Today's news LIVE! Jan 31 | India rejects reference to PM Modi in Epstein files

Elise Mertens marked her return to the No 1 ranking in women's doubles by combining with China's Zhang Shuai to win the Australian Open title on Saturday (January 31).

Back together after four years apart as a team, Mertens and Zhang trailed 3-0 and 4-1 in the first set but rallied to beat Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4. Mertens and Zhang led the final set 5-0 before withstanding a comeback attempt when Danilina and Krunic won four straight games.

Currently ranked No 6 in doubles, Mertens, who won the Wimbledon doubles title last year with Veronika Kudermetova, will return to the No 1 ranking after the Australian Open.

That will mark the Belgian player's 40th cumulative week as No 1 in doubles and was guaranteed regardless of the outcome of the Melbourne Park final on Saturday.

The win on Saturday was Mertens' sixth Grand Slam doubles title, including 2021 and 2024 at Melbourne Park. Zhang now has three, including the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open.

It was their first Grand Slam trophy as a team, having lost the 2022 Wimbledon final in their last appearance together.

Income Tax Department sources in Kerala have said that the searches and follow-up actions carried out in connection with CJ Roy, who died of alleged suicide at his Bengaluru office on Friday (January 30), were strictly in accordance with the law. The officials have denied allegations that any pressure was exerted on Roy as part of the investigation.

The family of Roy had alleged that sustained harassment and intense pressure from Income Tax officials drove the 57-year-old Roy, the chairman of Confident Group, to take his own life.

According to the Income Tax department sources, Roy’s statement was recorded on Thursday (January 29) as part of the probe, and the questioning was conducted in the presence of a witness. Officials said the interaction concluded on a cordial note after the statement was taken. They also clarified that no statement was recorded on Friday.

Income Tax officials said they welcome any inquiry into the matter and maintained that due process was followed at every stage. An official statement from the Income Tax Department is expected to be issued shortly.

The United Arab Emirates has welcomed the free trade agreement reached between India and the EU, describing it as a significant step towards promoting "economic openness" and supporting "sustainable growth".

India and the European Union on Tuesday (January 27) sealed a landmark free trade agreement - billed as the "mother of all deals" - to create a market of two billion people with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership unveiling a five-year agenda to largely leverage trade and defence in protecting the rules-based world order.

In a recent statement issued by the UAE's foreign ministry, Minister of State Saeed Al Hajeri said the pact "reflects the commitment of both sides to promoting free trade and economic openness and embodies as a model of economic partnerships that support sustainable growth and shared prosperity".

The UAE also highlighted its own Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India as an example of an advanced model of strategic trade partnership based on mutual interests, enhanced economic integration, and support for sustainable development. Such comprehensive agreements, the minister said, help deliver tangible benefits for all parties.

The statement further expressed hope that the UAE's ongoing negotiations with the EU would be concluded positively, leading to the signing of a similar agreement between the two sides.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a couple and their associate, who allegedly swindled more than 11,000 investors, including police officials, from across Maharashtra of over Rs 500 crore, police said on Saturday (January 31).

In a coordinated action, the Thane police's EOW tracked down the accused, Sameer Narvekar, his wife Neha, and their associate Amit Palaw, in neighbouring Gujarat on Thursday (January 29), an official said.

According to police, the accused established an investment company, Trade with Jazz, with its headquarters in Pune in 2019, offering a scheme that allegedly drew in more than 11,000 people, including 1,500 police personnel, from across Maharashtra.

The trio allegedly lured victims with promises of a 4 per cent monthly return on stock market trading and allied ventures, the official said, adding that the firm projected monthly earnings of nearly 10 per cent to build credibility.

The company abruptly shut its offices and stopped responding to investors, prompting a flood of police complaints, he said. According to the initial probe, investors have been defrauded of around Rs 500 crore.

The official said that the EOW has also gathered information suggesting that several government officials and bureaucrats, some of them retired from service, had invested in the scheme.

The trio have been booked under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999, and sections 61(2)(criminal conspiracy) and 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, he said. The Thane EOW is examining bank accounts, financial documents, and money flows linked to the accused, and further arrests are likely, the official said.

Two armed robbers fired at a businessman in Hyderabad on Saturday morning (January 31), injuring him in the leg, and fled with about Rs six lakh kept in a bag, police said.

The victim, a cloth merchant, went to an ATM to deposit money at Kothi when the robbers fired at him with a 'tapancha' (pistol), police said. The victim fell on the ground and the offenders snatched his bag containing cash and left the place on his bike.

The victim was admitted to a hospital and his condition is out of danger.

He was injured in one round of firing and another round may have been fired in the incident, police said. CCTV footage of the locality was being verified and special teams have been formed to crack the case, police added.

The family of Confident Group chairman CJ Roy has alleged that sustained harassment and intense pressure from Income Tax officials drove him to suicide during a raid at his Bengaluru office on Friday (January 30).

The 57-year-old real estate tycoon allegedly shot himself on the left side of his chest using his pistol.

Roy’s brother, CJ Babu, alleged that the three-day-long search and interrogation by an Income Tax team from Kerala pushed his brother to take the extreme step.

Babu, who owns the firm White Gold, said Roy had no debts, disputes, or external threats.

“He had no enemies and was under no financial distress. He called me around 10 am and said Income Tax officials had arrived and were pressuring him. He said the pressure was unbearable,” Babu alleged, adding that the team was led by Additional Commissioner Krishna Prasad.

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The US, which had earlier slapped tariffs on India for buying oil from Venezuela, has now offered New Delhi the opportunity to resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to sharply cut down its oil imports from Russia, the revenue which the Trump administration believes is being used by Moscow to fund its war in Ukraine. The development has been reported by Reuters, quoting sources.

US President Donald Trump had imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, out of which 25 per cent tariffs were due to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.

The report further stated that India has decided to sharply cut down Russian oil imports following Trump’s tariffs, adding that New Delhi is all set to reduce Russian oil imports by several hundred thousand barrels per month in the next few months.

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Amid reports that Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, will be sworn in as the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday (January 31) distanced himself from the development, claiming he had no idea about it.

Addressing a press conference in Baramati, Pawar said that he had found out about the swearing-in through media reports.

"We don't know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news. I have no idea about the swearing-in," he said, when asked if anyone from the Pawar family would be attending the ceremony.

He said the NCP must have made the decision.

"Some people like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare took the initiative. These people might have decided something," he said.

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The Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Pratik Sharma visited Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Saturday (January 31) to review the counter-terrorism grid and commended the troops for their unwavering resolve in the ongoing anti-terror operation.

A firefight is underway to neutralise a group of three holed-up Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists in the district.

The visit of the Army commander to the mountainous district comes after a high-level security review of the evolving security dynamics in the Jammu region, with a focus on strengthening the counter-terrorism grid on Thursday, officials said.

"Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Army Commander, Northern Command, visited Kishtwar today to review the counter-terrorism grid and operational preparedness,” Northern Command Headquarters said on X.

The Army commander, while interacting with ground commanders and troops, commended them for their unwavering resolve in the ongoing efforts.

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Prices of silver and gold saw one of their steepest single-day fall in the past few months in futures trade on Friday (January 30) as investors rushed to monetise their peaking investment value.

Silver futures crashed 17 per cent to Rs 3.32 lakh per kg, while gold tanked 9 per cent to Rs 1.54 lakh per 10 grams, tracking weak trends in the global markets and surging American currency.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), silver futures for March delivery plummeted by Rs 67,891, or 16.97 per cent, to Rs 3,32,002 per kilogram, marking its steepest fall in a single day. The metal surged about 9 per cent to hit a record of Rs 4,20,048 per kg on Thursday, before settling at Rs 3,99,893 per kg.

Similarly, gold futures also tumbled as investors booked heavy profits on the commodities bourse. The February contract nosedived by Rs 15,246, or 9 per cent, to Rs 1,54,157 per 10 grams.

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