LIVE updates: Top news headlines of today – 25 Jan 2025

New Delhi: India is set to showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage and display a symbolic confluence of 'virasat' and 'vikas' on Kartavya Path here to mark the 76th Republic Day on January 26 when the nation will also commemorate the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest on the occasion and the ceremonial parade will also see participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia.

While 75 years of the Constitution is the focus of celebrations this year, the theme for the tableaux is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas'.

Stay with us as we track the big news headlines of today LIVE.

Jan 25, 2025 18:43 IST
BJP promises to clean Yamuna in 3 yrs, welfare schemes for gig workers and labourers
With less than two weeks left for the Delhi Assembly polls, senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Saturday promised to clean Yamuna in three years, provide complete ownership rights in 1,700 unauthorised colonies, and welfare measures for gig workers and labourers.
 
Shah slammed AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of "lying" and not fulfilling his promises and asserted that "getting rid of liars and betrayers" is the biggest poll issue in the national capital.
 
The BJP manifesto also promised free travel of up to Rs 4,000 annually for needy students in Delhi Metro under the National Common Mobility Card scheme.
 
The Union minister, who released the final part of BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' for the February 5 Delhi polls, said people living in 1,700 unauthorised colonies will get full ownership rights of properties, which will pave the way for sale, purchase and construction if the BJP comes to power.



Jan 25, 2025 18:00 IST
Maha Kumbh: Diplomats from 73 countries, including Russia and Ukraine, to take dip in Sangam
Diplomats from 73 countries, including the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine, are coming here for the first time to take a dip in the Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh.
 
Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand has confirmed that the diplomats are coming on February 1.
 
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also written a letter to the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh regarding this, saying diplomats from countries including Japan, USA, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Cameroon, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and Bolivia will attend Maha Kumbh, Anand added.



Jan 25, 2025 15:53 IST
Rohit named skipper of ICC men's T20I of year, Bumrah, Pandya, Arshdeep also in squad
India captain Rohit Sharma, who led the team to their second ICC T20 World Cup title last June, has been named skipper of the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2024.
 
The team dominated by Indians also features star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
 
Rohit had an unforgettable 2024, both as a leader and a batter.
 
The seasoned opener amassed 378 runs in 11 matches at an impressive average of 42.00 and a strike rate of over 160. Rohit played a pivotal role in India’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, with three half-centuries, including a sensational 92 against Australia in the Super Eight stage.



Jan 25, 2025 15:31 IST
R-Day Parade: India to display military might, celebrate 75 years of Constitution
India is set to showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage and display a symbolic confluence of 'virasat' and 'vikas' on Kartavya Path here to mark the 76th Republic Day on January 26 when the nation will also commemorate the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution.
 
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest on the occasion and the ceremonial parade will also see participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia.
 
He will be the fourth Indonesian president to attend India's Republic Day celebrations. Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, was the chief guest at India's first Republic Day celebrations in 1950.
 
While 75 years of the Constitution is the focus of celebrations this year, the theme for the tableaux is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas'. Read More...



Jan 25, 2025 15:30 IST
Parvesh Verma immerses Kejriwal's effigy in Yamuna over unfulfilled promise to clean it
BJP candidate from New Delhi Parvesh Verma immersed an effigy of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the murky water of the Yamuna over his unfulfilled promise to clean the river so that people could take a dip in it.
 
Kejriwal's failure to fulfil his promise of cleaning the Yamuna has become evident, Verma told reporters at the riverbank near ITO.
 
“Despite having 11 long years of power and spending Rs 8,000 crore, the AAP government failed to deliver on its promise of cleaning the Yamuna. This is the biggest betrayal with the people of Delhi," he said.
 
Kejriwal claimed he would clean the river by 2025, but the situation has worsened. "By immersing his effigy, we are exposing his failure to the people of Delhi,” he said.



Jan 25, 2025 15:19 IST
ICICI Bank Q3 profit rises 15% to Rs 11,792 cr
ICICI Bank on Saturday reported 15 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 11,792 crore for the third quarter ended December 2024.
 
The second-largest private sector lender had earned a net profit of Rs 10,272 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
 
Total income increased to Rs 48,368 crore from Rs 42,792 crore in the same period a year ago, ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing.
 
Interest income increased to Rs 41,300 crore during the quarter under review as compared to Rs 36,695 crore in the year-ago period.



Jan 25, 2025 12:41 IST
Army troops exchange fire with terrorists in J&K's Kathua; search operation underway
Army troops exchanged fire with terrorists in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district in the early hours of Saturday, officials said, as a massive search operation is underway to trace out the ultras who fled after the initial fire-fight.
 
The alert sentry post of a temporary Army camp in Batod panchayat detected the movement of suspected terrorists at around 1:20 am and opened fire, the officials said.
 
They said the terrorists fired back and the intermittent exchange of fire continued between the two sides for nearly half an hour.
 
However, there was no casualty on either side, the officials said, adding that the terrorists, believed to be three in number, fled into a nearby forest.
 
They said the Army troops have launched a cordon-and-search operation to track down the terrorists and further details are awaited.



Jan 25, 2025 11:37 IST
Getting hard criminals out, says Trump as his admin begins deportation flights
Within just a little over four days after Donald Trump took over as the 47th President of the United States, the country has begun deportation flights for illegal immigrants using military aircraft.
 
Mass deportation of illegal immigrants has been one of the major poll promises of the Trump campaign. As part of it, Trump has also signed an executive order declaring that future children born to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens.
 
The Department of Defense said two of its aircraft conducted repatriation flights from the US to Guatemala.
 
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters that Trump’s border policies have already led to the arrest of 538 illegal immigrants and deportation flights using military aircraft, the first since President Dwight Eisenhower, have begun.



Jan 25, 2025 11:15 IST
Republic Day 2025: 942 police personnel awarded gallantry and service medals
A total of 942 police, fire and civil defence personnel have been awarded different categories of gallantry and service medals on the eve of the Republic Day, according to a government statement issued on Saturday.
These include 95 gallantry medals.
 
The awardees include the personnel of police, fire, home guard and civil defence and those working in correctional services, the Union home ministry said.
 
Among the gallantry award winners, 28 deployed in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas, 28 in the Jammu and Kashmir region, three in the northeast and 36 posted in other regions are being awarded for their gallant action, it said.



Jan 25, 2025 11:07 IST
From 'Jhootha Party' to 'Ghoshna Mantri': Slangs, one-liners fire up atmosphere ahead of Delhi polls
The upcoming Delhi Assembly polls have turned into a battleground of slangs, slogans, one-liners and AI-generated memes between the three main contenders -- AAP, BJP and Congress.
 
From the AAP branding the BJP as the "Bharatiya Jhootha Party" (Indian Liar Party) and "Gali Galouch Party" (Abusive Party) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the AAP "AAP-Daa" (disaster) and Arvind Kejriwal the "Ghoshna Mantri" (minister of announcements) -- the war of words has taken centre stage.
 
Not to be left behind, the Congress has dubbed Kejriwal "Farziwal" (fake) and a "Chhota Recharge" (small recharge) of Modi.
 
As political rhetoric intensifies, memes, one-liners and spoofs dominate the discourse, making the polls as much about narrative control as governance. Read More...



Jan 25, 2025 10:55 IST
Police, hospital tried to destroy evidence, CM can’t disown responsibility: RG Kar victim's parents
The parents of the R G Kar hospital victim have said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cannot disown the responsibility for the alleged attempt of the police and hospital authorities to destroy evidence of rape and murder of their daughter.
 
They attempted to shield the “main conspirators” behind the crime, while the CBI failed to bring to book all the perpetrators and overlooked the larger conspiracy aspect, the parents claimed.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has termed the allegations “unfortunate”.
 
"Everyone - Kolkata Police, the hospital administration and people's representatives from the TMC - played an active role to hush up the ghastly incident so that truth does not come to light,” the deceased medic’s mother told a Bengali TV channel on Friday. Read More...



Jan 25, 2025 09:43 IST
US Supreme Court clears Mumbai attack convict Tahawwur Rana's extradition to India
Washington: The US Supreme Court has cleared Mumbai attack convict Tahawwur Rana's extradition to India, dismissing his review petition against the move.
 
India was seeking the extradition of Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, as he is wanted in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks case.
 
This was Rana’s last legal chance not to be extradited to India. Earlier, he lost a legal battle in several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco. Read more...



Jan 25, 2025 09:42 IST
Tata Steel chess: Gukesh holds Abdusattorov; Praggnanandhaa stays in lead
Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands): World champion D Gukesh played out a draw with overnight joint leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, while R Praggnanandhaa signed peace with defending champion Wei Yi of China in the sixth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament here.
 
With only decisive game in the 14-players round-robin tournament at the De Morian on Saturday, Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa continued to share the lead on 4.5 points out of a possible six and Gukesh is right on the toes of the leaders with four points.
 
Seven rounds are still left in the first major tournament of the year. Read more...



Jan 25, 2025 09:27 IST
PM Modi greets Haryana CM Saini on his birthday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Harayana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on his 55th birthday on Saturday.
Birthday wishes to the dynamic Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Nayab Singh Saini Ji. He’s a grassroots leader who has devoted himself to community service. He is undertaking numerous efforts to boost Haryana’s progress. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life.…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 25, 2025



Jan 25, 2025 09:03 IST
Indian-American ex-journalist Kush Desai is White House Deputy Press Secretary
US President Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American former journalist Kush Desai as his Deputy Press Secretary, the White House has announced.
 
Desai earlier served as Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention and Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa.
 
White House Office of Communications will be overseen by Deputy White House Chief of Staff and Cabinet Secretary Taylor Budowich.
 
Trump had previously announced the appointments of Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and Assistant to the President and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.



Jan 25, 2025 08:00 IST
Second fire in a week at Maha Kumbh; no casualties
A video posted by news agency IANS on X (formerly Twitter) showed two cars gutted in the fire that broke out in the fair area near Sector 2. 
 
Four fire trucks were promptly dispatched to the scene, managing to control the flames efficiently. Fortunately, this incident, like the previous one, resulted in no casualties. 
Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh: A fire broke out in the fair area, affecting two vehicles near Sector 2 on the main road. Four fire trucks quickly controlled the flames, and fortunately, there were no casualties pic.twitter.com/vFXvoixA5F
— IANS (@ians_india) January 25, 2025
This fire incident comes shortly after another major fire at the Maha Kumbh, which was caused by a cylinder blast on January 19, 2025, in Sector 19 of the Mela area. 



Jan 25, 2025 06:34 IST
Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini turns 55
Nayab Singh Saini, the Chief Minister of Haryana, turned 55 on Saturday.
 
Saini's journey from a small village near Ambala to the helm of state politics mirrors a classic tale of determination and grassroots connection.
 
Born on January 25, 1970, in Mizapur Majra, Ambala, Saini's life has been a testament to his commitment to public service and his rise through the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).



Jan 25, 2025 06:22 IST
Netanyahu suggests Israel might not complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by ceasefire deadline
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Friday that Israel might not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by a deadline set in its ceasefire with Hezbollah, and Washington appears prepared to push for an extension.
 
Under the deal reached in November, Israel is supposed to complete its withdrawal from the country by Sunday. Hezbollah militants must pull back to the north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese armed forces would patrol the buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside UN peacekeepers.
 
Netanyahu said in a statement that the ceasefire "is based on the understanding that the withdrawal process could possibly continue beyond the 60 days".