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Afternoon brief: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to expand Cabinet; Soren moves Supreme Court challenging ED arrest, more news
A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a special collection of news items you should check out.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is set to expand his Cabinet and assign portfolios before the commencement of the Budget session of the Bihar assembly on February 10, according to sources familiar with the matter. Kumar recently took the oath as chief minister once again after rejoining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In the swearing-in ceremony, three ministers each from Kumar's Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) and the BJP, one independent, and a Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) minister were sworn in alongside Kumar. A BJP official mentioned that it would be more practical to allocate portfolios after the Cabinet expansion to avoid the need for subsequent reallocation. “The process is on. It will happen in the first week of February,” he said, requesting anonymity. Dig deeper
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Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Apex court has agreed to hear his case on Friday. Attorneys Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Hemant Soren, urgently requested a hearing on Thursday, expressing their intention to withdraw the petition filed in the Jharkhand High Court. The previous night, Hemant Soren had approached the Jharkhand High Court to contest the ED's arrest, and the high court had scheduled the hearing for Thursday at 10.30 am. Dig deeper
More news on this | Hemant Soren arrested by ED in land scam money laundering probe
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Global Matters
A Canadian chain of multiplexes has pulled a major Indian film from its theatres after they were violently targeted by unidentified persons. The agency Canadian Press cited a spokesperson for Cineplex as saying the chain was ceasing its screenings of the Malayalam movie Malaikottai Vaaliban due to circumstances beyond their control. That announcement came a day after York Regional Police (YRP) said that it was investigating “drive-by shootings at movie theatres” in the cities of Richmond Hill and Vaughan, both in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA. In a release on Tuesday, YRP said on January 24, police responded to a theatre in Richmond Hill “after an employee arrived for work and found the windows had been shot at.” The same day, police also “responded to a similar call” in Vaughan. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
First look of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's highly-anticipated Netflix series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, is out. Heeramandai features Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha and others in pivotal roles. On Thursday, the cast and makers dropped Heeramandi's first look, and it is as grand, enticing and dramatic, as is expected from Sanjay Leela Bhansali, known for films such as Devdas, Bajirao Mastani and many others. With Heeramandi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali brings his majestic signature flair to stories of love and betrayal in the lives of courtesans in pre-independence India. The series explores the cultural reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling district, through the stories of courtesans and their patrons set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s. Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
The little voice inside of us can have a huge impact on the way it converses with us. When we are too busy being our critic, we lose out on growing our self-esteem and developing a strong sense of self. The inner critic in us constantly keeps on criticising every move, every action, every response and every thought in a negative way, so much so that it hampers the way we think of ourselves. "Tell me: Are you your own worst critic? So many of us are, which is why knowing how to work with, not against your inner critic is so important. Trying to simply push away the voice of your inner critic is not an effective tactic," wrote Therapist Gianna LaLota. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
On a sporting wicket in Hyderabad, England had made a remarkable comeback to beat India in the opening Test by 28 runs. Despite trailing by 190 runs in the first innings, England rode on Ollie Pope's magnificent 196 and a seven-wicket haul from Tom Hartley in the second innings to beat the hosts and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The attention now turns to Visakhapatnam for the second Test, with significant speculations on the nature of the surface at the ACA-VDCA Stadium. England opener Zak Crawley, during a media interaction after the side's first session at the stadium, stated that the pitch seems to have some green on it, indicating that it can potentially help seamers, too. Dig deeper
