LA shooting live news: 9 killed after Lunar New Year celebrations in California

Israel’s Netanyahu fires key Cabinet ally, heeding high court’s ruling and deepening showdown over judicial system, reports AP

Debt per Indian increased from Rs 43,124 to Rs 1,09,373 in 9 yrs: Congress

The Congress on Sunday alleged that debt per Indian has increased from Rs 43,124 to Rs 1,09,373 in the last nine years, and has become 2.53 times more than what it was in 2014. Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh alleged that the total outstanding debt of the Government of India, which was 55.87 lakh crore as on March 31, 2014, would be estimated to go up to Rs 155.31 lakh crore by March 31, 2023.

189 convicts to be released from prisons across Maharashtra, including three from Thane Central Jail, on Republic Day as part of Centre’s special remission programme to mark 75 years of Independence: Official

Medium danger level avalanche likely in Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, Ramban, Bandipore & Kupwara districts & low danger level avalanche likely in Baramulla & Ganderbal districts in next 24 hours. People advised to take precautions & avoid these areas: J&K Disaster Management Authority

Guruvayur temple has over 260 kg of gold, nearly 20,000 gold lockets: RTI to query

The famed Guruvaur Sree Krishna Temple in this central Kerala district, which recently revealed details of bank deposits to the tune of over Rs 1,700 crore, has declared that it also has over 260 kg of gold in stock.In an RTI reply, the authorities of the temple said it has 263.637 kg of gold comprising precious stones and coins, and nearly 20,000 gold lockets.

Former PM Deve Gowda writes to PM Modi, requests him to instruct Ministry of Steel and SAIL authorities to drop proposal for closure of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited at Bhadravati

Pakistan’s economic crisis going from bad to worse: Report

Pakistan’s economic crisis is going from bad to worse. The forex reserves in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has recently touched the lowest mark of USD 4.343 billion just enough for two weeks. This is just due to the ineptitude of the political class and over-involvement of the army in decision-making, reported Financial Post.According to the Washington-based financial news organisation, this dip in forex reserves came after a loan of USD 1 billion was repaid by Pakistan to two United Arab Emirates (UAE) banks. The remittances to Pakistan abroad have declined from USD 15.8 billion to USD 14.1 billion. Notably, on January 6, the forex reserves in the SBP touched the lowest mark of USD 4.343 billion, just enough for two weeks.

Gunfight between Maoists, security forces in Jharkhand

Hours before the beginning of a 24-hour Jharkhand bandh called by banned CPI (Maoists) on Sunday, a gun battle took place between members of another red-rebel outfit and security forces in West Singhbhum district, police said.

Youth stabbed to death in Delhi, two minors nabbed

An 18-year-old youth was allegedly stabbed to death in south Delhi’s Maidna Garhi area, police said on Sunday. Two juveniles have been apprehended in connection with the murder, they said.

Pakistan general elections will be postponed if economy doesn’t recover: PDM spokesperson

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)’s spokesperson Hafiz Hamdullah on Sunday said that Pakistan’s next general elections will be postponed if the country’s economy fails to recover, Pakistan-based news channel Geo News reported.

Building collapse in Syrian city of Aleppo leaves 12 dead

HPCL to operate Vizag refinery at expanded capacity from end-June

Ahead of Republic Day, a seven-day ‘Ops Alert’ exercise commenced from 21st Jan to 28th Jan, all along Indo-Pak international border from Sir Creek to Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan, to thwart any ill designs of anti-national elements

ANI quoting the BSF

Australian Open Update

We have to compete with international schools. There was a time when we wanted that government schools should be better than private schools. This has happened. Now we want that our schools become world’s best

– Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

Police attend shooting in Los Angeles area, multiple casualties – LA Times

Police were attending a shooting in Monterey Park, California with multiple casualities on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a law enforcement source. The shooting took place after 10 p.m. (0600 GMT) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park, the newspaper said.

Rijiju shares interview of retd judge who says SC ‘hijacked’ Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday sought to support the views of a retired high court judge, who said the Supreme Court “hijacked” the Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself. Rijiju shared the video of an interview of Justice R S Sodhi (retd), a former judge of the Delhi Court, saying it is “voice of a judge” and that majority of people have similar “sane views”.

There can be no compromise on the issue of the security of Rahul Gandhi. It is our top priority. We will follow what the security agencies say: Jairam Ramesh, General Secretary in-charge, Communications on Bharat Jodo Yatra at Samba, J&K

Jammu-Srinagar National Highway which was shut due to a landslide at Dewal Bridge, Samroli, Udhampur reopened for stranded vehicles after clearance work

Via ANI

KTM boss says scope of electric mobility ‘highly overrated’

The head of Swiss sports bike maker KTM, which claims to be the world’s No 1 premium motorbike brand and also sells tens of hundreds of e-bikes in Europe, is not confident of the capability of electric vehicles beyond a point and feels that optimism on this front is “highly overrated”. KTM, which is primarily into high-end racing bikes, has a 50.1:49.9 manufacturing JV with Bajaj Auto. It will also be selling the electric model of the resurrected iconic Chetak scooters from the Bajaj stable in Europe from the first quarter of 2024.

Jammu-Srinagar National Highway closed due to landslide

Trinamool Congress will not join CPI(M)-Congress alliance in Tripura Assembly elections

– Tripura TMC president Pijush Kanti Biswas

Ukraine’s tragic week shows there’s no safe place in war

A small broom and dustpan in hand, Olga Prenzilevich cleans up the debris along the road in a sleepy Kyiv suburb next to a cordoned-off mound of charred vehicles and mishap wreckage. But she can’t sweep away the terrible memory of seeing the government helicopter that carried Ukraine’s interior minister tumbling through the fog and crashing into the kindergarten building.

Shraddha murder case: Delhi Police draft 3000-page chargesheet, 100 witnesses listed

Delhi Police have drafted a 3000-page chargesheet, against Aaftab Amin Poonawalla accused of murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and chopping her body into 35 pieces with a saw-like object, said Delhi Police sources. According to ANI sources, apart from 100 witnesses, forensic and electronic evidence has been made the basis of the draft charge sheet of more than 3000 pages. The Delhi police are likely to submit the chargesheet by January end.

We are planning to establish a big film city in Punjab. I will request film studios in Mumbai to establish their studios in Punjab also. I am here to connect the Punjabi cinema industry and Bollywood

– Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann in Mumbai

Under the leadership of PM Modi, India will become 4th largest economic superpower in the world

– UP CM and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath

Microsoft shutting down VR platform AltspaceVR

Microsoft has announced plans to shut down its social virtual reality platform AltspaceVR, which offered immersive social spaces for people to interact with friends and colleagues as 3D avatars. In 2017, Microsoft stepped in and acquired the platform after AltspaceVR decided to shut it down, and now the company said it will shut down the service on March 10, 2023.

Prez to confer national award to 11 children Monday

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday will confer the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) 2023 on 11 children for their exceptional achievements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the awardees on Tuesday.

HDFC Life sees better margins in Q4

Leading private sector life insurer HDFC Life expects its margins to improve further in the fourth quarter, having already neutralised the hit it had taken from the merger of Exide Life three quarters earlier than expected. The company closed the December quarter with a new business premium margin of 26.8 per cent. Its FY22 VNB (value of new business) margin stood at 27.4 per cent and the management is confident of reaching there or making a further improvement as it closes the current fiscal.

Netherlands aims to close Groningen gas field this year

The Netherlands wants to close Europe’s largest gas field this year as it is dangerous to keep operating it, the Financial Times reported on Sunday citing a government official. Mining Deputy Minister Hans Vijlbrief said he aimed to shut earthquake-prone Groningen gas field it by Oct. 1 but would wait to see if there was a shortage of gas in Europe after the winter, the report said, adding that, if necessary, the gas field would remain open until October 2024.

Pakistan’s interest expenses shoot up significantly By Sajjad Hussain

Amid reluctance to opt for debt restructuring, Pakistan’s interest expenses have shot up significantly to Rs 2.57 trillion during the first half of this fiscal year, which is equal to 65 per cent of the annual debt servicing budget, and is forcing the government to cut out its other expenses except those on defence, according to a media report.

Wheelchair tennis ace Shingo Kunieda retires

Shingo Kunieda, the most successful player in the history of wheelchair tennis, announced his retirement from the sport on Sunday at the age of 38. The top-ranked Kunieda won 28 Grand Slam singles titles and completed the career Grand Slam of all four majors when he won Wimbledon in 2022.

13 trains running late due to fog in northern region today: Indian Railways

As many as 13 trains in the northern region of the country are reported to be running late by several hours on Sunday. The fog condition in New Delhi worsened again on Sunday morning. Visibility recorded at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was 400 metres as per IMD, though it is expected to increase to 800M by the early hours of Sunday evening.

NIA reaches Jammu to investigate Narwal explosions

Sports Ministry suspends WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar

The Sports Ministry on Saturday suspended Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, a fallout of the grapplers’ allegations of sexual harassment and corruption against the sports body’s chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. It has decided to suspend Tomar, “with immediate effect, to ensure proper functioning of WFI”.

Inflow in gold ETFs drops 90 pc in 2022; asset base, investors account grow

Inflow in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) plunged by 90 per cent to Rs 459 crore in 2022 due to rising prices of yellow metal, increasing interest rate structure coupled with inflationary pressures. This was way lower than an inflow of Rs 4,814 crore seen in the segment during 2021 and Rs 6,657 crore in 2020, data with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.

Adani Group to spin off hydrogen, airports, data centre businesses by 2028: CFO

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group plans to spin off businesses like hydrogen, airports and data centre between 2025 and 2028 after they achieve a certain investment profile, it’s Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh said. Adani Enterprises Ltd, which is looking to raise Rs 20,000 crore in a follow-on share sale, is the business incubator for the group. Over the years, businesses such as ports, power and city gas were first incubated in AEL before being spun off or demerged into separate listed companies.

Charred remains of person found in fire-ravaged building in Hyderabad

Skeletal remains of a person have been found in a commercial building here where a major fire broke out a few days ago, police said. The bones of the unidentified person were sent to state-run Gandhi Hospital here on Saturday for conducting a post-mortem examination to know the cause of death, a police release said. After the autopsy is conducted, the samples would be sent to the forensic science laboratory for analysis, it said.

3.8 magnitude quake hits Uttarakhand

An earthquake of magnitude 3.8 occurred on January 22 at 8.58 IST, Latitude: 29.78 & Longitude: 80.13, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 23km NNW of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India: National Center for Seismology

Wrestling Federation of India’s emergency general council meeting in Ayodhya called off

Thane records 9 new COVID-19 cases; active tally rises to 25

Nine new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Maharashtra’s Thane district, raising its infection tally to 7,47,438, a health official said on Sunday. With the addition of the latest cases on Saturday, the district currently has 25 active COVID-19 cases, compared to 22 the previous day, he said.

Smog engulfs Delhi, air quality is in “poor” category with an overall AQI of 245

Delhi: Leela hotel cheat who impersonated as UAE royalty arrested

A man, who impersonated as an official of the government of the United Arab Emirates, was arrested for allegedly duping a hotel in the national capital by fleeing without paying his outstanding bill worth over Rs 20 lakhs, Delhi Police said. The man identified as Mahamed Sharif (41), hailing from Karnataka’s Dakshin Kannada, presented a fake business card and stayed at the hotel for nearly three months last year, according to the police.

China reported 12,658 COVID-related deaths between Jan 13 and Jan 19

China’s COVID-related deaths between Jan. 13 and Jan. 19 this year in hospitals totaled 12,658, the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Saturday. Among them, 681 died of respiratory failure caused by the new coronavirus infection, and 11,977 died of other diseases combined with the infection, the CDC said.

Australian Open: Top seed Swiatek knocked out by Wimbledon champ Rybakina

World number one Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Australian Open on Sunday with a 6-4 6-4 defeat by Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Rod Laver Arena. Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals of the season’s opening Grand Slam for the first time with an impressive display against the misfiring Pole.

Joshimath Sinking

So far 863 buildings have been identified by the district administration where cracks have been found due to land subsidence. Out of this, 181 buildings have been placed in the unsafe zone: DM

UP BJP state working committee to be held on Jan 22

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will address the State Working Committee meeting of the BJP here on Sunday during which the party will review the work done so far and hold discussions on the future action plan. The national executive meeting of BJP was held in New Delhi on January 16-17.

Dalai Lama lauds India’s secular principles at IIPA

Addressing IIPA, recalling his meetings with Indian Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru (several times), Indira Gandhi, and Lal Bahadur Shastri, Dalai Lama said, “India, a democratic country and all major world traditions live together. The secular principle is wonderful. Although I haven’t had the opportunity of meeting Mahatma Gandhiji, later, I have the opportunity of meeting Indira Gandhi, Pandit Nehru of course, several times and Lal Bahadur Shastri. All these great leaders when we met, we talked, I really developed sincere respect.”

Sweden’s NATO bid hit by repeated rows with Turkey

Sweden’s bid for NATO membership is facing a dead end because Ankara’s demands to Stockholm to hand over Kurdish activists and prevent rallies attacking Turkey’s leadership have strained ties. The chances of this changing after Turkey’s parliamentary elections due in mid-May are uncertain, said Paul Levin, director of Stockholm University’s Institute for Turkish Studies.

New Zealand’s new PM Hipkins names Carmel Sepuloni as deputy PM

New Zealand’s incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Sunday named Carmel Sepuloni the new deputy prime minister. Hipkins, 44, announced his appointment at a news conference after the ruling Labour Party confirmed him as successor to Jacinda Ardern as party leader and prime minister.

Odisha cabinet approves inclusion of 22 castes in State’s list of SEBC

Odisha cabinet on Saturday cleared the inclusion of 22 castes in the list of Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC). “The Cabinet has been pleased to approve the proposed Amendment of the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes (OSCBC) Act, 1993 by inserting subsection 3 under Section – 9, enabling the State Government to include such Backward Classes in the State list of SEBCs, if the said Backward Classes have been specified in the central list of OBCs for the State of Odisha,” an official statement from the Odisha government said.

Musk announces more expensive subscription for ad-free Twitter

Twitter boss Elon Musk announced in a series of tweets Saturday that the company’s subscription service would show less advertising to users, including an ad-free tier. The announcement comes as the social network has faced major economic uncertainty since its takeover by Musk in October. “Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big. Taking steps to address both in coming weeks,” Musk posted to his Twitter account Saturday.

France, Germany bid to firm ties strained by Ukraine invasion

Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Paris on Sunday to celebrate 60 years of postwar Franco-German cooperation, with the historic partnership under strain from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and broader tectonic shifts. Scholz’s personal relationship is less than warm with President Emmanuel Macron, as the two leaders meet in the morning at the Sorbonne University before a joint cabinet meeting from 1:30 pm (1230 GMT).

New Zealand’s ruling party confirms Hipkins as new prime minister – Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s ruling Labour Party selected Chris Hipkins to replace Jacinda Ardern as leader of the Labour party and prime minister in a meeting on Sunday, Radio New Zealand reported. Hipkins, 44, was the only nomination for the job and his confirmation by the 64 lawmakers, known as the Labour caucus, was largely a formality.

Brazil’s army chief fired in aftermath of capital uprising

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired Brazil’s army chief just days after the leftist leader openly said that some military members allowed the January 8 uprising in the capital by far-right protesters. The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said Saturday Gen. Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. He was replaced by Gen. Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who was head of the Southeast Military Command.

Burkina Faso ends ties with French troops, orders departure

Burkina Faso’s junta government late Saturday ordered hundreds of French troops to depart the West African country within a month, following in the path of neighboring Mali, whose nation is also headed by a coup leader. National broadcaster RTB made the announcement, citing the official Agence d’Information du Burkina. The news agency said the decision had been made Wednesday to end the presence of France’s military on Burkinabe soil.

U.S. Justice Dept found 6 more classified documents in Biden home search, lawyer says

A new search of President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday by the U.S. Justice Department led to the discovery of six more classified documents , a lawyer for the president said in a statement Saturday night. Some of the classified documents and “surrounding materials” dated from Biden’s tenure in the U.S. Senate, where he represented Delaware from 1973 to 2009, according to his lawyer, Bob Bauer. Other documents were from his tenure as vice president in the Obama administration, from 2009 through 2017, Bauer said.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy honours those killed in helicopter crash

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an emotional meeting with the families of those who died in a helicopter crash earlier this week. Zelenskyy on Saturday spoke with family members of seven of those killed in Wednesday’s crash in the Brovary area of Kyiv, the capital city. The helicopter carrying Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi and other top officials slammed into a kindergarten building in the residential suburb, killing him and about a dozen other people, including a child on the ground.

Israelis press on with protests against new government

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the judicial system, measures that opponents say imperil the country’s democratic fundamentals. Israeli media, citing police, said some 1,00,000 people were out protesting.

Peru closes Machu Picchu as anti-government protests grow

Peru indefinitely shut the tourist site Machu Picchu in the latest sign that anti-government protests that began last month are increasingly engulfing the South American country. The Culture Ministry said on Saturday that it had closed the country’s most famous tourist attraction as well as the Inca Trail leading up to the site “to protect the safety of tourists and the population in general”.