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2:16 AM

Why is Karachi a political orphan? Look at the public transport system

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road has always had its share of traffic, but lately the main thoroughfare that connects central Karachi to its major port is in a state of near constant gridlock.
 

An elevated street eats up two of the road’s three lanes, but it’s empty — part of an incomplete project to create express lanes for public buses that was supposed to finish three years ago. It’s one of many towering structures scattered throughout the Pakistani city that were part of the latest plans to bring a modern transportation to Karachi, one of the world’s fastest-growing cities and the third-biggest by population.

11:29 PM

Punjab has witnessed 49 percent increase in Stubble Burning incidents from September 21 to November 2 as compared to corresponding period last year: Official data

11:05 PM

Nations giving huge subsidies for unsustainable fishing should first cut support measures: India

10:53 PM

Irrespective of the winner of presidential polls, India-US relationship to remain strong

Irrespective of the outcome of the November 3 presidential elections, relationship between India and the US is expected to continue at the same pace as it has in the last two decades and strengthen further, policy documents and remarks from the two campaigns indicate.

 

President Donald Trump, in the first term of his presidency, has emerged as the best friend of India at the White House taking the relationship to a new level and his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is well known, which was reflected in the two addressing massive two joint rallies in the US and India in less than a year.

 

Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, has a strong track record of being an ardent advocate of a strong India-US relationship both as a Senator from Delaware for over three decades and then as deputy of President Barack Obama for eight years.

 

From playing a key role in the passage of India-US civil nuclear deal during a Republican administration to setting up the goal of a $500 billion in bilateral trade, Biden has strong ties with Indian leadership across the aisle and has a large number of Indian Americans within his close circuit.

10:11 PM

Army Chief Gen Naravane holds talks with top military commander of Kenya

Chief of Defence Forces of Kenya Gen Robert Kariuki Kibochi and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Monday held wide-ranging talks on ways to expand defence cooperation between the two countries, officials said.

 

Gen Kibochi is on a five-day visit to India from Monday during which he is scheduled to hold talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the three service chiefs.

 

Army officials said Gen Naravane and Gen Kibochi discussed various aspects of bilateral defence cooperation and ways to deepen it further.

10:10 PM

Industry bodies have mixed reaction to Kejriwal's announcement about Delhi's manufacturing units

10:01 PM

China's regulators summon Alibaba's Jack Ma ahead of $39.7 billion public offer of his Ant Group

9:28 PM

Govt releases Rs 2,200 crore to 15 states towards measures for air quality improvement

9:20 PM

RBI extends deadline for banks' compliance with new guidelines for existing current accounts

9:19 PM

Assam CM writes to Home Minister Amit Shah on tension with Mizoram; asks chief secy, DGP to rush to border

9:17 PM

Three militant associates of Hizbul Mujahideen were arrested in connection with attack on BJP leader in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district last month: Police

9:16 PM

No manufacturing units allowed in new industrial areas: Delhi CM

In an ambitious plan to tackle Delhi's persisting pollution problem and attracting IT and related businesses, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Monday no manufacturing units will be allowed in new industrial areas of the city and these zones would be available only to services and hi-tech industries.

 

The move will also boost Delhi's economy, besides helping the city become a hub of hi-tech and service industries which include IT-enabled services, call centres, software and hardware sector, and media programme production as they will now be provided land at cheaper rates by authorities in industrial areas.

 

Addressing an online press conference, Kejriwal said the Centre has okayed the Delhi government's proposal by changing the definition of industry in the Delhi Master Plan 2021 and issued a notification to implement it. Hi-tech and services activities will now be recognised as industry in the city.

8:56 PM

Baba ka Dhaba: Delhi Police probe alleged misappropriation of donations

The Delhi Police is investigating the alleged misappropriation of donation funds for Malviya Nagar-based 'Baba ka dhaba' after Kanta Prasad, the owner of the popular eatery, filed a complaint against Instagram influencer Gaurav Wasan for misappropriation of funds.

 

Prasad, 80, had shot to fame after a video of him tearfully recounting the desperation of the months since the lockdown was shared widely across social media platforms recently.

 

Prasad's plight had come to light when Gaurav Wasan who runs a page - Swad official - captured the eatery owner breaking down as he talked about his struggles in a video shared on the YouTuber's social media account. Soon, the video went viral and hundreds of people flocked at the dhaba taking selfies with the old man and offering him monetary help. READ ON...

8:45 PM

Nirav Modi extradition case to enter final stages in UK court

The extradition case of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering, is expected to enter its final stages at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Tuesday.

 

The 49-year-old jeweller, fighting extradition in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, will appear via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London for the latest hearing in the case, during which District Judge Samuel Goozee will hear his defence team's arguments against the admissibility of certain evidence provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in order to establish a prima facie case against the accused.

 

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, will stress that the evidence meets the required criteria for the UK court to determine whether Modi has a case to answer before the Indian judicial system.

8:35 PM

Rajasthan assembly passes three bills to counter Centre's farm laws

The Rajasthan assembly on Monday passed three bills by voice vote to counter the farm laws enacted by the Centre recently. The BJP MLAs staged a walkout ahead of the voice vote. Replying to a debate on the farms bills, Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said that entire country is against the farm laws enacted by the Union government.

 

I can say it with guarantee that all three farm laws will have to be withdrawn just like the Land Acquisition Act, Dhariwal said.

 

Defending the central laws, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said the Centre's farm laws were not introduced in Parliament all of a sudden. Kataria said the laws were made after taking into account recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, which talked about one nation, one market; contract farming; and abolition of indirect mandi taxes.

8:23 PM

Haryana govt declares possession and sale of imported firecrackers as illegal and punishable in the state

8:21 PM

4,001 new Covid-19 cases, 4,824 recoveries and 42 deaths reported in Delhi today

8:20 PM

SC to hear Arnab Goswami's plea against show cause notice on Nov 6

The Supreme Court Monday said it would hear on November 6 a plea by journalist Arnab Goswami who has challenged the show cause notice by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for initiation of breach of privilege motion against him for reportage related to the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death. The show cause notice has been issued to Goswami for making certain remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey in his news debates on Rajput's case.

 

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde was informed by Goswami's counsel that it cannot be construed as a breach of privilege and the Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV has now been called before the Assembly on November 5.

 

We have come to know that now privilege committee has been constituted. Notice has been issued on behalf of the speaker, his counsel told the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

8:00 PM

Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally reaches 16,87,784 with 4,009 fresh cases; death toll 44,128

7:59 PM

Maharashtra govt inks Rs 35,000-crore MoUs with 15 companies

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government on Monday inked MoUs worth around Rs 35,000 crore with 15 companies even as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called for attracting over Rs 1 lakh crore investments this year to the state.

 

Thackeray made the remarks during the Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 event, which seeks to mobilise investments in the state, held here.

 

The MoUs worth Rs 34,850 crore were signed between the state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the 15 companies and they are expected to create 23,182 jobs, a statement said. The event was also attended by Industries Minister Subhash Desai and Minister of State for Industries Aditi Tatkare.

7:43 PM

Celebrations at Golden Temple in Amritsar on 'Parkash Purab' of Guru Ramdas today

7:42 PM

NIA arrests al-Qaeda conspirator from West Bengal

A madrassa teacher who was allegedly working as an al-Qaeda conspirator to carry out terror attacks in India was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from West Bengal, an official said on Monday. Abdul Momin Mondal, 32, of West Bengal's Murshidabad, was arrested on Sunday, a spokesperson of the NIA said.

 

On September 11, a case was registered pertaining to anti-national activities by a group of 10 Jihadi terrorists inspired by globally proscribed terrorist organisation al-Qaeda, he said.

 

The group was planning to carry out anti-national and terrorist activities at different locations in India, the NIA spokesperson said.

7:34 PM

Madhya Pradesh: Bypolls for 28 Assembly seats on Tuesday

Bypolls in 28 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held on Tuesday, amid speculation over the prospects of supporters of Congressman-turned-BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who are in the poll arena on BJP ticket. Bypolls for 54 Assembly seats in 10 states are being held on Tuesday and Madhya Pradesh accounts for almost half of these seats.

 

The by-elections in Madhya Pradesh were necessitated after 22 MLAs of the erstwhile Congress government switched over to the BJP in March 2020, leading to the fall of Kamal Naths 15-month-old government.

 

Three other Congress MLAs followed the lead of Scindia and his supporters, and joined the BJP. Another three seats in the Assembly are vacant due to the deaths of incumbent MLAs. Voting for by-elections in Madhya Pradesh will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on Tuesday while adhering to the COVID-19 restrictions, an official said on Monday. The last hour of voting will be for COVID-19 patients and people suspected to be suffering from the disease, state additional chief electoral officer Arun Tomar told PTI.

7:16 PM

NTPC to buy back shares worth Rs 2,275 cr as part of restructuring plan

India’s largest power generating company, state-owned NTPC Limited on Monday received the Board’s approval for share buyback. The Board of Directors approved the buyback of up to 197.8 million equity shares for Rs 2,275.74 crore, as a part of capital restructuring, said the company in a statement.

 

In a filing on BSE, NTPC said, "The board of directors of the company in a meeting held on November 2, 2020 has inter-alia approved buyback of the fully paid up equity shares of the company of face value of Rs 10 each.”

 

The board approved the proposal to buy back 197.8 million fully paid-up equity shares at a price of Rs 115 per unit for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 2,275.75 crore, according to the filing.

 

The Centre is relying on the share buyback by selected public sector utilities to meet its disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 trillion for 2020-21. Reports suggest firms that might consider buybacks are Coal India, Kudremukh Iron Ore, RITES, NMDC, and Engineers India. READ ON...

6:55 PM

Rahul Gandhi to attend farmers' rally in Tamil Nadu against Centre's farm laws

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will attend a farmers' rally in Tamil Nadu against the Centre's three contentious farm legislations, the party's state unit said on Monday. The state Congress has planned to conduct protests in 150 locations in the state where tractors fitted with ploughs will be used in the agitation, TNCC President K S Alagiri said in a statement. The party would soon announce when the protests will be held, he said.

 

"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is slated to attend a farmers' rally at the end of these protests," he said, while citing the Wayanad MP's participation in similar rallies in Punjab and Haryana against the farm laws, approved by Parliament.

 

The TNCC chief said the latest legislations were inimical to the interests of the farmers, alleging coprorates will have a greater say in fixing price of produce, and that his party was making all efforts to mobilise support against them.

 

6:36 PM

MeToo: Court to hear Akbar's defamation case against Priya Ramani on Nov 10

A Delhi court will resume on November 10the hearing of final arguments in the criminal defamation complaint filed by former Union minister M J Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani.

 

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vishal Pahuja, who had earlier sent the matter to Principal District and Sessions Judge seeking its transfer to another court, fixed the date for hearing after both the parties appeared before him, Akbar's advocate Sandeep Kapur said. District and Sessions Judge Sujata Kohli had on October 22 sent the matter back to the ACMM.

 

The ACMM, who had started hearing the final arguments in the case on February 7this year, had sent the matter to District and Sessions judge, saying the case in hand was not filed against MP or MLA and needs to be transferred to the "Competent Court of Jurisdiction". READ ON...

6:22 PM

Alliance Air to launch Bengaluru-Kozhikode flight from Nov 11

Alliance Air on Monday said it will launch flight from Kozhikode to Bengaluru starting November 11. The flights on the new route will be operated six times in a week except Tuesdays, Alliance Air said in a release.

 

Air India's regional subsidiary will be deploying one of its 70-seater ATR 72 aircraft to cater to the traffic between the two cities, it added.

 

Alliance Air is commencing flight operations from Bengaluru to Kozhikode and back from November 11, the airline said. The flight 9I- 521 will depart from Bengaluru at 6.30 am and arrive in Kozhikode at 7.55 am, it added. In the return leg, it will depart from Kozhikode as 9I- 522 at 8.25 am and arrive in Bengaluru at 9.40 am, Alliance Air said.

6:11 PM

NIA arrests one Al Qaeda conspirator from West Bengal's Murshidabad district

6:08 PM

Air pollution: NGT notice to Centre to ban fire crackers from Nov 7-30

The National Green Tribunal Monday issued notice to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and four state governments on whether use of fire crackers be banned from November 7-30 in the interest of public health and environment.

 

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel sought response from MoEF, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Police Commissioner of Delhi and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The NGT also appointed senior advocate Raj Panjwani and advocate Shibhani Ghosh to assist it as amicus curiae in the matter.

 

The tribunal was hearing a plea by Indian Social Responsibility Network, filed through Santosh Gupta, seeking action against pollution by use of fire crackers in NCR during the time air quality is unsatisfactory with potential of severity of COVID-19 pandemic.

5:56 PM

BJP organises 'thana gherao' programme to protest over alleged killings of party workers in West Bengal