1. PM Narendra Modi Congratulates Donald Trump, Says 'Looking Forward' To Working Together
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today posted a series of tweets, congratulating Donald Trump, who took oath on Friday in Washington as the 45th President of the United States. In his tweets, PM Modi said he looked forward to working with President Trump to "further deepen" India-US ties and "realise the full potential of our cooperation".
Mr Trump, who has won the mandate of white, middle-class America for his isolationist, protectionist plank, has so far been positive on India. During his election campaign, he had said, "I have great respect for India. It's an amazing country...the Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House."
During his campaign, Mr Trump had also expressed personal admiration for PM Modi.
(Source: NDTV)
2. UP Election: Samajwadi Party, Congress Fail to Reach Seat-sharing Agreement
Two days after the Congress declared the tie-up with the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP a done deal, the alliance talks were in a deadlock on Friday with two sides squabbling over the share of seats.
The SP dealt a blow to the coalition talks when it came out with a list of candidates for 208 seats, including nine held by the Congress, voting for which will be held in the first three phases, beginning 11 February.
What upset the Congress more was the SP’s plan to field candidates in Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli and Rahul’s Amethi Lok Sabha segments, sources said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Jallikattu Protest a Lesson For Hindutva Forces: Asaduddin Owaisi
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said that the Jallikattu protests are a lesson for the Hindutva forces.
His tweet came when thousands of people in Tamil Nadu are protesting after the Supreme Court dismissed the state's plea seeking recall of its 2014 verdict banning Jallikattu.
Owaisi, known for making controversial statements, earlier had said that Uniform Civil Code is "not good" for the country.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. In Dramatic Twist, How BCCI Stumped Lodha Panel in Supreme Court
In a fresh twist to the Board of Control for Cricket in India versus the Lodha panel on Friday, the Attorney General of India has urged the Supreme Court to recall the radical reforms suggested to bring greater transparency in the Indian cricket Board.
On a day the Supreme Court was to name a set of administrators for the BCCI, Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi brought a dramatic twist to the script when he argued that the implementation of the Lodha reforms needed a bigger debate and must be referred to a larger bench.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. ED Summons Zakir Naik Under PMLA
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued summons to controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency had on Thursday registered the case against Naik and his organisation Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).
Officials said on Friday the agency has issued the summons to Naik under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has asked him to appear by this month-end.
The agency wants to record the statement of Naik, who is abroad, and hence the summons were issued, they said. Separate summons have been issued against his organisation.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Alleged Conspirator Planning to Kill BJP Leaders Arrested, Deported to India
A man accused of hatching a conspiracy to kill certain BJP leaders based in south India has been deported by the Saudi authorities to India. The accused, identified as Syed Zakeer Raheem, was arrested by the Saudi authorities in May last year.
On Thursday, he was deported to Delhi from where he was taken into custody and taken to Hyderabad on Friday, as per a release issued by National Investigation Agency (NIA).
He is accused in the case registered by Hyderabad Police regarding a conspiracy to kill certain BJP leaders, it said. Raheem is brother-in-law of wanted terrorist Farhatuallah Ghori, presently in Pakistan, the release said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. 16-Yr-Old Kills 9-yr-Old, Chops Body Into 6 Parts, Eats Flesh, Drinks Blood
A 16-year-old boy from Ludhiana has been detained for killing a nine-year-old boy, chopping his body into six pieces, eating the flesh and drinking the blood. Deepu Kumar had gone missing on Monday. His beheaded body was found the next day, dumped in a vacant plot in the city's Dugri area.
Both the accused and the victim are children of migrant labourers living in the same lane. Police said that after killing the boy, the accused, who is a class VIII student, came home and behaved normally. He even cooked food for his father as his mother was away in Chandigarh with his elder brother.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Police Hike Reward For Information on Najeeb
After failing to achieve any breakthrough in tracing missing Jawaharlal Nehru University Najeeb Ahmed, the police on Friday hiked the reward to ₹10 lakh for anyone sharing information that might help them to find him.
The police had initially announced a reward of Rs 50,000, which was later increased to Rs 1 lakh, then again doubled to Rs 2 lakh. In November, the amount was hiked to Rs 5 lakh.
A police officer said it was hoped that by increasing the amount of the reward, people might come forward to help the investigators.
Twenty-seven-year old Najeeb had left the campus on 15 October, a day after he had had a scuffle with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
(Source: The Hindu)
9. Blink And Miss: Tiger Sighted After 40 Years in North Bengal
The rare sighting of a tiger in upper Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district has brought cheer to conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts.
Anmol Chhetri was driving downhill on Thursday when he spotted a Royal Bengal tiger between Pedong and Lava. He quickly took a photograph of the elusive predator.
“It is not just the photographs. Range officer Sujata Gurung reached the spot where the tiger was spotted and found pugmarks. A half-eaten carcass of a cattle along with tiger scat was found at the spot,” Pradeep Vyas, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal, told The Hindu.
(Source: The Hindu)
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