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8:01 PM

Uttar Pradesh govt extends liquor shop hours for Christmas and New Year's eve

Ahead of Christmas and New Year's, the Uttar Pradesh government has extended the liquor sale timings by an hour, till 11 p.m. on Christmas eve--December 24) as well as New Year's Eve--December 31, said the Excise Department on Saturday.

A notification issued by the department on Saturday said that the liquor shops across Uttar Pradesh will remain open till 11 pm on 24th and 31st December.

The liquor lobby was, however, pushing for extending the current 10 a.m.-to-10 p.m. sale time till 11 p.m., but the state's Excise Minister made it clear that "sale time extension" would only be for defined occasions.

7:49 PM

Merchant vessel with 21 Indians hit by drone in Arabian Sea, no casualties

A suspected drone attack on a merchant vessel with 21 Indian crew in the Arabian Sea off India's west coast caused an explosion on Saturday but there was no report of any casualties in the incident, according to PTI's military sources and a maritime agency.

A P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, deployed by the Indian Navy after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, reported the incident, ascertained the safety of the vessel and its crew, PTI's Indian military sources said.

An attack by Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) on a vessel 200 nautical miles South West of Veraval, India, caused "an explosion and fire", the UKMTO said on its website.

6:55 PM

Indian Navy aircraft establish connection with distressed vessel MV Chem Pluto

The Indian Navy's P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft has established communication with the distressed vessel MV Chem Pluto after taking off from INS Hansa naval air base in Goa, Navy officials said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy warship is moving towards the vessel and is expected to reach the merchant ship in the next few hours.

The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard vessels are moving towards a merchant vessel, MV Chem Pluto, in the Arabian Sea, which caught fire after a suspected drone attack.

6:27 PM

"No need to panic, need to remain alert": AIIMS on new COVID subvariant JN.1

After a surge in the cases of the new COVID subvariant JN.1, doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have advised people to not panic but rather remain alert and vigilant.

"People are getting infected by the new sub-variant of COVID-JN.1 in many states of the country. The symptoms of the patients are mild. Therefore, there is no need to panic but the need to remain alert," doctor Neeraj Nischal said.

6:08 PM

Anurag Thakur inaugurates three new facilities at SAI National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated three new facilities at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) National Centre of Excellence at Bengaluru on Saturday.

These three new facilities included an eight-lane synthetic athletic track and a 300-bed men's hostel. Both of these are developed under the Centre's Khelo India scheme. Also, a 330-bed women's hostel was also inaugurated.

All these facilities were built at a cost of Rs 69.35 crores.

5:10 PM

Amit Shah attends BJP's national office-bearers meeting in Delhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday attended the BJP's national office-bearers meeting here and interacted with the party leaders.

Shah reached the BJP headquarters here in the afternoon on the second and last day of the meeting. BJP chief J P Nadda was present at the meeting which is also being attended by all state unit chiefs of the party.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a closed-door meeting of the BJP's national office-bearers as the party took stock of its organisational preparedness and chalked out upcoming programmes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

5:07 PM

First meeting of Congress' National Alliance Committee concludes in Delhi

The first meeting of the newly formed National Alliance Committee of the Congress concluded in Delhi on Saturday.

Speaking after the committee's inaugural meeting, Mukul Wasnik, convenor of NAC said the committee will decide on a "seat-sharing formula" after discussing with state units soon.

4:57 PM

PM Modi pays tribute to Charan Singh on birth anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tribute to former prime minister Charan Singh on his birth anniversary.

Modi said Singh was dedicated to farmers' welfare all his life.

A socialist who enjoyed strong support among farmers, Singh came from the Jat community and was one of the leading politicians of his era. He was India's prime minister between July 1979 and January 1980. Singh was born in 1902 in Uttar Pradesh and died in 1987.

4:57 PM

Air India's first A350 aircraft arrives in Delhi

Air India officially took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 on Saturday, making history as the first Indian carrier to operate the aircraft type.

"Air India, India's leading global airline, today welcomed the first of 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, registered VT-JRA, in the airline's bold new livery, marking a turning point in its ongoing transformation story," an official statement issued by the airline said.

4:57 PM

After Punia, Deaflympics gold winner Virender Singh to return Padma Shri

Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav, better known as Goonga Pehlwan, has now decided to return his Padma Shri to the government, showing solidarity with the country's top wrestlers who have objected to election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh as WFI president.

Throwing his weight behind Olympic bronze medallist grappler Sakshi Malik, who announced her retirement from the sport soon after Sanjay Singh's victory in the recent WFI polls, Virender said he would return the honour as a mark of protest against the election of Brij Bhushan's close aide.

4:26 PM

Indian Navy warships moving towards ship outside Indian EEZ: Indian Navy Officials

Indian Navy warships in the vicinity are also moving towards the merchant ship MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea outside Indian EEZ: Indian Navy Officials

4:25 PM

Indian Coast Guard ship moving towards vessel after reported fire incident caused by suspected drone attack

Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram is moving towards a merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea 217 nautical miles off Porbandar cost after it reported a fire incident suspected to be caused by a drone attack. The vessel has crude oil and was going towards Mangalore from a port in Saudi Arabia. As per inputs received, the fire has been extinguished but it has affected its functioning. The ICGS Vikram was deployed on the patrol of the Indian  Exclusive Economic Zone when it was directed towards the merchant ship in distress. All crew are safe which includes around 20 Indians. The ICGS Vikram has alerted all ships in the area to provide assistance to it: Defence officials

4:09 PM

Land-for-jobs scam: Fresh ED summons to Tejashwi, asked to appear on Jan 5

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in the railway land-for-jobs scam case, asking him to appear on January 5, official sources said Saturday.

He was earlier called to appear on December 22 but the 34-year-old skipped the summons. He had called the ED notice a routine affair.

In the same case, his father and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has been asked to depose on December 27 at the ED headquarters in Delhi.

4:00 PM

UNSC adopts UAE's resolution on scaling up, monitoring aid to Gaza

The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2720, penned by the United Arab Emirates, which demands substantive, concrete steps to increase the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip while protecting UN and humanitarian staff on the ground who deliver it.

The resolution requests that the UN Secretary-General appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator who will monitor and verify that all shipments delivered in the Gaza Strip are humanitarian in nature.

3:46 PM

Russia bars pro-peace candidate from presidential ballot: Russian EC

Russia bars pro-peace candidate from presidential ballot, reports AFP quoting Russian election commission