Breaking News, November 30 | HIGHLIGHTS

Ahead of the December 4 municipal polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday claimed the BJP has deployed 17 Union ministers to fight an 'aam aadmi' like him and said this was done to cover up the party's "inefficiency" during its tenure in the civic body. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls are being seen as a high stakes contest with the Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress eyeing to wrest it from the BJP which ruled it for 15 years. The AAP will get rid of corruption from the MCD in just three to four months, if voted to power and "mark my words, you will not need to pay an extra penny to get your work done in the MCD", asserted Kejriwal, who led a roadshow from Malka Ganj Chowk near Kamla Nagar to Ghanta Ghar Chowk.

The godmother of Britain’s Prince William on Wednesday resigned from her honorary duties at Buckingham Palace following controversial remarks made to a black British charity worker at an event that were perceived as racist. Lady Susan Hussey, 83, who had been an aide to the late Queen Elizabeth II as one of her ladies-in-waiting, has apologised after it emerged that she repeatedly questioned Ngozi Fulani, founder of London-based charity Sistah Space, about her background at an event hosted by Queen Consort Camilla at the palace in London on Tuesday. Fulani revealed the exchange on Twitter and said she was left “totally stunned” when she was asked “what part of Africa are you from” and “where do you really come from” even after saying she was born in the UK and was British. Prince William’s official spokesperson at Kensington Palace was asked about the row and said "racism has no place in our society".

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday intensified the campaign against ruling BJD for the December 5 Padampur bypoll, alleging that the Naveen Patnaik-led party was "tired due to overstaying" in power in Odisha for 22 years and hence lacks vision for the development of the state. While campaigning for party candidate Pradip Purohit, he also accused the BJD government in the state of rebranding central schemes and passing those off as state government initiatives. The Union education minister has participated in several rallies and road shows in the assembly seat since Tuesday. "The state government has become tired due to overstaying in power for the last 22 years. It is therefore unable to conceive new ideas for welfare schemes," he said.

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday fixed December 5 for further hearing on a Gyanvapi masjid management's revision petition challenging a Varanasi court order on the maintainability of a plea seeking permission to offer regular prayers to idols of deities in the mosque complex. On Tuesday, the high court, after a brief hearing, had adjourned the hearing in the case till Wednesday. During the hearing on Wednesday, the counsel for the Hindu side argued that the case before the lower court was drafted honestly. He was arguing with the counsel for the Anjuman Intejamia Masjid, the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, who alleged that the case was cleverly drafted.

Police have arrested a man and seized from him heroin worth Rs 51 lakh at Nalasopara in Palghar district of Maharashtra, an official said on Wednesday. Officials of the crime branch unit-III of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police arrested the man on Tuesday night. "Acting on a tip-off that a man would be smuggling heroin, a police team laid a trap at Achole Road in Nalasopara and nabbed him around 9 pm. A search revealed that he was carrying 510 grams of heroin," senior inspector Pramod Badakh of Crime Unit III said. The 28-year-old accused is a resident of Nalasopara in Vasai, he said. An offence under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against him, Badakh said, adding that an investigation was on. 

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by putting his picture on the campaign poster of its `rape-accused' candidate in an Assembly byelection. Brahmanand Netam is the BJP's candidate for December 5 bypoll to Bhanupratappur constituency in Kanker district of the state. Hitting back, the BJP said Netam was not a convict, and Baghel himself is an accused in a criminal case. “BJP is insulting the Honourable Prime Minister by putting his picture with the photo of the rape accused. The country will not tolerate the insult of our Prime Minister. Save the dignity of the post of Prime Minister by voting against BJP,” Baghel tweeted. The Congress leader also tagged the PM and posted the picture of the poster which has photos of Netam along with PM Modi, BJP president J P Nadda and other senior BJP leaders.

The State Election Commission in Bihar on Wednesday announced December 18 and 20 as the new dates for municipal polls, which were initially to be held in October, but got postponed following a Patna High Court order. The polls will be held in two phases, and counting of votes will take place on December 28 and 30, as per a communication issued by the SEC. The revised schedule was drawn upon receipt of report, by the urban development department, of a "Dedicated Commission" set up in accordance with the high court order dated October 4, it said. The court had, in its order, held that quotas for the Extremely Backward Classes in the state's municipal polls were "illegal" since these were not based on report of a Dedicated Commission.

Providing security to people and businesses as well as creating a perception of safety are equally important, new Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said Wednesday. Singh said Noida (Gautam Buddh Nagar) is often compared with Delhi in terms of policing and there was a need for her force to appraise its standards accordingly. In her first interaction with the press after taking the charge, the 2000-batch IPS officer set straight her priorities which included urban issues, society-based conflicts and cyber crimes. With her appointment, Singh, 48, has become the first woman officer to head a police commissionerate in Uttar Pradesh. She has replaced Additional Director General Alok Singh, who was appointed the first CP of Gautam Buddh Nagar in January 2020. She said Noida, being part of the national capital region, holds a "peculiar and distinctive" position because of which the commissionerate was established here three years ago.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Wednesday held a roadshow in favour of some BJP candidates in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections. The chief minister, who has been campaigning in the Delhi civic polls, will address four public meetings in Ashok Vihar, Shastri Nagar, Shalimar Bagh and Rohini on Thursday. Thakur held the roadshow from Mata Rameshwari Nagar in Tikona Park to Dev Nagar in Karol Bagh. Himachal Pradesh BJP president Suresh Kashyap was also present during the campaign in the national capital, where a large number of Himachalis reside. The BJP is seeking to retain power in the civic body and facing a stiff challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party, which governs Delhi. Municipal polls in Delhi will be held on December 4. 

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday introduced the mechanism of net settlement of cash and Futures & Options (F&O) segment upon expiry of stock derivatives. The move is aimed at providing better alignment of cash and derivatives segment, mitigation of price risk in certain cases and netting efficiencies for market participants, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular. Under the mechanism, the obligations arising out of cash segment settlement and physical settlement of F&O segments, upon expiry of stock derivatives, would be settled on a net basis as against the current approach of settling such obligations separately. The benefit of netting (merged settlements) would be available to investors who trade and clear through the same TM-CM (trading member-clearing member) combination in cash and F&O segment.

Police have tightened security across Belagavi district, the epicentre of decades-old border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra, as the case pertaining to it is coming up before the Supreme Court. Police officials said they have installed 21 checkposts in Belagavi district including the city, and also additional Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) forces have been deployed. "We have decided to take measures to see to it that no untoward incident takes place, with a case coming up in the Supreme Court and also to see to it that incidents that happened last week, don't repeat," ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar has said. This comes in the wake of some incidents like causing damage or blackening of buses and vehicles on both sides, over the border dispute.

Cash, drugs, liquor and freebies worth over Rs 290 crore have so far been seized in poll-bound Gujarat, which is over 10 times the recoveries made during the entire 2017 assembly election period in the state. Gujarat is going for two-phase elections on December 1 and 5. According to the Election Commission, its planning and monitoring through various enforcement agencies have led to record seizures during the election process in the state.
One significant "ongoing seizure process of heavy consignment of drugs" is being led by a team of officers of ATS Gujarat which is carrying out an operation in Vadodara (Rural) and Vadodara City. The team has identified two mephedrone drug manufacturing units and unearthed about 143 kg of mephedrone (synthetic drug) worth about Rs 478 crore.

Ahead of the Make In Odisha Conclave, the Naveen Patnaik government has approved at least seven different policies to attract investment in the state and boost the economy. The decision regarding the State Cabinet approving seven policies and other decisions was announced by Revenue and Disaster management minister Pramila Mallick in the Assembly on Wednesday. The Cabinet at its 52nd meeting on Tuesday approved 17 proposals including seven policies. The policies which have been approved were: Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility Policy-2022, Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 2022, Odisha Logistics Policy 2022, Odisha Apparel and Technical Textiles Policy-2022, Export Promotion Policy 2022, Odisha Civil Aviation Policy 2022 and Odisha Tourism Policy 2022.

After his reunion with nephew Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) founder Shivpal Singh Yadav on Wednesday asked people to call the Samajwadi Party chief as "Chhote Netaji" as they used to call party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav as 'Netaji'. Addressing an election rally in Jaswant Nagar in Mainpuri parliamentary constituency, Shivpal Yadav said, "You (Akhilesh) said in Karhal that there is no leader like Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav). I want to say that people of Mainpuri and Saifai used to call him 'bade mantri' (senior minister) and I was called 'chhote mantri (junior minister). Now I want you all to call Akhilesh as 'Chhote Netaji'."

A nine-year-old child was allegedly sodomised by a 17-year-old boy known to him in Noida, police officials said Wednesday.  The accused, who has been booked under IPC 377 (unnatural sex), has been taken into custody and sent to a correction home, a police official said.  Provisions under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have also been invoked in the case, the official said.  "The victim and the accused belong to adjoining villages in the Ecotech 3 police station area of Central Noida. The incident took place on November 12 but the family lodged a complaint on Tuesday after which the police took the action," the official said.  The accused was Wednesday produced before the Child Welfare Committee and then sent to the correction home, according to the police. 

Table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal was on Wednesday bestowed with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour, by President Droupadi Murmu in a glittering National Sports Awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday. While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award. The creme de la creme of Indian sports were recognised for their achievements in the past few years at a specially organised ceremony. The event is traditionally held every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on August 29. But last year also, the event was held on another date.

The Union government on Wednesday gave its nod to the Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to grant extension of six months to the state's chief secretary Iqbal S Bains, official sources said. Bains, a 1985-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, was supposed to retire on Wednesday. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had written to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on November 9 about grant of extension to Bains, sources said. Bains will now remain chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh till May 31, 2023. The extension to Bains ended speculation in the bureaucratic circles about who would be the next chief secretary ahead of state elections. Assembly polls are due in Madhya Pradesh in November 2023. 

President Droupadi Murmu presents the Arjuna award to Boxer Nikhat Zareen at the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2022 ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain to approach the trial court to challenge the proceedings against him in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Delhi BJP leader Chhail Bihari Goswami. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma allowed the AAP leader to withdraw his plea challenging the orders by a magisterial court here and granted him liberty to approach the trial court by way  of a revision petition instead of approaching the high court.

A 17-year-old boy allegedly hanged himself at his home here. Police suspect that he was under academic stress. The boy's father, who works as a plumber in Ambala cantonment, told the police that the Class 12 student killed himself on Tuesday when he was alone at home. He said he had arranged tuition for his son a few months back so that he could get better marks in the examination, but it seemed that he was not willing to go there. The father said he assured his son that his tuition would be discontinued if he was not willing to attend it. Police suspect that the boy took this step due to study-related pressure. 

At least 16 killed, 24 wounded in north Afghanistan blast, reports AFP News Agency citing doctor. 

The High Court of Karnataka has upheld the recent ban imposed by the Central government on the Popular Front of India (PFI) for its involvement in anti-national activities. A single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna today (November 30) pronounced the judgment. The ban was challenged by Nasir Ali, a resident of Bengaluru and the state president of the proscribed outfit. The Central government had issued an order banning the organisation and its allied outfits for a period of five years with immediate effect on September 28. 

The rupee appreciated 34 paise to close at 81.38 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday as a weak greenback in the overseas market and a rally in domestic equities boosted investor sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.63 and touched an intra-day high of 81.38 and a low of 81.64 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled at 81.38, registering a rise of 34 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee declined 4 paise to close at 81.72 against the US dollar. The Indian rupee registered the first monthly gains in the past eleven-months following a rebound in the risk assets, lower crude oil prices and foreign fund inflows, said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities. "It is poised to end the month 1.6 per cent higher, its biggest gain since August 2021," Parmar said. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.29 per cent to 106.51.

Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces on the border of Balaghat and Mandla districts in Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday, police said. A senior police officer said the number of Naxalites killed in the operation could be more. "The encounter took place in the early hours of Wednesday between the Hawk Force and Naxalites on the border of Balaghat and Mandla districts during a search operation under the limits of Gadhi and Motinala police stations.

Special court in Mumbai denies bail to former minister Nawab Malik in money laundering case linked to activities of gangster Dawood Ibrahim

Security forces on Wednesday busted a terrorist hideout in Jammu and Kashmir's border district of Poonch and recovered a large cache of arms and explosives, a police official said. The recoveries made from the hideout included two AK assault rifles, six magazines, 69 rounds, one pistol with a magazine and five hand grenades, the official said. He said the hideout was unearthed during a joint search operation by police and Army at village Nabna in Surankote tehsil. However, no one was arrested during the operation, the official added. 

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday asked the Modi government what will it gain by "snatching away" the money from poor students, a day after it stopped scholarships for minority students of classes 1 to 8. On Tuesday, the government limited its pre-matric scholarship scheme meant for minority communities to students of classes 9 and 10, stating that the Right to Education Act covers compulsory education up to class 8 for all students. Earlier, the pre-matric scholarship used to cover education for grades 1 to 8 as well as for students belonging to minority communities. SC and ST students are covered from classes 9 and 10 only on a full-time basis under the pre-matric scholarship scheme.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has busted a terror hideout in Poonch. Arms and ammunition have been recovered during the raid. 

The CBI has summoned Telangana Minister Gangula Kamalakar and Rajya Sabha MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra in connection with a case related to a man who was allegedly taking money from people posing as a senior IPS officer, officials said Wednesday.

Hong Kong's security minister on Wednesday warned that the city's protests against China's anti-virus restrictions were a “rudiment of another colour revolution” and urged residents not to participate in activities that might hurt national security.

Three persons were arrested in connection with the murder of a 32-year-old man who had sought an RTI query against the local village head in Iglas police station limits here, an official said on Wednesday.

The UN special envoy for Syria warned Tuesday that the current military escalation in Syria is dangerous for civilians and regional stability, and he urged Turkey and Kurdish-led forces in the north to de-escalate immediately and restore the relative calm that has prevailed for the last three years.

Supreme Court to consider listing fresh plea of Bilkis Bano challenging remission of sentence and release of convicts in 2002 gang-rape case 

The opposition BJP in Rajasthan on Wednesday claimed the show of unity by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot is only a political break and people will again get to hear them make statements against each other. People of the state are suffering due to the infighting within the ruling Congress party, BJP MLA and spokesperson Ram Lal Sharma said in a video statement.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has downplayed AAP's challenge in Gujarat polls, claiming Arvind Kejriwal's party may not even open its account, and said the BJP state unit's announcement on setting up an anti-radicalisation cell is a good initiative that can be considered by other states and the Centre.

A 50-year-old woman and her daughter were found dead in a bloodied state in their house in Bhojpura village of Talgram area on Wednesday, police here said. Bloodsoaked bodies of Bhagwan Shri and her daughter Anita, 21, were spotted by neighbours in the morning, they said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up near a truck carrying police officers on their way to protect polio workers outside Quetta on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding more than 20 others, mostly policemen, officials said.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has raided a manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Vadodara city and seizes a huge cache of the banned MD drug worth around Rs 500 crore, an ATS official said on Wednesday.

China has warned US officials not to interfere in its relationship with India, according to a Pentagon report which underlines that Beijing seeks to prevent border tensions from causing New Delhi to partner more closely with Washington.

At least five people were injured when a truck in which they were travelling overturned near a bridge on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.

China is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said.

A woman who was extradited from South Korea this week after the bodies of her two children were found in abandoned suitcases made her first court appearance in New Zealand on Wednesday. The 42-year-old woman has been charged with two counts of murder. She was not required to enter a plea during the brief procedural hearing at the Manukau District Court.

Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation, raising concerns among public health experts that the change could have serious consequences if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat the still-spreading virus.

A Missouri inmate convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer whom he blamed for his younger brother's death was scheduled to be executed Tuesday, barring a last-minute intervention.

A woman who was extradited from South Korea this week after the bodies of her two children were found in abandoned suitcases made her first court appearance in New Zealand on Wednesday. The 42-year-old woman has been charged with two counts of murder. She was not required to enter a plea during the brief procedural hearing at the Manukau District Court.

Aftab Poonawala's narco test to take place on December 1