Breaking News: Terrorists open fire on police bus in Srinagar; 2 killed, 12 injured

After a group of terrorists opened fire on a police vehicle in the Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar, killing two and injuring 12 others,  National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah put the blame on the Government of India. Speaking to the media, Farooq said that until the hearts of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are won, such incidents will continue to take place.

J&K leaders condemn terror attack on police in Srinagar

Also, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti reacted to the terror attack, saying that she was 'terribly saddened'. She wrote on Twitter," GOI's false narrative of normalcy in Kashmir stands exposed yet there has been no course correction." 

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah dubbed the terror attack as 'terrible news'. Taking to his Twitter handle, Omar condemned the attack and sent heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and prayers for those injured. 

After Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Banaras by saying that 'people usually visit the Uttar Pradesh city on final days', he was heavily slammed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Speaking to the media, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi condemned Akhilesh Yadav's statement and added that talking about the death of PM Modi was uncalled for. Akhilesh should apologise," Pralhad Joshi said. 

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal also condemned the statement of Akhilesh Yadav. Comparing the Samajwadi Party chief's mentality with that of his party workers that fired upon kar sevaks during Babri discourse, he said,

India's largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday, December 13, requested its employees to reconsider their decision of joining a strike and refrain from the same in the interest of “customers, investors, and the bank". This comes after the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) proposed to strike on December 16 and 17. 

In a statement, SBI said, “We request our staff members to reconsider their decision and refrain from participating in the proposed strike on 16th and 17th December 2021 in the interest of our customers, investors, and the bank".

Among the injured police personnel in Srinagar terrorist attack, one ASI & a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries, informs Kashmir Zone Police. 

Terrorists open fire on a police bus in Zewan area on outskirts of Srinagar city on Monday, injuring 14 policemen. 

China’s Health Commission officials have detected the first case of the Omicron B.1.1.529 variant of concern case in the port city of Tianjin, state-affiliated media CGTN reported on December 13, Monday. The said patient is a Chinese national who recently returned from overseas travel into the country on December 9. The patient is currently under isolation and is being inspected while the officials have launched contact tracing, according to the newspaper. 

Taking to its official Twitter handle, the Chinese state-affiliated media CGTN informed that the first Omicron case was detected in the country in an overseas traveller who returned to North China's Tianjin. "Chinese mainland on Monday detected its first Omicron variant of COVID-19 in a person who came from overseas in N. China's Tianjin," CGTN tweeted.

The founder of SpaceX and Tesla Elon Musk has been named the ‘Person of The Year 2021’ by Time Magazine on Monday. The billionaire took over the title from US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who received the title last year. In the official announcement, Time has noted that the richest man in the world does not own a house and recently, he has been selling off his fortune. 

In a big push ahead of the Goa Assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed party workers in Panjim on Monday dubbing TMC - the acronym for her party, Trinamool Congress - as 'Temple-Mosque-Church'. Countering the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) "religion-based politics", the TMC supremo asserted that her party worked for the development of people across communities, be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian. 

"TMC is 'Temple-Mosque-Church'. We fight the BJP. Is there a chance of winning? Do you have the confidence that we can win? If you are confident, then don't take a step back. March ahead," she said. 

In a major crackdown, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad on Monday exposed a syndicate that was involved in illegally bringing Mynamar and Bangladesh nationals to India and getting them Indian citizenship, by getting made fake Aadhar cards,  PAN cards, passports and other identity cards. Using Indian citizenship, the Mynamar and Bangladesh nationals were sent to foreign as Indians, as per the official statement. 

9 arrested so far 

"With the support of other agencies, on December 11 we got the information that 8 Bangladeshi nationals- Rinku Vishwas, Ajit Das, Rajesh Vishwas, Palash Vishwas, Vijay Das, Gotnak Mandal, Manik Dutta and Govinda Das- were being made to travel by Sealdah-Delhi Rajdhani Express. They were going to Delhi from Kolkata via Kanpur. From Delhi, they were to travel to Dubai," the official statement read. 

It added, "On getting this information, a team of UP ATS left for Deen Dyal Upadhyay Railway Station from where they boarded the train to identify the Bangladeshi nationals while another team comprising members of the Kanpur field unit as well as that of the main unit left for Kanpur station, where they waited. As soon as the train reached platform 3 of the station, the 8 identified Bangladeshi nationals were made aware of the matter and asked to get down from the train. From the station, they were taken in government vehicles to ATS headquarter in Lucknow."

As per the official statement, on interrogation, it was found that the syndicate took 1 lakh rupee in Indian currency to provide Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi, and other nationals, and then send them abroad as Indian citizens. 

Further, the mastermind of the syndicate- Mujifur Rehman was arrested from Kolkata by the field team of ATS on December 12. "Preparations are being made to take him to Lucknow on Transit Remand," the official statement read.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday provisionally attached assets of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad in a money laundering case. According to a statement by the financial watchdog, Atiq Ahmad and his wife's property and balances in bank accounts to the tune of Rs. 8.14 crore have been attached under PMLA, 2002, in relation to the case. 

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Actors Kareena Kapoor Khan and Amrita Arora have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus. The report comes a few days after Kareena and Amrita who happens to be the best of friends, enjoyed a night out together. 

The Kerala High Court on Monday questioned the objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photograph being affixed to the COVID vaccine certificates. While hearing a petition filed by a Right to Information (RTI) activist against PM's photo in the COVID vaccine certificate, the bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan underlined that Narendra Modi was the Prime Minister of India and that he came to power because of 'people's mandate and not through any shortcuts'. 

Twitter has been abuzz with the news about the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor in Varanasi. The hashtag #KashiVishwanathDham became the top 3rd trend worldwide on the social media platform as PM Modi unveiled the historic temple corridor on Monday. In India, #KashiVishwanathDham remains the top trend on Twitter. 

The Kashi Vishwanath temple premises which was only around 3000 square feet, has now become about 5 lakh square feet. Now, 50,000 to 75,000 devotees can come visit the temple and its premises: PM Modi said at Varanasi

PM Modi showered flowers to appreciate the works of labourers who contributed to the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. PM also clicked photos with the workers gathered at temple complex ahead f the inauguration

In Varanasi, PM Modi offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Dham ahead of the inauguration of the historic temple complex.

PM Modi offered prayers at the Kaal Bhairav ​​Temple in Varanasi, ahead of the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.

Harnaaz Sandhu who represented India in the Miss Universe 2021 beauty pageant has won the competition. The esteemed crown is coming back to India after 21 years, with Lara Dutta winning the title back in 2000.

• 9.20 AM- Departure from Delhi Airport
• 10.10 AM to 10.40 AM- Arrival/Welcome of PM at Varanasi Airport
• From 10.45 to 11.15 AM - Time Reserved
• 11.40 AM - Arrival, Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya Helipad
• From 12.00 to 12.10 PM - Darshan Poojan, Kal Bhairav ​​Temple
• From 1.00 to 1.20 PM - Darshan Poojan, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple
• From 1.25 PM to 2.25 PM- Inauguration program of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham
• 2.30 PM to 3.50 PM- Inspection/rehearsal of various buildings on the way - by car
• 3.50 PM - Departure from Ravidas Park to BMW Guest House - By Car
• 4 PM to 5.30 PM - Time Reserved - BMW Guest House
• 6.00 PM to 8.45 PM - Reserved, (Ganga aarti and meeting) - Ravidas Park Jetty
• 9.10 PM - Arrival, BMW Guest House, Varanasi

At least four people lost their lives after several buildings collapsed in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa following a gas explosion late on Saturday, Italy’s Civil Protection said. Two people were found alive under the rubble of the collapsed buildings, the Sicilian arm of the body that deals with disasters and catastrophes on its Twitter account on Sunday.

In a major boost for Akhilesh Yadav's election prospects, BJP MLA Digvijay Narayan and BSP MLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari joined Samajwadi Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls. While Narayan lost from Khalilabad in the 2012 polls against a Peace Party candidate, he tasted success in 2017. On the other hand, Chillupar legislator Vinay Shankar Tiwari was expelled from BSP on Monday for indulging in indiscipline and misbehaving with senior office-bearers of the party. An influential leader in the Gorakhpur region, he had unsuccessfully contested against UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday arrived in Goa for a two-day visit to the state, where Assembly elections are due early next year. This is her second visit to the coastal state in less than two months.

"On Monday afternoon, Banerjee would meet the editors of prominent media houses in Goa near Panaji, followed by a meeting with the state-level TMC leaders," a senior party functionary said.

In the evening, the TMC supremo would travel to Benaulim village in South Goa, where she will address a public meeting, he said. On December 14, Banerjee is scheduled to address a public meeting in Panaji, followed by another meeting at Assnora village in North Goa, the party office-bearer said.

The city of Varanasi is decked up to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is all set to inaugurate the historic Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor on December 13. The Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will be flagged off by PM Modi at a special program in Kashi which will be followed by other functions to celebrate the momentous occasion.