The Pursuit Room

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Inquiry Committee to Record the Statement of Affected Families in Lucknow Apartment Collapse

Lucknow: The committee constituted to probe the incident at Lucknow’s Alaya Apartments will record the statement of affected families on Tuesday, Divisional Commissioner Dr. Roshan Jacob said today.

“On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the inquiry committee formed on the collapse of Alaya apartment on Wazir Hasan Road, Hazratganj, Lucknow is being called on Tuesday at 10:30 in the office of the Divisional Commissioner to hear the statements of the affected families,” Divisional Commissioner said. The 5-storey Alaya Apartments on Wazir Hasan Road collapsed on January 24, killing two of the three and injuring over 10 others. After the incident, CM Yogi formed a three-tier committee under the chairmanship of the Divisional Commissioner of Lucknow, which will submit its report to the government in a week.

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Russia-Ukraine War Impacting Bangladesh

Dhaka: The Ukraine war has complicated things for Bangladesh with the Moscow-Washington rivalry presenting a test for Dhaka’s non-aligned foreign policy. A report by the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) pointed out that the country needs to maintain its relations with both the US and Russia which would be difficult in the form of war.

The testing moment comes as the country prepares for two major elections. The Bangladesh Election Commission announced last week that the election for the next President of Bangladesh will be held on February 19 and another important event in the form of general elections is due early next year.

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New Act Renaming India International Arbitration Centre Comes into Force

New Delhi: An Act that renames the New Delhi International Arbitration Center as the India International Arbitration Center has now come into force.

The new law titled ‘The New Delhi International Arbitration Center (Amendment) Act, 2022’ came into force after it was announced by the Ministry of Law and Justice in a notification issued late on January 27.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Act, 2022 (23 of 2022), the Central Government hereby appoints the 27th day of January 2023 as the date on which the said Act shall come into force,” reads the notification.

The move comes almost one-and-half months after the Parliament passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Center (Amendment) Bill, 2022, during the winter session proceedings in December last year. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2022, and by the Rajya Sabha on December 14, 2022. After becoming law, the Act amended the New Delhi International Arbitration Center Act, 2019. The Act also provides for the establishment of the New Delhi International Arbitration Center and designates it as an institution of national importance.

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China Portraying Protestors as Tools of Foreign Powers

Bejing: China has been waging a campaign of intimidation against people participating in the demonstrations, which began days after Beijing abruptly abandoned its zero-COVID restrictions. The New York Times reported that the country was discrediting the protesters by portraying them as tools of malevolent foreign powers.

Since China abandoned its zero-COVID policy, its domestic challenges have increased, youth unemployment is high, the economy is slowing down, and COVID infections and deaths have accelerated. According to The New York Times, Beijing has long dismissed dissent at home, from pro-democracy activism to ethnic unrest demanding women’s rights as a result of Western-backed sabotage.

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Israel Strikes Gaza After Clashes Flare up in West Bank

Gaza: Israeli jets struck Gaza on Friday in response to two rockets fired by Palestinian militants, further escalating tensions after one of the worst days of violence in the occupied West Bank in years.

Rockets fired from Gaza overnight raised alarm in Israeli communities near the border along the southern coastal strip controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas but there were no reports of casualties. An Israeli attack on a refugee camp in the West Bank on Thursday followed a cross-border fire that killed at least nine Palestinians, including militant gunmen, and at least two civilians, the highest one-day death toll in years.

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Anti-Indians Using Twitter as a Propaganda Tool to Tarnish India’s Image

New Delhi: Twitter is the biggest platform for sharing information, but it is now being used as a propaganda tool by anti-India forces to damage the country’s image, Indian non-profit fact-checking website Digital Forensics, Research & Analytics Center (DFRAC) has disclosed.

DFRAC analyzed the Twitter account @MuslimsinIndia7, created to harm India’s international image.

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Inaugural Yuvamanthan Model G20 Summit Held in Goa

New Delhi: Yuvamanthan Model G20, a unique initiative for youth who wish to master the art of public speaking, diplomacy, and strategy began today with its first summit on January 26, 2023, as India celebrates its 74th Republic Day. The first of many summits were held at the Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science in Goa.

India assumed the presidency of the G20 in December 2022. India’s chairmanship will be a historic moment in India’s history as it seeks to play an essential role by arriving at practical global solutions for the good of all, which reflects the true spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or the theme of the G20. “One Earth – One Family – One Future”.

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India’s Adani Triggers Record Share Sale as Short Seller Paves Way for $44 billion

Mumbai: Shares of India’s Adani Enterprises sank 15% on Friday as the U.S. A scathing report of short sellers has stirred the group’s listed firms, raising doubts about how investors will react to the company’s record $2.45 billion secondary sale.

Seven listed companies of the Adani group – controlled by one of the world’s richest men, Gautam Adani – have lost a combined $43.5 billion in market capitalization since Wednesday, after Hindenburg Research raised concerns in a January 24 report about debt levels and the use of tax havens. Adani Group has dismissed the report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm.

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IOC Seeks Way to Let Russian Athletes

Geneva: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made it clear on Wednesday that it wants Russian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics 23, 8:07 PM IOC seeks a pathway to let Russian athletes compete in the Paris Olympics as neutral athletes, in defiance of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to exclude them entirely, as reported by ESPN.

The International Olympic Committee stated that no athlete should be subject to prejudice based solely on their passport, citing a unifying mission during the war.

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UN Report Projects India’s GDP to Remain Strong at 5.8%

India’s GDP is projected to moderate to 5.8% in 2023 as higher interest rates and global economic slowdown weigh on investment and exports, the United Nations said on Wednesday, noting that the country’s economic growth is expected to remain strong even as prospects for other South Asian nations are more challenging.

The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023 report state that world output growth is projected to decline from an estimated 3% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023, marking one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades. The report, produced by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), said that in South Asia, the economic outlook has significantly deteriorated due to high food and energy prices, monetary tightening, and fiscal vulnerabilities. Average GDP growth is projected to moderate from 5.6% in 2022 to 4.8 % in 2023.

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Germany Clears the Way for Hundreds of Tanks for Ukraine

Kyiv: Germany cleared the way on Wednesday for Europe to send scores of battle tanks to Ukraine and the United States prepared to make a similar announcement, moves hailed by Kyiv as a potential turning point in the war, and condemned by Moscow as escalation.

Kyiv has been calling for months for Western main battle tanks that would give its forces greater firepower, protection, and mobility to break through Russian front lines and potentially reclaim occupied territory in the east and south.

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Demolition Work Continues in Affected Areas of Joshimath

Chamoli: Officials on Sunday continued demolition work in areas affected by land subsidence in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath. They have identified 863 houses that have developed cracks.

Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana inspected the identified land on the spot in Dhak village of Joshimath in Chamoli district on Saturday.

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Suspect Kills 10 in Los Angeles Mass Shooting Near Lunar New Year Fest

Los Angeles: A gunman killed 10 people and wounded 10 others at a Los Angeles area ballroom dance club after Lunar New Year celebrations, triggering a manhunt for the fifth mass murder killing in the US this month.

Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said Sunday that the injured were taken to hospitals and their conditions ranged from stable to serious. He said 10 people died at the scene in the city of Monterey Park. Meyer said people were pouring out of the location screaming when officers arrived at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. He said officers then went into the ballroom and found victims as firefighters treated the wounded.

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China Recorded Nearly 13,000 Covid Deaths in Hospitals Last Week

Beijing: China reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, with a top health official saying most of the population has already been infected with the virus.

China said a week ago that nearly 60,000 people had died of Covid in hospitals as of January 12, but there has been widespread skepticism over the official figures since Beijing abruptly ended anti-virus controls last month. China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Saturday that 681 patients hospitalized with respiratory failure caused by the coronavirus infection had died, and 11,977 from other diseases combined with the infection during the period. The figures do not include those who died from the virus at home.

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SRK Calls Assam CM at 2 am Amid Protest Against His Upcoming Film ‘Pathan’

Guwahati: Amidst the raging debate over the upcoming film ‘Pathan’, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan called him late at night and expressed concern over reports of a protest by a right-wing organization in Guwahati against the release of his film.

CM Sarma said that he assured Shahrukh that the state government will maintain law and order and ensure that no such incident happens during the release of his film.

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Gangster Vikas Dubey’s Relative Released from Jail

Kanpur: Khushi Dubey, a relative of gangster Vikas Dubey, who was killed in the killing of eight police officers in Kanpur, was released from jail on Saturday.

Khushi is the widow of Amar Dubey, an aide, and relative of the slain gangster. Days after the attack in which several policemen were killed and several injured, Vikas Dubey was shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh Police as he allegedly tried to escape from their custody.

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Defence Minister Urges the Youth to End the ‘Use and Throw’ Culture

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday urged the youth to end the concept of use and throw, saying that this practice causes maximum damage to society and the environment, directly or indirectly.

Rajnath Singh, who visited the Republic Day camp of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) here, called upon the youth to identify new ways to take the country to new heights while staying connected to its age-old values ​​and traditions. The Minister urged the cadets to focus on character building as much as they focus on acquiring knowledge and earning money.