News Highlights: Necessary for Mamata to please Modi to protect her nephew, alleges Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

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Necessary for Mamata to please Modi in order to protect her nephew, alleges Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Amazon's cloud service hit again in US, affecting third-party services Netflix, Slack

Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday that its cloud service, Amazon Web Services, is facing internet connectivity issues in two regions on the US West Coast.

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Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath called on PM Narendra Modi today

Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline is progressing very well and we would be in a position to inaugurate it next year: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Dhaka

(ANI)

President Kovind holds delegation-level talks with Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid in Dhaka

ED 'diluting Prevention of Money Laundering Act', says Supreme Court

Indiscriminate use of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will affect the "value" of the legislation and it cannot be wielded as a weapon to put people behind bars, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

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UP govt raises dearness allowance for state govt employees from 28% to 31%; to be implemented retrospectively from July, 2021

(ANI)

Banking services to be hit as lakhs of employees to go on 2-day strike from Dec 16

Close to nine lakh employees of various state-run banks will go on a two-day nation-wide strike beginning Thursday to protest against the government's move to privatise two public sector lenders, union leaders said.

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Not going to contest any election, says Rakesh Tikait in Meerut

199 arrested, 7 convicted during 2018-20 on sedition charges, says Centre

A total of 199 people were arrested while seven persons were convicted on sedition charges in the country between 2018-20, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

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NHRC warns of bonded labour in malls, massage parlours; expresses concern over delay in relief packages

Newer forms of bonded labour manifested in the construction sector, shopping malls, call centres and massage parlours among others need to be checked and the focus should not be restricted just to brick kilns in the rescue of such labourers, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has advised state and central governments.

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By March 2025, every house in the state will have smart prepaid electricity meters. These smart prepaid meters will help in fair usage of electricity and the consumer will be charged based on the units consumed only: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

(ANI)

Delhi court stays FIR against Sambit Patra for posting Arvind Kejriwal's doctored video

A Delhi court on Wednesday granted interim relief to BJP leader Sambit Patra and stayed an order directing registration of an FIR against him for allegedly posting a doctored video of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal supporting the farm laws.

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West Bengal Durga Puja inscribed on UNESCO's 'Intangible Heritage list'

(ANI)

Govt has no plans to curtail the ongoing session of Parliament: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi

(ANI)

RBI imposes a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on ICICI Bank Ltd for non-compliance with its directions on ‘levy of penal charges on non-maintenance of minimum balances in savings bank accounts

(ANI)

I want to see Bharatiya Janata Party lose across the country in the 2024 elections; 'Khela Hobey' again: West Bengal CM and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata

(PTI)

Meta joins CBSE to train 1 crore students, 10 lakh teachers in AR

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday announced that the company will expand its partnership with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to provide a curriculum on digital safety, online well-being and augmented reality (AR) for over one crore students and 10 lakh teachers in India.

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Modi won't suspend Ajay Mishra as he needs his upper caste votes in UP polls, says Owaisi

From day one, we've been saying that it is a pre-planned murder. Modi govt should suspend (MoS) Ajay Mishra. I'm very sure that PM will not suspend him because he needs that minister's upper caste votes in upcoming UP polls: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Lakhimpur Kheri case

(ANI)

President Ram Nath Kovind meets Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka

Why was motion to terminate suspension of Rajya Sabha members disallowed? asks Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday asked why a motion to terminate the suspension of members was "disallowed" in the Rajya Sabha, and said the government should defeat such a motion after voting and proclaim its "scant respect for fairness and justice".

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Sisodia launches theme song for play on Ambedkar's life with Indian Ocean band

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Wednesday launched the theme song of a play based on the life of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar which would be organised at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on January 5.

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Cabinet approves reimbursement of Rs 1,300 crore on digital transactions using UPI, Rupay debit card: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

(PTI)

Russia would pay 'high price' for Ukraine invasion: Scholz

(AFP)

An ambitious project to establish a complete ecosystem of semiconductors and display manufacturing has been sanctioned. Rs 76,000 crore will be spent on this project in 6 years: Union Minister Anurag Thakur - ANI

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Drugs on cruise case: Responding to Aryan Khan's plea, Bombay High Court relieves him from appearing before Mumbai NCB but directs him "to appear before Delhi SIT whenever summoned." - ANI

Group Captain Varun Singh, survivor of crash that killed CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, no more

Log4j: The security flaw that freaked out the internet

The Department of Homeland Security is sounding a dire alarm, ordering federal agencies to urgently eliminate the bug because it's so easily exploitable — and telling those with public-facing networks to put up firewalls if they can't be sure. The affected software is small and often undocumented.

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India's vision of the Region is pulse on SAGAR doctrine - Security & Growth for All in the Region as outlined by our PM encompassing political, security, economic and socio-cultural spheres: MoS MEA Rajkumar Ranjan Singh at 8th Indian Ocean Dialogue on Post Pandemic Indian Ocean. - ANI.

First chartered flight of this tourist season lands at Goa International Airport

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will begin her pre-budget consultations with different stakeholder groups from today with the first meeting with the experts of agriculture and agro-processing industry. The meetings will be held virtually - ANI

Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption raid former AIADMK minister P Thangamani's residence and office at more than 60 places including Erode, Namakkal - ANI

Unprecedented Omicron spread, 'probably' in most countries: WHO

The World Health Organization Tuesday warned Omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and urged countries to act as drug maker Pfizer said its coronavirus pill was effective against the variant.

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A fire broke out at the godown of a complex in Thane's Bhiwandi area, this morning.

Pak issues visas to 112 Indians to visit Hindu temple in Punjab province

Pakistan on Tuesdayissuedvisasto112Indianpilgrims tovisita prominentHindutemplecomplex inPunjab's Chakwal district.

The pilgrims wouldvisitShree Katas RajTemples, also known as Qila Katas or complex of KatasTemples, from December 17-23, the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi tweeted.

“Today, the High Commission for Pakistan in Indiaissued112visastoIndianHindupilgrims for theirvisitto a prominentHindutempleinPunjab, Pakistan,” it said.

Jamiat chief meets Saudi envoy, flags concerns over 'allegations' levelled against Tablighi Jamaat

Prominent Muslim bodyJamiatUlema-e-Hind'schiefMaulana Arshad Madani metSaudiArabia's Ambassador to India Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Sati and conveyedconcernsoverthe "allegations"levelledby that country's Ministry of Islamic AffairsagainsttheTablighiJamaat, theJamiatsaid on Tuesday.

In a statement, theJamiatsaid that Madani during hismeetingwith theSaudiAmbassador to India said that the statement ofSaudiArabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs regardingTablighiJamaathas become a cause of "greatconcern" for Muslims alloverthe world.