Los Angeles Faces Apocalyptic Scenes from Wildfires

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor who made the 28-feet statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malvan that collapsed in August last year.A single bench of Justice N R Borkar granted Apte bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini Friday said the state government will introduce a bill in the state assembly aimed at strictly curbing illegal immigration. The proposed legislation will be presented in the upcoming budget session, he said. According to an official statement, Saini also said the government has set a target to make 70 per cent of the villages in the state drug-free by the end of 2025.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday made a strong pitch for the use of artificial intelligence and social media in the working of parliaments.Birla made these remarks while chairing the standing committee meeting of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments of Commonwealth Countries (CSPOC) in Guernsey.

BJP in Telangana on Friday announced candidates for the upcoming poll to the three vacancies in Legislative Council.

The Kerala High Court on Friday said the Centre has agreed to the freeing up of Rs 120 crore for immediate use by the Kerala state government in connection with the rehabilitation proceedings ongoing at Wayanad, where a massive landslide occurred on July 30 last year.

The India-US relationship as it stands today is a significant development of the Biden Administration, the outgoing National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Friday, acknowledging there were bumps on the road like the alleged assassination plot of an American citizen by an Indian government official.

The Meghalaya government on Friday raised the minimum wages of skilled and unskilled workers.The decision was taken at a special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, in Sohra.The wages of highly-skilled workers were raised from Rs 586 to Rs 645 per day, skilled workers will now get Rs 605 instead of Rs 530, the wages of semi-skilled workers were revised to Rs 565 from Rs 474, while unskilled workers will get Rs 525 instead of Rs 419 per day.

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the city government to file a comprehensive report concerning the steps taken by the authorities against use of child labour as well as rescue and rehabilitation of such children. 

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela sought district-wise information on these issues in the report which has to be affirmed by the Delhi chief secretary.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust board on Friday expressed condolences over the recent stampede here and decided to offer free education for the deceased victims' children at its institutions.It also decided to offer a 'contract' job to the kin of the six deceased devotees as decided by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has set up a fact-finding committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged killing of a female BPO employee, who was hacked to death by her colleague in the company's parking lot over money.

 The committee will comprised NCW Member Secretary Meenakshi Negi, former Haryana DGP Dr B K Sinha, and former Kerala DGP R Sreelekha.

Following L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan’s remarks that he wished employees to work Sundays, CPIML (Liberation) MP Raja Ram Singh on Friday wrote to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya asking him to penalise any violation of laws on working hours in offices. In a letter to the labour minister, Singh also quoted a statement by Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy advocating a 70-hour workweek, and others like Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola and Sajjan Jindal of Jindal Steel Works publicly supporting such a proposal.

The rupee declined 18 paise to breach the 86-mark against the US dollar for the first time on Friday as it failed to resist pressure from a stronger American currency and huge outflow of foreign funds. The local unit settled at 86.04 against the US currency. Surging crude oil prices overseas and negative sentiment in domestic equity markets also weighed down on the Indian currency, forex traders said.

The BJP's Central Election Committee, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met here on Friday to finalise the second list of party candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls.The BJP's first list of 29 candidates for the polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly came out on January 4. It has fielded former MP Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi seat against ex-chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday said the government is working tirelessly to arrest those involved in violent acts and making arrangements to ensure the safe return of relief camp inmates to their homes in areas where the law-and-order situation has improved.

On cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin's "Hindi not our national language" statement, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said, "Correct. It is not our national language, which Annamalai is also telling you. Not only my dear friend Ashwin has to say that...It is not the national language. It was a link language; it is a language of convenience."

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal never raised the Jat reservation issue in 10 years of being in power in Delhi but is “doing politics” over it ahead of elections, BJP’s Jat leaders said on Friday, and called it an “election gimmick”. 

“Merely writing a letter to the prime minister doesn’t grant reservation,” BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat said responding to Kejriwal’s recent allegations that the saffron party had failed to include the Jat community in the Centre's OBC list despite promising to do so.

The ruling TMC on Friday suspended its former Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen and ex-MLA Arabul Islam for alleged "anti-party activities", the party's vice-president Jayprakash Majumdar said.The action comes as the party continues to grapple with internal discord.Sen, a doctor by profession and seen as a loyalist of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, had criticised the police for its investigation into the rape and murder of the medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

A Delhi court on Friday directed the CBI to give a three-day prior written notice to Congress MP Karti Chidambaram in a fresh corruption case alleging he gave relief to a liquor company over the duty-free sale of its whisky. Special judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order while directing Chidambaram to join the investigation and cooperate in the process as and when required by the agency.

AAP on Friday alleged that the BJP is buying votes ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, claiming that the saffron party's Delhi leaders have embezzled funds meant for "buying votes with money". Addressing a press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the BJP has allocated Rs 10,000 per voter to its leaders for buying votes but only a fraction of the money reached the intended recipients.

The working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Friday accepted the resignation of Sukhbir Singh Badal as party chief, party leaders said. The move came over a month after Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh asked the SAD to implement the December 2 edict at the earliest, while referring to the direction of accepting the resignation of Badal.

Gold prices rose Rs 250 to Rs 80,550 per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday as rupee hit record low amid consistent buying from retailers and stockists, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal ended the previous session at Rs 80,300 per 10 grams.

Pune court has granted bail to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in defamation case. 

On California Wildfires, President Biden said, “I immediately approved Governor Newsom’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration, allowing folks impacted by the Southern California wildfires to get cash assistance to cover things like groceries and medicine”.
 

Fleeing a military offensive, at least 28 people including 16 children from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh have taken refuge in Mizoram, an official of Lawngtlai district said on Friday.

Those people, comprising five families from Kersetlang and Pankhiang villages in Bandarban district, one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh, walked into Hruitezawl village in Lawngtlai district on January 7 after crossing a jungle near the Mizoram border, he said.

From Hruitezawl, the Bangladesh nationals, who belonged to the Bawm clan of ethnic Mizos, were taken by the Assam Rifles to a camp in nearby Tuithumhnar village where they were being provided with food and shelter by the paramilitary force, he said.

 BJD chief Naveen Patnaik on Friday urged Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai to ensure the immediate release of Vishal Das, son of former Odisha minister Naba Das, and several panchayat raj representatives who were allegedly detained by police in the neighbouring state.

In a letter to the Chhattisgarh CM, Patnaik described the incident as "disturbing." On the other hand, BJP leader Saroj Padhy dismissed the allegations of detention and questioned why Vishal Das and others were in Chhattisgarh late at night.

"I would request you to look into this and ensure their immediate release and safety while they travel back to the Odisha border. Many of those detained are women panchayati raj institution members," he added.

 President Droupadi Murmu on Friday conferred the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award to 27 people at the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention, which concluded here.

Murmu congratulated all the awardees and appreciated them for working for the society in different fields.

She especially thanked Trinidad & Tobago President Christine Carla Kangaloo, one of the recipients of the award.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. The awardees represent the excellence achieved by the Indian diaspora in various fields.

The regional political parties declared donations worth over Rs 200 crore for the financial year 2022-23 with JMM, JJP, TDP and TMC reporting the highest increase in their income from donations, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The report highlighted the dominance of a few parties in the total donations received, significant delays in submissions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and gaps in disclosure of donor details.

Out of 57 regional parties analyzed, only 18 submitted their donation reports to the ECI within the stipulated time.

A total of 2,119 donations, declared by 28 regional parties, amounting to Rs 216.765 crore were analysed.

 Alleging false case against himself, a man on Friday attempted immolation along with his family members in front of the Vidhan Bhavan in the state capital, police said.

Raj Kamal Rawat and his family members, belonging to Kanta village in Nigohan of Lucknow district, were saved due to the "alertness" of the police, officials said.

The 'sardar' of workers of the coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district, where eight miners remained trapped, was arrested, even as a dewatering exercise continued in the quarry to facilitate the resumption of rescue operations, police said on Friday.

The fate of the trapped miners appeared to be grim with personnel involved in the rescue operations racing against time to bring them out of the ill-fated quarry, while the body of one labourer, hailing from Nepal, has been recovered from there, an official said.

"The 'sardar' (head) of the miners, who had fled the quarry site soon after the incident on January 6, was arrested on Thursday night from a place after an extensive search operation. This is the second arrest in connection with the case," said a senior officer who did not divulge the place of arrest.

Three people were injured on Friday morning when around seven vehicles collided on the Delhi highway due to dense fog, police said.

According to police, a car en route to Delhi from Moradabad rammed into another car ahead of it in Babugarh area of Hapur, because of which the car driver Imran and his wife Heena were injured.

The hearing in the defamation case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, scheduled for Friday at an MP-MLA court here, was postponed due to a strike by lawyers.

Advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey, representing complainant Vijay Mishra, stated that the special court's magistrate Shubham Verma has now scheduled the hearing for January 22 to complete cross-examination.

The case dates back to 2018 when Mishra, a local BJP politician, filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi. Mishra alleged that Gandhi made objectionable remarks during the Karnataka assembly elections that deeply hurt him.

After a prolonged five-year legal process, Gandhi failed to appear in court, leading the presiding judge in December 2023 to issue a warrant for his appearance. Gandhi surrendered before the court in February 2024.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday has issued gazette notification for the assembly elections in the national capital, following recommendations from the Election Commission of India.

According to the official notification dated January 10, the election schedule has been announced in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

"As recommended by the Election Commission of India, the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi is hereby pleased to call upon all the Assembly Constituencies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, to elect members to the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi," the notification said.

The Union Government has released tax devolution of Rs 1,73,030 crore to State Governments today, as against the devolution of Rs 89,086 crore in December 2024. 

A joint rescue operation of the Indian Army, Assam Rifles, NDRF, SDRF teams and other agencies continued on Friday to rescue 8 people who have been trapped in a coal mine at 3 Kilo, Umrangso area here since January 6.

Coal India has brought in a pump of 500 GPM (gallons per minute) to dewater the mine. The installation of this pump is now underway.  

BJP members carrying out 'Purvanchal Samman March' reach AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal's residence at Feroze Shah Road in Delhi

The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena has officially called for elections to elect members for the new Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, as per a notification issued by the Chief Electoral Officer. This move follows the recommendation by the Election Commission of India.  

The United Nations has warned that global growth is expected to remain subdued in 2025 due to ongoing uncertainty, as outlined in its World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2025 report released on Thursday. 

A rescue operation is underway at the spot where the Silo structure of a smelting plant in Sargaon, Mungeli, collapsed on Thursday. 

According to officials, one injured labourer is undergoing treatment at a hospital. 

More than 100 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport on Friday morning as low visibility conditions due to dense fog impacted operations.

Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with Police and Tripura Forest Service, have destroyed large areas of ganja plantation spread over 16.2 hectares in the general area in Boxanagar Forest Range under Sonamura sub-division here. 

Union minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw visits Integral Coach Factory (ICF) to inspect Vande Bharat rakes, Amrit Bharat train coaches and Vistadome dining car in Chennai 
 
 

The Delhi Airport issued an advisory amid dense fog  for the passengers stating that there has been impact on flight departures. It further advised the passengers to contact their respective airlines for updated flight information.
 

A meeting of the Environment Committee of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was held on Thursday at the Rishiparna Auditorium, Collectorate, in Dehradun, chaired by District Magistrate Savin Basnal.  

The 'Paramapadha Vaasal' in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, was opened with grandeur on the occasion of the Vaikuntha Ekadashi Festival. Lord Namperumal was taken in a procession to mark the auspicious event. 
 

The Surajkund Crafts Mela will take place from February 7 to 23.  

Visibility reduced to zero as a blanket of dense fog witnessed in parts of Delhi-NCR.