J. Sikri refuses offer from government to nominate him to Commonwealth tribunal

Justice A.K. Sikri, the Supreme Court judge whose vote in the Prime Minister-led high-power committee became decisive for the removal of Alok Verma as CBI Director, on Sunday turned down an offer from the government to nominate him to the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitrary Tribunal (CSAT).

PM’s upcoming visit to Odisha: Over 1,000 trees felled

Felling of over 1,000 trees for a temporary helipad for the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the western Odisha town of Balangir has made green activists see red.

India for Afghan-led peace talks

India supports the efforts of the government and the people of Afghanistan to build an inclusive nation, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Central Asian countries and Afghanistan on Sunday.

Delhi must engage with Taliban, oppose U.S.-Pak deal outside Kabul: Hamid Karzai

More than four years after demitting office, former President Hamid Karzairemains a key figure in Afghan politics. During a recent visit to Delhi for official meetings, Mr. Karzai said India must reconsider its refusal to deal directly with the Taliban, given that the insurgent group was an important stakeholder in the future of Afghanistan.

49 elephants killed in Railway accidents between 2016-18: MoEFCC

In 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) released ‘Eco-friendly measures to mitigate impacts of linear infrastructure’, an advisory document for mitigating human-animal conflicts. Despite this advisory, and many others issued by conservationists and organisations, deaths of wild animals in road and railway accidents have continued unabated.

Kodanad estate murder case: Chennai police team arrests duo in Delhi

K.V. Sayan and Valayar Manoj — two suspects in the 2017 dacoity and murder at former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s estate in Kodanad — who in a video conversation with journalist Mathew Samuel sought to link Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami with the break-in at the estate were arrested by a special team of the Chennai police in New Delhi on Sunday.

Gujarat to implement 10% quota

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced on Sunday that the State would implement the 10% quota in government jobs and higher education for the economically backward sections in the general category from January 14. This makes Gujarat the first State to implement the quota.

At mini 2+2, India, U.S. review progress on pacts

India and the U.S. reviewed the progress on finalising two key agreements during the 2+2 intercession meeting last week, apart from taking stock of the overall defence cooperation. The agreements are the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), a foundational agreement.

Tamil Nadu’s biryani binge keeps cash registers ringing

The growing Tamil appetite for biryani has kept cash registers jingling across the State, with a fourfold increase in the number of restaurants serving the rice and meat (or vegetables) favourite.

Noted writer Neelum Saran Gour bags The Hindu fiction prize

Noted English writer Neelum Saran Gour, author of Requiem in Raga Janki and Bengali writer and socio-political activist Manoranjan Byapari, author of Interrogating my Chandal Life: An Autobiography of a Dalit, bagged The Hindu Prize 2018 for fiction and non-fiction respectively at The Hindu Lit for Life 2019 here on Sunday.