system prove true, it would become “another provocative move by the U.S.” and broaden its involvement in the hostilities, "entailing possible consequences.”