Archives for 2025

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is likely to announce his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party as early as Monday, news agency Reuters reported citing The Globe and Mail.

The report, based on information from three unnamed sources, suggests Trudeau could announce his plans to step down before a key national caucus meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the 53-year-old will leave immediately or continue as prime minister until a new leader is chosen.

A source in the report mentioned that the prime minister has discussed with finance minister Dominic LeBlanc whether he would be willing to step in as interim leader and prime minister. The report further stated that this would be unworkable if LeBlanc plans to run for the leadership.

Trudeau took over as Liberal leader in 2013 when the party was struggling and had fallen to third place in the House of Commons for the first time in its history.

Deir Al-Balah: Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, officials said Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year.

One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has waged a major operation since early October. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were wounded.

Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.

“Are you celebrating? Enjoy as we die. For a year and a half, we have been dying,” said a man carrying the body of a child in the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.

Israel’s military said Hamas group fired rockets at Israel from the Bureij area overnight and that its forces responded with a strike targeting a group. The military also issued evacuation orders for the area.

A third strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.

The war began when Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not say how many of those killed were members of the group.

The Israeli military says it only targets Hamas members and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 Hamas members, without providing evidence.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90 per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands live in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry.

Many displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rely on charity kitchens as their sole food provider amid restrictions on aid and skyrocketing prices. AP footage showed a long line of children waiting for rice, the only item served at the kitchen in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday.

“Some of those kitchens close because they don’t receive aid, and others distribute little amounts of food and its not enough,” said Umm Adham Shaheen, displaced from Gaza City.

American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu has vowed to keep fighting until “total victory.”

Bhopal: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the shifting of some 377 tons of hazardous waste began from the defunct Union Carbide factory on Wednesday night for its disposal, an official said.

The toxic waste is being shifted in 12 sealed container trucks to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal.

“12 container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours,” said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.

He said around 100 people worked in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks.

“They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes,” he added.

Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court and set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a “state of inertia”.

The high court bench had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.

“If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months,” Singh told PTI on Wednesday morning.

Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, Singh said.

The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added.

Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.

A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said.

Some local activists have claimed that 10 tons of Union Carbide waste was incinerated on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015, after which the soil, underground water and water sources in surrounding villages became polluted.

But Singh rejected the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined.

There would be no reason to worry, he said.

A large number of people had on Sunday taken out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city which has a population of about 1.75 lakh.

Arif Mohammad Khan

Patna: Arif Mohammad Khan will be sworn in as the governor of Bihar at the Raj Bhavan here on Thursday, officials said.

The oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held around 11 am, they said.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was recently appointed the governor of Kerala, while Khan, who served as the governor of Kerala, was moved to Bihar.

Khan, who arrived in Patna on Monday, had told reporters at the airport that he would try to discharge his duties in accordance with the glorious tradition of the state.

“I know the glorious history of Bihar. It has an impact on me. I will try to discharge my duties in accordance with the heritage and glorious tradition of the state,” he had said.

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi met singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh on Wednesday, and lauded his rise from modest beginnings to make a name for himself internationally.

“A very memorable interaction,” Modi said on Instagram, sharing a short clip of their interaction.

He said in a post on X, “A great interaction with Diljit Dosanjh! He’s truly multifaceted, blending talent and tradition. We connected over music, culture and more.”

He has been winning over people, Modi is heard telling Dosanjh in a lighter vein, referring to the first name of the famous Punjabi artiste.

Dosanjh expressed his admiration for Modi’s sentiments towards his mother and the Ganga river.

Dosanjh was recently criticised by some rightwing groups over a host of issues.

Following his meeting with Modi, Dosanjh said in post on X, “A fantastic start to 2025. A very memorable meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We talked about a lot of things including music of course!”

Allahabad High Court

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has firmly stated that it is time for husbands to discard outdated Victorian-era mentalities and acknowledge that a wife’s body, privacy, and rights belong solely to her and are not subject to her husband’s control or ownership.

A single-judge bench of Justice Vinod Diwakar made these observations while dismissing a plea filed by a man accused of secretly recording intimate videos of his wife without her consent, uploading them on Facebook, and sharing the footage with her cousin.

The petitioner sought to quash the chargesheet and criminal proceedings under s. 67B of the Information Technology Act, arguing that no offence could be made out as the complainant was his legally wedded wife. He also contended that the FIR was anti-timed, the victim’s statement under s. 161 CrPC showed substantial improvements, and no material evidence linked him to the alleged acts.

Opposing the plea, the Additional Government Advocate argued that serious allegations were made against the husband. The complainant’s legal relationship with the accused did not give him the right to make or circulate an obscene video.

Rejecting the husband’s arguments, the Court observed that such claims could be raised during trial but cannot be grounds for quashing proceedings under s. 482 CrPC. Addressing the core issue, the Court remarked:

“Marriage does not grant a husband ownership or control over his wife, nor does it dilute her autonomy or right to privacy. By uploading an intimate video on Facebook, the applicant has gravely breached the sanctity of the marital relationship.”

Referring to historical principles like the Victorian doctrine of coverture, the Court stated that it is high time for husbands to move past regressive mindsets that undermine women’s autonomy. It emphasised the constitutional right to privacy, citing landmark cases such as Roe v. Wade (US) and K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (India), which recognise bodily autonomy and personal liberty as fundamental rights.

The Court further underscored that a wife is an individual with her own rights and agency, not an extension of her husband. Respecting her bodily autonomy and privacy is not only a legal duty but also a moral obligation essential for fostering an equal relationship.

Dismissing the plea, the Court highlighted that any attempts to control or violate a wife’s rights through coercion, abuse, or the non-consensual sharing of intimate details constitute severe breaches of trust and legality.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna

New Delhi : Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday wished the lawyers and litigants a happy new year as the Supreme Court reopened after its winter vacation, which lasted from December 21, 2024, to January 1, 2025.

“I wish you all a happy new year. May you have a happy new year, your families…,” the CJI said at the outset of the day’s proceedings.  “I am told the email for mentioning is not working. You can move the physical letters accordingly,” the CJI said, adding that such letters would be reviewed in the afternoon, with necessary orders issued for listing.

After taking charge as the CJI, Justice Khanna had stopped the practice of oral submissions for urgent listing of cases before the apex court benches. He had said the urgent listing of cases will be permitted after the lawyers either send emails or write letters for the purpose.

Usually the lawyers mention their cases before the CJI-led bench at the outset of the day’s proceedings for out of turn listings and hearing of cases on grounds of urgency.