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January 7, 2025 3:03 PM

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Midday News

THE HEADLINES

 

  • Election Commission to announce poll schedule for Delhi Legislative Assembly elections in a short while.

     

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah launches BHARATPOL portal in New Delhi; Says it will take India’s international investigation to a new era.

     

  • At least 53 people killed after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal-Tibet border this morning.

     

  • Union Health Ministry urges states to enhance Public Awareness Campaigns on HMPV transmission; Says there is no cause for public concern.

     

  • Rescue operation underway for trapped workers in coal mine in Assam.

     

  • Badminton, India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advances to round of 16 at Malaysia Super 1000 in Kuala Lumpur.

     

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Election commission will announce the poll schedule for Delhi Legislative Assembly elections in a short while. The poll panel will hold a press conference to announce the schedule. Our correspondent reports that the term of the 70-member Delhi Assembly will end on the  23rd of next month.

More than one crore 55 lakh voters are registered in Delhi, comprising over 83 lakh male voters and 71 lakh female voters among others. According to Delhi’s Chief Electoral Office, more than 52 thousand voters have been added between the age group of 18 to 19 years in the last two months. Vikaspuri assembly has the largest number of electors, with over 4 lakh 62 thousand voters, while Delhi Cantt assembly has the smallest electorate base with 78 thousand eight hundred and 93 electors. Meanwhile, political parties in the Capital are already in the election mode. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has announced its candidates for all the assembly seats in the national capital, while the BJP has so far announced 29 candidates. The Congress also released the third list of candidates for the upcoming Delhi polls, bringing the total number of contestants to 48 for the 70-member legislature.”

 

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Home Minister Amit Shah launched the BHARATPOL portal developed by Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi today. The BHARATPOL portal is aimed at streamlining the processing of all requests for international assistance through INTERPOL, including the issuance of Red Notices and other colour-coded INTERPOL notices.

Speaking on this occasion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, BHARATPOL will take the international investigation into a new era. He said, now the investigating agencies will be able to connect with the Interpol to get the required information. He said, it will help in dealing with the cases related to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, terrorism related crimes, and human trafficking.

The Home Minister said, now with the use of modern systems, it will be easier to bring back criminals sitting abroad and those who have fled abroad after committing crimes in India. On this occasion, Mr Shah presented Police Medals to 35 CBI officers and officials, who have been awarded the President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service and Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation.

Our correspondent reports the portal has been developed to deal with transnational crimes including cyber-crimes and financial crimes.

BHARATPOL portal will significantly facilitate Indian law enforcement agencies enabling real-time information sharing for faster access to international police assistance. The growing footprint of transnational crimes including cyber-crime, financial crimes, online radicalization, organized crimes, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, necessitates rapid and real-time international assistance in criminal investigations. To address this challenge, CBI has developed BHARATPOL Portal, which will bring all the stakeholders on a common platform. By facilitating easier and faster access to international assistance, it will strengthen India’s efforts in combating transnational crimes.

 

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At least 53 people were killed and 62 injured after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Nepal-Tibet border this morning.

The epicentre was located in Xizang  in Tibet , near the Nepal border.

The earthquake also sent tremors across parts of North India, including Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim. The tremors were strongly felt in parts of Bihar, prompting people to rush out of their homes and apartments in panic.

The Kathmandu Valley felt earthquake tremors at 6:50 am early this morning today. The earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale and hit 93 km northeast of Lobuche in Nepal. According to the Department of Minerals and Geology in Nepal, the epicentre of the earthquake is Dinggye County of Tibet in China. The tremor occurred at 6:50 am panicked people mostly in the eastern hilly districts which borders Tibet in China. The tremor was felt in the Kathmandu Valley and its vicinity, forcing people to rush to the streets. Detailed information and reports on any casualties are awaited.”

 

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The Centre has asked the states and Union Territories to implement the provisions of Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to provide relief to undertrial prisoners. This section provides relief to undertrial prisoners by reducing the number of people held in jail awaiting trial. The Union Home Ministry has written a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories in this regard. Under the new rule, first-time offenders can be released on bond after serving one-third of the maximum period of imprisonment.

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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari today chaired a meeting of Transport Ministers from all States and Union Territories at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. In a social media post, Mr Gadkari said that this annual gathering serves as a vital platform to foster synergy between the Union and State Governments, facilitating collaborative deliberations on critical policy matters and advancing cohesive strategies for national progress. He added that such dialogues are essential for addressing regional challenges, sharing best practices, and ensuring the uniform implementation of transformative transport policies across the nation.

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The Ministry of Steel today organized an event on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in New Delhi. The program is primarily aimed to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the steel industry. Addressing the event, the secretary of the Ministry of Steel, Sandeep Pondrik, highlighted the need to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning skills in the steel sector. He said, these can prove to be helpful in sorting the data collected by government organizations. Mr. Pondrik further emphasized the adoption and adaptation of latest tools.

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Information and Broadcasting (I and B) Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today launched the official calendar of the Union Government at Rail Bhawan. He was accompanied with Minister of State for I and B, L Murugan.

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Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has emphasised that there is no cause of concern for the public from the Human metapneumovirus – HMPV. During a virtual meeting with the States and Union Territories, the Health Secretary reviewed the present situation of respiratory illnesses in India and the status regarding the HMPV cases along with the public health measures for their management. The secretary has advised the states to strengthen and review the surveillance of Influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections. The states have also been advised to enhance Information, Education, and Communication – as well as awareness among the population regarding prevention of transmission of the virus.  She reiterated that an increase in respiratory illnesses is usually seen during the winter months and assured that the country is well prepared for any potential surge in respiratory illness cases.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, two cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), have been identified in Nagpur. The two cases involve a seven-year-old and a 13-year-old children.

A positive case of HMPV has also been reported in Gujarat. The HMPV sample of a two-month-old child, who came to Ahmedabad from Dungarpur, Rajasthan for treatment, has tested positive. The child is currently under treatment, and his condition is stable.

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The Assam Government has requisitioned Navy divers to assist in the rescue operation of the trapped coal miners at Umrangso in Dima Hasao district close to Meghalaya border.  The miners were trapped inside a ‘rat-hole’ coal mine after water gushed into the 300-feet-deep quarry.The Army has already launched a joint  operation with the State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force. The Army mobilized a special relief task force comprising divers, engineers, and other trained personnel equipped with essential tools to carry out the rescue operation.

In a social media post, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned that Navy divers from Visakhapatnam, are expected to arrive soon as water levels in mine have risen to nearly 100 feet.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma yesterday sought the assistance of the Army to rescue of the nine trapped miners. Accordingly, the Army mobilised a special relief task force consisting of divers, engineers and other trained personnel equipped with essential tools to rescue the miners and reached the site at around 6;30 am. Additional teams from Assam rifles and Engineer Task force are en-route to reinforce the ongoing rescue operations. According to Assam Government sources three dead bodies are seen from the ground but not retrieved till the time of filing of this report. Despite a ban by National Green Tribunal in 2014, rat hole mining continues illegally in Assam and every year many people lost their lives. “

 

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a bilateral meeting with his Maldivian counterpart, Mohammed Ghassan Maumoon, in New Delhi tomorrow. During the talks, the two leaders will review various aspects of bilateral defence cooperation, including training, regular military exercises, and defence projects.

The Maldivian minister will be on a three-day visit to India starting tomorrow.

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast Cold wave conditions over parts of Himachal Pradesh and West Rajasthan till tomorrow. The IMD has also forecast dense fog conditions to continue to prevail during night and early morning hours in some parts of Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh today. While, these conditions will prevail over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim tomorrow. Minimum temperatures are expected to fall by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius over Northwest, Central and East India during the next 2 days. Meanwhile, the weather agency said that light to moderate rainfall will likely be present over Northeastern states today and tomorrow.

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Benchmark domestic equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading with gains in the afternoon trade today, supported by Oil and Gas, Energy and Healthcare sectors. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 267 points, or 0.34 percent, to 78,232, and the NSE Nifty50 added 116 points, almost half percent, to 23,732, when reports last came in.

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US President-elect Donald Trump renewed his offer to make Canada the 51st state, hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation. Canadian Prime Minister resigned yesterday after mounting pressure from his ruling Liberal Party amid his declining popularity. General elections are scheduled for later this year.

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In Badminton, India’s women’s doubles duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the round of 16 at the Malaysia Super 1000 tournament in Kuala Lumpur, defeating Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai 21-10, 21-10 in straight games.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN

  • Election Commission to announce poll schedule for Delhi Legislative Assembly elections in a short while.

     

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah launches BHARATPOL portal in New Delhi; Says it will take India’s international investigation to a new era.

     

  • At least 53 people killed after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal-Tibet border this morning.

     

  • Union Health Ministry urges states to enhance Public Awareness Campaigns on HMPV transmission; Says there is no cause for public concern.

     

  • Rescue operation underway for trapped workers in coal mine in Assam.

     

  • Badminton, India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advances to round of 16 at Malaysia Super 1000 in Kuala Lumpur.