LIVE: Cong must be fulcrum of any Oppn alliance for 2024, says Ramesh
LIVE news updates: The Congress general secretary also said in his view the Congress should be preparing to fight on its own in every state in the 2029 general elections
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Ramesh said he would certainly put his weight behind doing another yatra from Gujarat's Porbandar to Arunachal Pradesh's Parshuram Kund this year but the party has to take a call on it eventually.
Need to help India find alternatives to Russian military equipment: Biden admin tells lawmakers
Ahead of her India visit for foreign office consultations Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, has told lawmakers that the US needs to help India find alternatives to Russian military equipment and that is part of the "job we have to do."
Nuland is travelling to India as part of a four-nation trip including Nepal, Sri Lanka and Qatar from January 28 to February 3.
I think they (India) find themselves after 60 years of entanglement having to find alternatives, and that's part of the job we have to do, is help them with alternatives, Nuland told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Russia.
Minor confrontation between Assam Rifles, NSCN-IM in Nagaland
A minor confrontation occurred between Assam Rifles troopers and cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) in Nagaland's Peren district, according to army sources.
The sources revealed that multiple domination patrols of the Assam Rifles were out for durations varying from 72 hours to 96 hours in the run-up to Republic Day.
One such patrol team, while returning after completing assigned tasks, took an administrative break at at Ntangki National Park in Peren at around 4 p.m. on Friday evening.
China compelling doctors to hide COVID-related mortalities: Report
To keep China's COVID death figures low, the Chinese government has besides censorship, implemented a change in rules and procedures to compel doctors to hide COVID-related mortalities or delay updating them on death certificates, Voices Against Autocracy (VAA) reported.
Authorities in China have also stopped adding to the official count, COVID deaths that have occurred outside hospitals.
China amid growing global pressure, revealed that around 60,000 COVID-related deaths were reported between early December and mid-December, 2022. The number is big considering that China maintained a death toll of around 5,000 since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
PM in Rajasthan, will offer prayers at Malaseri Dungri
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Malaseri Dungri in Rajasthan's Bhilwara on Saturday. He will come to Udaipur, from where he will take a helicopter to Malaseri Dungri and will have a darshan of Lord Devnarayan in temple premises.
"Here he will give purnahuti in havan and will plant a neem sapling which will be followed by a public meeting," said Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Meghwal said that before PM Modi, no Prime Minister ever visited Malaseri Dungri.
Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes from J-K's Awantipora
India logs 93 new coronavirus cases, toll rises to 530,739
India saw a single day rise of 93 coronavirus infections, while the active cases have declined to 1,842, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.
The total tally of Covid cases is 44.6 million (44,682,530) and the death toll stands at 530,739, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily positivity has been recorded at 0.07 per cent while the weekly positivity is 0.08 per cent, it stated.
The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry's website.
There has been a decrease of 54 cases in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data stated.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,41,49,949, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, the ministry said.
US industry urges FM to rationalise, simplify direct and indirect taxes in India
Ahead of the annual budget presentation, an India-centric top US strategic and business advocacy group has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to simplify and rationalise direct and indirect taxation system in India, a move it believes would increase the confidence of global investors and yield greater foreign direct investment.
Direct taxes can be in the form of income tax, capital gains tax or securities transaction tax, while indirect taxes such as GST, Customs Duty or VAT are levied on all end-consumers to buy any goods or services.
Rationalise corporate tax rates for foreign companies, said the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) in its submission to the finance ministry ahead of the annual budget presentations on February 1. It said that the rate for foreign companies, including banks be reduced to bring parity and sought to rationalise tax for new manufacturing companies.
Kharge writes to Shah, seeks his intervention in ensuring adequate security for Bharat Jodo Yatra in J-K
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention in ensuring adequate security to the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.
His letter to Shah comes after the Bharat Jodo Yatra was suspended for the afternoon session on Friday following a "security lapse", with the Congress alleging that the J and K Police had withdrawn security around its leader Rahul Gandhi in the wake of surging crowds during the foot march in Qazigund.
"We are expecting a huge gathering to join the yatra over the next two days and also the function that will be held on 30th January at Srinagar. Many senior Congress leaders and leaders of other important political parties are attending the culmination function to be held on the 30th of January.
UNHCR chief 'appalled' by destruction in Ukraine
After concluding a six-day visit to Ukraine, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi said he was "appalled by the level of destruction" he saw in the war-torn nation and called on donors to stay the course and support the people who are suffering acutely as a result of Russia's ongoing invasion.
During his visit, Grandi travelled through the south and east of the country, seeing the destruction and devastation, meeting chiefs of seven regional administrations, several mayors and many war-affected civilians in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Kiev, said an official statement released by the UN agency on Friday.
He also met President Volodymyr Zelensky, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Cong leader Adhir Ranjan blames J-K LG Manoj Sinha over "security lapse" in Bharat Jodo Yatra
Taking note of the alleged 'serious' security breach in Kashmir during the last leg of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday accused the Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha saying that he is responsible behind the security lapse.
While speaking to ANI, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the securities provided there in Delhi or Jammu and Kashmir are the sole responsibility of the respective LGs.
"Manoj Sinha, sitting in Srinagar, will have to answer who was responsible for Rahul's march," he said.
Russia not invited to ceremony marking Auschwitz liberation
For the first time, Russia was not invited to an annual ceremony marking the liberation of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp in Poland.
Friday's event marked the 78th anniversary of the Soviet army liberating the concentration and extermination camp in German-occupied Poland, where more than one million people were murdered by the Nazis.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was created as a part of the Holocaust, a process that started with discrimination against Jewish people, and ended with six million Jews being killed because of who they were.
Protests in US after footage releases of Black man being beaten by police
Protests erupted across the US after the release of a footage which showed five former police officers in Memphis brutally beating an African-American man who died three days later after the gruesome incident.
The police officers, who are all Black and charged with murder, are seen taking turns to kick and punch the 29-year-old victim Tyre Nichols on January 7 as he screamed for his mother during the incident at a traffic stop, the BBC reported.
On Friday, the Memphis Police Department released four graphic videos, totalling more than an hour of footage.
Don't click selfies with fellow tourists without their permission: Goa govt in advisory
Next time when you are in Goa and want to take selfies with other tourists or click their pictures, take their permission before doing so in order to respect privacy.
This instruction forms part of an advisory issued by the Goa tourism department for tourists, and the set of directives is aimed to protect the privacy of travellers, ensure their safety and avoid getting cheated by unscrupulous elements, among other things.
"Do not take selfies and photographs without permission of other tourists/strangers, especially while sunbathing or sea swimming, so as to respect their privacy," according to the advisory issued on Thursday.
The advisory prohibits holidaymakers from taking selfies at dangerous locations like steep cliffs and sea rocks to avoid accidents and also highlights several other issues related to the tourism industry.
PM Narendra Modi to address 'NCC PM' rally in Delhi today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the annual National Cadet Corps (NCC) PM rally at the Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi on Saturday at around 5 pm.
This year, NCC is celebrating the 75th year of its inception. During the event, Prime Minister will release a special Day Cover and a commemorative specially minted coin of Rs 75/- denomination, commemorating 75 successful years of NCC.
The rally will be held as a hybrid day and night event and will also include a cultural programme on the theme 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'.
In the true Indian spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, 196 officers and cadets from 19 foreign countries have been invited to participate in the celebrations.
Govt notifies grievances appellate committees to look into complaints against social media firms
The Centre has notified three grievances appellate committees that will address users' complaints against social media and other internet-based platforms.
According to the notification, each of the three GACs (grievances appellate committees) will have a chairperson, two whole-time members from different government entities and retired senior executives from the industry for a term of three years from the date of assumption of office.
The first panel will be chaired by the chief executive officer of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashutosh Shukla and Punjab National Bank's (PNB) former chief general manager and chief information officer Sunil Soni have been appointed as the whole-time members of the panel.
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First Published: Jan 28 2023 | 7:41 AM IST