CURBING CANDIDATES WITH CRIMINAL BACKGROUND: SC ASKS EC FOR SUGGESTIONSThe Election Commission (EC) told the Supreme Court on Friday that thedirection asking poll candidates to declare their criminal antecedents inthe media has not helped curb criminalisation of politics, and saidpolitical parties should be asked not to give ticket to those with criminalbackground.Despite the apex court's direction in 2018, the criminalisation of politicsis going on and some alternate mechanism has to be found, the EC said.A Bench of Justices R F Nariman and S Ravindra Bhat asked the poll panel tocome up with a framework within one week which can help curb criminalisationof politics in nation's interest.It asked BJP leader and advocate-petitioner Ashiwini Upadhyay and the EC tosit together and come up with suggestions which would help curbcriminalisation of politics.Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Upadhaya, saidcurrently 46 per cent of parliamentarians have criminal antecedents and inthis scenario it cannot be assumed that a law will be passed in this regard.To this, the bench asked Upadhaya and the poll panel to suggest an effectivemechanism to keep a check on criminalisation of politics.CAN'T ISSUE BLANKET ORDER AGAINST INVOKING NSA ON ANTI-CAA PROTESTERS: SCThe Supreme Court on Friday refused to issue blanket orders restrainingauthorities from invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against anti-CAAprotesters in Delhi.Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had on January 10 had extendeddetaining powers to Delhi Police under the NSA for three months, beginningJanuary 19. Some other states, including Andhra Pradesh, have also invokedthe stringent law under which police can detain a person for 12 monthswithout trial.The Supreme Court refused to entertain a petition filed by advocate MLSharma challenging the imposition of NSA in few states, including thenational capital. Sharma said anti-CAA protests were going on peacefully inShaheen Bagh in Delhi and other places and states should not be allowed toinvoke the stringent law against them. He also sought a compensation of Rs50 lakh each for those detained under the NSA for "mental agony, defamationin society and loss of reputation"."We are of the opinion that general writ will not lie in this case. Wecannot invoke powers under Article 32. We agree that the NSA should not bemisused but there cannot be a general command.You show us a specificinstance, where it has been done. We cannot issue a blanket order. If ageneral direction is passed, this will create a chaos. You don't know whatis going on in Calcutta, Tripura and Assam. Properties are being burnt andthat may be (an) organized (act). We don't know the antecedents of people,"the Bench said.2G INTERNET RESTORED IN KASHMIR FROM MIDNIGHT, WITH RIDERSAfter remaining shut for more than five months, 2G mobile internet serviceson postpaid as well as prepaid phones will be restored in the Kashmir Valleyfrom today but can only be used to access 301 websites approved by the Jammuand Kashmir administration, an official order said.Access shall be limited only on whitelisted sites and social mediaapplications will continue to remain out of bounds for the Valley'sresidents, it said, adding, data services shall be available on postpaid aswell as prepaid sim cards. The sites approved include search engines andthose associated with banking, education, news, travel, utilities andemployment.The latest development comes after the Supreme Court, in a significantruling on January 10, asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to reviewwithin a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory. The SupremeCourt came down heavily on the UT administration for arbitrarily shuttingdown the internet, the facility described as a fundamental right by the apexcourt.BJP KEEN TO DRAG AAP INTO IDENTITY POLITICSSharpening the attack on the ruling AAP and Congress over the CAA, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said people need to choose between'Jinnah wali Azadi' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai's. Citing ongoing protests atShaheen Bagh, Javadekar Friday said, "We have seen 'Jinnah wali Azadi'slogan being raised there. Now, Delhi people need to decide if they want'Jinnah wali Azadi' or 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'."He blamed AAP and Congress for "instigating" violent protests against CAA inthe capital."Delhi people should ask both parties why they instigated violence. Thenexus of AAP and Congress is behind the Shaheen Bagh protest. Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia have supported the protest,"alleged Javadekar.This comes even as Arvind Kejriwal led AAP has tried to stay clear ofidentity politics in its Delhi polls campaign - the party has limited itscampaign to Bijli-paani-schools-health-safety issues.CHINA CORONAVIRUS: DEATH TOLL RISES TO 41, MORE THAN 1,300 INFECTEDChina said 41 people have now died from a new coronavirus that has infectedmore than 1,300 people globally, as health authorities around the worldscramble to prevent a global pandemic. The total number of confirmed casesin China now stands at 1,287, the National Health Commission said in astatement on January 25.The death roll has risen from 26 reported on Friday. All the latest deathsoccurred in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak that has been in virtualquarantine as China scrambles to contain the virus spread.The vast majority of the cases and all of the confirmed deaths to date havebeen in China, but the virus has also been detected in Thailand, Vietnam,Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, France and the United States.Human-to-human transmission has been observed in the virus, which healthauthorities believe to have originated in a market in Wuhan that tradedillegally in wildlife.The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus an"emergency in China" this week but stopped short of declaring it ofinternational concern. However, the virus continues to spread globally.IRAN RAID LEFT '34 US TROOPS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES'The Pentagon has said that 34 US troops were diagnosed with traumatic braininjuries (TBI) following an Iranian attack on their base in Iraq on January8.Seventeen troops are still under medical observation, a spokesman said.President Donald Trump had said no Americans were injured in the 8 Januarystrike, which came in retaliation for the US killing of an Iranian general.Mr Trump had cited the supposed lack of injuries in his decision not tostrike back against Iran.But last week, the Pentagon said 11 service members had been treated forconcussion symptoms from the attack.Asked about the apparent discrepancy this week at the World Economic Forumin Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump said: "I heard that they had headaches, anda couple of other things, but I would say, and I can report, it's not veryserious.""I don't consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries Ihave seen," he said when asked about possible TBIs.US FINANCIER GEORGE SOROS IN DAVOSUS financier and philanthropist George Soros on Thursday pledged one billiondollars for a new university network project to battle the erosion of civilsociety in a world increasingly ruled by "would-be and actual dictators" andbeset by climate change.Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros said humanity was at aturning point and the coming years would determine the fate of rulers likePresident Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping as well as the world itself."We live at a transformational moment in history. The survival of opensocieties is endangered and we face an even greater crisis: climate change,"said the Hungarian-born billionaire.He described the plan of the Open Society University Network (OSUN) as "themost important project of my life" and would be an international platformfor teaching and research.He expressed grief that the World's strongest powers-the United States,China and Russia under President Putin-were "in the hands of would-be oractual dictators and the ranks of authoritarian rulers continued to grow."With nationalism making further headway around the world, Soros said thatthe "biggest and most frightening setback" was in India, accusing PrimeMinister Narendra Modi of "creating a Hindu nationalist state.""SAW WORKERS EATING POHA NOT ROTI": BJP LEADER KAILASH VIJAYVARGIYAAmid nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, senior BJPleader Kailash Vijayvargiya said at a pro-CAA seminar that he sawconstruction workers at his house "eating a lot of poha", grew suspiciousover "why they were not eating roti" and concluded that they were fromBangladesh."They were not eating rotis, they could not speak or understand Hindi. Theycould not tell me which district they belonged to. If they had told me whichdistrict they were from, I would have understood because I know West Bengalvery well. But it was clear that they had no idea about it," Vijayvargiyasaid.Reacting to the BJP national general secretary's remarks, the Congress saidthese established concerns about the manner in which the BJP-led NDAgovernment is likely to conduct the National Population Register (NPR)exercise by profiling people on the basis of religion, language, communityand eating habits."If a responsible senior leader of the BJP can today declare someone as aforeigner and infiltrator because he or she is having poha, if you canprofile a person's nationality and connect it to national security, this isthe reason why we are saying this government will use NPR to profilepeople," Congress leader Sushmita Dev said.PERIYAR STATUE VANDALISED IN TAMIL NADU; LEADERS CONDEMNA statue of rationalist leader E V Ramasamy 'Periyar' was found vandalisedin neighbouring Kancheepuram district on Friday with political leaders inTamil Nadu condemning it and demanding stern action against the culprits.The statue at Salavakkam was found damaged on Friday morning, causing aflutter in the locality, police said. The state police warned of "strongaction" against anti-social elements involving in vandalising statues ofPeriyar or other leaders.The incident comes in the backdrop of a renewed debate on Periyar in TamilNadu, after superstar Rajinikanth last week had made some remarks about a1971 rally taken out by the Dravidian stalwart.His comments drew the ire of pro-Periyar outfits and political parties,including the ruling AIADMK and DMK, in Tamil Nadu which hold the lateleader in high esteem.The actor, who is expected to float his political party ahead of assemblyelections next year, had refused to apologise as demanded by some Dravidianoutfits, maintaining what he said was factual.PVT SCHOOLS SHOULD DESIST FROM RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: KERALA HCThe Kerala High Court on Friday directed the state government's generaleducation department to direct all recognised private schools in the stateto desist from imparting religious instruction or religious studies withoutthe government's permission.Upholding the closure of a school in the state capital which admitted onlyMuslim students, the bench of Justice A Muhamed Mustaque observed that theschool imparted religious instruction exclusively following Islamic religionand that cannot be permitted."Constitutional rights to the minorities to run educational institutions donot extend to dilute secular nature of education,'' the bench said."Since it offends the very fabric of the secular society, the government isjustified in ordering closure of the school,'' said the judge, asking theeducation department to issue an order to all recognised schools not to givereligious lessons without the government's permission.LAWYER OF NIRBHAYA CASE CONVICTS MAKING FUN OF SYSTEM: DELHI DYCM SISODIAA lawyer, appearing for two of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case, is"making fun" of the system by using "tactics" to delay their hanging, DelhiDeputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged on Friday.The AAP leader's comments came after advocate A P Singh on Friday moved aDelhi court alleging that Tihar jail authorities are yet to release thedocuments required to file curative petitions for Akshay Kumar Singh (31)and Pawan Singh (25).The laws should be changed for ensuring speedy justice, Sisodia said."In the Nirbhaya case, the lawyer is using tactics to delay the execution.In this way, he is making fun of the system. "We must work together toensure speedy justice. So that laws can be amended to remove shortcomings,"he said in a tweet in Hindi.The hanging of all the four convicts is to take place on February 1 at 6 am,as per a court order.NON-TELCO PSUs MOVE SC SEEKING CLARITY ON ORDER ABOUT PAYMENT OF AGR DUESNon-telecom public sector companies like Oil India (OIL), Gail India, PowerGrid Corporation (PGCIL) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Fridaymoved separate pleas before the Supreme Court seeking clarity on theapplicability of its October 24, 2019, order on payment of adjusted grossrevenue (AGR) dues. They have sought a clarification from the apex whetherthe order on payment of licence fee and spectrum usage charge dues alsoapplies to them.The PSUs have told the SC that they were never heard on the issue before theorder was passed and their revenues from their regular businesses weredisproportionately higher than the income from the telecom business.The DoT has demanded Rs 1.72 lakh crore from Gail, Rs 48,000 crore from OilIndia, Rs 22,168 crore from PowerGrid and Rs 5,841 crore from DMRC, amongothers.OIL, in its application, said that while it earned barely Rs 1.47 crore fromleasing spare capacity, the DoT has demanded Rs 40,108 crore licence feebased on its entire revenue, including sale of oil and gas, thus "completelyignoring the fact that the AGR definition under the UAS Licence Agreement ismaterially different from the definition of 'revenue' under the NLD LicenceAgreement".AADHAAR, DABBA, HARTAL, SHAADI MAKE IT TO OXFORD DICTIONARYThe latest edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary features 26new Indian English words, including Aadhaar, chawl, dabba, hartal andshaadi.The 10th edition of the dictionary, which was launched on Friday, has 384Indian English words and incorporates over 1,000 new words such as chatbot,fake news and microplastic.Some of other new Indian words in the dictionary are auntie (while auntyalready figures in the English dictionary, auntie is an Indianism), busstand, deemed university, FIR, non-veg, redressal, tempo, tube light, vegand videograph.The four new Indian English words in the online version of the dictionaryare current (for electricity), looter, looting and upazila (one of the areasthat a district is divided into for administration purposes).AUCKLAND T201: IYER STARS IN INDIA'S BIGEGST CHASE OVERSEASShreyas Iyer guided India to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in thefirst T20I at the Eden Park as the tourists showed few signs of fatigue orjetlag. Iyer scored his second T20I half-century with 58 not out andfinished the game with his third six as India reached 204/4 to chase downNew Zealand's 203/5 with an over to spare.KL Rahul and captain Virat Kohli put on 99 runs in 50 deliveries for thetourists. Rahul was brilliantly caught by Tim Southee at mid-off for 56before Martin Guptill produced an even more spectacular catch at deepmidwicket to dismiss Kohli for 45 to give the hosts a sniff of an upset.India's deep batting line-up, however, ensured that they cantered home witha measured run-chase full of quality.This was India's biggest successful chase away from home.AUSTRALIAN OPEN: SERENA, NAOMI KNOCKED OUT, FEDERER SURVIVES A HUGE SCARERoger Federer looked defeat full in the face before rallying in the 10-pointtiebreaker to edge local battler John Millman in a five-set thriller onFriday and reach the last-16 of the Australian Open. It was Federer's 100thvictory at Melbourne Park and few of them can have been as hard as thefour-hour, 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 4-6 7-6(8) epic he shared with the teak-toughworld No. 47 on Rod Laver Arena.The 20-time Grand Slam champion made an extraordinary 82 unforced errors togo with 62 winners in a contest that was decided by the extended tiebreakintroduced to prevent even longer contests. Even that was notstraightforward for Federer.The apparently indefatigable Millman held leads of 5-2 and 8-4 on the backof some brilliant tennis, forcing 38-year-old Federer to rattle off fivestraight points before securing the victory with a crosscourt forehandwinner. "Thank God it was a super tiebreaker or I would have lost that one.John played a great match... he deserves more than half of this one," saidFederer.Caroline Wozniacki's glittering tennis career ended in tears on Friday whenshe was dumped out by lower-ranked Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. The Danish formerworld No. 1, who announced in December that this would be her finaltournament, lost 7-5 3-6 7-5 in the third round.Unseeded 15-year-old Coco Gauff beat reigning champion Naomi Osaka instraight sets in a major upset. The American prodigy, making her Melbournedebut this year, beat the third seed 6-3 6-4 in the third round to avengeher heavy defeat at last year's US Open.Chinese 27th seed Wang Qiang extended former world No. 1 Serena Williams'wait for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, producing asuperb performance to seal a 6-4 6-7(2) 7-5 win over the American and moveinto the fourth round.