News18.com Daybreak | Bawana Fire Tragedy, AAP's 'Office Of Profit' Row & Stories You May Have Missed

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On Saturday, a fire broke out in a building in Bawana Industrial Area’s Sector 5. The blaze, which started from the ground floor storage room, ripped through the three-story building, killing 17 workers. It took over four hours to control the blaze. According to police officers on the scene, as well as local residents, the workers inside had little chance of survival. There were no escape routes, and no safety measures in place.

A man who was apprehended by the police in connection with the fire accident has said that he took the factory premises on rent and was running it alone.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said AAP got 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly three years ago because “god knew” that 20 of his party's MLAs will be disqualified after three years.

The CM’s remarks came after President Ram Nath Kovind approved Election Commission's recommendation to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs on the charges of holding 'office of profit'. The disqualification will not endanger the Arvind Kejriwal government but its numbers will come down significantly in the 70-seat Delhi Assembly.

Meanwhile, the AAP claimed to be "victimised" in the wake of the Election Commission's recommendation to disqualify its 20 MLAs for holding offices of profit, and asserted that it was "not afraid of elections".

So, why did the EC disqualify 20 AAP MLAs? What really is 'Office Of Profit' case? Here’s an explainer.

Om Prakash Rawat has been appointed the new chief election commissioner and will succeed Achal Kumar Joti.

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has examined suggestions from stakeholders to bring transparency in allocation of sensitive PILs to judges and is likely to bring in the public domain soon the system he is going to adopt for it.

The die has been cast. The CPI(M)’s central committee has adopted its draft political resolution and decided not to join hands with the Congress to take on the BJP in the forthcoming elections, including the general elections of 2019.

At least 55 percent of the natural disasters to strike India since 2000 have been floods, while 22 percent have been storms, says a report. This mimics a global trend, where floods made up 43 percent of natural disasters and 28 percent were storms.

In a relief for Tamil poet and lyricist Vairamuthu, the Madras High Court stayed the criminal proceedings against him for his remarks against saint Andal. A case was filed against Vairamuthu following a complaint by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

No Donald Trump at Davos summit? The US President's trip to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week is now in flux because of the federal government shutdown.

In New York, protestors took to the streets en masse across the United States, hoisting anti-Donald Trump placards, banging drums and donning pink hats for a second Women's March opposing the president — one year to the day of his inauguration.

India is famous for giving the world games like Chess, Ludo and Snakes and Ladders, but other games like ‘Senet’ and ‘Game of Twenty’, which were historically claimed to be from ancient Egyptian civilisation, might just have Indian origins. Or so claims a Kolkata-based gaming company, Khol Khel. More on it, here.

Former telecom minister A Raja alleged that former CAG Vinod Rai was a "contract killer" hired to kill the UPA-2 government and called for his prosecution for "abusing" the power and "cheating" the nation.

Sheila Dikshit’s political career is remarkable not only for the crises she overcame to become Delhi’s longest serving chief minister, but also for having travelled the distance in a field known to be dominated by men. In her autobiography titled Citizen Delhi: My Times, My Life, Dikshit talks about overcoming her shyness to campaign for elections, "walking down the lanes of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, beating a thali with a rolling pin".

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with a judgment that has held that a "No" may not always mean a "No" in acts of passion. The bench dismissed the plea to examine the Delhi High Court judgment while rejecting a US woman's appeal against exoneration of Peepli Live co-director Mahmood Farooqui in 2015 rape case.

Facing heat over a string of rape incidents involving minors in Haryana recently, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the state would enact a law providing capital punishment to those found guilty of sexually abusing girls aged 12 years or below.

Union minister Satyapal Singh has claimed that Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution of humans was "scientifically wrong" and it needs to be changed in school and college curriculum. Singh, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, said our ancestors have nowhere mentioned that they saw an ape turning into a man.

A rumble in the sky and a loud thud a few seconds later shook villagers in Fazilpur Badli, leaving them wondering what had happened. Rajbir Yadav was in a wheat field when a "large rock" made its way to the ground, forming a one-foot crater. Was it a missile, a bomb or a meteor?

As election fever takes over the state, a recently released Kannada movie holds a valuable lesson for politicians and voters — don’t be like Nograj and don’t vote for Nograj. Nograj, the titular character of Humble Politician Nograj, is purely fictional, but seems to mirror the common man’s perception of a typical Indian politician.

Agree or disagree?

There were two aspects to Virat Kohli’s press conference after the second Test – and series – against South Africa had been lost: one unsavoury, the other admirable. Ayaz Memon writes as captain of India and somebody who’s played a lot of international cricket, Kohli should know that when the team loses, searching, even uncomfortable questions will be asked. That is the nature of the transaction between the media and the player in every sport, everywhere. These questions can be provocative, even seemingly taunting. But the captain has to brace up to such situations.

The operation was complicated — multiple targets had to be hit across both Jammu and Kashmir regions. Hours were spent in discussing, debating and finalising the plans. For reasons of secrecy, the planning team was small, but that did not limit the scope, quality and decibel level of the deliberations. From planning to execution, Lt Gen DS Hooda reveals the inside story of the surgical strikes.

The recommendation made by the Election Commission of India to the President to disqualify 20 Delhi AAP MLAs is not suspect. Rather, it’s the delay by the Election Commission in giving the opinion which raises eyebrows, writes Sidharth Mishra.