Former PM Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honours at Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi | Top News of Dec 28, 2024

[00:00:08] Hello, this is your Daily Dose of News from Onmanorama. I'm your host Vishnu and these are the major news stories of Saturday, December 28, 2024.

[00:00:18] Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was cremated with full state honours at the Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi on Saturday in the presence of top dignitaries from India and abroad.

[00:00:26] Singh's funeral pyre was led by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh amid the chanting of religious hymns.

[00:00:31] President Draupadi Murmo, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the top leaders who attended the funeral.

[00:00:38] The vehicle carrying the mortal remains of Singh left his residence a little before 9am and reached the Congress headquarters

[00:00:44] before moving ahead to Nigambodh Ghat in a procession amid chants of Manmohan Singh Amar Rahe.

[00:00:50] A large number of Congress workers and leaders along with hundreds of Singh's well-wishers walked along chanting

[00:00:55] Japtak Surah Chant Rahe Ga, Taptak Thera Nam Rahe Ga.

[00:00:59] Demands for giving Singh Abhara Dhratna the highest civilian award were also raised during the procession.

[00:01:04] Considered the architect of India's economic reforms, Singh served as the Prime Minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014.

[00:01:11] A seven-day national mourning is being observed throughout the country as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister

[00:01:16] during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast across the nation, the Union Home Ministry has announced.

[00:01:22] The Supreme Court gave the Punjab guardman time till December 31st to persuade former leader Jagjit Singh Dhalewal,

[00:01:28] who has been fasting for over a month, to shift to the hospital. In an unprecedented hearing, a vacation bench pulled up the Punjab guardman

[00:01:35] for allowing the situation to escalate and not complying with its early directions to provide medical assistance to Dhalewal.

[00:01:41] The bench said Dhalewal is under some kind of peer pressure and those farmer leaders who are not allowing him to be shifted to a hospital do not seem to be his well-wishers.

[00:01:48] Dhalewal has been on an indefinite fast at the Kanauri border since November 26 to press the centre to accept farmers' demands,

[00:01:55] including a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops.

[00:02:00] U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court to pause the implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale,

[00:02:08] arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a political resolution to the issue.

[00:02:12] The court is said to hear arguments in the case on January 10th. The law would require TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban.

[00:02:21] The U.S. Congress voted in April to ban it unless ByteDance sells the app by January 19th.

[00:02:27] TikTok, which has over 170 million U.S. users and its parents, have sought to have the law struck down.

[00:02:32] But if the court does not rule in their favour and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the United States on January 19th, one day before Trump takes office.

[00:02:42] A CBI court on Saturday found 14 accused, including a CPM-formed MLA, guilty in the murder of two youth congress workers, Kripesh and Sharath Lal at Peria, in Kerala's Kassar Court district five years ago.

[00:02:53] Of the 24 accused, the court found the first eight accused guilty of murder and conspiracy charges and another six guilty of conspiracy, destruction of evidence and providing assistance for operating the crime,

[00:03:03] while the remaining 10 accused have been acquitted in the case.

[00:03:06] The court will pronounce the sentence on January 3rd.

[00:03:09] According to the prosecution, the twin murders were carried out after politically motivated attacks and counter-attacks between the workers of CPM and Congress in Peria.

[00:03:18] Nitesh Reddy virtually bailed India out with his dogged maiden test injury on Saturday, severely denting Australia's hopes of winning the Boxing Day contest.

[00:03:26] Reddy's unbeaten 105 took India to 358 for nine.

[00:03:29] Still 116 runs short of Australia's Westinning score of 474 as rain brought an early end to the third day's play.

[00:03:37] Reddy's competitive spirit and the invaluable 127-run stand he shared with Washington Sundar proved to be the turning point for the hosts.

[00:03:45] That brings us to the end of this episode.

[00:03:47] Thanks for listening to Daily News Tours.

[00:03:48] Hosted and produced by me, Vishnu Umar Lidharan.

[00:03:50] Follow www.onmonorama.com for detailed updates on the latest news and be sure to come back tomorrow.