New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday declined to accord urgent hearing on the BJP's plea challenging a Calcutta High Court order not allowing its Rath Yatra in West Bengal.

The lawyer associated with the plea said they have been informed by the apex court registry that the matter would be listed in the normal course.

The top court is closed for winter vacations.

The party, which sought an urgent hearing on the petition, had planned to launch the yatra from three districts of the state.

Kathmandu, Dec 22; PTI:  A bus carrying college students and their teachers back from an educational trip veered off a mountainous road and plunged into a ravine in Nepal, killing 23 people and injuring 14 others.

The fatal crash occurred on Friday when the bus was returning from Kapurkot in Salyan district.

According to the District Police Office, Dang, there were 37 persons —34 students, two teachers and a diver, on the ill-fated bus, which drove off the road and fell some 700 metres down near Ramri village, about 400 kilometres west of the capital Kathmandu.

Jaipur, Dec 24 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expanded his council of ministers on Monday with 23 ministers, including one from Congress ally Rashtriya Lok Dal, being sworn in at the Raj Bhavan here.

Of the 23, 13 are cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state.

Governor Kalyan Singh administrated the oath of office to the new ministers at an event attended by Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and senior Congress leaders.

The ministers took oath in Hindi.

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) A Delhi court Friday directed the CBI to cancel the look out circular (LOC) issued against former IAF chief S P Tyagi, who is an accused in the VVIP chopper scam.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar directed the probe agency to inform the concerned authorities about it.

CBI had issued LOC against Tyagi in 2013. It is a circular issued by the authorities to check if a person who is travelling is wanted by the law enforcement agencies.

Mumbai, Dec 23; GANASHAKTI: Close to 1 million employees of various banks, including private lenders, have called for a one-day strike on December 26 to protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.

The strike call comes on the heels of an officers union of state-run banks observing a day-long strike last Friday on similar grounds along with demand for immediate settlement of their wage negotiations.

Jammu, Dec 24 (PTI) Pakistani troops Monday opened fire and shelled forward posts and villages along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The firing and shelling from across the border started in Keri, Lam, Pukharni and Peer Badaser areas of Noushera sector around 9.30 am, a police officer said.

Army personnel guarding the LoC retaliated and the cross-border firing between the two sides was going on when last reports came in.

There was no immediate report of any casualty, the officer said.

New Delhi, Dec 22; PTI:  The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday arrested Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

Michel was produced before Special Judge Arvind Kumar where the ED sought his 15-day custody.

The court allowed the ED to interrogate the British national inside the courtroom for 15 minutes after the agency sought his custodial interrogation. Michel was arrested thereafter.

Mumbai, Dec 24 (PTI) The Indian Navy Monday commissioned INHS Sandhani, its tenth Naval hospital, at the Naval station Karanja in Uran near Mumbai.

Preeti Luthra, President of NWWA (Navy Wives Welfare Association), Western Region, unveiled the commissioning plaque of the hospital.

The Commissioning Warrant was read by the first Commanding Officer of the hospital Surgeon Captain HBS Chaudhry, the Navy said in a release.

KANPUR: In view of the forthcoming Kumbh fair on the confluence of three rivers in Allahabad, there has been formed a total of eight teams to watch over the clean flow of water in the Ganga River. In this connection, the tanneries are under the direct close watch of the district administration.

What has been strictly examined was that these tanning units should run its drums in a half capacity.

KANPUR: Passengers’ ire led to worse situation owing to delay in trains’ departure after a sudden stoppage. Their infuriated reactions resulted in passengers’ injury, glass window rupture and other discomfited situations.

Angered examinees boarding Padmavat Express pelted stones on Delhi-Kanpur Shatabdi Express near Bhaupur on Sunday. A few passengers injured and the train did not move for a one-and-a-half hour for further journey.

KANPUR: Though Sisamau Nullah with a cost of 63 crore rupees has been tapped, the Ganges' biological water quality is yet not improved in every respect. It stays nearly on the same assessment which was done during the year 2014-15 and the year 2015-16 respectively.

This glaring fact has surfaced following a recent report presented by the Central Pollution Control Board. The analysis is in compliance with the apex court’s order.

By The Associated Press

WHAT’S OPEN AND WHAT’S CLOSED

Social Security checks will go out and troops will remain at their posts. Doctors and hospitals will receive their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. The U.S. Postal Service, busy delivering packages for the holiday season, is an independent agency and won’t be affected. Passport services, which are funded by fees and not government spending, will also continue.