The New Indian Express News

KOLKATA: What was meant to be a once in lifetime moment turned into a day of heartbreak for thousands of football fans who thronged the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, hoping to catch a glimpse of Argentine football legend Lionel Messi Messi was not clearly visible, as he was surrounded by organizers and security personnel. The expected penalty shootout did not take place, leaving fans angry and emotionally drained. We travelled all the way from Malaysia to get a glimpse of the GOAT, but we ended

CHANDIGARH: Taking a dig at his political rivals, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday remarked that both senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu are alike as they want to be elected Prime Minister and Chief Minister respectively without first doing something for the people. Addressing a press conference here, Mann said, They have the same problem, both want to become Prime Minister and Chief Minister before performing. Rahul Gandhi

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat BJP has once again come under the spotlight as a verbal duel has erupted between two of its members, Rajpipla MLA Dr Darshana Deshmukh and Bharuch MP Mansukh Vasava. On December 7, BJP MP Mansukh Vasava, during a press conference, alleged large-scale corruption in the political leadership and administrative system of Narmada district. While the charge was sweeping, Vasava did not name any individual. Dr Darshana Deshmukh, while addressing the media on Friday, accused the M

GUWAHATI: A retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer was arrested in Assam for his alleged links with Pakistani operatives, while Arunachal Police arrested four Kashmiri residents over the past few days in an alleged espionage case. Retired Junior Warrant Officer Kulendra Sarma, a resident of the Patia locality of Tezpur in northern Assams Sonitpur district, was arrested late Friday night. Preliminary investigation revealed he had shared sensitive documents and information with Pakistani operative

NEW DELHI: IndiGo is all set to operate over 2,050 flights by the end of Saturday. This will mark the second consecutive day that it will be crossing 2,000 flights in operations. There were two last minute cancellations recorded yesterday (Friday) due to technical reasons. In an official release, the airline said, Demonstrating continuous operational normalisation and stability consecutively for the last five days, IndiGo is set to operate over 2,050 flights today, as per its revised schedule, s

NEW DELHI: Since 2019, a total of 1,106 LWEs (Left Wing Extremists) have been neutralised, 7,311 arrested, and 5,571 have surrendered across the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha recently. In 2025 alone (till December 1), security forces neutralised 335 LWEs, arrested 942, and facilitated the surrender of 2,167 LWE cadres. To prevent resurgence of CPI (Maoist) activity in areas now freed from Left Wing Extremism, the ministry has designated 27 districts as Lega

The Union Government on Saturday announced it has so far seized assets worth Rs 92 crore through a multi-agency coordinated action against Naxalite movements across the country. In a statement, the BJP-led Centre said it had inflicted severe moral and psychological damage on what it described as urban naxals by tightening control over their information networks. To meet the firm target of making the country completely Naxal-free by March 2026, the government has created a dedicated vertical in t

CHANDIGARH: A day ahead of the local body polls in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday slammed the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for accusing AAP government of high-handedness. He accused the parties of ellyaching after sensing defeat in the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. Targeting the Congress and SAD, Mann said they have accepted their defeat in the polls. They're aware that the people are not with them. That is why they have started alleging that AAP loot

LUCKNOW: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to get its party chief for the Uttar Pradesh unit on Sunday. The nomination process for the election of the new state chief took place at the BJP headquarters in the state capital here on Saturday afternoon, with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary leading the race. Chaudhary filed his papers, and his name was proposed by 10 senior BJP leaders, including UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to sources, Chaudhary is

The police detained Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake stadium on Saturday. Chaos erupted at the stadium after spectators, who had paid hefty sums to see Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, protested after being unable to catch a clear glimpse of the legend as he remained surrounded by security personnel and others. The situation prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early. Datta was detained for alleged mismanagemen

NEW DELHI: With the Cabinet approving a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Congress on Saturday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing this to claim credit, and the move is othing but a cosmetic change to paper over the deliberate neglect being meted out to this scheme. The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to rename the MGNREGA and increase the number of work days, sources said. According to them, the scheme will now be renamed

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to entertain the bail plea of Mihir Shah, the son of a former Shiv Sena leader, in the 2024 Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, saying hese boys need to be taught a lesson. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih took into account that the accused belonged to an affluent family and his father was associated with the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena. He parks his Mercedes in the shed, takes out his BMW and crashes it and

LUCKNOW: In a significant decision, the Allahabad High Court set aside an order passed by the lower court of Gautam Buddh Nagar mandating a man to pay maintenance to his estranged wife, observing that she earned her living and did not reveal the true salary in her affidavit. The bench comprising Justice Madan Pal Singh also allowed a criminal revision petition filed by the man Ankit Saha. A perusal of the impugned judgment indicates that in the affidavit filed before the trial court, the opposit

KOLKATA:Stating that she was shocked and deeply disturbed by the mismanagement at the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata , Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced the constitution of a high-level committee to probe the incident. Banerjee said she was on the way to the Salt Lake stadium to attend the event, along with thousands of fans, who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the football icon. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unf

BALLIA: A man was arrested here for allegedly kidnapping a 17-year-old girl and taking her to Mumbai and Pune, where he raped her multiple times for around 25 days, police said on Saturday. The accused, Baburam (21) kidnapped the girl on November 14. Based on her fathers complaint, a case was registered against the accused, they said. Chitbaragaon Station Officer (SO) Dinesh Pathak said the minor was rescued from an area under the police station. She told police that Baburam kidnapped her and ha

CHANDIGARH: The cash-strapped AAP-led Punjab government, whose outstanding debt touched Rs 3.98 lakh crore till October this year, hopes to generate Rs 3,000 crore through monetisation. It has identified parcels of unused land to be developed and sold under the three-decade-old Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Lands (OUVGL) Scheme to fulfil its pre-poll promise of providing a Rs 1,100 per month honorarium to all women in the state. With only 14 months left for the Assembly elections, the

RANCHI: An IndiGo flight suffered a tail strike while landing at the Ranchi airport, officials said on Saturday. The incident happened around 7.30 pm on Friday when the Bhubaneswar-Ranchi flight was landing with around 70 passengers on board, they said. The tail of the aircraft touched the runway during landing. Passengers experienced a sudden jolt. However, they were all safe and unharmed, Ranchi airport Director Vinod Kumar told PTI. The plane was grounded following the incident, as it was fou

KOLKATA: As West Bengal heads into an election year, a spate of templemosque announcements, scripture spectacles and date-sensitive symbolism is pushing the states politics into unfamiliar territory, sharpening communal polarisation in a borderland shaped by Partition memories, demographic anxieties and a coexistence periodically tested by political mobilisation. From the bordering Murshidabad district to the planned township of Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, faith has emerged as t

NAGPUR: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said officials responsible for registering documents should have refused to process agreements that were not permissible under the law and clearly informed the parties concerned about such limitations. His comments come against the backdrop of a notice issued by the deputy registrar to the firm of his son, Parth Pawar, seeking Rs 21 crore in stamp duty and penalties in connection with a controversial land deal in Pune. Recently, th

CHANDIGARH: Three Indian-origin Punjabi truck drivers have been arrested by Canadian police following a shootout between two rival tow-truck groups in Brampton, Ontario. A search is underway for a fourth suspect. Releasing video footage of the incident, Peel Regional Police said they had arrested three men from Caledon in connection with a tow-truck-related shooting in Brampton and were seeking one remaining suspect. The shooting occurred at around 10.45 pm local time on 7 October in a parking l

Thousands of football fans braved the December chill and stayed awake past midnight to welcome Argentine superstar Lionel Messi as he arrived in Kolkata early Saturday for his three-day, four-city GOAT India Tour 2025, triggering scenes of near-hysteria across the city. Messis private Gulfstream V aircraft touched down at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 2.26 am, setting off a frenzy among supporters who had gathered in large numbers at the international arrivals terminal.

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Friday saw an unusual brief adjournment as no cabinet minister was present in the House when the session began. The proceedings were halted for 10 minutes after the Opposition raised the absence of any cabinet minister. Shortly after the Upper House paid homage to those who foiled the terror attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001, Opposition MPs pointed out that no cabinet minister was present. Chairman CP Radhakrishnan said he would take up the matter with the g

NEW DELHI: Setting the stage for a major overhaul of the countrys flagship rural jobs scheme, the Union Cabinet on Friday approved the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana. The government also proposes to increase the guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days of work per rural household each year. It also plans to revise the minimum wage under the scheme to `240 per day, along with additional budgetary allocations to

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Kerala High Courts finding that over 400 acres of land in Munambam in Ernakulam district is not waqf property and ordered status quo on the dispute over the holdings of over 600 families. A two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, however, clarified that it has not stayed the inquiry by the C N Ramachandran Nair commission. The bench issued notice to the Kerala government while hearing a plea fil

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a meeting with her cabinet colleagues, chief secretary, home secretary, DGP and senior officials at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Monday to review preparations for the Gangasagar mela to be held mid-January in South 24 Parganas district. Lakhs of Hindu pilgrims from across the country gather at the fair ground every year on Makar Sankranti to take holi dip at Gangasagar. The fair is likely to draw a bigger turnout this time in the absence

SRI NAGAR: After a series of encounters and brief gunfights in the forest belts of Jammu region in the last six months, security forces have launched a major winter offensive to track down militants hiding in the dense and rugged forest areas. With winter restricting civilian movement to the higher reaches, officials say the conditions offer a strategic opportunity to track down the armed militants. Sources said Army, paramilitary forces and Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K police are carry

LUCKNOW: A newly constructed police post was inaugurated on Friday, just 100 metres away from the residences of Samajwadi Partys Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq. The uniqueness of the outpost lies in the fact that it has been built using the same bricks and stones that rioters had thrown at the cops during a violence which had seen loss of five lives leaving scores, including the cops, injured in the western UP district on November 24, 2024. The post, named Deepa Sarai Police Outpost, was inaugura

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Friday cleared a proposal to set up a single higher education regulator to replace multiple bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC). Sources said the government is likely to present a bill in the ongoing Parliament session, which concludes on December 19. The billpreviously called the Higher Education Commission of India Billhas been renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill. The move is in line with the National Education Policy, which moots

Washington DC: Three members of the US House of Representatives on Friday (local time) introduced a resolution aimed at terminating President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration that imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on imports from India, calling the measures illegal and harmful to American workers, consumers, and bilateral ties. The resolution, spearheaded by Representatives Deborah Ross, Marc Veasey, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, follows a bipartisan Senate measure to end similar tari

KOLKATA: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday revealed about 59 lakh deletions of dead, duplicate, permanently shifted, and absent voters in West Bengal. Besides the deletion of such a massive number of voters, the ECI has also found some serious discrepancies after analysing data from enumeration forms (EFs) in the state. In Bengal, 11 December was the last day for submitting EFs under the SIR exercise. The date re

SRINAGAR: In the wake of the Delhi car blast, police have launched a massive Kashmir-wide crackdown on vehicles operating without mandatory ownership transfers following sale or purchase. The drive targeting outside-UT registration numbers is aimed at streamlining vehicle ownership records, curbing misuse of non-transferred or non-local registrations, and enhancing overall road safety. A police spokesman said vehicle checking was intensified across Awantipora in south Kashmir as part of an enfor

PATNA: The Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), led by former Bihar minister and Lalu Prasads estranged son Tej Pratap Yadav, on Friday announced that it will contest forthcoming assembly elections in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Speaking to the media after launching the partys membership drive in Patna, Tej Pratap said the party will field candidates in the upcoming assembly elections in both states, with the state committee set to take the final decision. The assembly polls in West Bengal are schedul

BHOPAL: A day before his government completes two years in power, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav termed the end of naxal cadres through the elimination and surrenders policy as the biggest achievement of his government so far. The naxal menace is as old as 37-38 years. Various naxal dalams had been formed way back in 1988-89. In 1995, an entire bus carrying 17 police personnel was blown into pieces. Four years later, a minister in the then Congress government (transport minister Li

RAIPUR: Ten cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) on Friday surrendered in Sukma in south Chhattisgarh. After surrendering, the red rebels handed over one AK-47 rifle, two self-loading rifles, one .303 rifle, one BGL launcher, and one Sten gun to the security forces. Among those who surrendered were six women Maoists, collectively carrying a bounty of Rs 33 lakh. They later planted saplings at Vayan Vatika (meaning Garden of Hope and Future in Gondi) rehabilitation centre in Sukma as a symbol of rei

The BJP and Shiv Sena have sealed a seat-sharing formula for the polls to Asias richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is scheduled for January, said Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan on Friday. In the 277-member BMC, the BJP is likely to contest 130 to 140 seats, while the DCM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will contest 80 to 90 seats. The remaining seats will be given to other partners in the Mahayuti including the DCM Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The seat-sharing arra

JAIPUR: As the Bhajanlal Sharma government approaches its two-year mark on December 15, the Chief Minister on Thursday released a performance report, claiming that 70 per cent of poll promises have been fulfilled and Rajasthan now ranks first in 11 national projects. Citing government data, Sharma said that out of 392 resolutions, 274 have either been completed or are currently underway, and that 73 per cent of the announcements made over the last two years have been implemented. With what he de

LUCKNOW: In a major development, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Nirman Trust moved the Allahabad High Court with an application seeking inclusion of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, Peethadheshwar of Bageshwar dham, as a spiritual witness in this case. In the application, it was claimed that Dhirendra Shastri had good knowledge of religious traditions as well as historical evidences of this case. According to the trust, there is no reference to Eidgah in the records of Mathura Municipal Corporation. M

NEW DELHI: Concerned with the slow implementation of water body rejuvenation projects under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, a Parliamentary Panel has asked the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to accelerate the completion of all sanctioned projects and set annual progress targets. As per the report of the Standing Committee of Lok Sabha presented in Parliament on Friday, only 678 out of 3,032 projects have been completed. It also noted that despit

GUWAHATI: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday wrapped up her two-day visit to ethnic violence-hit Manipur with a call to all communities to keep supporting the efforts for peace even as a Kuki-Zo organisation resented that she did not visit a Kuki area. Addressing a gathering in Naga-majority hill district Senapati after laying the foundation stones and inaugurating various developmental projects, the President said Manipurs strength lies in its diversity its culture, languages, and traditions.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Embassy in Bangkok is maintaining close communication with Thai authorities regarding the detention of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra in connection with the Birch by Romeo Lane fire in Goa that killed 25 people . Sources said that following the Embassy's intervention, the two brothers have been detained by Thai authorities in Phuket. Thai officials are currently proceeding with action under local laws, including arrangements for sending both individuals back to India, a s

NEW DELHI: India and the US federal investigative agencies have jointly busted a transnational cybercrime network in Noida, where scammers based in India allegedly defrauded US nationals of USD 8.5 million, the CBI said on Friday. Acting on inputs from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested six accused from Uttar Pradeshs Noida and dismantled a cybercrime syndicate that had been targeting US citizens since 2022. The accused have been identified as

BHOPAL: Already in the eye of a storm following his controversial public statements about Brahmin girls and the judiciary, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Santosh Verma now faces possible dismissal from the IAS cadre. In a late Thursday night development, the state government said the general administration department (GAD) has decided to move a proposal to the central government for Vermas dismissal from the IAS cadre. It has been found that his promotion from the State Administrati

PATNA: The political temperature in Bihar has heated up once again after leaders of the NDA's two major partiesthe Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (United)claimed on Friday that as many as 18 MLAs of the Opposition Mahagathbandhan are in constant touch with them and ready to switch sides. Senior BJP leader and state health minister Mangal Pandey said that the rift within Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasads family was a clear indication about growing discontent among party leaders

NEW DELHI: The total number of cases involving deaths of Indian citizens working or residing abroad has he Centre on Friday told Parliament that deaths of Indian citizens working or living abroad have not witnessed any significant increase in recent years, and said 5,897 mortal remains were brought back to India between January and October this year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, responding in the Lok Sabha, was also asked whether the government tracks the time taken to repatriate mort

NEW DELHI: The External Affairs Ministry on Friday informed Parliament that the total strength of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) stood at 954 officers as of December 1, 2025, with significant representation from SC/ST, OBC and women cadres. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said the IFS currently includes 200 SC/ST officers, 217 OBC officers and 263 women officers. He added that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) does not mainta

Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday told the Lok Sabha that capping airfares year-round is neither practical nor in the long-term interests of the civil aviation sector, emphasising that a deregulated market ultimately keeps fares competitive and benefits passengers. Naidu said airfares naturally rise during festive seasons due to route-specific demand spikes, and such fluctuations cannot be capped for an entire year. He added that deregulation, introduced to open up the market and encou

NEW DELHI: A new US-led strategic initiative, named Pax Silica, which aims to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven global silicon supply chain, has been launched without the inclusion of India amidst crucial trade negotiations between the two countries. The US State Department defined the initiative as focused on the entire silicon supply chain, from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. The inaugural Pax Sil

LUCKNOW: While government agencies are conducting raids and cracking the whip on those allegedly involved in illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrup and trafficking of narcotic-category medicines, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has shot of letters to 31 district magistrates (DMs) across Uttar Pradesh to book the alleged syndicate operators under the UP Gangsters Act. The FSDA has told the DMs to initiate action under the laws provisions that include seizure of properties d

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Friday cleared a Bill to repeal 71 laws which have outlived their utility in the statute books, officials said. Out of the 71 laws, 65 are amendments to principal Acts and six are principal laws. At least one law proposed to be repealed is of the British era, the officials said. The proposed repeal and amendment bill is not aimed at striking off colonial laws but to remove Acts which have outlived their utility, an official said. Once an amendment is passed by Par

NEW DELHI: Moving towards conducting the National Census 2027, the NDA government on Friday approved a proposal at its Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to carry out the Census of India 2027 at a cost of 11,718 crore. Billed as the worlds largest statistical exercise, the Census of India will be conducted in two phases. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, sharing details of the Cabinet decision, said that the first phase of Census 2027 wi