Manipur Unrest: Mizo Students Urge Centre to Take Steps for their Safety | LIVE

Nigeria on Sunday conferred its second-highest national award, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making him the second foreign dignitary to receive the distinction.

"Honoured to be conferred with the ‘Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger’ Award by Nigeria. I accept it with great humility and dedicate it to the people of India," Modi said in his remarks after receiving the award.

This was the 17th international award conferred on Modi by a country.

Queen Elizabeth is the only foreign dignitary who was awarded GCON in 1969.

Modi is in Nigeria on the first leg of his three-nation visit at the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This visit is the first by an Indian prime minister to Nigeria in 17 years.

On his arrival in Nigeria on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi was warmly welcomed by Minister for Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, who presented him with the 'Key to the City' of Abuja.

"The key symbolises the trust and honour bestowed on the prime minister by the people of Nigeria," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a post on X.

From Abuja, Modi will travel to Brazil to attend the G20 summit. His last destination will be Guyana. 

 Delhi's air quality worsened further on Sunday, with an AQI of 441, making it the second-most polluted city in the country.

The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 441, in the "severe" category. On Saturday, the AQI was 417.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a "severe" AQI poses risks to healthy individuals and severely impacts those with pre-existing health conditions.

Four cities in the country recorded the AQI in the "severe" category. Bahadurgarh in Haryana topped the list with an AQI of 445, followed by Delhi (441), Bhiwani in Haryana (415) and Bikaner in Rajasthan (404), according to the CPCB's data.

Of the 40 monitoring stations in the capital, data from 34 provided by the CPCB showed that 32 stations recorded the air quality in the "severe" category, with AQI levels of above 400.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe" and above 450 "severe plus".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday posted on X a letter sent by the Maharashtrian community in Nigeria expressing joy at Marathi being given classical language status.

The Union cabinet, in a meeting chaired by PM Modi in the first week of October, approved a proposal to grant classical language status to Marathi as well as Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

"In Nigeria, the Marathi community expressed joy at Marathi being conferred the status of a classical language. It is truly commendable how they remain connected to their roots," the PM wrote on X.

The letter by the Maharashtra Mandal Residents Association, dated November 16, thanked the PM and hailed him for the decision.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday accused the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra of playing politics over caste and religion.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was in Pune to campaign for BSP candidates ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Addressing a rally, she urged people to reject the BJP and Congress and asserted that her party would give justice to every community if voted to power.

“Caste should not be a factor while giving tickets to candidates in elections,” she said, accusing the ruling dispensation of exploiting caste and religion for political gains.

She also claimed that Mahayuti would also play the reservation card for its benefits.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held extensive talks with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu focusing on boosting the India-Nigeria partnership in a range of areas, including trade, investment and digital public infrastructure.

Modi arrived in the Nigerian capital early Sunday on the first trip to the West African country by an Indian prime minister after a gap of 17 years.

The prime minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the presidential villa following which he held one-on-one meeting with Tinubu.

Both sides are likely to ink several agreements following the delegation-level talks.

 India accords high priority to its strategic partnership with Nigeria and it will work towards boosting ties in a range of areas, including defence, energy and trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his talks with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday.   In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Modi identified terrorism, separatism, piracy and drug trafficking as major challenges and said the two countries will continue to work together to deal with them.

Modi arrived in Abuja early Sunday on the first trip to the country by an Indian prime minister after a gap of 17 years.   "We give high priority to our strategic partnership with Nigeria...I am confident that a new chapter in our ties will begin following our talks," the prime minister said.

Modi also described the around 60,000-strong Indian expatriate community as a key pillar of India-Nigeria relations and thanked Tinubu for ensuring their welfare.

Nepal and India during an annual meeting agreed to better coordinate on border security and reviewed the work done in the past year in managing related challenges, an official said.

Two sides during the eighth Nepal-India Border Security Coordination meeting between the Armed Police Force of Nepal and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) here on Saturday discussed "a bunch of issues related to the boundary, border, human trafficking, checking cross-border criminal activities and coordination between the two agencies in border areas", Rishi Ram Tiwari, the spokesperson at the Home Ministry, told media persons.

The BJP in Karnataka on Sunday claimed that the Lokayukta probe has cleared the party's previous government from 40 per cent commission charges, and that the allegations levelled by the Congress against it as completely "false".

The BJP leaders said that it is proved that the 40 per cent commission allegation was part of the Congress' "tool kit".

During the 2023 Assembly polls, the then opposition Congress had used the Karnataka State Contractors' Association 40 per cent commission charge as a major weapon to corner the then BJP government, which is said to be one among the factors that led to the saffron party's debacle in the election.

The Mumbai Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a Gujarat resident from Akola in Maharashtra in the Baba Siddique murder case, taking the number of people held in the sensational incident to 25, an official said.

Salmanbhai Iqbalbhai Vohra, a resident of Petlad in Gujarat's Anand district, was held from Balapur in Akola, some 565 kilometres from the metropolis, with the help of the police there, the Crime Branch official said.

The 66-year-old NCP leader was gunned down on October 12 near his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra East's Nirmal Nagar area.

"Vohra had opened a bank account in May this year and had provided financial support to Nareshkumar Singh, brother of arrested accused Gurmail Singh, Rupesh Mohol and Harishkumar. He has also helped others connected to the crime," the official said.

New Delhi: A 64-year-old woman died and a man got injured after being hit by a car in southwest Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area on Sunday morning, an official said.

The police got information about the incident at around 6 am, the official said.

Upon reaching the scene, the police discovered that the injured had already been transported to nearby hospitals, he said.

Jamnagar: Three members of a family were killed after their two-wheeler was hit by a SUV in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place early morning on a state highway near Dhrol when the family was on its way to Rajkot, an official said.

Kolkata: Amidst the ongoing construction work between Esplanade and Sealdah stations, East-West Metro services on the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch will be increased from Monday, to manage the rush during morning and evening peak hours, an official statement said.

At present, 150 trains are plying in the corridor of which 76 are between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade stations and the rest between Howrah Maidan and Mahakaran stations.

From Monday 82 trains will ply between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade stretch and the rest between Howrah Maidan and Mahakaran stations, the statement issued by Metro Railway Kolkata said.

New Delhi: Delhi Police has arrested an active shooter of the Neeraj Bawana gang, an official said on Sunday.

According to police, the accused was previously involved in 18 cases of murder, attempt to murder, car jacking, dacoity, robbery, arms act and was declared a proclaimed offender for evading court proceedings.

The accused, Raghu (35), was apprehended from Sonipat on Saturday, said the officer.

New Delhi: The Delhi Transport Department has impounded 2,234 overage vehicles between October 1 and November 15 as part of an ongoing drive.

The initiative, launched last month, aims to address the deteriorating air quality in the national capital.

According to official data, the seized vehicles include 260 diesel four-wheelers that are over 10 years old, alongside 1,156 petrol two-wheelers and 818 petrol three and four-wheelers, all older than 15 years.

Nagpur: BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut held a roadshow in Nagpur on Sunday for a saffron party candidate ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections.

Ranaut was campaigning for BJP candidate Pravin Datke, who is contesting from the Nagpur Central assembly constituency.

The actor began the roadshow from the Bengali Panja area in the city

Former BJP MLA Anil Jha joins AAP in the presence of AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal

Bhubaneswar: To create financial literacy awareness among the tribal population, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Odisha office has prepared five specific booklets in Santali (Ol Chik) language, an official said.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi released the booklets at Bali Jatra in Cuttack on Friday.

The booklets were prepared to commemorate 90 years of RBI's operation in the country, the official said, adding that the central bank had also recently organised a series of events like quiz competition among students.

Thane: The authorities have seized cash, liquor and other contraband worth Rs 27.68 crore from 18 constituencies in Thane district since the code of conduct came into force for the November 20 state polls, an official said on Sunday.

As per a release issued by the district administration, the authorities have seized Rs 15.59 crore cash, liquor worth Rs 3.01 crore, narcotics worth Rs 1.79 crore, jewellery and valuables worth Rs 23.26 lakh, and materials valued at Rs 7.05 crore meant for free distribution since the code of conduct was enforced on October 15.

Berhampur: Patapur police station in Odisha's Ganjam district has been selected as one of the three best police stations in the country in 2024 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), officials said.

Union Home minister Amit Shah will hand over the trophy to the inspector-in-charge of the police station in the convention of the Director Generals of Police, scheduled to be held at Bhubaneswar from November 29 to December 1.

Joint Director and conference secretary, Intelligence Bureau of the MHA, Samir S IIme has written a letter to Odisha Director General of Police, Y B Khurania about the selection of Patapur as the best police station in the country, they said.

Delhi CM Atishi Accepts Kailash Gahlot's Resignation.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday cancelled his rallies in poll-bound Maharashtra and is headed back to Delhi as the situation in Manipur continues to be volatile, according to sources.

The home minister is likely to hold a meeting to review the situation in the northeastern state, the sources said.

Irate mobs set fire to the residences of three more BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday night even as security forces foiled an attempt by agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday paid tributes to Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray on his 12th death anniversary.

In a post on X in Hindi, the chief minister on Sunday, said, "On the death anniversary of the strong voice of nationalism, unique speaker, founder of Shiv Sena, respected Balasaheb Thackeray, I pay my heartfelt respects and humble tributes to him!" Thackeray was born on January 23, 1926 in Maharashtra's Pune.

The Shiv Sena founder passed away on November 17, 2012 at his residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai after prolonged illness.

Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Kailash Gahlot resigns from the party. 

Bastar: Security forces continued their joint search operation in the jungles of Abujhmad at Kanker in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region for the third consecutive day on Sunday, a day after five Naxals were killed in an encounter in the area.

BJP has announced the formation of the election manifesto committee to prepare vision document and list promises for the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi.
The Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday announced a 12-member Manifesto Committee headed by South Delhi BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking enforcement of measures to curb air pollution in the national capital.

Delhi woke up to toxic air conditions on Sunday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded in the "severe" category.

Five people were injured after a brawl broke out between two groups at the Swami Ramakrishna Ashram in Shimla late Saturday night, said an official. Superintendent of Police (SP) Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi confirmed the incident and expressed concern over the unrest.

A massive fire broke out in a shoe factory in Ghevra area of northwest Delhi early Sunday, an official of the Delhi Fire Services said.

No casualties were reported.

"We received a call regarding blaze at 2.35 am from a shoe factory located in Ghevra," he said.

Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to a foggy and hazy morning on Sunday, with a thick layer of mist enveloping the city. Mumbai recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 179, as of 9.00 am according to SAFAR-India (System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research). An Air Quality Index of 179 is considered to be in the 'moderate zone.

Thane: The Navi Mumbai police have invoked provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against four members of an inter-state gang of dacoits and chain snatchers, an official said on Sunday.

A number of chain-snatching incidents were reported between October 23 and 26 in several areas of Navi Mumbai, he said.

The police formed a couple of teams and conducted a probe into the cases using technical inputs. They also carried out searches in 40 to 45 housing societies as well as guest houses, the official said.

Bareilly: The loco pilot of a goods train averted a major accident by applying the emergency brakes after spotting an iron garter and cement posts on the tracks near the Dibnapur railway station here, officials said.

Superintendent of Police (North) Mukesh Chandra Mishra said the incident occurred late Friday night in the Hafizganj police station area.

PRO of the North Eastern Railway's Bareilly Izzatnagar Division Rajendra Singh said the emergency brakes slowed the train down before it hit the obstruction, limiting the damage to just the engine.

Mendhar: Hundreds of people on Sunday took part in a mini marathon organized by Army’s Bhimber Gali brigade in Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, an official said.

The first ever mini-marathon in the border subdivision ahead of the mega Mendhar sports festival was undertaken under operation 'Sadbhavana' (goodwill) to foster unity and social cohesion besides strengthening civil-military relation, he said.

New Delhi: India has successfully test-fired a long range hypersonic missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.

The missile was test-fired on Saturday, according to officials.

Singh described the test-firing of the missile as a historic moment as it put India in the group of select nations having capabilities to develop such critical technologies.

Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday announced that the state's highest award will be named 'Bhagwan Birsa Munda-Bhagwan Sido Kanho'.

He said the decision in this regard will be taken in the first cabinet meeting of the JMM-led government if it is voted to power.

"The name of Jharkhand's highest award will be 'Bhagwan Birsa Munda-Bhagwan Sido Kanho Award'. This will be the first decision of the first cabinet of 'Abua government' (own government). May the brave martyrs of Jharkhand remain immortal. Jai Jharkhand," the CM posted on X. 

Imphal: Manipur police officials have arrested 23 individuals who were part of the mob involved in the alleged "ransacking and arson of the houses," said Manipur Police on Saturday.

These individuals were arrested from Imphal East, Imphal West, and Bishnupur districts of the state. Additionally, the police officials have recovered one .32 pistol, seven rounds of SBBL, and eight mobile phones from their possession.

Amid the escalation in the state, a total curfew has been imposed in Imphal until further orders. Following this, the government immediately suspended Internet and mobile data services for two days. 

Nagpur: Poll authorities have seized gold valued at Rs 14.5 crore from Nagpur amid the model code of conduct in place for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, an official said.

The gold, in the form of ornaments and biscuits, was being transported by Gujarat-based firm Sequel Logistics when a flying surveillance team apprehended it on Saturday, he said.

The shipment arrived in Nagpur by flight on Thursday and was being sent to Amravati. The vehicle was stopped while it was moving from Ambazari Lake to Wadi, the official said.

Amritsar: The Border Security Force (BSF) Punjab recovered three drones and a significant heroin consignment near the Amritsar border on Saturday, officials said.

According to BSF, the recovery included two DJI Mavic 3 Classic drones, one China-made DJI Air 3S drone, and a package containing 540 grams of heroin, wrapped in yellow adhesive tape with a copper wire loop.

New Delhi: Toxic foam seen floating on the Yamuna River in Kalindi Kunj, as pollution level in the river continues to remain high.

New Delhi: Delhi continues to be covered in a blanket of smog in the mornings as the Air Quality Index (AQI) continues to be in 'Severe' category in several areas as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
 

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the state government and state police chief on Saturday after a children’s ward of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi was engulfed in fire.

In its statement, the NHRC observed that the incident appeared to involve significant negligence, leading to a grave violation of human rights. The victims were under the care of a government institution, and the commission expressed concern over the reported deaths. 
 

AIZAWL: Mizoram's apex student body on Saturday urged the Centre to take steps for the safety and security of Mizo students in violence-hit Manipur.

Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) expressed concern about the security of Mizo students in the strife-torn Manipur as tension escalated after the killing of 10 tribal people there.

It appealed to the Centre to temporarily attach or transfer Mizoram's quota (seats) in technical and medical institutions in Manipur to outside the neighbouring state till the normalcy returns there.