Latest News: Puducherry floor test; Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi on fuel price hike

CM Narayanasamy faces a challenging task

Amid a political crisis in Puducherry, a floor test in the Assembly of the Union Territory will take place on Monday as per directions of Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. Ahead of the floor test, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy held a meeting with Congress and DMK MLAs to discuss further strategy on Sunday, and upon arriving at the assembly on Monday morning he said that he would reveal his strategy on the floor of the house.

Puducherry Floor Test: Get live updates here

No Ganga Aarti Without Permission

In a bid to check encroachments on the riverfront, Varanasi district administration on Sunday prohibited social organisations or even individuals from performing 'Ganga Aarti' at ghats without prior permission. Those willing to performing 'Ganga Aarti' at various ghats will now have to get registered with the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC). 

District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma has asked the municipal authorities to prepare records of the Ganga aarti and complete the registration process by the end of March. After that, no activities would be allowed on the ghats without the registration and prior permission of the VMC.

Read: VMC To Monitor Ghats As 1038 New Platforms Commissioned

Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi on fuel price hike

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to roll back the rising prices of petrol, diesel, and gas. She alleged that the Centre is making a profit by making people suffer in distressing times. The interim Congress president said, "On one hand, India is witnessing systematic erosion of jobs, wages, and household income. The middle class and those at the margins of our society are struggling. These challenges have been compounded by run-away inflation and an unprecedented rise in the price of almost all household items and essential commodities. Sadly, in these distressing times, the Government has chosen to profiteer off people's misery and suffering."

Read: Sonia Gandhi Writes To PM Modi On Fuel Price Hike, Calls It 'a Brazen Act Of Profiteering'

China urges US to lift trade sanctions

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the U.S. Monday to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Wang’s comments at a Foreign Ministry forum on U.S.-China relations come as Beijing is pressing the administration of President Joe Biden to drop many of the confrontational measures adopted by his predecessor Donald Trump.

Read: China Urges US To Lift Trade Restrictions, Stop Interference

Ireland challenges Brexit border plan

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)  of Northern Ireland, of pro-British identity, are seeking legal action against the post-Brexit border plan, leader Arlene Foster said on Sunday. The party aims to challenge the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol, as the EU-UK struggles to find a trade balance with respect to the shipment of British goods to Northern Ireland. Cargoes transporting UK shipment to Northern Ireland have been imposed with severe checks as North shares a border with EU member-state Ireland, and UK abandoned the EU's economic structures on Dec. 31 after Brexit. In an official statement released Sunday, DUP Leader Arlene Foster, Deputy Leader and Peer Nigel Dodds, Westminster Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Westminster Chief Whip Sammy Wilson said that they were joining the unionists from across the UK to challenge the Northern Ireland Protocol’s compatibility with Act of Union 1800, the Northern Ireland Act of 1998 and the Belfast Agreement.

Read: Ireland Challenges Brexit Border Plan, Mulls Legal Recourse Amid Straining EU-UK Relations