News LIVE: Five charred to death as fire breaks out in a Bengaluru bar
This blog will keep track of key global and local developments impacting business and markets through the day. Important local and global political developments will also find resonance here
One phone call by PM Modi to Saudi King helped India's operation 'Rahat' in Yemen: Sushma Swaraj
One direct phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi King in 2015 turned out to be a decisive game changer and facilitated a massive evacuation of Indians and foreigners stranded in war-torn Yemen, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.
'Operation Rahat' was launched by Indian Armed Forces to evacuate more than 4,000 Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies. The 11-day evacuation by sea started on April 1, 2015 from Aden port.
Jan 08, 08:47 AM (IST)
Winter Session: Rajya Sabha lost 34 hours due to disruptions
The Rajya Sabha lost half of its working time due to disruptions in the Winter Session during which the contentious triple talaq bill also could not be passed with the government and the opposition trading barbs over it.
The truncated session started on a stormy note with the opposition creating an uproar over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Jan 08, 08:40 AM (IST)
Trump needs Pak to cease being safe haven for terrorists: CIA
US President Donald Trump has asked Pakistan to "cease" being a safe haven for terrorists that threaten the US, the CIA Director Mike Pompeo said today.
The US has suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network terror groups and dismantle their safe havens.
Jan 08, 08:38 AM (IST)
Editors Guild condemns FIR against journalist in Aadhaar data leak case, seeks govt intervention
The Editors Guild of India has expressed concern over an FIR filed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) against the newspaper The Tribune for running an article that allegedly exposed a data breach of the Aadhaar project.
In a statement, the Guild condemned UIDAI's action "to have The Tribune reporter booked by the police as it is clearly meant to browbeat a journalist whose investigation on the matter was of great public interest". It added that the action is "unfair, unjustified and a direct attack on the freedom of the press".
Jan 08, 08:35 AM (IST)
Tata Housing, Lodha Group keen to buy Jaypee's Yamuna Expressway
Real estate developers Tata Housing and the Lodha Group have filed initial bids for debt-laden realtor and road builder Jaypee Infratech, the fate of which is now being decided at the Supreme Court and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), The Economic Timesreported.
Two people familiar with the bidding process told ET that both property companies are keen to own Jaypee's Yamuna Expressway, a prime concrete road project that starts at the eastern end of Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and runs up to Agra. The Yamuna Expressway carries heavy traffic at a toll of slightly more than Rs 2 a kilometre for a car.
Jan 08, 08:30 AM (IST)
Rahul Gandhi embarks on visit to Bahrain
Rahul Gandhi today embarked on a visit to Bahrain--his first foreign trip after becoming the Congress chief--where he will address a convention of NRIs and meet the Gulf country's Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamas Al-Khalifa.
Gandhi, who will be a state guest of Bahrain, is also expected to meet King Hamas bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Jan 08, 08:23 AM (IST)
Unions were misled: TN Transport Minister on strike
Agitating transport unions have been misled about the wage hike, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar said, as the indefinite strike call given by them entered its fourth day today.
The unions, which launched the strike on January 4 over wage revision, declared that their agitation would continue till their demands were met.
Jan 08, 08:12 AM (IST)
Congress says govt destroyed Aadhaar project, used it as surveillance tool; slams FIR against The Tribune
The Congress on Sunday accused the NDA government of destroying the Aadhaar programme and called the FIR against The Tribune and its reporter "unfortunate", Firstpost reported.
Alleging that the government had "dictatorial" tenancies, Congress said that the NDA has been silencing every voice of dissent.
Jan 08, 08:08 AM (IST)
Congress demands PM's intervention to resolve Mahanadi issue
Amidst debate on whether a tribunal is required to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattishgarh, the state Congress unit today sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for amicable settlement of the issue.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should intervene and ask Chhattishgarh to stop project work on upstream of Mahanadi," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan told reporters.
Jan 08, 08:03 AM (IST)
Bengaluru: Five charred to death as fire breaks out in bar
Five employees of a bar-cum-restaurant were charred to death when a major fire broke out at Kumbaara Sangha building in Kalasipalya here in the early hours today, police said.
The incident occurred at 2:30 AM at Kailash Bar and Restaurant when the employees were asleep.
Jan 08, 08:00 AM (IST)
China December forex reserves rise to $3.14 trillion, highest since September 2016
China’s foreign exchange reserves rose $20.2 billion in December to $3.14 trillion, beating economists' estimates. This is the highest level since September 2016 and the biggest monthly increase since July, reports Reuters.
In November, the reserves increased by $10 billion.
The increase in December is on the back of tight regulations and a strong yuan, which continued to discourage capital outflows, central bank data showed on Sunday.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected reserves to rise by $6 billion to $3.125 trillion.
Jan 08, 07:39 AM (IST)
Trump administration believes it should try new policies for Pak
The Trump administration believes that it is time to try something new other than maintaining strategic patience and offering inducements to Pakistan to prevent it becoming a safe haven for terrorists from where they can attack the US and its allies, a senior official said today.
He said the polices followed by the successive US administrations post 9/11 vis-a-vis Pakistan have not worked, reports PTI.
The US is committed to not allowing either Pakistan or Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists from where they can attack the US and its allies, said the senior Trump administration official who spoke to a group of reporters on condition of anonymity.
"These sanctuaries really threaten stability in the region and they continue to fuel the overall terrorism problem that we're facing," he said.
One phone call by PM Modi to Saudi King helped India's operation 'Rahat' in Yemen: Sushma Swaraj
One direct phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi King in 2015 turned out to be a decisive game changer and facilitated a massive evacuation of Indians and foreigners stranded in war-torn Yemen, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.
'Operation Rahat' was launched by Indian Armed Forces to evacuate more than 4,000 Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies. The 11-day evacuation by sea started on April 1, 2015 from Aden port.
Winter Session: Rajya Sabha lost 34 hours due to disruptions
The Rajya Sabha lost half of its working time due to disruptions in the Winter Session during which the contentious triple talaq bill also could not be passed with the government and the opposition trading barbs over it.
The truncated session started on a stormy note with the opposition creating an uproar over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Trump needs Pak to cease being safe haven for terrorists: CIA
US President Donald Trump has asked Pakistan to "cease" being a safe haven for terrorists that threaten the US, the CIA Director Mike Pompeo said today.
The US has suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network terror groups and dismantle their safe havens.
Editors Guild condemns FIR against journalist in Aadhaar data leak case, seeks govt intervention
The Editors Guild of India has expressed concern over an FIR filed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) against the newspaper The Tribune for running an article that allegedly exposed a data breach of the Aadhaar project.
In a statement, the Guild condemned UIDAI's action "to have The Tribune reporter booked by the police as it is clearly meant to browbeat a journalist whose investigation on the matter was of great public interest". It added that the action is "unfair, unjustified and a direct attack on the freedom of the press".
Tata Housing, Lodha Group keen to buy Jaypee's Yamuna Expressway
Real estate developers Tata Housing and the Lodha Group have filed initial bids for debt-laden realtor and road builder Jaypee Infratech, the fate of which is now being decided at the Supreme Court and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), The Economic Times reported.
Two people familiar with the bidding process told ET that both property companies are keen to own Jaypee's Yamuna Expressway, a prime concrete road project that starts at the eastern end of Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and runs up to Agra. The Yamuna Expressway carries heavy traffic at a toll of slightly more than Rs 2 a kilometre for a car.
Rahul Gandhi embarks on visit to Bahrain
Rahul Gandhi today embarked on a visit to Bahrain--his first foreign trip after becoming the Congress chief--where he will address a convention of NRIs and meet the Gulf country's Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamas Al-Khalifa.
Gandhi, who will be a state guest of Bahrain, is also expected to meet King Hamas bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Unions were misled: TN Transport Minister on strike
Agitating transport unions have been misled about the wage hike, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar said, as the indefinite strike call given by them entered its fourth day today.
The unions, which launched the strike on January 4 over wage revision, declared that their agitation would continue till their demands were met.
Congress says govt destroyed Aadhaar project, used it as surveillance tool; slams FIR against The Tribune
The Congress on Sunday accused the NDA government of destroying the Aadhaar programme and called the FIR against The Tribune and its reporter "unfortunate", Firstpost reported.
Alleging that the government had "dictatorial" tenancies, Congress said that the NDA has been silencing every voice of dissent.
Congress demands PM's intervention to resolve Mahanadi issue
Amidst debate on whether a tribunal is required to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattishgarh, the state Congress unit today sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for amicable settlement of the issue.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should intervene and ask Chhattishgarh to stop project work on upstream of Mahanadi," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan told reporters.
Bengaluru: Five charred to death as fire breaks out in bar
Five employees of a bar-cum-restaurant were charred to death when a major fire broke out at Kumbaara Sangha building in Kalasipalya here in the early hours today, police said.
The incident occurred at 2:30 AM at Kailash Bar and Restaurant when the employees were asleep.
China December forex reserves rise to $3.14 trillion, highest since September 2016
China’s foreign exchange reserves rose $20.2 billion in December to $3.14 trillion, beating economists' estimates. This is the highest level since September 2016 and the biggest monthly increase since July, reports Reuters.
In November, the reserves increased by $10 billion.
The increase in December is on the back of tight regulations and a strong yuan, which continued to discourage capital outflows, central bank data showed on Sunday.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected reserves to rise by $6 billion to $3.125 trillion.
Trump administration believes it should try new policies for Pak
The Trump administration believes that it is time to try something new other than maintaining strategic patience and offering inducements to Pakistan to prevent it becoming a safe haven for terrorists from where they can attack the US and its allies, a senior official said today.
He said the polices followed by the successive US administrations post 9/11 vis-a-vis Pakistan have not worked, reports PTI.
The US is committed to not allowing either Pakistan or Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists from where they can attack the US and its allies, said the senior Trump administration official who spoke to a group of reporters on condition of anonymity.
"These sanctuaries really threaten stability in the region and they continue to fuel the overall terrorism problem that we're facing," he said.