A look at the top stories of the day:

  1. SC stays Haldwani eviction, says 50,000 residents can’t be uprooted in seven days: Last month, the Uttarakhand High Court had directed the demolition of alleged encroachments on railway land – an operation that could displace 4,000 families.
  2. Delhi Police identify two more suspects in Kanjhawala death case: A 20-year-old woman had died on January 1 after her body was dragged by a car for nearly 12 kilometres.
  3. Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot’s plea against his arrest rejected: Meanwhile, the CBI court also dismissed a petition by former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar for getting home food, beds, mattresses and chairs in jail.
  4. Delhi HC stays proceedings against two BJP leaders in defamation case filed by Manish Sisodia: The case was filed after the two leaders had alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party was involved in a scam pertaining to the construction of classrooms.
  5. Delhi records season’s coldest winter night at 3 degrees Celsius: The lowest temperature in the last 24 hours was recorded in Rajasthan’s Churu and Sikar districts at -1.5 degrees Celsius.
  6. Joshimath residents protest as homes develop cracks, evacuation underway: According to the Chamoli Disaster Management Department, 561 homes in the town have developed cracks due to sinking of earth’s surface. 
  7. After CMIE data shows rise in unemployment, labour ministry warns against surveys by private firms: On Sunday, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy showed that joblessness rose to a 16-month high of 8.30% in December.
  8. Manipur Police detain journalist for his comments about poppy cultivation: Hemantakumar Ningomba, the editor of ‘Sanaleibak’ newspaper, was released a few hours later.
  9. China’s current data underrepresents true impact of Covid-19, says World Health Organization: On December 25, China’s National Health Commission had stopped publishing daily Covid-19 data amidst a significant surge in infections and hospitalisations.
  10. US immigration department proposes massive hike in visa application fees: The hike is proposed to recover operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of future case backlogs.