Category: Breaking News

A historic verdict of demolishing Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 was finally served. Nearly 28 years after the Babri Masjid was razed by a mob in Uttar Pradesh. A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow on Wednesday has acquitted all the 32 accused in the case, including BJP veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi. The court said there was no “conclusive proof” against the accused. In its verdict which came almost 28 years after the 16th-century structure was brought down in Ayodhya, the Special CBI court observed that the incident was spontaneous and accused leaders tried…

Kim Jong Un apologised over the killing of South Korean in North Korean waters, Seoul’s presidential office said.   The North Korean leader described the incident as a “disgraceful affair” and apologised “for disappointing President Moon and South Koreans”, as reported by the news agency.   Earlier, South Korean officials claimed that a suspected defector was shot dead in the water by North’s soldiers at sea and his body burned as a precaution to contain a novel coronavirus.   It is the first killing of any South Korean citizen by…

Workers clearing the underground drainage system in Mexico City were shocked to discover a gigantic rat there. According to a report, crews were working hard to remove 22 tons of litter from the city’s sewage tunnels when they came across the huge, life-like ‘rat’.   It turned out to be a Halloween prop that had ended up underground.   In a now-viral video posted to Facebook, the giant rat can be seen dwarfing the humans around it. A worker can be seen hosing off the incredibly realistic rat sculpture, which…

The Rajya Sabha on Saturday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill (IBC), 2020 to ensure that fresh insolvency proceedings will not be initiated for at least six months starting March 25 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bill replaces an ordinance passed in June.   Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Saturday that the IBC is not a recovery law, and saving the lives of the companies is important than recovery of loans, which may be utilised through other options.   She said that there…

Taiwan Strait saw 18 China military planes including some fighter jets in an unusually large show of force on Friday as a U.S. envoy held a day of closed-door meetings on the self-governing island claimed by China.   Under Secretary of State Keith Krach, who handles the economic growth, energy and the environment portfolio, held talks with Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice Premier. He also met with business leaders over lunch and was to dine with President Tsai Ing-wen later on Friday. In response to Krach’s visit, the…

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a welcome move, has banned imports of several defence items in order to move decidedly in the direction of self-reliance in defence. PM Modi has taken a personal interest in the matter and in a major decision India has jettisoned its old policy of a blanket ban on export of arms (only non-lethal materials like tents, clothing etc were kosher earlier).   Major steps are also in the pipeline to re-organise the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and make it more efficient. Moving to…

Yoshihide Suga won the leadership race of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Monday and in all likelihood is set to win a parliamentary vote later this week and replace outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.   Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, said last month he would quit because of ill health, ending a nearly eight-year term.   The 71-year-old Suga is Abe’s trusted aide, won 377 votes out of 534 votes cast, and 535 possible votes, in the LDP election by the party’s members of parliament and representatives of its…

The Narendra Modi government, it is learnt, is looking into reports that a Chinese data firm that pioneers in “hybrid warfare” and is linked to the country’s administration tracked over 10,000 Indian nationals, including leading personalities like PM Modi and interim Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, as well as their families.   Sources in the defence and security establishment said that the government has taken note of a report on published Monday in a news paper as part of an international expose, that suggests China may be employing hybrid warfare —…

As per the sources, Chinese troops were laying a network of optical fibre cables south of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, suggesting they were digging in for the long haul despite high-level talks aimed at resolving a standoff there. Such cables, which would provide forward troops with secure lines of communication to bases in the rear, have recently been spotted to the south of Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, a senior government official said.   Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops backed by tanks and aircraft are locked in an uneasy…

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a state-wide campaign, ‘My Family, My Responsibility’, to tackle the coronavirus pandemic amid further relaxation of lockdown curbs. Thackeray said the crisis is likely to become more severe in the coming days as the state continues to be the worst-affected due to the viral disease with more than one million Covid-19 cases.   According to a report, Thackeray said the Coronavirus pandemic is not showing any sign of a respite and the transmission has also reached rural Maharashtra as well. However, the statistics show…