Times of India

CID officers investigating human smuggling case found that smugglers told emigrants from Punjab to claim asylum in US as Khalistan supporters. Gujarat emigrants were advised to seek asylum as Congress or AAP workers, newlyweds, or due to inter-caste marriage or family feuds. CID has booked 14 agents, including Joginder Mansaram, Chandresh Patel, and Bhargav Darji, and will issue look-out circulars.

Milind Deora, a prominent Congress leader and former Union minister, has announced his resignation from the party's primary membership. This decision marks a significant chapter in his political journey and ends his family's 55-year relationship with the Congress. Speculation suggests that Deora may join the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, given his disapproval of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat. Deora expressed gratitude to his colleagues and supporters for their unwavering support throughout the years.

Yuvraj Singh has always been aggressive, whether it was while batting or talking. The former India allrounder spoke to TOI at the launch of the Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence. "Ashwin is a great bowler but I don’t think he deserves a place in ODIs and T20s. He is very good with the ball, but what does he bring with the bat? Or as a fielder? In the Test team, yes, he should be there. But in white-ball cricket, I don’t think he deserves a place," Yuvraj said.

On Sunday, marking their first T20 International appearance since the disappointing exit in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinals, where Team India suffered a ten-wicket defeat against England in Adelaide, cricket stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are set to play together. Virat Kohli is likely to replace Tilak Varma in the lineup. Both players had been absent from India's T20 squad for the past 14 months, but the selectors controversially reintroduced them for this series.

Samsung is preparing to reveal its newest top-of-the-line smartphones, the Galaxy S24 series, at the highly anticipated Samsung Unpacked event. The event will showcase the latest 'Galaxy AI' features coming with these new phones. Additionally, the South Korean company may also announce other products such as a fitness band and flagship earbuds.

KL Rahul’s role as a wicketkeeper in Test cricket has lasted just one series against South Africa. TOI has learnt that the 31-year-old, who cracked a brilliant 101 against in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion, will play as a specialist batter in the five match home Test series against England, which begins with the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25. This decision provides KS Bharat a golden opportunity to make a Test comeback. In five Tests, Bharat has made 129 runs @ 18.42.

The Bombay high court quashed proceedings against two relatives of a Sangli resident in a Section 498A offense. The FIR, filed by the wife against her husband's brother and cousin, alleged that she was driven out of her matrimonial home and insulted.

Google and Apple removed the Airalo and Holafly apps in India following directives from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The decision to ban these apps came after fraudsters exploited unauthorised e-SIMs apps for cybercrimes. Singapore-based Airalo and Spain-based Holafly were banned because they lacked the necessary authorisation from DoT. Other e-SIM providers like Nomad eSIM and aloSIM are still accessible in India, indicating that they have permission from DoT and follow guidelines.

Ayodhya Masjid Trust Secretary Athar Hussain stated that the Muslim community fully accepts the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla at the Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. He emphasized the importance of unity and communal harmony in India and highlighted the shared heritage of Hindu-Muslim unity during the freedom struggle. Hussain expressed hope for a better future in India.

A thick blanket of fog enveloped the national capital, causing disruptions in traffic movement as the city awoke to an exceptionally cold Sunday. During the early hours of the day, the RK Puram Area recorded a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius. As many as 22 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country are running late due to dense fog conditions. Several flights have also been delayed. The city experienced its first cold wave day on Friday.

India has strongly protested the visit of the British high commissioner in Islamabad to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), calling it highly objectionable and asserting that such infringement of India's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable. Government had in the past lodged similar protests with envoys of other countries, including twice with the US in recent times, for allowing their envoys to visit POK which, as India maintains, is under illegal occupation of Pakistan.

NDIA bloc leaders on Saturday arrived at a consensus on the appointment of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as chairperson of the opposition grouping, a move that may not have gone down too well with JD(U). A proposal to appoint Nitish Kumar as convener was also mooted and unanimously backed by those present, but the Bihar CM is learned to have favoured setting up a team of party chiefs for closer coordination rather than appointing a convenor for the group. Sources said following insistence by some on having a convenor, Nitish favoured RJD's Lalu Prasad to take up the role.

Expressing serious concern about the wide gap between the number of hit-and-run accidents in the past five years and the minuscule number of victims' kin getting a paltry compensation of Rs 2 lakh each, the Supreme Court on Friday mandated the police to inform the kin of such accident victims about availability of compensation scheme under the Motor Vehicle Act. As per the ministry, there were 55,942 hit and run motor accidents in 2016, which increased to 65,186 in 2017, 69,621 in 2018, and 69,621 in 2019.

The bullet-riddled body of a man missing along with three others since January 10 in Manipur was found on Saturday in Bishnupur district, reports N Benson Singh. Dara Singh of Akasoi in Bishnupur and the others had gone to collect firewood from a hill in nearby Churachandpur district. The bodies of the other three were recovered with similar gunshot wounds from Haotak Phailen in Churachandpur district on Thursday. They were identified as Ibomcha Singh (51), his son Anand Singh (20) and Romen Singh (38).