LIVE: Tributes paid to martyrs on 14th anniversary of 26/11 terror attacks

Live news updates: ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai's Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar were among those killed

11:28 PM

Restore democratic rights of people of J-K: NC to govt on Constitution Day

The BJP-led central government has disrespected the Constitution while dealing with Jammu and Kashmir, they alleged

10:43 PM

PM Deuba and Prachanda agree to form new govt in Nepal

Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda held a meeting here on Saturday and they agreed to continue their ruling five-party alliance as part of a new majority government in the country.

 

As the results of Nepal's parliamentary elections under direct voting come closer to an end, top political parties have intensified efforts for the formation of the new government to end the political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation for more than a decade.

10:22 PM

Civilians escape Kherson after Russian strikes on freed city

Fleeing shelling, hundreds of civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier.

 

The escape of hundreds from Kherson came as the country paid homage to the millions of Ukrainians who died in a Stalin-era famine and sought to ensure that Russia's war in Ukraine doesn't deprive others worldwide of its vital food exports.

10:03 PM

Trade unions threaten to boycott pre-budget meeting with FM Sitharaman

Ten major trade unions of the country in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have threatened to boycott their pre-budget meeting scheduled for November 28, protesting lack of proper time to put forward their demands.

 

In a letter to the finance minister signed by 10 Central Trade unions like AITU, CITU, HMS, LPF and AIUTUC among others, they have termed the time slot of three minutes allotted for each union to forth their budget demands as a "cheap joke".

9:50 PM

Bhagirath Palace market fire: Around 200 shops damaged, case registered

Around 200 shops were damaged in a massive fire at Bhagirath Palace in Chandni Chowk as fire-fighters toiled to douse the blaze for the third consecutive day on Saturday, officials said.

 

Fourteen fire tenders are at the spot trying to bring the blaze under control, they said.

9:40 PM

G20 events to be held across India including Manipur, says EAM S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the G20 presidency will be celebrated at various places across the country including in Manipur.

 

This is an opportunity for the government to familiarise India with the world, Jaishankar said while addressing a cultural event at the Manipur capital Imphal.

9:35 PM

AAP focussed more on expansion of liquor vends than education: Anurag Thakur

Top BJP leaders on Saturday slammed the AAP over the issues of corruption and pollution, with Union minister Anurag Thakur alleging that the Arvind Kejriwal government focused more on the expansion of liquor vends than education.

 

Campaigning for the upcoming civic body polls here, Thakur claimed that Delhi is suffering due to the Kejriwal government's "corruption and false claims of development".

9:12 PM

P T Usha throws her hat into IOA ring, to fight for president's post

In a surprise development, the legendary P T Usha on Saturday announced that she will contest for the post of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president when the sports body holds its election on December 10.

 

Usha, a multiple gold medallists in the Asian Games and fourth place finisher in the 1984 Olympics 400m hurdles final, made the announcement through a tweet.

9:02 PM

Mumbai records 15 new Covid-19 infections, 0 death; active case tally at 94

Mumbai on Saturday reported 15 COVID-19 cases, which took the metropolis' tally to 11,54,873, while the death toll stood unchanged at 19,743, a civic official said.

 

The addition to the tally was a dip from the 18 cases reported a day earlier, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official added. The recovery count increased by eight in the last 24 hours to touch 11,35,036, which left the city with an active caseload of 94, he said

8:47 PM

BJP will never implement Uniform Civil Code in Gujarat, alleges AAP

The BJP will never implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Gujarat, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Saturday, dubbing the saffron party's poll promise as "fake".

 

The reaction of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party came after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto for the Gujarat Assembly polls, promising the implementation of a UCC in the state if it retains power.

8:30 PM

Kejriwal well-wisher of terrorism, Congress opposed Somnath temple reconstruction: Adityanath

Speaking at an election rally in Somnath town in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat for BJP candidates, he also accused main opposition Congress of not respecting other people's religions because of its "Muslim vote bank". "A 'Namoona' (buffoon) from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who is visiting Gujarat now a days is a true well-wisher of terrorism

 

He had also opposed the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. He had sought proof from our brave soldiers when the Indian Army carried out a surgical strike in Pakistan," said Adityanath, who is among the Bharatiya Janata Party's star campaigners. "When the Pakistan government itself was admitting that the strike had broken their back, AAP kept on asking for evidence

8:17 PM

TN's ruling DMK accuses Governor Ravi of having political agenda

The ruling DMK on Saturday alleged that Governor R N Ravi was sent to Tamil Nadu by the Centre with "some agenda," and accused him of "doing politics" over the recent Coimbatore blast.

 

When the Tamil Nadu government recommended probe by the National Investigation Agency into the Coimbatore matter within two days, Ravi claimed "delay" (in handing over the case to NIA) and chances of destruction of evidence due to it," the governing party's Tamil mouthpiece "Murasoli" said in an opinion piece.

7:56 PM

Work to combat climate change and enhance millet production: FM Sitharaman urges startups

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday appealed to startups to touch upon less glamorous areas including climate change, millet production and improving the condition of farmers.

 

Addressing a national level summit to promote startups, Sitharaman emphasised more on climate change and asked the startups to find a solution to combat it as that will have a bearing on the agriculture pattern in the country.

 

7:53 PM

1 dead, 50 injured in bus-truck collision in Haryana

A truck driver died and 50 passengers, including children, were injured when a roadways bus collided head-on with the heavy goods vehicle near a hotel on the Jind-Rohtak national highway here, police said on Saturday.

 

The injured were taken to a primary health centre in Julana, where the doctors referred 20 critically injured passengers to PGIMS, Rohtak for better treatment.

7:39 PM

Taiwan leader Tsai quits as ruling party chief after local elections loss

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday after it suffered major defeats in key mid-term polls, a significant blow to her prospects for re-election in 2020

7:18 PM

Landslide hits Italian island of Ischia, confusion over death toll

A landslide engulfed buildings during heavy rain on the southern Italian holiday island of Ischia on Saturday, and there was confusion among government ministers over the death toll.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that no deaths had been confirmed. However Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said earlier during an event in Milan that eight people had been killed.

7:06 PM

Protests broke out in China's Xinjiang region opposing prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns

Crowds took to the streets on Friday night in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi, chanting "End the lockdown!" and pumping their fists in the air, after a deadly fire on Thursday triggered anger over their prolonged COVID-19 lockdown according to videos circulated on Chinese social media on Friday night

6:53 PM

Maha sees 98 Covid-19 cases, one death, 124 recoveries; active tally now 504

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 98 COVID-19 cases and one death, which took the state's tally to 81,35,620 and the toll to 1,48,406, a health official said.

 

The state had seen 72 cases and one death on Friday, so the addition to the tally was a sizable rise, he pointed out. Mumbai and Pune circles led with 32 new cases each, followed by 19 in Akola, five in Nagpur, three each in Kolhapur and Aurangabad, and two each in Nashik and Latur circles, he said.

6:37 PM

Working to ensure social justice, says Andhra Pradesh CM

Drawing inspiration from the Constitution, the Andhra Pradesh government has been working to ensure social justice by implementing various welfare schemes in a most transparent manner, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Saturday.

 

Reddy, along with Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, participated in the Constitution Day celebrations held here.

 

6:19 PM

Congress never condemned terror attacks due to vote bank politics: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said terror attacks were rampant when Congress was in power and terrorists from Pakistan used to kill Indian soldiers but the then ruling party never condemned them due to "vote bank" politics.

 

Paying tributes to the victims of the November 26, 2008 (26/11) Mumbai terror attack, Shah said it is impossible to carry out such an attack under the watch of the Narendra Modi government.

 

6:17 PM

Govt expects good crop production in rabi season; sowing area up: Tomar

The government expects "good" production of agriculture crops in the ongoing rabi (winter-sown) season on the back of higher sowing area and favourable soil moisture condition, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Saturday.

 

Tomar held a meeting with senior officials of the ministry to take stock of the rabi crops position, according to an official statement.

5:51 PM

48th GST Council meeting to be virtually chaired by FM Sitharaman on Dec 17

The meeting would discuss two reports of a panel of state finance ministers on levy of GST on casinos, online gaming and horse racing and the other on setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal.

 

Besides, a report of the officers' panel on decriminalisation of certain provisions of the GST law too is likely to be taken up for discussion.

5:36 PM

BJP, RSS have no faith in Constitution, celebration of Constitution Day is only gimmick: Ramesh

The Sangh Parivar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ignored or misused the Constitution but are now indulging in the "gimmick" of celebrating Constitution Day, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said here on Saturday.

 

Since 2015, November 26 is observed as Constitution Day to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. Earlier, the day was observed as Law Day.

5:14 PM

Adani arm seeks licence to expand power distribution in Mumbai including JNPT

An Adani Group company has sought licence for expanding its power distribution business into more areas of Mumbai, including the country's largest container port JNPT.

 

In an advertisement published in several newspapers in the city on Saturday, Adani Electricity Navi Mumbai (AENM) said it has approached the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) for a distribution licence in some pockets of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region along with its listed parent Adani Transmission.

4:59 PM

Certain happenings in Kerala but we should learn to ignore them: Governor Arif Khan

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Saturday said there are "some happenings" in the southern state but they should be ignored, an oblique reference to the tussle between him and the Left government.

 

Khan was addressing a function organised by his Goa counterpart P S Sridharan Pillai at Raj Bhavan at Dona Paula to commemorate the completion of the Goa Gram Sampurn Yatra.

4:34 PM

Nobody will stay in power forever: Owaisi slams Shah over riots remark

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his "BJP taught perpetrators of violence a lesson in 2002" remark, saying nobody stays in power forever.

 

Owaisi also accused Shah of being intoxicated with power. Addressing an election rally in Gujarat on Friday, Shah had said that anti-social elements stopped indulging in violence after they were "taught a lesson" in 2002 and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) established "permanent peace" in the state. Parts of Gujarat had witnessed large-scale violence in 2002 following the train burning incident at Godhra railway station in February that year.

4:33 PM

BR Ambedkar urged us to march on the road to unity, says Rahul on Constitution Day

Stressing the importance of the Constitution and the Father of the Indian Constitution, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said on the occasion of Constitution Day that Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar urged us to march on the road to unity.

 

He took to Twitter and posted a video of the Indian Constitution being signed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatama Gandhi and others on November 26, 1949. The video also showed the fundamental rights granted to every citizen in the country.

4:32 PM

Ukraine works to restore water, power after Russian strikes

Ukrainian authorities endeavoured on Saturday to restore electricity and water services after recent pummelling by Russian military strikes that vastly damaged infrastructure, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying millions have seen their power restored since blackouts swept the war-battered country days earlier.

 

Skirmishes continued in the east and residents from the southern city of Kherson headed north and west to flee after punishing, deadly bombardments by Russian forces in recent days.

4:19 PM

Odisha CM urges Sitharaman to withdraw 18% GST on Kendu leaf

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Centre to withdraw GST being imposed on kendu leaf trade in the interest of livelihoods of about eight lakh poor people.

 

Patnaik dashed a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, barely three days after announcing a special package for the welfare of kendu leaf pluckers.

3:59 PM

SBI reports highest profit, broking houses lauding us: Dinesh Khara

Chairman of the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) Dinesh Khara on Saturday asserted that analysts and broking houses are praising the financial performance of the bank which reported its highest profits recently.

 

For the first time, SBI registered the highest-ever profits recorded by any corporate house, Khara said.