Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred with Nigeria’s second-highest national award ‘Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger’ by President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
PM Modi receives Nigeria’s second-highest national award
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 140 crore people of India and the friendship of India and Nigeria,” Mr. Modi said after receiving the award from Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr. Modi also held extensive talks with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on boosting the India-Nigeria partnership in various areas, including trade, investment, and digital public infrastructure.
Amit Shah reviews security situation in Manipur
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the security situation in Manipur and directed top security officials to take all possible steps to ensure peace in the Northeastern state, sources said. Mr. Shah held the meeting soon after he returned from Maharashtra after cancelling his election rallies there. Mr. Shah, earlier in the day, 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.
Houses of four more MLAs torched in Manipur, agitators attempt to storm CM’s ancestral residence
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 even as security forces foiled the attempt of agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, officials said. The fresh incidents of violent protests took place on Saturday (November 16, 2024) night even as indefinite curfew was clamped after people, agitated by the killing of three women and children each by militants in Jiribam district, attacked the residences of three State ministers and six MLAs earlier on Saturday.
Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio to lead Cabinet to meet Union Home Minister on Naga political dialogue
With the NSCN-IM threatening to go back to jungles due to delay in the resolution of the Naga political dialogue with Government of India, the Nagaland Cabinet has decided to meet both negotiating parties at the earliest, official sources said on Sunday. A delegation of Nagaland Cabinet led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his Deputies T. R. Zeliang and Y. Patton are scheduled to leave for Delhi on Monday to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to press for expediting the Naga political negotiations, the sources said.
Manipur violence: BJP deliberately wants State to burn, says Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge
With a spate of violence in Manipur, the Congress renewed its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government accusing the BJP of “deliberately” keeping Manipur burning. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in a long post on X said, Manipur, since May 2023 has undergone “unimaginable pain”, “division and simmering violence” which has destroyed the future of its people. “We are saying it with utmost responsibility that it looks that the BJP deliberately wants Manipur to burn, for it serves its hateful divisive politics,” Mr. Kharge said.
Infant rescued from hospital fire in Jhansi’s Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College passes away
An infant who was rescued from the fire that broke out at Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi passed away on Sunday morning. College principal Dr. N.S. Sengar said that the child was not among the injured in the fire accident and was born premature and weak. ‘The child was born prematurely and weighed only 1.5 kilograms. We tried to save him but he couldn’t survive,” Dr. Sengar told The Hindu.
Jhansi hospital fire: NHRC notice to U.P. government, DGP over death of newborns
The National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) on Saturday said it has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state’s police chief in connection with a fire at the children’s ward of a medical college in Jhansi that claimed the lives of 10 newborns. Describing reports of the incident as “disturbing”, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a detailed report within a week. The commission observed that the contents of the reports are “indeed disturbing and indicate negligence” resulting in a “grave violation” of the human rights of the victims as they were in the care of a government institution.
India successfully carries out maiden test of long range hypersonic missile
India on Sunday announced the successful flight test of its maiden long-range hypersonic missile with a range of 1500km. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the flight test late on Saturday from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off Odisha coast, the latest in a series of missile tests in the last two months. “The missile is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1500km for all the services of Indian armed forces,” DRDO said in a statement. “The missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains. The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy.”
Former BJP MLA Anil Jha joins AAP after Kailash Gehlot’s exit in Delhi
Former BJP MLA Anil Jha joined the AAP in Delhi on Sunday in the presence of Delhi’s ex-Chief Minister and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal. “Inspired by” Mr. Kejriwal for his work at the “grassroot level for Dalits and Mahadalits,” Mr. Jha said he will begin working as an AAP worker from today. Welcoming Mr. Jha to the part, the former Delhi CM said, “Anil Jha, who works for the backward people in Delhi will strengthen the party in the whole of Delhi.”
Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot quits AAP, flags ‘grave challenges’ facing party
In a setback to the AAP ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, its senior leader and Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot quit the party on Sunday. In his resignation letter to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, the 50-year-old pointed to the “grave challenges” facing the party Mr. Gahlot, a prominent figure in the party, also took a jab at Mr. Kejriwal while flagging some “awkward” and “embarrassing” controversies like ‘sheeshmahal’, saying it makes everyone doubt if “we still believe in being the ‘Aam Aadmi’”.
Jairam Ramesh says no reason to celebrate increased women participation in workforce, highights wage fall and job quality deterioration
Accusing the Narendra Modi Government of ignoring the fine print of the women’s Labour Force Participation Ratio (LFPR), which as per the government’s statement from last month, increased from 27% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh pointed out that 84% of this increase is actually in case of self-employed women many of who are engaged in unpaid family work. The data, he said, reveals that the women entering the workforce as either salaried workers or self-employed are earning less today than they did six years ago.
Nepal, India agree to better coordinate border security
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) 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.
PM Modi lauds film ‘The Sabarmati Report’, says good that truth is coming out
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to endorse the film ‘The Sabarmati Report’ produced by filmmaker Ektaa Kapoor and based on the burning of the Sabarmati Express claiming 59 lives and the Godhra riots that followed in 2002 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Responding to an “X” post by @alok_bhat enumerating what he says are the merits of the film, Prime Minister Modi quote posted: “Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people see it. A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually facts will always come out.”
Hezbollah firing in Haifa: Israel issues evacuation orders for Beirut residents
Israel issued evacuation orders on Sunday for parts of south Beirut where it is targeting Hezbollah militants, hours after the Iran-backed group said it fired on several Israeli military bases around the coastal city of Haifa. Israel ordered residents of three areas in the capital’s southern suburbs to leave ahead of planned strikes on multiple buildings, in a warning published on X by military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
COP29 week one ends in deadlock as divisions stall climate action progress
The first week of the COP29 summit concluded in Baku without significant breakthroughs, as deep divisions between developed and developing nations stalled progress on key issues like climate finance, trade measures, and equitable responsibility for climate action. India, representing the G-77/China and BASIC blocs, demanded accountability from wealthier countries on unmet financial commitments.
Dengue death toll in Bangladesh crosses 400 as outbreak worsens
Bangladesh is battling its worst outbreak of dengue in years, with more than 400 deaths as rising temperatures and a longer monsoon season drive a surge in infections, leaving hospitals struggling to cope, particularly in urban areas. At least 407 people have died from related complications in 2024, with 78,595 patients admitted to hospitals nationwide, the latest official figures show.
Published – November 17, 2024 07:22 pm IST
