News updates: Apple debuts iPhone 16E featuring new C1 modem chip, priced from $599

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10:11 PM

Apple debuts iPhone 16E featuring new C1 modem chip, priced from $599

7:49 PM

Putin: Russia, US have yet to resolve issue of new start treaty

7:28 PM

Patanjali Foods says Supreme Court quashes Rs 186 crore Demands on Company

7:20 PM

Hamas says ready to free all remaining hostages in one swap in phase two of Gaza truce

7:20 PM

Adidas chairman to run for re-election at AGM, Handelsblatt reports

Adidas supervisory board chairman Thomas Rabe wants to stand for re-election at the German sportswear maker's annual general meeting in May, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

 

Rabe, who is also CEO of German broadcaster RTL Group and CEO of media conglomerate Bertelsmann, is seeking a further extension of his term of office by one year, Handelsblatt cited industry sources as saying.

 

Adidas was not immediately available for comment.

7:06 PM

Torrent Power arm incorporates Torrent Urja 30 for renewables biz

5:35 PM

SC defers hearing on pleas against CEC, ECs appointments

The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the pleas against the appointments of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law.

 

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh indicated that the matter would be listed after the Holi festival break due to paucity of time. However, no date was fixed for hearing the matter.

 

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, said it was an important issue which required an urgent consideration.

 

He said the matter involved a short legal question -- whether the 2023 Constitution bench verdict should be followed for the appointment of the CEC and ECs through a panel involving the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or the 2023 law, which excludes the CJI from the panel.

 

At around 3 pm, Justice Surya Kant told Bhushan that he would be sitting in a special bench and the court had numerous matters listed before the Holi break.

 

Bhushan requested the matter to be listed on any day in the coming week and assured the petitioners would not take more than an hour to advance submissions.

 

Advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for petitioner Jaya Thakur, also mentioned the matter for an urgent hearing saying it was "very important for the survival of democracy".

4:33 PM

No proof found against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his wife in Muda case, says Lokayukta

The case pertains to the allegations that Siddaramaiah's wife was given compensatory plots in a more valuable area of Mysore, compared to her original land that was "acquired" by Muda. 

4:25 PM

News update: 3 women Naxalites killed in encounter with police in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district

3:56 PM

3 of family returning from Maha Kumbh killed in car-truck collision in MP

A couple and their daughter were killed and two other family members injured when their speeding car collided with a truck in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar district on Wednesday, police said. The accident took place at around 1.30 pm when the family was returning from Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to their home in Mumbai, Maihar Kotwali police station in-charge Animesh Dwivedi said.

3:45 PM

'Cash for jobs': CBI registers FIR against former TN minister, AIDMK union secretary

 The CBI has filed an FIR against AIADMK union secretary K Vijaya Nallathambi, former Tamil Nadu Minister Rajenthra Bhalaji and party worker Mariyappan for allegedly taking Rs 30 lakh after promising to provide jobs, officials said Wednesday. The CBI initiated the action on the order of the Madras High Court which had handed over the case to the agency in January after the state prosecution could not file a "compliance report". The case was earlier probed by the Virudhunagar district crime branch (DCB) in 2021.

3:13 PM

Full state honours for last rites of ex-MLAs, distinguished people in Uttarakhand: CM Dhami

The last rites of former MLAs and people who make a mark in public life in Uttarakhand will be performed from now onwards with full state honours. The announcement was made by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday during an obituary reference being made to former prime minister Manmohan Singh and former Bhagwanpur MLA Chandrashekhar Bhattewale by the state Assembly during its ongoing Budget Session.

2:49 PM

PM Modi has already declared Adani issue personal matter, will he oblige US SEC: Cong

The Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already declared the Adani issue to be a personal matter and asked whether he would oblige the US Securities and Exchanges Commission's (SEC) request in the ongoing probe against the business group. The Opposition party's assertion came after the SEC told a federal judge in New York that its efforts to serve its complaint on Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani in the alleged bribery scheme are “ongoing”. This included a request for assistance to the Indian authorities.

2:41 PM

Media must exercise utmost caution before publishing any statement, news or opinion: SC

The Supreme Court has said persons working in key positions in the media must exercise utmost caution and responsibility before publishing any statements, news, or opinions and observed the right to freedom of speech and expression was paramount. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan reiterated that the power of the media in shaping public opinion was significant and the press possessed the ability to influence public sentiments and alter perceptions, with remarkable speed

1:50 PM

NIA arrests 3 men for leaking sensitive defence information to Pakistani intelligence operatives

The NIA has arrested three men for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan-based intelligence operatives, the anti-terror federal agency said on Wednesday.

They were sharing sensitive information about Indian defence establishments at Karwar Naval Base and Kochi Naval Base, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a statement.

1:12 PM

Man who attacked Japan's ex-Prime Minister Kishida is convicted, sentenced to 10 years in prison

A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted a man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan's former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, court officials said. Ryuji Kimura, 25, was found guilty of attempted murder in the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in the western city of Wakayama.

1:10 PM

Party office-bearers to be held accountable for future poll results: Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge

"Promote people ideologically committed to party; stay away from weak who run away in difficult times, says Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

12:43 PM

Rajasthan govt committed to make state $350 billion economy: Diya Kumari

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari on Wednesday presented the Budget for the financial year 2025-26 and announced that the government is committed to make the state a $350 billion economy. Kumari, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the state government has delivered 58 per cent of its promises made in the election manifesto and has fulfilled 73 per cent of the previous Budget announcements.

12:30 PM

Cong leaders meet to chalk out future plans

Top Congress leaders met here on Wednesday to discuss the political situation and chalk out plans for the way forward. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, besides All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal, were among those present at the meeting. The meeting comes soon after new office bearers were appointed in the revamped body of the AICC.

12:09 PM

Centre sanctions Rs 1,554 cr to five states hit by floods, landslides, cyclones

A committee headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved Rs 1554.99 crore of additional central assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to five states affected by floods, flash floods, landslides and cyclonic storms during 2024. Out of the total amount of Rs 1,554.99 crore, Rs 608.08 crore has been approved for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 170.99 crore for Nagaland, Rs 255.24 crore for Odisha, Rs 231.75 crore for Telangana and Rs 288.93 crore for Tripura.

11:50 AM

Kerala to launch 1st project on collection, disposal of expired medicines

The Kerala government is all set to start a programme to collect expired and unused medicine from homes and dispose of them scientifically. In a first in the country, the State Drugs Control Department is launching a project to scientifically collect expired and unused medicines from homes and dispose them.

11:20 AM

Nearly 300 deportees from US held in Panama hotel as officials try to return them to their countries

Panama is detaining in a hotel nearly 300 people from various countries deported under US President Donald Trump, not allowing them to leave while waiting for international authorities to organise a return to their countries. More than 40 per cent of the migrants, authorities say, won't voluntarily return to their homeland. The migrants hailed from 10 mostly Asian countries, including Iran, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and others.

11:02 AM

EAM Jaishankar to visit South Africa for G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a two-day visit to South Africa beginning February 20 to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the MEA announced on Wednesday. The minister is expected to hold a few bilateral meetings on the margins of the meet.

10:39 AM

Two bogus doctors booked in Thane

Police have registered cases against two doctors for allegedly practising medicine illegally in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Wednesday. A medical officer of the local civic body conducted an inspection at a doctor's clinic at Akash Colony in Ulhasnagar area on January 6.

9:44 AM

Gyanesh Kumar assumes charge as CEC

Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday took over as the 26th chief election commissioner. An election commissioner since March 2024, he was elevated as the CEC on Monday. Gyanesh Kumar replaced Rajiv Kumar, who demitted office on Tuesday, as head of the poll panel. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is the election commissioner, while Vivek Joshi has been appointed to the post on Monday.

9:41 AM

5 arrested after Nepal student's suicide in KIIT get bail

The five persons held in connection with the forcible eviction of Nepali students from hostels at Odisha's Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology or KIIT, have got bail.  Sibananda Mishra (59), Director General, HR, Pratap Kumar Chamupaty (51), Director (Administration), and Sudhir Kumar Rath (59), Director of Hostels, at KIIT University, and two security guards- Ramakanta Nayak (45), and Jogendra Behera (25) were among the arrested persons.

8:45 AM

Pope Francis treated for pneumonia as his health condition worsens

Pope Francis’s health conditions are worsening as the pontiff remains in hospital indefinitely being treated for pneumonia in what the Vatican described as a “complex picture.” The 88-year old pontiff underwent additional exams on Tuesday, with a chest CT scan showed the onset of bilateral pneumonia.