Republic top 10 headlines: Shivakumar 'cut money' tape; Shatner's trip to space & more

President Kovind to celebrate Dussehra with Jawans in Ladakh amid China's LAC belligerence

Amid heightened tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, President Ram Nath Kovind announced a visit to the Union Territory to celebrate Dussehra with troops. On October 14, the President will perform Sindhu Darshan puja at Sindhu Ghat, Leh and pay tributes at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass. Notably, the constitutional head of the Executive, during his 2-day-visit, is set to interact with the Indian Armed Forces at Udhampur and meet with officers and jawans at the memorial too. 

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Arunachal Pradesh 'integral & inalienable part of India': MEA shuts China down

Responding to the provocative statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on October 13, the spokesperson for External Affairs Ministry, Arindam Bagchi, dismissed any ambiguity in relation to Arunachal Pradesh's status in the country.

In addition, the MEA urged Beijing to 'work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh' rather than 'trying to link unrelated issues'. The reply holds relevance as the Xi Jinping-led administration were said to have 'firmly opposed' Vice President Vekaiah Naidu's visit to Arunachal Pradesh on October 9. 

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No Coal Crisis in India: FM Nirmala Sitharaman dismisses 'baseless' speculations

Redressing speculations over the alleged coal crisis in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted there existed no such dearth and termed the misinformation as 'absolutely baseless'. In addition, she deemed the country as power surplus and dismissed rumours in relation to shortages of inventories which disrupt the supply-demand situation in energy consumption or leading to power crisis. 

"Absolute baseless! There is no shortage of anything," the Finance Minister said.

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NIA says arrest of 2005 Delhi blasts mastermind Tariq Ahmed came after raiding 16 places

The National Investigation Agency has arrested Tariq Ahmad Dar, the mastermind of 2005 Delhi serial blasts in which over 60 people were killed and around 200 were injured. The arrest was made on Wednesday made during raids that relate to J&K Terrorism Conspiracy Case (RC-29/2021/NIA/DLI) registered at NIA Delhi Police Station.

Sources have confirmed to Republic that Tariq Ahmed Dar has been arrested during the ongoing crackdown on terror groups in Kashmir valley.

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Nirmala Sitharaman takes hard questions at Harvard; tackles Amartya Sen & 'Intolerance'

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday took swipe at Nobel Laureate and economist Amartya Sen for his views on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India. She said that it is worrying that views of scholars can be 'influenced' by their personal likes and dislikes rather than on basis of facts.

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Shivakumar 'cut money' tape: Karnataka Congress suspends media coordinator; pulls up ex-MP

In a major embarrassment to Karnataka Congress, the party’s former MP and media coordinator were caught on camera raising serious corruption allegations against KPCC president DK Shivakumar. Following the controversy, Congress has suspended media coordinator Saleem and issued a show-cause notice to former MP VS Ugrappa on the matter.

In the sensational video accessed by Republic TV, the duo was captured having a private conversation on the dais where the microphones were placed and cameras were on. 

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Punjab CM terms Centre decision to extend BSF powers along border states 'irrational'

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday criticised the Centre for giving more power to Border Security Force (BSF). In a tweet, Channi called it a 'direct attack on federalism' and urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to roll back 'irrational' decision.

"I strongly condemn the GoI's unilateral decision to give additional powers to BSF within 50 KM belt running along the international borders, which is a direct attack on the federalism. I urge the Union Home Minister @AmitShah to immediately roll back this irrational decision," Punjab CM said.

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Aryan Khan tells Court 'grave charges loosely levelled'; bail hearing adjourned to Oct 14

In a key development in Mumbai's cruise drug bust case, the Sessions Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the bail plea of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan to October 13, Thursday. Along with Aryan Khan's plea, the bail pleas of two other accused in the case - Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha - has also been adjourned till tomorrow, October 14. While Aryan and Arbaaz are presently lodged in the Arthur Road Jail, Munmun is lodged in the Byculla Jail.  

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As 'Captain Kirk' Willian Shatner travels to space, netizens say 'Fiction meets reality'

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin marked their second successful crewed spaceflight with all four astronauts landing safely after 11 minutes of flight time. While this is a major leap for the aerospace firm, they also made history as one of the astronauts on the flight, actor William Shatner became the oldest person to go to space at the age of 90. As if his stellar performance in the space adventure drama Star Trek wasn't enough, fans have got another reason to believe that he is 'Captain Kirk' in real life as well. 

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Team India 'Billion Cheers' Jersey Anthem launched by MPL ahead of T20 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and MPL Sports, the official kit sponsors for the Indian Cricket Team earlier today, October 13, unveiled the new kit ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021. The new jersey has a navy blue shade, with zigzag patterns in between which is in a lighter shade of blue, with 'INDIA' as well as the players' name and number on the back mentioned in orange. The jersey has orange on the collars as well. 

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Image: Republic World