Times of India

Top Congress politicians, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, failed on Saturday to convince Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to accept the post of INDIA bloc convener after the JD(U) chief refused to accept the offer during a virtual meeting of opposition leaders. Many leaders, including Sonia, Rahul, CPI general secretary D Raja, NCP's Sharad Pawar and RJD boss Lalu Prasad, supported the move. But the JD(U) leader declined and asked alliance partners to give the post of convener to another leader.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday finally got an invitation for the January 22 consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla at Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. Responding to the invite, he wrote a letter to Chanmpat Rai, general secretary of the Temple Trust for inviting him. He also stated that he would visit the Ram temple along with his family after the consecration ceremony. Over the past few days, there has been a war of words raging between VHP leaders and SP national president over invitation to the consecration ceremony.

Government cannot adopt different yardsticks in providing jobs to family members of martyrs, giving a lesser status to the kin of defence personnel who laid down their lives for the country than those of police martyrs, Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled. The petitioner had sought directions to state government to consider the case of his grandson, Arshdeep Singh Sidhu, for appointment as DSP. It was submitted, Arshdeep, being the nephew of Davinder, was a part of the family and should be considered for appointment, as per government rules.

When Venkat Raman confronted his estranged wife Suchana Seth on Saturday with the accusation that she had murdered their four-year-old son, she defiantly said he was responsible for her plight. "Raman asked Suchana why she had killed their son. She outrightly denied doing that and blamed him for her condition. Suchana told Raman that while she is in police custody, he is free. In turn, Raman asked her if she had not killed their son, then how had he died? Both vented their frustrations," a cop said.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India has informed stock exchanges that it has received a refund order for Rs 25,464 crore, but faces three income tax demand orders which could result in an outgo of Rs 2,765 crore, which it will contest with the IT commissioner. The refund will come as a boost for policyholders and shareholders. The refund order comprises principal amount and interest. While the principal tax amount is currently reckoned as a receivable in the corporation's books and will not impact the balance sheet or the current year's financials.

A day after stating in Nagpur that the Navi Mumbai airport would be operational by end of December this year, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said commercial operationalization of Navi Mumbai airport is expected by March 31, 2025. On Saturday, Scindia visited the airport construction site and said though efforts are on to launch airline flight operations by December, end of March 2025 would be a "realistic projection with a surprise in its cache if it (airport) is completed before time."

The Himachal Pradesh high court has stayed the transfer orders of a bank employee, who was allegedly shifted for being a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). A division bench comprising Chief Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua, during the preliminary hearing of the case, observed that the applicant was transferred only because he was a member of the RSS. The court held that prima-facie the transfer order appeared to be patently arbitrary, illegal and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Government is not looking at an immediate easing of export bans on several farm goods including wheat, rice, onion and sugar, Union commerce and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, while maintaining that interests of consumers and farmers is paramount. Amid market speculation, the minister also ruled out any possibility of importing wheat, sugar or maize and said that government is taking all possible steps to ensure that prices remain under check. Goyal also said that he would look at ways to ensure that rice prices cool down.

Justice has been done to Ayodhya after a long wait of over 500 years and the reconstructed temple in the holy town is the beginning of India's cultural revival and restoration of national pride, said Rajnath Singh. He asserted that appeasement politics will end in the country and the foundation of an all-inclusive society beyond caste and class will be strengthened. "The temple at the birthplace of Ram Lalla will become the 'seed centre' temple of Ram's ideals, Lakshman Rekha's dignity, good governance system, destruction of terror and injustice," Singh said.

Enforcement directorate (ED) has once again summoned Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, marking the eighth instance, to appear before its office between January 16 and January 20, reports Sanjay Sahay. The summons pertain to the Ranchi land scam case, an issue that has seen political sparring between Soren and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. "CM is spending the cold nights under warm blankets despite getting eight summons. He should at least respect JMM supremo, Shibu Soren, by resigning from the post and facing ED's questions," Dubey tweeted on Saturday.

At least 15 tear gas shells were lobbed and about 140 persons were detained by the police as rioting broke out in the Pipodara GIDC on Saturday after reports of a labourer being thrashed by a weaving unit owner. At least five police vans were damaged in stone pelting by a group of over 250 migrant workers of the textile weaving units. Police registered an offence against a group of people, of whom 26 have been identified and arrested. Out of the 140 detained, those who were not involved in the attacks on the police or rioting were released.

A man who met with an accident earlier this week would have survived, in all likelihood, had the bystanders helped him reach a medical facility instead of looting his money. A video circulating on social media, showing a crowd purportedly looting Rs 1.5 lakh in cash from Dharmendra Kumar Gupta (46), a critically-injured Agra-based businessman, has been eliciting shocked responses. The 47-second video has also drawn the attention of cops who said they are going to file an FIR in the matter.

A Guwahati-bound IndiGo flight from Mumbai had to be diverted to Dhaka early Saturday after thick fog obstructed midnight landing attempts, first in Guwahati and then in Kolkata, officials said. The diversion led to a delay of nearly 12 hours, six of which were spent by the 178 passengers inside the plane at the Dhaka airport. The flight (6E-5319) touched down in Dhaka at 4 am. It was initially scheduled to land in Guwahati at 12:15 am on Saturday but did so only after 11 am.

Actor Radhika Apte on Saturday claimed she and other passengers at an airport were locked in the aerobridge for hours after her flight was delayed. "Today morning I had a flight at 8:30. It's 10:50 now and the flight has still not boarded. But the flight said we were boarding and put all the passengers in the aerobridge and locked it," Apte said on Instagram. An IndiGo spokesperson said the airline's Bhubaneswar-bound flight from Mumbai was delayed due to "operational reasons".

The director general of corporate affairs has ordered an inquiry into alleged violations by Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, owned by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter T Veena, Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC). The investigation stems from a report submitted by the registrar of companies, highlighting various violations and offences under the Companies Act. Income Tax Interim Settlement Board (ITISB) had reported that Rs 1.72 crore was paid by CMRL to Exalogic Solutions over three years from 2017.

Government on Saturday said that it is keeping close tabs on developments around the Red Sea, where Houthi militants have been attacking ships and oil tankers, though there have not been significant disruptions in India so far. An official said that new trade routes are being considered, and other options will be considered if the problem persists. Officials from the commerce department, and the ministries of defence, external affairs, shipping and finance are slated to meet on Wednesday to address some of the concerns flagged by stakeholders.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who will touch down in Tehran on Sunday, just 48 hours after the US-UK joint strike on Iran-backed Houthi militias, told a gathering in Nagpur about India's dramatic rise in geopolitics in the last decade amidst the United Nation's dwindling relevance due to the stranglehold of five countries, some of whom were no longer top global economies. Covid-19 diplomacy and a successful hosting of the G-20 summit amid the Russia-Ukraine war dramatically raised India's global stature, Jaishankar said, adding "New Delhi is now consulted in every major international issue. The world has come to us".

Driven by APAC's digitalization movement and geopolitical tensions, Kaspersky predicts cybersecurity threats in the region. Phishing, scams, data breaches, and cyberattacks remain a concern. India faces scams related to digital payments, cryptocurrencies, micro-loan apps, and IoT vulnerabilities. Southeast Asia deals with online scams, phishing attacks, and recruitment for criminal operations.