News updates: Stricter pollution curbs under Grap-4 reimposed in Delhi and surrounding areas

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

10:06 PM

FDA bans red dye found in candy and cakes

The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned the use of Red Dye no. 3, which is found in certain candies, cakes and some ingested drugs giving them a bright, cherry-red color.
 

Studies have shown that use of the dye can cause cancer in male rats, but the regulator said research on other animals and in humans did not show any evidence of the same.

 

9:09 PM

SC warns states it will initiate contempt proceedings against them for their inaction over misleading ads

The Supreme Court on Wednesday warned the states that it will initiate contempt proceedings against them for their inaction over misleading advertisements. 

7:25 PM

Polish Prime Donald Tusk says Russia has planned acts of terror against 'airlines over the world', reports AP

7:19 PM

US consumer inflation rises to 2.9% in December

US consumer inflation rose for a third straight month in December, according to government data published Wednesday, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to pause rate cuts. The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.9 percent last month from a year ago, up slightly from 2.7 percent in November, the Labor Department said in a statement. This was in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

7:00 PM

Stricter pollution curbs under Grap-4 reimposed in Delhi and surrounding areas

5:41 PM

Death toll from South African mine siege rises to 78, rescued now at 166

South African rescuers have so far pulled 78 bodies and rescued 166 people from the Stilfontein gold mine over three days of operations, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters at the scene on Wednesday.

5:40 PM

China and Sri Lanka sign investment agreement

China and Sri Lanka have agreed on more investment and economic cooperation, after China's President Xi Jinping met recently elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Beijing on Wednesday.

The countries signed a total of 15 cooperation documents.

4:53 PM

Three injured, over 100 goats killed in multiple-vehicle collision on Agra-Delhi Expressway

A dense fog on the Agra-Delhi Expressway led to a massive collision near Tappal here on Wednesday morning, leaving three people seriously injured and killing over 100 goats, police said. The accident occurred when poor visibility caused multiple vehicles to crash into each other. A truck transporting approximately 230 goats was among the vehicles involved. Six vehicles, including three trucks, were heavily damaged in the pile-up. "The injured individuals have been admitted to a nearby hospital," a police official said.

4:31 PM

Fire at Indore shopping mall destroys garments worth about Rs 2 crore

A fire in a shopping mall destroyed garments worth about Rs 2 crore in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Wednesday, an official said. Fire Department's assistant sub-inspector Sushil Kumar Dubey told PTI that no one was injured in the fire that broke out in the basement and first floor of a four-storey shopping mall located in the city's Dewas Naka. The commercial building was filled with smoke.

 

4:23 PM

Torres scam: Bombay HC shocked over police lethargy, orders protection for `whistleblower'

The Bombay High Court took Mumbai Police to task for its lethargy in the investigation of the Torres investment scam, and ordered protection for a chartered accountant who claims to be the whistleblower in the case. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale directed the city police commissioner to provide protection to Abhishek Gupta who claims to have exposed the scam, even as the police told the court that they were still ascertaining if he faced any threat. The court's order came in response to a petition filed by Gupta.

3:29 PM

Mathura Shahi Idgah row: SC defers hearing on mosque panel's plea to March

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred hearing to March the plea of the mosque management committee against an order rejecting its petition in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura, UP. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said it had to hear another case in the day and couldn't take up the mosque committee's plea.

3:16 PM

Antitrust ruling could force roll back of features, hurt business, says Meta

Meta may have to "roll back or pause" some features in India due to an antitrust directive which banned its WhatsApp messaging service from sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes.  Meta is seeking to quash the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) November directive which found the company abused its dominance and "coerced" WhatsApp users into accepting a 2021 privacy policy which allegedly expanded user data collection and sharing.

3:08 PM

3-member panel set up to investigate charges against suspended govt official in J-K's Kathua

The Jammu and Kashmir government has constituted a three-member team to conduct a detailed inquiry into the charges levelled against an official who was placed under suspension last month for his alleged failure to stop illegal mining in Kathua district, officials said on Wednesday. The inquiry into the conduct of the then district mineral officer of Kathua, Naveen Kumar, will be completed within one month, the officials added,

2:50 PM

Formula E race case: SC refuses to examine KTR's plea against FIR

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to examine a plea filed by BRS working president K T Rama Rao against the order that refused to quash an FIR against him in the Formula E race case. After a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna B Varale said it was not inclined to interfere with the high court order, Rao's counsel withdrew the appeal and the matter was dismissed as withdrawn.

2:42 PM

Delhi WCD launches drive to trace Ladli Yojana beneficiaries

The Delhi Women and Child Development Department has initiated a district-wise drive to identify Ladli Yojana beneficiaries who have not claimed their entitled payments.

2:17 PM

Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP-RSS, says 'we are fighting Indian state itself'

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), of capturing all institutions in the country, and asserted that the Congress was fighting the "Indian State itself."

 

Speaking at the inauguration of the party’s new headquarters, ‘Indira Bhawan,’ the Congress MP said, "Our ideology, like the RSS ideology, is thousands of years old. We have been fighting the RSS ideology for thousands of years. Don’t think we are having a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe we are fighting a political organisation called the BJP or RSS, you have not understood what is going on. The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country. We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS, and the Indian State itself."

1:48 PM

Parliamentary panel should question Meta on fact-check, guidelines on hate speech: Trinamool MP

If Meta executives are summoned by the Parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology, they should be questioned about the company's decision to stop fact-checking and changes in its content guidelines on hate speech and disinformation, panel member and TMC MP Saket Gokhale said on Wednesday. Gokhale's remarks come a day after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads the panel, said the committee will summon executives from social media giant Meta for "tarnishing" India's image amid a controversy over its CEO Mark Zuckerberg's statement during a podcast that after the COVID-19 pandemic, most incumbent governments, including the one in India, lost elections in 2024.

 

1:46 PM

Rahul Gandhi has now declared 'open war' against Indian state itself: BJP

Addressing party leaders after the inauguration of the Congress' new headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road, Rahul Gandhi said, "Do not think that we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe that we are fighting a political organisation called the BJP, that we are fighting a political organisation called the RSS, you have not understood what is going on." Sharing a video clip of Gandhi's remarks, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said, "Rahul Gandhi has now declared an open war against the Indian State itself. This is straight out of George Soros's playbook." 

1:29 PM

News update: Punjab govt tells SC deliberations with protesting farmers underway

1:07 PM

Row over election rules: Supreme Court seeks response of Centre, EC on plea of Jairam Ramesh

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and the poll panel on a plea by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh challenging recent amendments to the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules which restricts public access to CCTV and other election-related documents.

12:47 PM

Bollywood trade association writes letter to PM Modi, highlights grievances of daily workers

The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA), a trade union body, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a meeting to highlight the grievances of "workers, technicians, junior artists, and artists" of the Hindi film industry. In the letter, sent on January 11, AICWA president Suresh Shyamlal Gupta highlighted the major concerns of the workers, including poor pay, long working hours and lack of safety on film sets.

12:34 PM

SC issues notice to Centre, poll panel on Congress' plea against amendments to Conduct of Election Rules

Row over election rules: SC to hear plea of Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in week commencing March 17.

12:27 PM

SC may transfer pleas on CLAT 2025 to one high court

The top court on Wednesday said it may consider transferring to one of the high courts the various pleas filed against the results of the common law admission test 2025. Several petitions are pending in several high courts, including Delhi and Karnataka, on the allegations that several questions in the CLAT, 2025 were wrong.

11:51 AM

Army fully ready, capable to deal with any situation: Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi

Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday said the situation along the northern border is sensitive but stable, while asserting that his force is fully ready and capable to deal with any situation. In his address at the 77th Army Day celebrations here, he also said ceasefire is maintained along the Line of Control (LoC) but "attempts to infiltrate continue".

 

11:43 AM

News update: Karnataka HC adjourns hearing in case seeking CBI probe into MUDA scam, till Jan 27

11:31 AM

Mohan Bhagwat's remark that India got independence after Ram temple was built amounts to treason: Rahul Gandhi

To say that India did not get independence in 1947 is an insult to every Indian, says Rahul Gandhi. 

11:27 AM

News update: PM Modi to dedicate frontline naval combatants to the nation on commissioning at naval dockyard

10:14 AM

Dense fog shrouds Delhi; flights, trains delayed

Dense fog blanketed parts of the national capital on Wednesday morning, reducing visibility and disrupting over 100 flights and 26 trains. The minimum temperature dropped to 6 degrees Celsius, 1.4 notches below normal, as the city experienced another chilly morning.

10:02 AM

Meta to fire 3,600 employees

Meta has said that CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision will affect five percent of its workforce.

10:00 AM

News update: TikTok prepares for immediate shut-off in the US on Sunday