News updates: PM declares 38th National Games open in Dehradun, congratulates Uttarakhand for UCC

Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world

9:36 PM

US pauses foreign assistance to Pakistan for re-evaluation

8:55 PM

Kejriwal's 'poison in Yamuna' remark political stunt of AAP to influence Delhi voters: Haryana CM

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's remark that the BJP is "mixing poison in the Yamuna" is a "political stunt" by the AAP aimed at influencing voters in the Delhi polls and deflecting attention from its own failures, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Tuesday.

He also alleged that the Delhi government has not taken any step to upgrade the Wazirabad water treatment plant in the national capital, according to an official statement here.

Saini said that the issue has been raised with the Election Commission.

The remarks made by Kejriwal is a "political stunt" by the Aam Aadmi Party aimed at influencing voters in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections and deflecting attention from its own failures, the chief minister said.

8:55 PM

No defamation of leader if Atishi said BJP trying to buy MLAs with huge money: Delhi court

A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed a criminal case filed by a BJP leader against Chief Minister Atishi, saying there was "absolutely no defamation of the media head of the BJP" if the AAP leader "accuses the BJP of trying to buy their MLAs with huge sums of money".

 

In his judgment, special judge Vishal Gogne said while such tactics may be "part and parcel" of political strategy, a court of law couldn't be a party to the creation of a chilling effect on freedom of speech by admitting or acting upon such efforts to silence whistleblowers or smaller political opponents.

 

The judge therefore underlined there was "absolutely no defamation of the media head of the BJP if the leader of the AAP accuses the BJP of trying to buy their MLAs with huge sums of money".

8:39 PM

Kejriwal's charges of poisoning Yamuna water, attempt at genocide in Delhi highly objectionable: Delhi LG

"AAP chief Kejriwal's charges of poisoning Yamuna water, attempt at genocide in Delhi highly objectionable," Delhi LG writes to CM Atishi.

8:16 PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declares 38th National Games open in Dehradun

8:16 PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Uttarakhand govt for implementing UCC

7:34 PM

Two Central Industrial Security Force battalions to come up in Nuh, Haryana: CISF

One amongst them is the newly approved Mahila Battalion. These two Battalions along with the existing 5th Battalion, Ghaziabad and 11th Battalion, Greater Noida will play a significant role in addressing the contingency policing requirements of the Delhi NCR Region.

7:33 PM

Union Home Minister Amit Shah holds a roadshow in Delhi's Badarpur area

7:33 PM

No casualities from the plane on fire at Gimhae airport in South Korea - Yonhap citing fire authorities

7:17 PM

Kejriwal lives in 'sheesh mahal'; biggest liquor scam took place in Delhi under him: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, saying the former chief minister came talking about bringing in clean politics but the biggest "liquor scam" took place in Delhi under his watch.

 

Kejriwal started off with a promise of bringing in a new kind of politics but he now lives in a "sheesh mahal", Gandhi told a public rally in Patparganj here for the February 5 assembly polls.

 

Gandhi took a swipe at former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia too, calling him, along with Kejriwal, the "architect of the liquor scam".

 

Gandhi urged people to vote for the Congress' candidate Anil Chaudhary as Sisodia had "run away" from the Patparganj constituency after indulging in corruption.

 

Gandhi said the AAP chief was nowhere to be found when the poor needed him the most and when there was violence in Delhi, an apparent reference to the February 2020 riots.

6:15 PM

Boeing reports $11.8 bln loss, largest since 2020

5:33 PM

Burari building collapse: Rescue operation underway at the incident site

A newly constructed four-storey building near Oscar Public School collapsed in North Delhi's Burari area, yesterday. So far, 12 people have been rescued and three bodies have been retrieved from the debris.

4:59 PM

Supply of homes priced up to Rs 1 crore falls 30% in 2024: PropEquity

Fresh supply of affordable and mid-income homes costing up to Rs 1 crore fell 30 per cent last year to nearly 199,000  units across nine major cities, according to PropEquity. Real estate data analytics firm PropEquity on Tuesday pointed out that India's top nine cities, where a majority of Indians migrate for jobs, are "staring at a housing crisis". PropEquity attributed this fall in new supply of affordable and mid-income homes to a shift in developers' focus towards luxury housing.

4:56 PM

78% employees in India aim for prioritising family: Report

Amid debate over striking a work-life balance and L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan recommending a 90-hour work week, a report has revealed that 78 per cent of employees interviewed said their aim is to prioritise family. According to global job site Indeed's 'Future Career Resolution' report, there is a significant shift in the priorities of Indian employees, with nearly four in five (78 per cent) stating they aim to prioritise family time with spouses, children and parents over career advancement in 2025.

4:53 PM

Sri Lanka ends ban on vehicle imports

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka has officially lifted the ban on the vehicle import which was put in place in 2020 to ease the pressure on foreign exchange reserves due to the Covid-19 pandemic, authorities said on Tuesday. This will be with effect from February 1. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has issued a gazette dated January 24 which ended the ban on vehicle imports imposed in early 2020 with the COVID outbreak. The ban was continued when Sri Lanka suffered its economic crisis triggered by forex shortage.

4:43 PM

Convoy of oil tankers attacked by unidentified armed men in northwest Pakistan

A convoy of oil tankers was attacked by unidentified armed men in the troubled northwest Pakistan to disrupt the supply of diesel and petrol to Kurram district, police said. Gunmen opened fire on the convoy in the Bagan area on Monday. However, no damage was reported, with oil carriers reaching the Alizai area in the district afterwards. When the convoy reached Bagan Bazaar under police and security forces escort, the miscreants opened heavy fire from the nearby Talu Kunj area, police said.

4:25 PM

OpenAI seeks to block Indian media groups from copyright lawsuit

Microsoft-backed OpenAI sought to block on Tuesday India's biggest media organisations, including those of billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, from joining a copyright lawsuit that is set to shape the legal framework for AI in India. In India, the case began with legal action last year by local news agency ANI, and in recent weeks book publishers and almost a dozen digital media outlets, including those owned by Adani and Ambani, have sought to join the case to challenge the AI giant. Earlier on Tuesday, Reuters reported OpenAI had in a filing sought to dismiss the book publisher's case, saying its ChatGPT service only disseminates public information. Later in court, OpenAI lawyer Amit Sibal said he would oppose the bid by media organisations to join the case.

3:53 PM

Percentage of underage children in Class 1 was at its lowest ever at 16.7 in 2024: ASER report

Over 82 per cent children in 14-16 age group know how to use smartphone, only 57 pc engage it for educational purpose, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) said.

3:35 PM

Proportion of children aged 6 to 14 years enrolled in govt schools nearly back to 2018 levels, says report

There has been full recovery from pandemic-induced learning loss and learning levels in primary classes are higher than past, says ASER report.

2:40 PM

India lodges protest with Colombo over firing by Sri Lankan Navy to apprehend Indian fishermen, says MEA

2:33 PM

Got tax order upholding demand Of 539.6 million rupees, says Maruti Suzuki

2:28 PM

Shiv Sena (UBT) will stay neutral, Uddhav not to campaign for Congress or AAP: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray won't campaign for the Congress or AAP in the Delhi assembly polls as the party has adopted a neutral stand, MP Sanjay Raut said. Raut stressed the AAP and Congress, both members of the INDIA bloc, are friends of Shiv Sena (UBT). "We are not going anywhere (for campaigning). We are neutral," when asked whether Thackeray will campaign for either of the two parties in the February 5 Delhi assembly elections.

1:56 PM

Won't end indefinite fast till farmers' demands accepted: Jagjit Singh Dallewal

Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Tuesday maintained that he would not end his fast-unto-death till the Centre accepts farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee to minimum support price for crops. Briefing the media at the Khanauri protest site, Dallewal said the whole country needs MSP. "Punjab also needs MSP to save its underground water level," he said.

1:37 PM

SC asks Centre's stand after woman wants to be governed by succession law not Shariat

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked for the Centre's stand on a Muslim woman's plea seeking to be governed by the Indian succession law instead of Shariat.

The plea of Safiya PM, general secretary of "Ex-Muslims of Kerala", came up before the bench. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the plea raised an interesting question. "The petitioner lady is a born Muslim. She says she does not believe in Shariat and she thinks it is an regressive law," he said.

1:29 PM

SpiceJet to re-induct grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft fleet into operations

Domestic budget carrier SpiceJet on Tuesday said it is set to re-induct one of its grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft into operations from January 29, as part of its plan to put all these planes back into service in a phased manner. The first such plane is set to be deployed on high-demand markets such as Jeddah and Riyadh, starting Wednesday, it said.

1:05 PM

Countdown begins for Isro's 100th mission to launch navigation satellite

 The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with indigenous Cryogenic upper stage in its 17th flight, carrying the navigation satellite NVS-02 is scheduled for lift-off at 6.23 am on January 29 from the second launch pad here. Also, this would be the first mission for ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, who assumed office on January 13.

12:42 PM

Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan booked over actress's complaint

Noted Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan has been booked on charges of harassing a prominent actress on a social media platform, police said on Tuesday. Elamakkara Police here registered a case against the 'Kayam" director under various sections of the BNS for alleged stalking, criminal intimidation, and defamation, they added. The actress lodged a complaint on Monday, and a case was registered against him, they said.

12:37 PM

Allow me to connect with electorate under police custody: Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain

Former councillor and February 2020 Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain requested the Supreme Court on Tuesday that he be allowed to campaign in custody for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls. Senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, appearing for Hussain, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta that only four-five days are left for campaigning so he be allowed to connect with the electorate under police custody.

 

12:21 PM

I consider eastern India as growth engine of country: PM Modi at Odisha business summit

Asean countries have shown interest in strengthening trade ties with Odisha, says PM Modi in Bhubaneswar.

11:55 AM

Akhilesh Yadav, SP MPs to campaign for AAP

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav along with his party MPs will campaign for the AAP candidates ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls on February 5, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party said on Tuesday. Yadav will join AAP supremo Kejriwal in a roadshow in Rithala on January 30. Several other MPs of the Uttar Pradesh-based party, including Iqra Hasan from Kairana, will also campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP and the SP are part of the INDIA bloc which also includes the Congress. However, the SP leaders will only be campaigning for the AAP which is pitted against the Congress and the BJP in Delhi.