ISLAMABAD: Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in western Afghanistan have killed at least 50 people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. Afghanistan has been witnessing unusually heavy seasonal rains. The hard-hit province of Ghor has suffered significant financial losses, said Abdul Wahid Hamas, spokesman for the provincial governor, after thousands of homes and properties were damaged and hund

MUMBAI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of inciting people and dividing society through his election speeches. Kharge was addressing a press conference of the INDIA bloc, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders were present. The opposition alliance held an election rally in the city on Friday. No prime minister before Modi has ever indulged in inciting people like he has been doing. He

LUCKNOW: Confronting the claim of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that Raebareli Union Home Minister Amit Shah said it was not a seat of any family but that of the people. She (Priyanka Gandhi) says that Rae Bareli and Amethi are the seats of my family. I say that this seat does not belong to any family. This is the seat of poor youth of both the districts. Whoever the people of Rae Bareli and Amethi want will go to the Parliament. This is democracy, family has no seat, he asserted. Shah m

RAEBARELI: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that she is giving her son to the people of Rae Bareli and Rahul will not disappoint you. She also thanked the people for giving her an opportunity to serve them as an MP for 20 years. My everything is all given by you. So, brothers and sisters, I am giving you my son. You consider me yours, she said. Striking an emotional chord with the voters, Sonia asked the people to consider Rahul Gandhi too as their own. Rahul for Rae Bareli in Gandhi

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday denounced the campaign speeches by his counterparts from other states and union ministers terming them as derogatory and abusive, and claimed that those political tourists have no impact on people of his state. In the last few days, a number of BJP CMs and union ministers campaigned in the state, and altogether 14 rallies were addressed by them on Friday at various places across the state. Some chief ministers and union ministers come a

HAMIRPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the SP and the Congress will use people's votes to come to power and then gift a part of their property to those who carry out vote jihad for them. Addressing a rally here, Modi cautioned people against the intentions of the two opposition allies in Uttar Pradesh. Today I have come to caution you against the SP and the Congress. They take your vote, but after coming to power, they will distribute these gifts to those who do vote jihad fo

HYDERABAD: The Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice L Narasimha Reddy invited suggestions from the public on the Chhattisgarh power purchase agreement and on Bhadradi and Yadadri power plants. The Commission was constituted to inquire into the correctness and propriety of the decision taken by the Telangana government in 2014 to procure power from Chhattisgarh, without following the process of open competitive bidding and applying for a corridor for 2,000 MW, though the PPA was signed with Ch

BHUBANESWAR: BJP national president JP Nadda on Thursday said, people of Odisha have taken a unilateral decision to bless BJP in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections this time as they want to give rest to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Holding a roadshow in the state capital in support of partys candidates, Nadda asserted that people of the state want to bring the BJP government with a two-thirds majority. The BJP president held a 2 km roadshow from Mausima temple to Lingaraj temple in the

BHUBANESWAR: Star campaigner of BJD VK Pandian on Thursday said people of Odisha will not tolerate ministers from Chhattisgarh disrespecting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during their poll campaign and give a befitting reply to them. Launching a marathon campaign in Balangir Lok Sabha constituency during which he addressed election meetings at Titlagarh, Kantabanji, Patnagarh and Loisingha, Pandian said BJP leaders are talking about Odia Asmita but abusing the most popular leader of the state wi

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said it was inhuman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a roadshow in the same area of Mumbai where the hoarding collapse incident claimed the lives of 16 persons. He said that roads and Metro rail services were shut 12 pm onwards on Wednesday on account of PM Modi's roadshow from Ghatkopar west to Ghatkopar east. Never ever has such an incident happened where roads were shut for one person's campaign, causing inconvenience to people. I

BHUBANESWAR: Hours after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced at a public meeting that people of Odisha will not have to pay electricity bills from July this year, BJP asked BJD to clear the confusion on the scheme. Senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty told mediapersons here that the BJD in its manifesto has promised to provide free electricity to domestic households consuming less than 100 units per month while the advertisement published in newspapers states electricity will be free from July an

BALASORE: A massive change is awaiting Odisha as people are in favour of the BJP to form a government, asserted Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla here on Wednesday. Addressing a meeting on Viksit Odisha and Viksit Bharat in Balasore, Birla said once a double-engine government is formed, there would be no obstruction on the way of development. He said people of Odisha will no more put up with the Biju Janata Dal governments misrule and are ready to bring a change. The senior BJP leader said people ha

VIJAYAWADA: Fear of defeat made Jagan to implement his plan Bresorting to violence in polling booths, alleged TDP leaders Varla Ramaiah, Nakka Ananda Babu, Sri Krishna Devarayulu, Janga Krishna Murthy, and Devineni Uma. Speaking to mediapersons, they asserted that people have already decided to dethrone Jagan Mohan Reddys party and the overwhelming polling clearly shows it. TDP leaders asserted that to ensure his victory, Jagan created obstacles for the voters from reaching polling booth to exer

CHANDIGARH: A retired junior commissioned officer (JCO), 70-year-old Arjun Singh Sangotra, from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, who passed away on Tuesday, has given a fresh lease of life to three people through organ donation. Sangotra suffered a brain stroke and was later declared brain dead at the Western Command Hospital, Chandimandir. Following a midnight surgery, the Organ Retrieval and Transplant team of Western Command Hospital, Chandimandir, harvested his liver, kidneys and cornea. A gree

HYDERABAD: A day after the votes for the Lok Sabha elections were cast, the talk in political circles across the state was all about the possible outcomes and the impact of the results on state politics. Before the Lok Sabha election notification, the ruling Congress welcomed three BRS MLAs and two MPs into its fold. The grand old party gave a ticket to a sitting BRS MLA and also to the daughter of another sitting MLA. The Congress expected more defections, but many MLAs decided to wait for the

DHENAKANAL: BJDs star campaigner VK Pandian launched a scathing attack on Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accusing him of consistently denigrating Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. During his election tour of Dhenkanal and Angul districts on Monday, Pandian urged the people to respond decisively in the ongoing elections to counter such behaviour. Addressing a public gathering in Hindol, Pandian criticised the BJP and the union minister for disrespecting the CM who he said stands firmly with the p

VIJAYAWADA: YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy has asserted that the people of the State are with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as it is evident from the high voter turnout in the elections. Speaking to mediapersons on Monday, he said the people had already taken a decision and turned up in large numbers at the polling stations to give their massive mandate to the YSRC for its commitment to development and welfare. In the last five years, Jagan has gone with only agenda -- th

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that a total of 143 toilets have been constructed in the national capital, exclusively for the use of transgender persons. According to a status report submitted by the governments social welfare department to a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora, an additional 223 toilets are under construction and plans for 30 more are yet to commence. The report highlighted that 1,584 toilets inten

NEW DELHI: Interim president of Delhi-unit of Congress Devender Yadav on Sunday said workers were identified, shortlisted and screened before being picked for Booth Level Agents (BLA) training. Addressing the training camp of BLAs in the Badli assembly, Yadav said the main focus will be to take the message of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi to the people and popularise the five nyay (justice) and 25 guarantees included in the party manifesto. Booth Level Agents (B

DHARMAPURI: Two days after a family alleged that it was forcibly evicted from forest land in Pennagaram, the Dharmapuri forest department on Sunday clarified that tribals were not evicted and that a caste Hindu family that had encroached upon the land as they failed to respond to several legal notice served earlier. Dharmapuri district forest officer S Rajangam, said, On Friday, the forest department along with police and revenue officials went to an encroachment area inside Bevanur reserve fore

BALLARI: With the Lok Sabha elections over in the state, it is time for candidates and their followers to pray for victory. Well-known temples in the undivided Ballari district -- Mylaralingeshwara, Kurugodu Basavanna, Ballari Kanaka Durgamma and others -- that people think to fulfil ones wishes are seeing a surge in visits by politicians and their acolytes. The fate of BJP candidate B Sriramulu from the Ballari (Scheduled Tribe reserved) Lok Sabha constituency and E Tukaram, his opponent from C

Sunny Hazari , 33-year-old Congress nominee from Samastipur SC-reserved Lok Sabha constituency, is mainly banking on the traditional vote base of the RJD-Congress. An alumnus of NIT, Patna, Sunny is a well-known face in the constituency because of his strong political background. Sunnys father Maheshwar Hazari had won the Samastipur LS seat in 2009 on JD(U) ticket and his grandfather Ram Sevak Hazari was a social worker. Maheshwar Hazari, a minister in the Nitish Kumar government, has been a fou

DHARMAPURI: A 24-year-old hair dresser and his father, who allegedly denied to do haircut for a 17-year-old dalit boy near Harur were booked under SC/ ST ( Prevention of Atrocities) Act on Saturday. According to police source, A 17- year-old native of Kelaparai village near Harur, along with his friend had gone to a saloon shop for a haircut on Thursday evening, where the hairdresser identified as C Yogeshwaran (24) allegedly sent him out. Following this, the victim went to his village and infor

VIJAYAWADA: YS Vijayamma, wife of former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy on Saturday made a fervent appeal to the people of Kadapa district to elect her daughter YS Sharmila as Kadapa MP. In a video message released to the media and posted on social media, former Pulivendula MLA Vijayamma reminded the people of Kadapa about the contribution and service of YS Rajasekhara Reddy. I urge the people of Kadapa who loved, adored, and respected YS Rajasekhara Reddy to support his daughter Sharm

BHUBANESWAR: Returning Prime Minister Narendra Modis barbs, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said the BJP cannot win the hearts of people of Odisha even in the next 10 years, let alone this time. Not on June 10, the BJP cannot win the hearts of the people of Odisha in the next 10 years, the chief minister said in a video message to the people, hours after Modi mounted a scathing attack on him during his election meetings in the state. With the blessings of Lord Jagannath and the people

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that all opposition leaders, including his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD leader Tejashvi Yadav, will be in jail if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing his party workers at the AAP headquarters here, Kejriwal asserted the BJP will not return to power and said the INDIA bloc will form the government on June 4. He said that people have uprooted 'dictatorship' whenever

KAKINADA: Former minister Mudragada Padmanabham wrote an open letter to the people of Pithapuram and the State, urging them to vote for the YSRC. I have worked with several chief ministers in the past. However, it was only NT Rama Rao and YS Rajasekhara Reddy who worked towards the uplift of poor. Now, it is only YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the entire country, who is implementing schemes to help the poor, he wrote. Mocking TDP and JSP, he quipped, During NTRs time, people used to commute on cycles (

VIJAYAWADA : Stating that the TDP is making a hue and cry over the AP Land Titling Act for the past 15 days, YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy asked that can the yellow party make the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah toe the same line. Speaking to the media on Friday, the YSRC leader accused TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu of creating a fear among the people over the Act. The TDP should tell why it had supported the Act when it was introduced in th

BARGARH: In a bid to create awareness among people to vote for the right candidate in the upcoming elections, thousands of farmers under the banner of Sanjukta Krushak Sangathan took out a massive bike rally and covered four blocks of Bargarh district on Thursday. The 120 km rally, that kick started from Bheden block covered Barpali, Bargarh and Attabira before culminating at the source. The rally moved around key areas of all the blocks with more than 500 bikes and other vehicles. During the ra

MALKANGIRI: Playing the Ram Mandir card to woo voters, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday promised that the party will arrange free pilgrimage for at least five lakh people from Odisha to Ayodhya if the BJP is voted to power in the state. Launching his campaign from Kalimela block in Malkangiri district with a sizeable Bengali refugee population, Sarma said he has decided to give a free ride to one lakh people from his state to Ayodhya for the darshan of Ram Lalla. Being a chie

AMETHI : The announcement of the name of Kishori Lal Sharma as Congress candidate from Amethi against Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani took many by surprise both in Congress camp and BJP as they had been expecting Rahul Gandhi to be in fray from his bastion which he had lost to Smriti Irani in 2019. I am confident of my victory as the top party leaders will come here for me. I am the same Kishori Lal who had come to Amethi with Rajiv Gandhi in 1983. I have learnt from Gandhi family tha

LUCKNOW: AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused PM Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders of influencing the people of Amethi against the Gandhi family. She stated that for a period, the people of Amethi were influenced by the opposition's narrative and voted against Rahul Gandhi, resulting in his defeat in 2019. However, she emphasized that their connection with the Gandhi family was never severed. While addressing a gathering of party workers late on Thursday night in Amethi, Priyan

KOLKATA: In the backdrop of a woman employee of Raj Bhavan leveling molestation charges against him, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday showed CCTV footage of the premises of May 2 to around 100 common people. Footage from two CCTV cameras at the main (north) gate from 5. 30 pm of May 2 were being shown to people at the hall on the ground floor of Raj Bhavan and screening was underway. Woman accuses West Bengal Governor Ananda Bose of sexual harassment A contractual woman employee

VIJAYAWADA: In the context of general elections, C-Vigil is receiving and resolving complaints through various channels. Similarly, district election inspectors can be met directly at specific times to address requests and complaints related to electoral issues said District Election Officer and Collector S Dilli Rao. In a release on Wednesday, District Election Officer and Collector S Dilli Rao announced that Vijayawada Parliamentary Constituency Election Expenditure Observer V Justin; Thiruvur

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday ridiculed the distribution of talambralu (sacred rice) by the BJP well before the kalyanam. Stating that it was against Hindu rituals and traditions, he said the BJP was hoodwinking people for the sake of electoral benefit. Addressing a street corner meeting at Armoor with Congress candidate T Jeevan Reddy, he asked, Has talambralu ever been given before kalyanam, whether in Bhadradri or Ayodhya? According to Hindu traditions and customs, ta

HYDERABAD: Launching a blistering attack on the Congress following Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitrodas comments on skin colour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that the people of the country would never tolerate insults based on skin colour. Addressing a massive public meeting in Warangal as part of the BJPs Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi asked: Will the ability of people be decided in my country based on skin colour? Who gave the permission to shehzada for this

AMETHI: The announcement of the name of Kishori Lal Sharma as Congress candidate from Amethi against Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani took many by surprise both in the Congress and BJP camps as they had expected Rahul Gandhi to be in the fray from his bastion which he had lost in 2019. I am confident of my victory as the top party leaders will come here to campaign for me. I am the same Kishori Lal who had come to Amethi with Rajiv Gandhi in 1983. I have learnt from the Gandhi family t

KOLKATA: In the backdrop of a woman employee levelling molestation charge against West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose, the Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday said it would show the related CCTV footage to 100 people, except politician Mamata Banerjee and her police. Following the allegation, the police requested the Raj Bhavan to share the CCTV footage concerned. The Governor, however, directed his staff not to cooperate with the police in this regard. Governor Bose has launched a programme 'Sach k

NEW DELHI: Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda has again ignited a firestorm speaking on the diversity of India referring to how people in the South look like Africans and those in the East looks like Arabs and those in the East look like Chinese. Speaking about how India is a shining example of democracy in the world, Pitroda said that the people of the country have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together leaving a few fights here and there. P

VIJAYAWADA: Rallying behind his brother and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, former union minister and Megastar Konidela Chiranjeevi called on the people of Pithapuram to elect his brother as their representative in the State Legislative Assembly. In a video message, shared on social media platforms, for the people of the State and Pithapuram in particular, Chiranjeevi remarked that his brother entered the film industry half-heartedly, but he forayed into politics with great interest. Though

HYDERABAD: Condemning as false propaganda the allegations levelled by the Congress regarding caste-based reservations, former Telangana governor and BJPs Chennai South candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday said that the grand old party was trying to emotionally divide people on the basis of caste. Referring to the BRS as a spent force, Tamilisai said that the pink party did not respect the Governors office. Speaking to TNIE on the sidelines of her first press conference in Hyderabad after

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed allegations of sexual assault against suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna for the first time during an interview with TV channel Times Now . Modi said that there was zero tolerance towards such behaviour. He also hit out at the Congress for the timing of the release of the videos. He remarked that it was a law and order issue. If such an incident occurred in Bengal, then the Bengal government would be responsible. If it happened in Gujarat, then it would

Kozhikode: Health authorities in Kerala are on high alert following reports of West Nile fever cases in Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Thrissur districts. Ten people have already been infected while two deaths are also suspected to have been caused by the virus, according to sources, though official confirmation is still awaited. Health Minister Veena George has emphasized the importance of mosquito control and the elimination of breeding sites to prevent further spread of the disease. The resurgenc

HYDERABAD: In two separate cases, the Hyderabad police arrested seven people on Monday for allegedly duping city residents of at least Rs 1.11 crore via cyber investment fraud. Apart from these two cases, the accused were booked in 19 similar fraud cases in Telangana, through which they amassed a sum of Rs 1.64 crore. In the first case, the four accused lied to the victim for recruitment in a trading company, then lured him into purchasing the IPO stocks and holding them for 30 days to earn good

TIRUCHY: A large number of devotees offered worship to Lord Namperumal and pulled the temple car on the occasion of Chithirai car festival at Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple here on Monday. The festival commenced on April 28 with flag hoisting and will continue till May 8. On Monday, the ninth day of the festival, over 75,000 devotees from across the state pulled the temple car through the Chithirai streets as Ranga, Ranga chants filled the air. The procession started at 6.30 am and the temple

Having a hectic campaign schedule as a star campaigner of the BJP, Defence Minister and party candidate from Lucknow Lok Sabha seat Rajnath Singh has so far addressed over 50 public meetings across over a dozen states. Taking time out from his busy schedule, Singh gives an insight into BJPs strategy in the elections while talking to Namita Bajpai . The opposition narrative is that BJP would change the Constitution consideringpartys target of Rs 400 paar. Your take. Look Congress has no credible

BHUBANESWAR: Even as BJP on Sunday released its poll manifesto for Odisha, BJD claimed people of the state still believe in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the saffron party has a record of not fulfilling its promises. 5T chairman and BJD leader VK Pandian said the BJP had released manifestoes in 2014 and 2019 too but people did not believe in the saffron party and reposed their faith in the chief minister because he walks the talk. Referring to BJPs promise of doubling the minimum support pric

KOLKATA: Panelists participating in the Kolkata Dialogues believe that that dole politics plays an important role in elections in every state and that this Lok Sabha election is not an exception. CPM candidate from South Kolkata Saira Shah Halim, said in a state where joblessness is high, there is a need to go beyond dole politics. We are emphasising that people should think beyond dole politics. This year we are campaigning in such a way that we can emerge as a strong Opposition and in the next

NILGIRIS: A section of people in O-Valley, including Gudalur MLA Pon Jeyaseelan of the AIADMK, has opposed the forest department's draft report in which 42 elephant corridors have been identified. Pon Jayaseelan told TNIE, Sufficient time has not been given for people to record their objections. The haste in publishing the report and very short period for receiving feedback clearly shows the intention of the forest department that they have already decided to declare many areas as elephant corri