What to watch out for
Verdict in Sohrabuddin Sheikh Gujarat encounter case today
A special CBI court in Mumbai court is expected to decide today whether Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati were killed in the fake encounters. Twenty-two people, mostly police officers, are accused in the cases. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Sheikh, a known gangster, was killed in 2005 after being abducted. Kausar Bi, who was also abducted along with Sheikh, was raped and murdered. Sheikh’s aide, Prajapati was killed a year later, after being shot by the Gujarat police. BJP President Amit Shah was named in the case but was later discharged. The Rajasthan Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria, former Gujarat police chief PC Pande and senior police officer Geeta Johri were also implicated and later discharged. The police has claimed that Sheikh was affiliated with terrorist outfits and was also involved in a conspiracy to assasinate Prime Minister Modi.
Bank shut down starting today, confederation strikes against wage revisions.
Several banks branches will remain shut from from Friday to Wednesday as a result of a strike called by the All India Bank Officers Confederation's. Over 3.2 lakh officers are likely to take part in the strike to protest opposing the union’s move to restrict salary settlements upto Scale III. "AIBOC believes that it is nothing but a farcical logic to restrict the wage negotiations up to the officers in scale III whereas the entire officer community is covered under unified Service Regulations,” the confederation wrote in a statement. ATM services are only expected to be affected on December 26.
Chinese Foreign Minister to meet with Sushma Swaraj today on first day of his four-day trip to India
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be holding extensive talks with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj as a part of the first High Level meeting on People-to-People Exchanges. The two ministers will be deliberating on several bilateral issues and ways to deepen ties between the two countries. Chinese Foreign Minister will also set to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and visit the cities of Aurangabad and Mumbai in the four day trip. Last month, Prime Minister Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping met in the backdrop of the G-20 summit and discussed joint efforts to improve India-China relations.
What you might have missed
Upendra Kushwaha pledges allegiance to Congress’ Mahagathbandhan
Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha, who had recently walked out of the NDA fold, joined the Congress' mahagathbandhan in Delhi on Thursday. Meanwhile, former BJP ally Upendra Kushwaha joined the UPA, the BJP’s ties with the Lok Janshakti Party appeared to be in trouble with LJP leader Chirag Paswan asking the central government to explain what benefits demonetisation brought to the country.
After Yogi Adityanath’s claims about Hanuman’s Hindu origins, BJP Legislator says the he was actually Muslim
Days after Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that Lord Hanuman was a Dalit, a BJP legislator has said that Hanuman was actually a Muslim. To justify his statement, MLC Bukkal Nawab said, “Muslims have names like Arman, Rehman, Furqan, Zeeshan, Rehan. This proves that ‘Hanuman’ Ji was also a Muslim. All the names which are used in Muslims are derived from ‘Hanuman’; you will not find any similar sounding names in Hindus.”
Agrarian distress or Unemployment: What drove the voters in the recent Madhya Pradesh polls?
With reports that farmer distress was the biggest factor that decided the outcome in Madhya Pradesh polls, a report on the voting pattern in the state suggests that voters in both the rural and urban pockets were driven more by better employment opportunities than agrarian distress while voting. Read more on why the BJP lost its stronghold in the recent Assembly Election, only on News18.
On reel
Shah Rukh Khan always ensures his films get the promotion they deserve, and Zero is no exception. Zero revolves around Bauua Singh, a vertically challenged man who falls in love with two women, Anushka Sharma’s Aafia, a scientist who suffers from cerebral palsy, and Katrina Kaif’s Babita, a Bollywood superstar. Watch the exclusive interview only on News18.