SRINAGAR: With the Centre showing no sign of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir in the near future, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday hinted at a possible struggle for the reinstatement of state status. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 56th Raising Day of Sainik School, Nagrota, Omar said the hopes of restoration during the monsoon session of Parliament had been dashed. A section of National Conference leaders had expected the Centre to announce the move during the sessio

PATNA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modis silence over alleged vote theft in Maharashtra, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, saying the Prime Minister had failed to answer his questions on the issue. Responding to Modis remarks on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls during his visit to Gaya in Bihar, Rahul alleged that the Prime Minister was deliberately silent on the contentious matter. The SIR is an attempt by Prime Minister

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress, accusing West Bengals ruling party of promoting infiltration for the sake of political power and securing votes. Speaking at a BJP rally at Dum Dum Central Jail Maidan in Kolkata, he said the BJP-led Union government had launched a campaign against infiltrators who are changing the demography of West Bengal. Calling infiltration a serious concern, Modi said the country would not tolerate the proble

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a four-day official visit to Japan and China from August 29 to September 1, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday. The trip includes the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit in Tokyo and participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China's Tianjin. According to the MEA, Modi will be in Japan from August 29 to 30 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. This will be Modis eighth vis

MUMBAI: Maharashtra's Opposition parties NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) have rejected the BJPs proposal to support NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan in the vice president elections on September 9. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, tasked with reaching out to regional opposition parties , said he had spoken to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray to seek support. Vice President candidate CP Radhakrishnan was the governor of Maharashtra, and he is also a voter of Mumbai, so it is a pride for e

DEHRADUN: The Yamuna Valley in Uttarakhand is on high alert after a large artificial lake formed near Syana Chatti, raising fears of widespread devastation. Heavy debris and water from the Garhgad stream choked the Yamuna River, causing a sharp rise in water levels that submerged the lower floors of homes and hotels. Authorities evacuated about 255 people to safety by Friday evening. Syana Chatti, once a quiet town, was left waterlogged and chaotic. The massive debris and boulders from Garhgad c

LUCKNOW: A senior teacher of a reputed public school was beaten to death with bricks and rods by three men over a petty issue of car parking in Kedar Colony of Varanasi late on Thursday evening. The accused, who happened to be the neighbours of the victim, were arrested. The teacher Dr Praveen Jha, 48, from Sunbeam School was called by the culprits over the phone asking him to move his car on late Thursday night. As he was about to do it, the accused started arguing with him. They first kicked a

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has received the first two objections from political parties, 22 days after the draft electoral rolls of Bihar was published on August 1 as part of Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Till now, 8,43,035 individual voters have filed their complaints for correction in the voters' list , officials in the poll panel said on Friday According to the officials, out of the total claims and objections received so far, 6,092 have already been disposed of by Electoral Regis

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the opposition INDIA bloc, including the TMC, of shielding corruption and resisting legislative moves aimed at ensuring probity in public life. Addressing a rally here, Modi made indirect references to the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced in Parliament earlier this week, which seeks to bar prime ministers, chief ministers, and ministers from holding office if they remain in jail for 30 days or more. Citing the provision

RANCHI: In yet another weather alert issued by the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted in several parts of Jharkhand over the next three days, accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds. According to the Head of the Meteorological Centre in Ranchi, Abhishek Anand, It will continue to rain in Jharkhand till 23, 24 and 25 August; some districts will receive heavy to very heavy rain, while some districts will receive heavy rain. During this time, an alert

NEW DELHI: The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers Association has objected to the online trolling of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's family members amid 'vote chori' campaign launched by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders . The association said it strongly deprecates such personal attacks unconnected with the discharge of official duties. In an X post, the officers' forum said, The IAS Association notes with concern that un

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau today filed a 40,000-page charge sheet against senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a Prevention of Corruption Act case in the Mohali court. Sources claimed that over 200 witnesses have been cited in the case in the charge sheet, which runs into approximately 40,000 pages. These documents reportedly detail financial transactions, property records, and other evide

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday asked the Supreme Court to repose faith in it for carrying out the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and assured ot one voter will fall through the cracks. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which was hearing a batch of pleas challenging the June 24 decision of the poll panel to conduct the SIR, allowed the excluded voters to submit their claims online or physically, emphasising th

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Vice-Presidential election, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs and those from other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies met on Friday with the NDA's Vice-Presidential candidate and Maharashtra Governor, CP Radhakrishnan, at the residence of Union Minister Prahlad Joshi. The gathering resolved to ensure a resounding victory for the NDA's nominee on September 9. The MPs from both Houses, representing various states including Uttarakhand, conveyed their best wishes for h

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Income-tax Act, 2025, which will replace the archaic Income Tax Act, 1961. The Income Tax Act, 2025, will come into effect from the next financial year, beginning April 1, 2026. The new Act will make tax laws simple and reduce wordage in the legislation, making it easy to understand. The Income-tax Act, 2025, has received the Hon'ble President's assent on August 21, 2025. A landmark reform replacing the 1961 Act, it ushers in a simp

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had called him up to seek support for NDAs vice-presidential candidate CP Radhakrishnan, but he expressed his inability to accept the request. Talking to reporters here, Pawar said the BJP-led NDA's candidate was not aligned with the ideology of his party and other members of the Opposition. The Rajya Sabya MP, whose party is a constituent of Opposition bloc INDIA, pointed o

CHANDIGARH: State BJP President Sunil Jakhar was on Friday detained by the Punjab Police at Balluana in the border district of Fazilka after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government ordered a halt to BJPs outreach campaign BJP De Sewadar, Aa Gaye Tuhade Dwar in Abohar. He was however released in the evening. After being released, Jakhar termed it a lack day. He said that the government, under Bhagwant Manns leadership, cannot stop him from speaking for the people through police repression. He state

NEW DELHI: India, often referred to as the Thalassemia capital of the world due to its highest number of children affected by Thalassemia Major a severe inherited blood disorder, has now seen a major step towards prevention. A nationwide initiative has been launched to screen and prevent the condition at the earliest stage so that couples at risk can make informed choices. It is estimated that one lakh to 1.5 lakh children in India are living with the disease, which impacts the bodys ability to

NEW DELHI: ISRO on Friday unveiled a model of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) module during the two-day National Space Day celebrations that began here. India plans to launch the first module of the BAS, its own home-built space station, by 2028, marking its entry into the group of a handful of nations that operate orbital laboratories. Presently, there are two orbital laboratories -- the International Space Station operated by five space agencies, and the Tiangong space station of China.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was ready for a comprehensive dialogue with India to discuss Kashmir and all other pending issues, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday. Talks, whenever held, will be not just Kashmir but on all issues, Dar said while talking to journalists outside the parliament in Islamabad, where he was asked about talks with India. India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism. Dar, who is

AHMEDABAD: An industrial disaster rocked a company in Sokhda, Khambhat, Gujarat, after two workers died and two others were critically injured following a toxic gas leak inside the company's Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) tank. The incident unfolded when 27-year-old Kishan Baraiya entered the tank around 9.30 pm to clear a blockage. Moments later, he lost consciousness, overcome by the poisonous fumes. 63-year-old Arvind Babubhai, attempting a rescue, also collapsed inside the tank. Both men die

RANCHI: The Monsoon Session of the Jharkhand Assembly resumed on Friday with the demand for conferring the Bharat Ratna on Dishom Guru Shibu Soren gaining momentum, as legislators across party lines pressed for the same. The House also paid homage to Jharkhands iconic tribal leader Shibu Soren, popularly known as Dishom Guru, and former minister Ramdas Soren. Legislative Party leader Pradeep Yadav was the first to strongly urge the House to pass a resolution recommending the honour to the Centra

GUWAHATI: Drugs valued at Rs 75.82 crore were seized during a special operation in Mizoram on Thursday. The operation was launched by the Border Security Force (BSF) along with the Narcotics Control Bureau, Aizawl, and the Excise and Narcotics Department of Mizoram based on specific intelligence. At around 4 pm on Thursday, the members of the joint operation team intercepted four vehicles with eight individuals between Keifang and Seling villages on the Aizawl-Champhai Road, about 60 km from Aiz

KOLKATA: An hour before inauguration of three new metro rail routes in Kolkata on Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that she had planned and sanctioned these corridors during her tenure as the Union Railways Minister. Taking to X before Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates SealdahEsplanade Metro Section, BeleghataHemanta Mukhopadhyay Section and NoaparaJai Hind (Biman Bandar) Section from a programme in Dum Dum, Banerjee became nostalgic, while stating that expanding

KOCHI: Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Friday accused the Congress-led alliance's Vice-President candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy of supporting Naxalism, saying if he had not delivered the Salwa Judum judgement, extremist Left movement in the country would have ended before 2020. He was speaking after inaugurating the Manorama News conclave organised by Malayala Manorama group here on Friday. Shah said that, with the Congresss choice of candidate for the Vice-President

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday slammed the Congress over its vote theft allegations, claiming that a BJP MLA from Satara district has exposed how the opposition party itself indulges in such fraudulent means. Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said BJP MLA Atul Bhosale has exposed how family members and associates of former CM and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan were involved in voting in more than one place. Bhosale defeated Chavan from the Karad South

NEW DELHI: Welcoming the Supreme Court directive on the Bihar SIR issue , the Congress on Friday said democracy has survived a rutal assault from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and claimed that the poll body stands otally exposed and discredited. The opposition party said the Supreme Court has laid down guardrails to make the revision more inclusive by including political parties in the process, and alleged that so far, the ECI's approach has been obstructionist and contrary to the int

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the establishment of six new Regional Offices, Centres of Excellence (CoEs), and Sub-Regional Offices to streamline its operations and improve governance of affiliated schools across the country. According to a notification issued by CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta, the decision was taken following the approval of the Finance Committee in December 2024, which was later ratified by the Governing Body and cleared by the Ministr

NEW DELHI: Feeding of stray dogs will not be permitted on streets, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled as it directed the municipal authorities of Delhi-NCR to create dedicated spaces for it. A three-judge special bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath said the feeding areas have to be identified keeping in view the population and concentration of stray dogs in a particular municipal ward. Under no conditions shall the feeding of stray dogs on the streets be permitted, the bench, also comprising Just

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allow voters excluded from the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar to submit claims online, in addition to physical submissions, as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi allowed claim forms to be submitted along with an Aadhaar card or any one of the 11 documents already accepted under the SIR. The court stressed that the exercise must be voter

PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hit out at the Opposition for opposing the three Constitution Amendment Bills introduced in the parliament. The bills aim for the removal of Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers if they are arrested or kept in custody for serious criminal charges for 30 consecutive days. Modi was addressing a rally in Bihars Gaya Ji where he launched several development projects worth over Rs 13,000 crore. He also flagged off two new trains. We know why the

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday sacked two government employees, including a teacher, for allegedly engaging in anti-national activities by invoking Article 311 of the Constitution of India. The sacked employees have been identified as Khurshid Ahmad Rather, a teacher in the School Education Department and a resident of Karnah, Kupwara, and Siyad Ahmad Khan, an assistant stockman in the Sheep Husbandry Department and a resident of Keran, Kupwara. In similarl

BALASINOR: A Class 8 student stabbed and injured his classmate over a dispute outside a school in Gujarat's Mahisagar district, police said on Friday. The incident has come days after a Class 10 student was killed in a similar attack outside a private school in Ahmedabad. A Class 8 student attacked his classmate using a sharp object after school hours on Thursday near the gate of a government-run primary school in Balasinor town, an official said. Superintendent of Police Jaydeepsinh Jadeja said

TIRUPATI: A 55-year-old land dispute in Simhachala Kandriga village of Srikalahasti mandal was resolved on Wednesday with the intervention of Tirupati District Collector S Venkateswar. The dispute involved 130 acres of land allotted in 1998 as DKT pattas to 98 Scheduled Caste families. The Forest Department later claimed the lands were part of a reserve forest and sought cancellation of the pattas. Though the High Court had ordered cancellation, no action was taken for decades. Following an appe

DEHRADUN: An unexpected artificial lake has formed in the Yamuna River in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, forcing the evacuation of about 150 residents from the surrounding Yamuna Valley to safer areas. The sudden blockage has raised fears of a possible disaster, keeping local communities on high alert. According to SDRF sources, the lake began forming near Syanchatti after heavy debris and water from the Garhgad nullah poured into the Yamuna. The obstruction disrupted the rivers natural flow

RANCHI: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) has called on the ruling alliance to make the forthcoming supplementary monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly (2228 August) historic by passing a resolution to recommend the Bharat Ratna for the late Dishom Guru Shibu Soren and forward it to the central government. According to JMM General Secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey, the supplementary budget would be presented on August 22, with tributes to be paid to departed leaders. On August 26, during a special disc

NEW DELHI: The US Embassy has said that USAID/India did not receive or provide funding of USD 21 million for voter turnout in India from fiscal years 2014 to 2024, nor has it implemented any voter turnout-related activities in India, the Centre has told Rajya Sabha. The government said this in a written response to a query from CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Thursday, asking the status of the actions taken by it on the eports suggesting the utilisation of United States Agency for International Devel

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Friday restrained Assam Police from taking any coercive action against senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan and other journalists, including consulting editor, working with web portal The Wire in connection with an FIR lodged against them over a news article. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for the journalists, said that Assam police was circumventing the earlier orders pas

SRINAGAR: Fear and grief have engulfed the remote Chesoti village of Jammu and Kashmirs Kishtwar district after August 14's devastating cloudburst triggered flash floods and landslides, killing at least 68 people and leaving many others missing. The villagers, whose houses were damaged and who lost their dear ones to the cloudburst, are demanding permanent relocation to a safer place. Rakesh Kumar, whose house was totally damaged in the flashflood triggered by the August 14 cloudburst at Chesoti

VARANASI: A 48-year-old teacher working with a prominent private school here was allegedly beaten to death by three persons following a dispute over a parking spot, police said on Friday. The three accused have been arrested. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Saravanan T said the deceased Praveen Jha had an argument with one Adarsh Singh over parking on Thursday night. The dispute escalated, and Adarsh, along with two accomplices, attacked Praveen with bricks and a rod, the officer said. Pra

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has suspended four officials and initiated departmental proceedings against them for alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls, but has not lodged any FIRs, thereby partially complying with the directives of the Election Commission (EC). The suspensions came just a week after Chief Secretary Manoj Pant appeared before the EC in New Delhi, where he was allegedly given a deadline of August 21 to suspend and initiate criminal proceedings against t

CHANDIGARH: The United States has decided to stop issuing work visas for commercial truck drivers after a deadly crash, involving an Indian driver staying illegally in the country, drew national attention. This move which might impact Indian drivers who were hoping to work in the US transportation industry. Announcing this move, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, `` Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers. The increasing number of

NEW DELHI: In a security breach, a man scaled a wall of Parliament on Friday morning but was caught by security personnel and handed over to police, official sources said. Sources said the incident took place around 6:30 am when the man, who is yet to be identified, entered Parliament premises by climbing a tree and scaling the boundary wall. Multiple central agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Special Cell of Delhi Police, are questioning the man. A police source said the m

In a significant decision, the Supreme Court on Friday modified its earlier August 11 order, directing that stray dogs will be released back into the same areas after proper sterilisation and immunisation, except for those infected with rabies or displaying aggressive behavior. The apex court categorically stated that feeding of stray dogs on public streets will no longer be permitted. Feeding of stray dogs in public places is prohibited, and appropriate action will be taken against individuals

FARIDABAD: A shooter involved in firing outside YouTuber and Big Boss OTT winner Elvish Yadav's house in Gurugram was arrested after a brief encounter near Faridpur village here early Friday, police said. The accused, Ishant Gandhi alias Ishu, is a resident of Faridabad. He was shot in the leg and has been hospitalised, they said. According to police, Gandhi was intercepted by a crime branch team from Sector 30, Faridabad, around 4.30 am while he was riding a motorcycle. When signalled to stop,

LONDON: Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul passed away in London on Thursday evening, family sources said. He was 94. Lord Paul, founder of UK-based Caparo Group of industries, had been taken ill and hospitalised recently, where he passed away surrounded by members of his family. The House of Lords peer was born in Jalandhar and relocated to the UK in the 1960s in pursuit of treatment for his little daughter Ambika's cancer. After she passed away aged four years old, he set up the Ambika

NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliances key allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) appear to be treading cautiously on the three bills that seek to remove prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges. The bills have been sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) comprising 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha for further scrutiny. When asked about the partys stand on the contentious bills, JD

NEW DELHI: The Monsoon session of Parliament, the fifth one of the 18th Lok Sabha which saw unprecedented protests over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar, came to a close on Thursday with the presiding officers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha expressing anguish over the continuous and planned disruptions leading to the total washout. As both Houses were adjourned sine die on Thursday in what was one of the frostiest Monsoon sessions, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in his

NEW DELHI: Amid loud protests in the Rajya Sabha, the House on Thursday approved a motion to send three important bills to a Joint Committee for detailed scrutiny. Key among them is the one that proposes that the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and other Ministers arrested on serious criminal charges be removed from office for 30 days. The other two bills deal with amendments to the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Home Minister Amit

Bill to ban all online money games passed Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to ban all forms of online money games and promote e-Sports and online social gaming, with the Rajya Sabha approving it without debate amid din. Piloting The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 in the Upper House, Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said the legislation will promote two-thirds of the online gaming segment. The bill, he said, will ban online money games, a big problem for s