12:53 Indonesia tsunami death toll reaches 429:
The death toll from the tsunami that hit Indonesian islands on Saturday has passed 420 with more than 1,400 people injured.
Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the death toll had climbed to 429 on Tuesday and at least 128 were missing.
Thousands of people were left homeless when the waves smashed homes on coastal areas of western Java and southern Sumatra, when a volcano known as the child of Krakatoa erupted, which in turn, triggered a tsunami
12:23 Chhattisgarh CM expands cabinet; inducts nine ministers:
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday conducted the first expansion of his Cabinet by inducting nine Congress MLAs, including a woman legislator, as ministers.
Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to the new ministers at the Police Parade Ground here.
The ministers took oath in Hindi.
Among the ministers sworn in included Mohammed Akbar, Umesh Patel, Anila Bhediya and Ravindra Chaubey.
Baghel took oath as Chhattisgarh chief minister on December 17, after the Congress won the state assembly election with a thumping majority.
Two other Congress legislators, T S Singh Deo and Tamradhwaj Sahu, were also sworn in as ministers that day.
The Congress returned to power in the state after 15 years, dislodging the Raman Singh-led BJP government. PTI
11:47 I am all alone in WH, says Trump as partial govt shutdown enters 3rd day:
Bored at the White House on Christmas Eve, a lone Donald Trump spent the day slamming his critics, as the government entered its third day of partial shutdown initiated by a rift with Democrats over the President’s long-promised wall along the United States-Mexico border.
President Trump, who has cancelled his trip to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, said he was “all alone” in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come to the negotiating table to end the partial government shutdown.
Through a series of tweets and pictures, Trump showed he was working hard while the opposition Democratic lawmakers were in their homes celebrating Christmas.
“I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security,” Trump tweeted on Monday.
Trump wants the Democrats to fund for a border wall to stop illegal immigrants from entering the US. Democrats have refused his demands for USD 5 billion in funding for his border wall in a standoff that resulted in a partial government at midnight on Friday.
“At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our country more money than the border wall we are all talking about. Crazy!” Trump said.
Several hours later, Trump said in a tweet that he was in the Oval Office and working on border security.
“I am in the Oval Office and just gave out a 115-mile-long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete. Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of dollars, and lives, will be saved!” he said.
He also tweeted a picture of him with senior administration officials for a briefing on North Korea.
“Christmas Eve briefing with my team working on North Korea Progress being made. Looking forward to my next summit with Chairman Kim!” Trump said. — PTI
10:53 Modi leads political fraternity in paying tribute to Vajpayee:
The visionary leadership and endearing personality of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were fondly remembered by the entire country on Tuesday – his 94th birth anniversary. Leading the heartfelt tributes for the iconic leader was PM Narendra Modi who, along with politicians cutting across party lines, paid homage at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were among the first to reach Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where they offered a floral tribute to Vajpayee. PM Modi also took to Twitter to honour the memory of a figure who played an important role in shaping the future of the party, the country and its people. “Tributes to Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We reiterate our commitment towards creating the India he dreamt of,” he wrote, alongwith a video showing priceless glimpses from Vajpayee’s life.
Former PM Manmohan Singh and several other leaders from the opposition also honoured the memory of Vajpayee – many attending the sombre event at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
Vajpayee passed away on August 16 at All India Institute of Medical Science in Delhi following a prolonged illness. The veteran leader, who led the National Democratic Alliance government from 1998-2004, was the first ever person from the BJP to have become the nation’s Prime Minister. Vajpayee served as Prime Minister thrice — briefly in 1996, and then for two terms between 1998 and 2004.
10:19 Can’t endure 41-hour flight back to India: Mehul Choksi to court:
Diamantaire and PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi has written to a special anti-money laundering court seeking the dismissal of an Enforcement Directorate plea to declare him a fugitive economic offender.
In the letter, Choksi also lamented about the tortoise speed at which the investigation was proceeding in India, saying it would be years before trial would even begin. He also reportedly said that it would not be possible for him to endure a 41-hour flight back to India from Antigua, whose citizenship he obtained earlier this year, due to “health ailments”.
According to a report in Times of India, Choksi has told the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court that he was in touch with the Punjab National Bank to settle his loans. Choksi has alleged that the ED deliberately did not placed this correspondence before the court to mislead it, the report added.
Choksi, the Chairman of the Gitanjali Group who has taken refuge in Antigua, was one of the prime accused in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank fraud along with his nephew Nirav Modi.
The ED in October had attached both their assets in India and abroad worth Rs 218 crore. Both left India in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI.
09:51 Kill mercilessly: Karnataka CM seen issuing order on video after JD-S leader is murdered:
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has been caught on camera telling someone over the phone to kill the attackers of a local leader of his Janata Dal-Secular party, Honnalagere Prakash, mercilessly in a shootout.
He (Prakash) was a very good man. I dont know who did this and why. But Kill them (assailants) mercilessly in a shootout, there is no problem, Kumaraswamy is heard saying in the video clip.
Prakash was attacked by unidentified men with machetes on Monday in south Karnatakas Mandya district while he was travelling in his car in Maddur.
Prakash, who was murdered, was a party loyalist. I have instructed the police to take all necessary measures to ensure that such incidents are not recurring, Kumaraswamy said in a statement issued by his office.
The chief minister later defended his statement, saying he was angry.
Later, the chief ministers office issued a statement where it was claimed that the comments were an emotional reaction to the incident and not orders. The words used while receiving information about this incident were an emotional reaction to the incident and not an order by the chief minister.
09:20 All departures at Delhi Airport on hold due to dense fog:
All departures at Delhi airport have been stopped for the last hour due to dense fog. The dense fog has led to poor visibility on the runway.
Several parts of Delhi and other states in north India were engulfed in thick fog this morning.
With departures getting delayed, some people complained on social media that their travel plans on Christmas would be affected.
09:01 Bogibeel Bridge, India’s longest rail-road link, to be Inaugurated after 21-year wait Today:
Assams long wait for the Bogibeel Bridge — the longest rail-cum-road bridge — will end when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates it on Tuesday.
The 4.9km-long bridge, which witnessed several protests and missed deadlines, will not only improve connectivity between the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River, but also help the economic development of the region and strengthen the defence movement along the India-China frontiers.
The Bogibeel Bridge, an offshoot of the Assam Movement which culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985, is also recognised as Asias second-longest bridge with three-lane roads on top and a double line rail below.
Sanctioned on January 22, 1997, then prime minister HD Deve Gowda had laid the foundation stone for the bridge. However, the construction began only after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the work site on April 21, 2002. The inauguration ceremony of the bridge coincides with the 94th birth anniversary of Vajpayee, who passed away in August this year.
08:27 K L Rahul, Murali Vijay dropped from Team India squad for MCG Test:
he Indian team management named the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test and there are quite a few changes in the team from the XI that took the field in the second Test in Perth.
Both the openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay have been dropped and Mayank Agarwal is set to make his debut. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also comes in for Umesh Yadav as the thinktank decided to pick a spinner. ODI deputy Rohit Sharma also makes a comeback to the team.
The playing XI for 3rd Test goes: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.
08:17 Erdogan invites Trump to visit Turkey: White House:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invited his American counterpart Donald Trump to visit Turkey in 2019, the White House has said.
“President Erdogan invited President Trump to visit Turkey in 2019. While nothing definite is being planned, the President is open to a potential meeting in the future,” a White House spokesperson said.
The invitation comes just days after Trump made the controversial decision to withdraw American troops from Syria, where they have been deployed to assist in the international war against the Islamic State jihadist group.
Turkey was a rare ally that lauded Trump’s decision on Syria, a country where it will now have a freer rein to target Kurdish fighters who were armed and trained by the US and played a major role in the war against IS but are deemed terrorists by Ankara.
Turkey has said an offensive targeting the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia and IS group will be launched in the coming months, and has deployed troops to the Syrian border.
08:03 Madhya Pradesh Cabinet ministers to take oath today:
The new Cabinet of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath will take oath on December 25.
The oath ceremony would take place at Raj Bhawan at 3 pm.
Congress veteran Nath was sworn-in as Chief Minister on December 17, six days after his party posted a narrow victory over the BJP, which ruled the state for 15 years.
Nath has been camping in New Delhi since the past three days to finalise the list of his Cabinet colleagues, to be sworn in today, in consultation with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders.
Their names have not been made public so far.
According to party sources, one or two Independent MLAs may get into the new Cabinet.
Though the Congress, with 114 seats, emerged as the single largest party in the 230-member assembly, it failed to cross the halfway mark on its own and enlisted support of the
BSP and the SP, which have won two seats and one, respectively.
Four Independent MLAs, who are Congress rebels, have also extended their support, taking the total number of MLAs on the Congress side to 121.
The BJP had won 109 seats.
The MP assembly session is going to begin on January 7 with the oath-taking by newly elected MLAs.
— PTI
00:12 Don’t trouble Hanuman, your Lanka will be on fire: Raj Babbar to BJP:
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar Monday asked the BJP to refrain from making statements on Lord Hanuman, suggesting that the party lost elections in three states by dragging the deity into politics.
The Congress leader’s remarks came amid a row over Lord Hanuman’s caste triggered by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath when he called the deity a Dalit during a rally in the run-up to the Rajasthan assembly elections.
“Don’t trouble Lord Hanuman too much. With a swipe of his tail, the BJP lost elections in three states, Now, their Lanka will be on fire,” he told reporters here.
While addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, Adityanath had said, “Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to unite all Indian communities, from north to south and east to west.”
A few days later, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes chairperson Nand Kumar Sai had claimed that Lord Hanuman was a tribal.
Last week, Bukkal Nawab, a BJP MLC from Uttar Pradesh, claimed that the monkey god was a Muslim while UP’s Religious Affairs Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary stated that the Hindu deity belonged to the Jat community.
Samajwadi Party’s national general secretary and former MP Rama Shankar Vidyarthi had claimed that Lord Hanuman belonged to tribal ‘Gond’ community. — PTI
Source: Rediff