Synopsis

Import of live birds banned in Delhi, Ghazipur poultry market to be closed for 10 days: Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced a ban on import of live birds in the national capital and closure of Ghazipur poultry market for the next 10 days in view of bird flu scare.

Trump's Twitter account suspension dangerous precedent: BJP leaders

BJP leaders expressed concern on Saturday over the permanent suspension of US President Donald Trump''s Twitter account by the social media giant, saying it sets a dangerous precedent and is a wake-up call for democracies about the threat from unregulated big tech companies.

Bhandara hospital fire: probe panel to submit report in 3 days

A six-member team headed by the director of the health department will conduct a probe into the Bhandara hospital fire and submit report within three days, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has announced.

Kerala lottery overcomes COVID-19 crisis, records increase in weekly ticket sales

The Kerala lottery department has made unprecedented gains in the weekly ticket sales in the state overcoming the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the sales soar in the last few months.

Hospital fire: Golden future of infants taken away, says Irani

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani expressed grief over the hospital fire in Bhandara in neighbouring Maharashtra in the early hours of Saturday in which 10 infants were killed, stating that their "golden future" had been taken away from them.

World waiting for India's vaccines, watching how it runs world's biggest vaccination drive: PM

New Delhi: India is ready with two made-in-India vaccines for the protection of humanity and the world is not only waiting for them but also watching as to how the country runs the globe''s biggest vaccination programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Fresh snowfall in Kashmir; air traffic at Srinagar airport affected

Srinagar and some other parts of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Saturday, affecting flight operations at the airport here, even as the minimum temperature dropped across the Valley, officials said.

International

Indonesia jet carrying 62 people goes missing on domestic flight

Jakarta: A Sriwijaya Air passenger jet carrying 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers after taking off from Indonesia''s capital on a domestic flight, officials said.

Public warned against COVID-19 vaccine scams in UK

Fraudsters are targeting elderly and vulnerable people with a vaccine scam and asking for bank details or cash payments for access to COVID-19 vaccines that are fake or non-existent, the UK''s National Crime Agency (NCA) warned the British public in a message this week.

Democratic wins could strengthen Biden's legislative push

President-elect Joe Biden''s victory in November was tempered by concerns that he would face Republican opposition in the Senate that could stymie him at every turn.

Will introduce immigration bill 'immediately' after taking office, says Biden

Washington: US President-elect Joe Biden has said he will introduce an immigration legislation "immediately" after taking office, reversing the Trump administration''s policies.

Won't be silenced: Trump after Twitter ban

Outgoing US President Donald Trump has slammed Twitter for permanently suspending him, vowing that he and his support base would not be silenced.

Beijing on alert after COVID-19 spike in neighbouring province; 9 mn vaccinated in China

Beijing has gone on an alert mode following a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring Hebei province while China has administered nine million coronavirus vaccines so far in a stepped-up nationwide drive to contain the virus.

Google suspends Parler from Play Store; Apple threatens to ban it

Internet giant Google has suspended US-based microblogging platform Parler - where most of the supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump are shifting their base - from its app store, citing posts inciting violence and demanding "robust" moderation for "egregious" content from the social networking service. Simultaneously, Apple also warned Parler on Friday that it will ban the service from its app store if it doesn''t start to moderate its content better.

Business

'India ushering in rapid structural reforms to become USD 5 trn economy by 2025'

New Delhi: India is strengthening the entire ecosystem to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s dream of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025 through rapid structural reforms, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said.

UP's New Excise Policy aims Rs 6,000 cr excess revenue next fiscal

The Uttar Pradesh government has given its approval to the Excise Policy 2021-22, expecting revenue to jump by Rs 6,000 crore during the fiscal. The approval was granted by the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The cabinet meeting took place on Friday night.

WhatsApp says latest does not change its data-sharing practices with Facebook

Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Saturday said its latest - which has received criticism from a multitude of users globally - describes business communication and does not change its data-sharing practices with the social media giant.

Govt buys 531 lakh tonnes paddy till Jan 8 at MSP for over Rs 1 lakh crore

The Centre has procured 531.22 lakh tonnes of paddy so far during this kharif marketing season from over 70 lakh farmers at MSP, costing a little over Rs 1 lakh crore, amid the ongoing protest by farmers at Delhi borders seeking repeal of three new farm laws and legal guarantee of MSP.

Overall sales now trending very close to usual times, says D-Mart

Avenue Supermarts Ltd, which owns and operates the supermarket chain D-Mart, on Saturday said its overall sales and sales mix are now trending very close to usual times, though the consumption changes post COVID-19 still persists.

Legal

Centre seeks dismissal of review petition on PM CARES Fund

The Centre on Saturday sought dismissal of a review petition seeking information about funds received by the Prime Minister''s Citizens Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM CARES) Fund.

Allegation of torture of life convict: HC seeks report, submitted

Taking serious note of the allegations that a life convict was tortured in the central prison, the Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Thiruvananthapuram District Magistrate and District Medical Officer to visit the jail in the state capital and report on his condition.

Arrest should be the last option for police: HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the arrest of a person against whom an FIR has been lodged "should be the last option" and restricted to cases where such an action is "imperative" or custodial interrogation is required.

Uttarakhand High Court stays denotification of Shivalik Elephant Reserve

The Uttarakhand High Court has put a stay on the denotification of the Shivalik Elephant Reserve the state''s only jumbo reserve.

Maha: Two Bangladeshis get two-year jail term for illegal stay

A court here in Maharashtra has handed a two-year jail term to two nationals of Bangladesh for staying illegally in Thane district, as per the order made available on Saturday.

Entertainment

Zack Snyder explain why he made 'Army of the Dead' with Netflix

Los Angeles: Filmmaker Zack Snyder says he decided to make his new movie, zombie heist film "Army of the Dead", with streamer Netflix as Warner Bros showed lack of interest in the project.

Amitabh Bachchan now has 45 million followers on Twitter

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday clocked 45 million followers on Twitter.

We still need to be extremely mindful of virus: Shilpa Shirodkar after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

Shilpa Shirodkar recently became the first Indian celebrity to receive COVID-19 vaccine but the actor believes that people must not become complacent and should continue wearing face masks to protect themselves from the virus.

Ryan Guzman, fiancee Chrysti Ane welcome baby girl

Actor Ryan Guzman and his fiancee Chrysti Ane have become parents to a baby girl, their second child together.

'Barry' S3 is completely written and ready to go: Bill Hader

Actor Bill Hader has revealed that the writing process for the third and fourth seasons of his critically-acclaimed dark comedy "Barry" has been completed.

Sports

Jadeja sustains thumb fracture, out of 4th Test; Pant likely to bat in 2nd innings

Sydney: Depleted India''s injury woes worsened with senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja sustaining a left thumb dislocation and fracture which is likely to rule him out of the final Test in Brisbane, starting January 15.

Pujara was scared to play shot, played to survive than score runs: Border

Cheteshwar Pujara was "scared to play shot" and just looked to survive rather than taking the fight to the Australians, former skipper Allan Border said on Saturday, slamming the Indian''s batting tactics on day three of the third Test.

T10 can do to cricket what T20 did, feels Dwayne Bravo

West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo feels the T10 format can bring about a revolution similar to the one that was seen following the advent of T20 cricket more than 15 years ago.

Wriddhiman Saha to keep wickets as Pant taken for scans after injuring left elbow

Sydney: The Indian team was dealt a blow as wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant sustained an elbow injury, which could rule him out of the remainder of the third Test against Australia here.

Faisal's strike hands Mohammedan Sporting a winning start in I-League season

Ali Faisal''s second-half strike helped newly-promoted Mohammedan Sporting beat debutants Sudeva Delhi FC 1-0 as the I-League season got underway here on Saturday.

GK Snapshots

1. National Board of Wildlife Approved Advisory for Human-Wildlife Conflict Management

2. PM CARES Fund Trust allocates Rs 201.58 cr for installation of PSA Oxygen Plants

3. Flipkart signs MoU with LSC to set up Centre of Excellence in Logistics Skill

4. Centre Approves New National Highway projects worth Rs 5,801 cr for Maharashtra

5. Government Promulgates Ordinance to merge J&K Cadre Officers with AGMUT

6. India set to head 3 Important Committees of UNSC

7. PNB Collaborates with IIT Kanpur & FIRST to Set up Fintech Innovation Centre at IIT Kanpur Campus

8. IOCL in Partnership with SBI Launches ‘IndianOil – SBI Co-branded RuPay Debit Card’

9. Pakistan successfully Test Fires ‘Fatah-1’ – Guided Multi Launch Rocket System

10. Justice RS Chauhan Sworn in as CJ of Uttarakhand HC & Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia Appointed as CJ of Gauhati HC

11. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh launches Welfare Schemes; Dedicated January 2021 to Girl Child

12. Maharashtra Celebrates Marathi Journalist Day on January 6, 2021