Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to fly a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Wednesday in Jodhpur.

Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky, director of the Chabad House, Mumbai, reacts to the upcoming visit of Baby Moshe. "We are very excited for the upcoming visit of Baby Moshe, who is no more a baby. This is where his life was miraculously saved by the Indian Army. His visit to Nariman House is very emotional and sensitive," the Rabbi said.  Moshe is expected to arrive in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Moshe Holtzberg, the Israeli child who as a toddler survived the 2008 terror attack at a Jewish centre in Mumbai, said he was feeling emotional and excited as he prepared for his homecoming during the six-day visit to India by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Moshe, 11, was two when his parents were killed in the Mumbai attacks at Nariman House (also known as Chabad House) by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.

The attack on the Nariman House and other locations like the Taj Hotel left 166 people dead.

The boy, standing and crying between his dead parents bodies, was saved in a daring move by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuels, who was hiding in a room downstairs when the attack happened.


Image: Moshe Holtzberg had an open invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the country, when the two met in Israel in July 2017

The Kamala Mills compound blaze that claimed 14 lives has shaken the conscience of society and is an eye-opener, the Bombay High Court said today, and held that the tragedy was a result of the administration's failure to ensure strict adherence to fire safety norms. The court asked the city's civic body to bring its house in order.


The HC made the observations while hearing a PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident and also a direction to the government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to carry out fire safety audit of all eateries and restaurants.


"The unfortunate incident has shaken our conscience. It is time the BMC keeps its house in order," a division bench of Justices R M Borde and R G Ketkar said. -- PTI

The Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police on Monday informed that the security forces were tipped-off about the possible attempts to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, beforehand.


Earlier today, six terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were killed by the security forces in an anti-infiltration operation in Uri sector on Monday.



"Since the past few days, we were getting inputs about possible attempts to infiltrate from Uri sector. So, ambushes were laid out in that area by Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force," DGP SP Vaid told ANI.


He added that he thinks six terrorists have died but only five bodies have been found so far. "We have recovered five bodies from the spot. I think six have died, one body is being searched. They belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed and information was that they are suicide attackers", informed SP Vaid.


In a joint operation, the Jammu and Kashmir's police, Army and Central Armed Police Forces foiled the infiltration bid by the terrorists.Security has been beefed up in the state ahead of Republic Day on January 26. -- ANI

A 19-year-old spectator was reportedly gored to death by a bull during the controversial bull-taming sport, Jallikattu, today in Madurai.


Jallikattu started in Tamil Nadu on Sunday after a gap of three years in view of the ban.


As per the tradition, a bull was released into the crowd of contestants enclosed within a fence, where each tried to grab the hump of the bull and tried to ride it as long as possible.


However, the raging bull reportedly jumped into the packed grandstands. It was then when the young boy at the end of the arena was gored to death.


The Supreme Court banned Jallikattu in 2014 after the complaints of extreme animal cruelty.Last year, after massive protests, the state enacted a law to bypass the top court's verdict. -- ANI


File pic.

Wholesale price-based inflation eased to a three-month low of 3.58 per cent in December 2017 as food prices softened, prompting the industry to seek measures in budget to strengthen agriculture supply chain. Wholesale price index based inflation was 3.93 per cent in November 2017 and 2.10 per cent in December 2016. Inflation on food articles slowed to 4.72 per cent in December, from 6.06 per cent in November 2017, the official data released today showed.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner will submit the inquiry report in the Mumbai's Kamala Mills Fire tragedy to the state government by January 19.


During the hearing of a PIL, filed by former police officer Julio Ribeiro, BMC's lawyer told the Bombay High Court that they would submit the report in the case after four days.


A huge fire had broken out at Kamla Mills compound in Lower Parel locality of Mumbai on December 29 killing 14 people and injuring 30.


Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the BMC Commissioner to conduct an in-depth enquiry into the tragedy.


The massive fire reportedly had broken out from the '1Above' rooftop restaurant and later spread to the entire area. - ANI

In the Gandhi borough of Amethi, ongress President Rahul Gandhi offers prayer and participates in a 'Khichdi daan'.  Rahul Gandhi embarks on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi, starting today. It is Rahul's first visit to Amethi since he became Congress president.

His visit comes on the heels of the assembly election result in Gujarat, in which the Congress showed a much better performance from the last election in the state.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adtiyanath is non-committal on the release of the controversial film 'Padmaavat' in the state. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie is set for release on January 25.


"I am not a future teller," was his cryptic reply when mediapersons asked him yesterday as to whether the movie would be screened in Uttar Pradesh. During an earlier visit here in November last year, Adityanath had said that Bhansali was no less guilty than those issuing threats to actors and others involved with the film and asserted that if there is any action, "it will be against both the sides". Lashing out at the film-maker, he had said that Bhansali was "habitual at playing with public sentiments".


The state government has said it would not allow the movie's release till certain "controversial portions" are removed. The movie, which was earlier titled "Padmavati", will now be released worldwide on January 25 with the title change suggested by the Censor Board as "Padmaavat".


The chief minister had said, "No one has the right to take the law into own hands whether it is Sanjay Leela Bhansali or anyone else. I feel that if those threatening (the actors of the film) are guilty, Bhansali is no less guilty."



He had also said that if there is any action, "It will be against both the sides." On threats being issued to eliminate actors, Adityanath had said, "Everyone should respect the feelings of each other. And I feel that if everyone has good thoughts and intentions, there would be amity in society."


Gujarat has become the third state after Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - all ruled by the BJP - to block the controversial Bollywood movie. Starring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, the film was mired into controversy after Rajput Karni Sena raised objections over the content of the film. -- PTI

Four Over Ground Workers working with terrorists arrested in Kupwara #JammuAndKashmir

Do we want batsmen that can destroy records in Wankhede and Eden Gardens but cannot last a couple of overs against an average South African attack?' asks Aakar Patel. Read the column on Rediff.com here.

India and Israel today inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security and energy. The agreements were signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for bolstering bilateral ties in strategic areas. The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interests. Netanyahu, who arrived here yesterday, will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India.


PM Modi during the joint statement:

"Today and yesterday we reviewed progress in our relations and renewed our relations on the opportunities that beckon us. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions. The results are already visible on the ground.


"Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership. Last year in July, I carried the greetings & friendship of 1.25 billion Indians during my momentous journey to Israel.


"In return, I was overwhelmed by the generous affection & warmth of the Israeli people led by my friend Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu). We will strengthen existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology and security.


"We exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation. In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalized FDI regime to make more in India with our companies."

Raking up another controversy, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has said that India was equally responsible for the tragedies in Pakistan.


Addressing mediapersons on Sunday, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said, "Our neighbour has its own hates. They think we have divided Pakistan by taking Bangladesh. We were not dividers. The tragedy was in the country itself. It was not our creation. That is the tragedy we still face. And don't say we are not involved in their tragedy. As much as they are involved in our tragedy, we are also involved in their tragedies. It's not one-sided."


Recalling a statement by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he called upon the current Indian leadership to build a bridge between India and Pakistan.


"I still remember Vajpayee's word that he made at the border in Pakistan. He said friends can be changed, neighbours cannot be changed. You can either live in peace and progress with neighbours or live in enmity and harm each other which will not be of any good. I would like to say the same thing to present Prime Minister, let us build bridges," he added.  -- ANI

PM Modi and PM Netanyahu hold delegation level talks at Hyderabad House in Delhi. 

Four top Supreme Court judges today resumed work like always, belying the simmering tensions sparked by their accusations against the Chief Justice, while the Attorney General described the unprecedented crisis as "a storm in a tea cup".


The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- took up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the January 12 press conference.


Attorney General K K Venugopal said the issue has been settled. "Now everything has been settled. The courts are functioning. It was a storm in a tea cup," Venugopal told NDTV.



In the presser, the four judges had flagged certain problems, including the assigning of cases in the apex court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court.


Yesterday, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. -- PTI

Pakistani Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said three Indian soldiers were killed in the firing along the LoC. "4 Pakistan Army soldiers embraced shahadat along LOC in Jandrot, Kotli sector. Troops were busy in Line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round. Exchange of fire killed 3 Indian soldiers while few injured," he wrote on Facebook.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during which they discussed a range of key issues including defence, trade and terrorism. Netanyahu arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a six-day visit with a delegation of senior Israeli officials and high-level businesses. During his stay, the Israeli prime minister will also visit Gujarat and Mumbai. -- PTI

As India celebrates its 70th Army Day, reports coming say that the Indian Army has carried out "retaliatory action" against Pakistan killing 7 soldiers and injuring 4 others in forward areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. Details awaited on this story.


Just this morning, security forces foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing five Jaish-e-Mohammad militants. A defence spokesman said that five militants were killed.Earlier, Director General of Police S P Vaid said four JeM militants were killed at Dulanja in Uri sector in a joint operation by the Army, police and other security forces.


Army chief General Bipin Rawat said today that the Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along the LoC in J&K. "We are using our might to teach them a lesson.  We will keep effectively retaliating to any provocative action by Pakistan. If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive. We will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost," General Rawat said.


He also called out China saying disputes along the Line of Actual Control in the northern border (China) are continuing and transgressions are taking place. "We are working to stop them," he said.

Four senior Supreme Court judges have just accused the chief justice of India of misusing his prerogative as master of the roster. Unlike the US Supreme Court, where the nine justices hear every case together, the Indian Supreme Court has multiple benches of varying sizes, and the cases have to be distributed.


The CJI alone has the right to distribute the cases that come up before the court amongst panels of judges called benches. The burden of the letter written to the chief justice by the judges, Jasti Chelameswar, Madan B. Lokur, Ranjan Gogoi and Kurian Joseph, is that he has violated convention by allotting important cases to benches that would not by convention have been given them, benches that the letter describes as "of their preference". The letter suggests that cases of national importance have been selectively assigned without good reason to pliant benches.

Read Mukul Kesavan's piece here.

When the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, the apprehension in academic publishers' minds that sales of liberal and Left books might suffer was offset by the assumption that the economy would flourish and keep them happy. Also, since no one in the new regime was likely to be interested in looking at anything written too long after the Vedas and the Golden Age of Sanskrit, there did not seem much cause for worry. In any case, the Congress had never failed to cave in when the crunch came to choosing between freedom of expression and mob violence, so the general situation seemed well described by the French cynicism of plus a change, plus c'est la mme chose.

Read Rukun Advani's column here.

With crop residue burning in northwest India contributing to a quarter of Delhi's air pollution during winter, a professor from Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University has claimed to have developed a solution to the problem.


According to Professor Dinesh Mohan, the biomass or stubble can be converted into Biochar using a reactor.Professor Mohan says the conversion of biomass into Biochar would reduce the issue caused due to stubble burning.


Biochar is a manmade charcoal material composed of agricultural wastes including manure, crop residues, and forage grasses. -- ANI

Stocks built on gains to hit fresh life-time highs on late morning trade on across the spectrum buying led by financials, banks, metal, consumer durables, energy, power and basic materials amid higher Asian cues.


The benchmark BSE Sensex spurted by 343.42 points, or 0.99 per cent, to an intra-day record high of 34,935.81. The broader Nifty also zoomed by 90.15 points, or 0.84 per cent at 10,771.40. Domestic sentiments were upbeat on positive macro data and recovery in corporate earnings along with high optimism over global peers. -- PTI

On the 70th Army Day, Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Naval Staff Sunil Lanba, and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa paid tribute at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi on Monday.


The day commemorates the valiant soldiers for their sacrifice to the nation and its citizens.


On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to extend greetings to the soldiers and their families and paid salute to the army.


"On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen of India has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," Modi wrote on Twitter.


In another tweet, he said, "Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes."Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also honoured the courage and bravery of the soldiers.


"On #ArmyDay we remember the indomitable courage and supreme sacrifices of our soldiers & salute their exemplary dedication & bravery. #ArmyDay2018," Jaitley wrote on Twitter.


Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore posted, "Salute to band of brothers. Nation first, always and every time. #ArmyDay."Paying tribute to the soldiers, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi wrote, "We salute the valour, courage and sacrifice of our brave jawans on #ArmyDay. Your perseverance defends our freedom; your dedication shields our liberty. It's because of your sacrifices a billion hopes and dreams can take shape."


Union Minister Smriti Irani posted, "On Army Day, a grateful Nation salutes the courage and spirit of selfless service of our armed forces personnel.


"Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also took to Twitter and wrote, "Let's salute our real heroes for their indomitable courage, valour, ultimate sacrifice and dedication towards the NATION. #ArmyDay."Army Day is celebrated annually on January 15.  -- ANI

Medical examination of the 15-year-old girl, who was found dead near a canal in Haryana's Jind district, revealed that she was raped by several individuals and had suffered immense internal injuries after the criminals inserted a blunt object into her genitals.


On Sunday, the body of a minor was found with injury marks near a canal in Budhakhera village of Jind district.


"Internal injury is found, her liver was ruptured and apart from that wounds from sexual assault are seen in her private parts. They have been mutilated and ruptured, and it seems that more than one person was involved," head of Forensic Science Department, Dr. SK Dhattarwal told ANI. "It seems a hard or blunt weapon was introduced," he added.


The postmortem also indicates that there might have been attempts to drown the victim, Dhattarwal informed, and added, "To confirm it, we have sent for the body for a diatom test."The body was found naked from below the chest area.The girl has been identified and it is found that she was missing since January 9 from Kurukshetra.


Meanwhile, the family of the victim staged a protest in Kurushetra and called for Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar, demanding justice for her.


"My daughter was kidnapped and raped. The culprits should be punished, we want justice for her. If administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened," the father of the victim told ANI.


A family member of the girl said she had been missing since she went for her tuition classes.


"Her aunt used to take her home from the tuition at 8:00 pm, but she was not there on January 9 when she (aunt) went to take her. The same day, we filed a complaint with the police. We then saw on social media that a body was found in Jind," he said. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Khattar has assured that the culprit in the case would be nabbed soon.


Image: The father of the victim said that if the administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and wife Sara pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. In India on a six-day visit, the two countries are expected to sign over 10 business and industry-related memorandums of understanding on Monday across sectors, including energy, water, automation products and IT, in the presence of 130 business delegates accompanying PM Benjamin Netanyahu on his historic trip to India. 

Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a marriage made in heaven, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that even though the Jewish state was disappointed by Indias vote at the United Nations against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu receives a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, was granted a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan ahead of his delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.


Prime Minister Netanyahu said that this is a dawn of a new era in friendship between India and Israel.


"It began with PM Modi's historic visit to Israel that created tremendous enthusiasm, it continues with my visit here which I must say is deeply moving for me, my wife and the people of Israel. Heralds a flourishing partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for our people," he added.


The Israeli premier is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence.


On January 14, Prime Minister Modi and his Israeli counterpart attended a ceremony to mark the formal renaming of iconic Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk.


The two premiers, who signed the visitor's book at the chowk, were received by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. They laid a wreath and paid tribute at the Chowk.


Netanyahu will be visiting Delhi, Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai and will be accompanied by the Indian Prime Minister on extensive portions of his visit.
The PM was at the airport to meet Netanyahu who tweeted, "Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi , who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights!"
 -- ANI

@SushmaSwaraj I called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Warm and engaging conversation on various aspects of our bilateral ties aimed at strengthening our strategic partnership. @IsraeliPM #ShalomNamaste

Security forces today foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing five Jaish-e-Mohammad militants.
A defence spokesman said that five militants were killed.


Earlier, Director General of Police S P Vaid said four JeM militants were killed at Dulanja in Uri sector in a joint operation by the Army, police and other security forces.


"Three suicidal JeM terrorists killed in Dulanja Uri while infiltrating in a joint operation by @JmuKmrPolice/Army/ CAPF.Search for the fourth terrorist is still on," Vaid said in a tweet. The DGP later updated that the fourth militant has also been killed. -- PTI

A poster in Lucknow likening Congress president Rahul Gandhi to Lord Krishna. Rahul Gandhi is visiting his family boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli in UP as well.


Roads from Lucknow airport to Amethi via Rae Bareli have been decked up with big cutouts and gates have been erected throughout the road through which the Congress president cavalcade will pass. Local Congress leaders claimed that it is not the welcome of a party president but of a future Prime Minister of the country.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Naval Staff Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa pay tribute at Amar Jawan Jyoti on the occasion of Army Day. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who broke protocol to receive his "friend" Benjamin Netanyahu at the airport in Delhi on Sunday, ended the day by hosting a private dinner for him.