Top 10 Headlines: Train accident in West Bengal; PM Modi holds COVID review meet & more

Bikaner-Guwahati Express Derailed LIVE Updates: Major Train Accident In West Bengal

Guwahati-Bikaner Express derailed near Domohani in West Bengal on Thursday evening. While more details are awaited, three bodies have been recovered.

Read Live Updates Here

PM Modi Holds Meeting With Chief Ministers Over COVID Situation

As India reported over 1,94,000 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting with CMs to review the COVID situation in their respective states. Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry held a press briefing on January 12 where the alarming rate of infection in the country and discussion on Omicron was addressed.

Read Live Updates Here

EXCLUSIVE: Akhilesh Yadav Defends Controversial Jinnah Comment, Claims 'BJP Twisted It'

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav defended his controversial remarks comparing Sardar Patel and Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Thursday alleging that the BJP had 'twisted' his statement. Stoking a major row while campaigning for the UP Assembly polls in November 2021, Akhilesh Yadav had claimed that 'Jinnah fought for India's freedom' alongside stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. 

Read Full Story Here

BJP Decides Candidates For 172 Seats; CM Yogi Adityanath, Dy CM's Constituencies Finalised

Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday finalised candidates for 172 seats in the state including the constituencies where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya will be contesting. The meeting was held between senior UP leaders and attended by BJP president J P Nadda and Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari via video conferencing. Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders like CM Yogi Adityanath met physically.

Read Full Story Here

Alwar Rape Case: Priyanka Gandhi Faces Protests In Rajasthan Over Congress Govt's Inaction

Raising their voice over the horrific Alwar rape incident, several protesters on Thursday reached outside the hotel in Rajasthan where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi was staying for her birthday. The protesters gathered amid no action from Congress party leaders in Rajasthan and raised slogans including 'stop the torture against women' and 'who is against women- Congress party' in Hindi. 

Read Full Story Here

Dawood Ibrahim's Nephew Flees To Pakistan From US Even As India Pressed For Deportation

Amid India's crackdown on terror, sources told Republic TV on Thursday that terrorist Dawood Ibrahim's nephew Sohail Kaskar has reached Pakistan via Dubai. Kaskar who reportedly left India in 1989 is the son of Ibrahim's younger brother Noora who died at a Karachi hospital in 2009. He was arrested in Spain in June 2014 for narco-terrorism and providing support to Colombian rebels and sending heroin into the US. A year later, he was extradited to the US and jailed there for a few years. 

Read Full Story Here

Jammu: Mortal Remains Of Kulgam Encounter Martyr SgCt Rohit Chib Reach His Hometown Jagti

The mortal remains of senior grade constable Rohit Chib who lost his life in the Kulgam encounter on Wednesday were brought to his hometown Jagti in Jammu today. Earlier on Wednesday, an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Kulgam's Pariwan village during which Chib was martyred. J&K police personnel Rohit Chib was actively participating in the anti-terrorist operations in Kulgam over the past years and the recent one was also one among them. While final tributes are being paid to the braveheart, his family remains inconsolable.  

Read Full Story Here

Assembly Elections 2022: Twitter Announces Series Of Initiatives Ahead Of Polls

Twitter announced a series of initiatives on Thursday with an aim to empower people with necessary information before they cast their votes in the upcoming Assembly elections in the five states. The initiatives have been launched under the 'JagrukVoter' campaign, news agency ANI reported. These initiatives, which are driven by an open internet, are aimed at ensuring that voters are engaged, informed, and involved throughout the election cycle. Besides, it also aims to ensure a high voter turnout, Twitter informed in a press release. 

Read Full Story Here

Denmark To Roll Out Fourth COVID Vaccine Shot To Vulnerable Groups Amid Omicron Scare

Denmark became the first country in Europe to announce plans to offer a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, January 12. Denmark's health minister, Magnus Heunicke, announced in a press conference on Wednesday that the government will roll out a fourth vaccine for its most vulnerable population. However, Heunicke did not specify who will be eligible for the fourth dose or when the vaccine will be rolled out in Denmark.

Read Full Story Here

COVID-19: Omicron More Infectious But Less Severe Than Delta Variant, Senior Doctor Says

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming pace in India, health professionals, while raising concerns, have also opined that the severity of the Omicron variant is less than the Delta strain. Speaking on the same, a senior surgeon at Medanta Hospital, Dr Arvind Kumar told ANI that COVID-19 cases are increasing and people are getting infected with the disease but pointed out that the number of hospitalisations is not as serious as it was during the second COVID wave. 

Read Full Story Here

(Image: Republic)