NEW DELHI: Last month, a senior female cabin crew member of Air India Express landed at the Bangalore airport late in the night. After completing the duty formalities and stepping out of the airport, she and three female colleagues came to know that their hotel bookings by the airline were not confirmed. Though the bookings were done after much efforts and numerous calls, the experience has rattled her and she is now contemplating quitting the airline, where she has been working for more than ei

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday said that Muslims cannot claim rights in a live-in relationship when they have a living spouse, as such a relationship is not permitted under the tenets of Islam. A bench of justices AR Masoodi and AK Srivastava-I made the observations while hearing a writ petition by Sneha Devi and Mohd Shadab Khan, who were seeking protection from police action after the woman's parents filed a kidnapping case against Khan, and directed that S

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday allowed a second post-mortem examination of Anuj Kumar, who died in police custody following his arrest in a case related to the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai. The direction came on a petition filed by Anuj Kumar's mother Reeta Devi, who sought a fresh examination. The court of Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj asked the petitioner to hand over the body to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot on

NEW DELHI: Poor staff management continues to hit Tata Group-run airlines, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports. After last month's fiasco at Vistara, now Air India Express was forced to cancel more than 90 international and domestic flights from Tuesday evening to Wednesday night. The cancellation came after a section of senior crew members, who allege mismanagement at the airline, went on a mass sick leave. Going ahead, flight disruption is expected to continue for some time at

JAIPUR: Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his insinuating that Rahul Gandhi had taken money for not taking names of industrialists in his election speeches, saying Modi with his remark had conceded that Adani-Ambani had amassed black money. Gehlot said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been struggling for the truth for a long time and truth will win eventually. Modi in an election rally had asked why Rahul stopped taking the names of Adani

KUPWARA: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said Jammu and Kashmir has changed post-2019 after the abrogation of Article 370 as there is destruction everywhere. Speaking to reporters after addressing a public meeting in Kupwara in north Kashmir as part of his election campaign from the Baramulla parliamentary constituency, Abdullah said the areas which were made militancy-free have been witnessing resurgence of the guns. There are areas which we had made militancy-free

NEW DELHI: The regional labour commissioner will seek inputs from aviation regulator DGCA in the ongoing conciliation process concerning the dispute between Air India Express management and a section of the cabin crew members, according to a source. Tata Group-owned profit-making Air India Express is in the process of merging loss-making AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself. Meanwhile, Air India Express has cancelled over 90 flights since Tuesday night as a section of cabin crew memb

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a probe by the CBI or ED into whether businessmen Adani and Ambani sent black money to his party and taunted if Modi was speaking from his personal experience that they send their money in a tempo. He also asked Modi if he was scared. Gandhi's strong retort to PM Modi came after the latter attacked him at an election rally, saying why he had stopped abusing Adani and Ambani in his attacks and whether

NEW DELHI: Days after AstraZeneca admitted for the first time in court documents that their Covid-19 vaccine can cause a rare and dangerous side effect, the British pharma giant announced that they are withdrawing it globally . The global pharma giant, in collaboration with The University of Oxford, developed the AZD1222 vaccine after the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020. It said that they are 'incredibly proud' of the vaccine, but it had made a commercial decision to withdraw it. In India and other

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

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the West Bengal government's suit alleging that the CBI is pressing ahead with investigation into post-poll violence cases in the state, without securing its prior nod as per the law. A two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice B R Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta, reserved its verdict after hearing detailed arguments from WB government and Centre. The Centre, through its senior lawyer, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, told

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

MUMBAI: Police have arrested two vendors following the death of a 19-year-old man after eating 'chicken shawarma' bought from their stall in Mumbai, an official said. The deceased, identified as Prathamesh Bhokse, bought the food item from the stall of the accused in Trombay area on May 3, the official said on Tuesday. On May 4, Bhokse suffered from stomach ache and vomiting and went to a municipal hospital nearby to get medical treatment. He later again felt unwell following which his family me

GUWAHATI: Four chief ministers of the Northeastern states slammed Sam Pitroda, chief of the Indian Overseas Congress, on Wednesday for his alleged racist remarks. Pitroda while describing Indias diversity stated that people in different regions of the country look like Africans, Chinese, Arab and whites. Criticizing the Congress leader, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, Sam bhai, I am from the North East and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country - we may look different but we ar

Sam Pitroda resigned from his position as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted his decision, announced party general secretary Jairam Ramesh. Ramesh posted on 'X', Mr. Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision. Mr. Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his o

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to create divisions between Hindus and Muslims for the sake of votes and urged the public to send him out of power. Addressing a public meeting in the Eidgah locality here in support of party candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Abdullah said, They are spreading hatred among Muslims and Hindus. It does not behove the prime minister of India to do such things. When he goes outside t

MALE: Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer on Wednesday left for India on his very first bilateral official visit, the maiden high-level visit from Male since bilateral ties came under severe strain after President Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, assumed office six months ago. During his visit from May 8 to 10, Zameer will meet with Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and hold discussions on deepening and expanding the longstanding partnership between the Maldives and India, the fore

BHUBANESWAR: In a significant development ahead of elections, nine members (including two women) of the banned party outfit CPI (Maoist) surrendered before Odisha Police on Wednesday. The members hailed from Chhattisgarh. A Naxal surrendered before Kandhamal Police on Tuesday and nine did the same before Boudh Police a day later. Apart from the state government's effective rehabilitation policy, the continuous anti-Naxal operations has led to the recent surrenders, said ADG (Operations), Dev Dat

RAJAMPET: Slamming Congress' divisive mindset, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed its leader Sam Pitroda's controversial remarks, and asked if a key ally of the national party, the DMK will snap ties with it for Tamil culture and pride. Addressing an election rally here, he alleged Congress was cut off from its roots, wants to divide the country for power and wondered what has befallen the national party. A big leader has displayed the divisive mindset of Congress. What the man ve

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said cloud seeding or depending on rain god is not the answer to the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand and that authorities will have to take preventive measures to tackle the problem. The Uttarakhand government apprised the apex court about the steps taken to control the forest fires and said 0.1 per cent of the wildlife cover in the state was on fire due to such incidents. The state government told a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta that

BENGALURU: Bengaluru Police has summoned BJP President J P Nadda and the party's IT cell head Amit Malviya in connection with a social media post allegedly intimidating members of SC and ST community not to vote for a particular candidate, officials said on Wednesday. They have been asked to join the probe at the High Grounds police station here. For the purpose of investigation of the said case, you are hereby directed to appear before the undersigned investigation officer at 11 am at High grou

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will deliver its order on granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam on May 10. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who headed the bench which heard Kejriwal's petition against his arrest in the case, said, We will pronounce the interim order (on interim bail) on Friday. The main matter related to the challenge to arrest will also be taken on the same day. Justice Khanna, who was sitting in a d

AHMEDABAD: A tremor of 3.7 magnitude hit Talala, a town in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district, on Wednesday afternoon, which was soon followed by another tremor of 3.4 magnitude, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said. The 3.7 magnitude tremor was recorded with its epicentre around 13 kilometres from north-northeast (NNE) from Talala in Saurashtra region of the state at 3.14 pm, the ISR said in its report. At 3.18 pm, another tremor of 3.4 magnitude hit with its epicentre 12 km NNE from

Mayawati killed two birds with one stone by axing political heir Akash Anand

Sam Pitroda has once again shot himself in the foot. His racist comment, the second after the elections commenced, has left the Congress party red-faced. While the party distanced itself from Pitroda's remarks, the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi excoriated him and the Congress for his statement made during an interview. In an exclusive interview with The Statesman , the Indian Overseas Congress chief, Pitroda described India as a ... diverse country... where people on East look like Chi

WARANGAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress over its party leader Sam Pitroda's alleged comments over skin colour and asserted that the countrymen would not tolerate insult on the basis of skin colour. Hitting out at top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said he has now understood that the national party sought to defeat President Droupadi Murmu in the presidential poll as her skin colour is dark. As Pitroda's reported comments kicked up a row, Modi asked, will the

IMPHAL: Soon after Congress leader Sam Pitroda courted a new controversy by tagging people residing in various regions of India with a certain facial feature, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said he is weighing in legal options to book the former. How can he make such a racist comment? I highly condemn this type of racist words used by him. I will consult the legal expert if we can sue against the remark given by the Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress..., Biren Singh told ANI. This is ver

CHENNAI: Having come under continuous attacks from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during election campaigns, including accusations about providing reservations on religious lines, the Congress party has knocked on the doors of Madras High Court, seeking orders to refrain him from making such derogatory and communal rhetoric targeting the minorities and discrediting the party. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai has moved the petition. The partys advocate AP Suryapraka

CHANDIGARH: The Congress on Wednesday sought the imposition of President's Rule followed by fresh polls in Haryana after three Independent MLAs withdrew support to the BJP dispensation, reducing the Nayab Singh Saini government to a minority in the state assembly. The party said it would write to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya to demand that the BJP government be dismissed. It also asked the JJP, the INLD and Independent MLA Balraj Kundu to write similar letters to the governor to give cred

The management of a leading school in Mumbai on Tuesday, May 7, announced it has discontinued the services of Principal Parveen Shaikh o ensure that our ethos of unity and inclusivity is not compromised, days after she was asked to quit reportedly for liking social media posts on the Palestine issue and the Hamas-Israel conflict. Shaikh, Principal of Somaiya School in Mumbai's Vidyavihar area, described her ermination from the post as completely illegal, drastic and unwarranted and expressed s

SHIMLA: Only three women have made it to the Lok Sabha from Himachal Pradesh in the past 72 years and this time, just two are in the fray. Women constitute almost 49 per cent of the total voters in the state. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Chandresh Kumari and Pratibha Singh, the three successful candidates till now belonged to royal families. Only the BJP and the BSP have nominated women candidates for the June 1 elections for the four Lok Sabha seats in the state. While the BJP has fielded actor Kangan

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday said his government is not in trouble and is working strongly, a day after three Independent MLAs withdrew support to the BJP dispensation in the state. MLAs Sombir Sangwan (Dadri), Randhir Singh Gollen (Pundri) and Dharampal Gonder (Nilokheri) on Tuesday withdrew support to the BJP government and announced that they would back the Congress, reducing the Saini government to a minority in the state assembly. The government is not i

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

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted more time to the ED and the CBI to file their replies to former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's pleas seeking bail in the corruption and money-laundering cases lodged by the agencies in relation to the alleged excise policy scam. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who had on May 3 issued notices to the two agencies asking them to file their replies to the pleas and listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday, was informed by the counsel for t

NOIDA: A minor girl was bitten by a dog inside a lift of a posh group housing society in Noida, with city residents seeking penalties on owners for allowing off-leash canines in common areas of societies. The incident took place at the Lotus 300 society in Sector 107 on May 3 and a purported video of the episode surfaced on social media on Wednesday. In the video, the around 10-year-old girl is seen inside a lift alone. When the doors open, an off-leash pet dog enters and bites her on her right

HYDERABAD: After the third phase of general elections in the country, the third fuse of Congress and its INDI Alliance parties was blown off, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday. Addressing a rally at Vemulawada, about 150 km from here, Modi said four phases of polling are left and with the blessings of people, the BJP and NDA marching towards victory. After the third phase of polls, the third fuse of Congress and INDI Alliance was off (blown up), Modi mocked at the opposition bloc. A

OTTAWA: Amidst the diplomatic strain in India-Canada relations, India's envoy here has warned that the Sikh separatist groups in Canada were crossing a big red line that New Delhi sees as a matter of national security and of the country's territorial integrity. Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma said this on Tuesday in his first public remarks since three Indian nationals accused of killing Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year were arrested and produced before a

After the third phase of polling of Lok Sabha elections ended, BJP National President JP Naddachaired a meeting of party' s senior leaders and some office bearers at party HQ on Tuesday. Nadda reviewing the election management and how polling went off in favour of the party also discussed further strategy for the upcoming next phases of pollings in remaining LS constituencies. According to a post of party national general secretary Vinod Tawde, Nadda also A gave guidance by discussing the action

THANE: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said those speaking Pakistan's language while living in India should be charged with treason and put behind bars as he dubbed the statements of opposition leaders Vijay Wadettiwar and Farooq Abdullah their frustration about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise. These people are speaking Pakistan's language. Is it not treason against the nation? They are not able to tolerate the wave of patriotism that has spread out across the country under PM M

NEW DELHI: Tata Group-run airline Air India Express has cancelled more than 70 international and domestic flights from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning after a section of crew members went on a mass sick leave. While the reason for this mass sick leave is not confirmed yet, industry sources say that crew members are protesting against alleged mismanagement. A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. Whi

THANE: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said those speaking Pakistan's language while living in India should be charged with treason and put behind bars as he dubbed the statements of opposition leaders Vijay Wadettiwar and Farooq Abdullah their frustration about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise. These people are speaking Pakistan's language. Is it not treason against the nation? They are not able to tolerate the wave of patriotism that has spread out across the country under PM M

HYDERABAD: As many as seven persons, including a four-year old child were killed when a retaining wall at an under construction apartment came crashing down due to heavy rains in Bachupally area here, police said on Wednesday. According to Bachupally police, the deceased were migrant workers who belonged to Odhisha and Chhattisgarh and the incident happened on Tuesday evening. Their bodies were recovered early on Wednesday from under the debris using an excavator, police said. Heavy rain lashed

NEW DELHI: Indian Naval ships Delhi, Shakti and Kiltan have reached Singapore as part of the long-leg operational deployment, led by Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. The visiting ships were given a warm welcome by personnel of Republic of Singapore Navy and the High Commissioner of India. The visit is part of the Operational Deployment of the Indian Navys Eastern Fleet to the South China sea, the Indian Navy said in a statement. This visit is poised to strengt

SRINAGAR : Unlike its aggressive approach in the Jammu region, the BJP is treading very cautiously in Kashmir and not opening its cards publicly. The party is playing hide-and-seek by not making its support public for candidates on three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir but behind the scenes sending messages to party workers and activists whom to support. The BJP has decided not to contest elections on three Valley LS seats Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla. Instead it has decided to extend su

NEW DELHI: Marking another dip in voter turnout, the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on Tuesday recorded average polling of 63.53% across 93 seats in 11 states and Union territories. The same 93 seats had polled 67.33% in 2019. While Assam had the highest turnout at 77.06%, Goa came second at 75.13% and West Bengal at 73.96%. UP witnessed the lowest at 57.34%, while Bihar polled 58.16% Gujarat 57.62%, Maharashtra 61.44%, Chhattisgarh 70.05%, Karnataka 69.65% and MP 66.05%. Prime Minister N

PUNE: A case has been registered against Maharashtra Women Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar, who belongs to NCP, and seven others, for allegedly performing 'puja' of an Electronic Voting Machine inside a polling booth in Khadakwasla segment under Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. Chakankar and others defied the orders of the presiding officer of the polling booth at Sinhgad Road area, went inside and performed 'puja' of the EVM this morning, a police official said. On a complaint lodged by

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted jailed MLA Abbas Ansari to join the 40th day ritual of his deceased father Mukhtar Ansari through online mode. Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda in Uttar Pradesh on March 28. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan directed the Uttar Pradesh government and jail authorities to make necessary arrangements for this. On a request made by learned counsel for the petitioner as well as lea

KOLKATA: None of the employees of the Raj Bhavan turned up at the Hare Street Police Station on Tuesday in connection with the investigation of the allegation of molestation made by a woman employee against Governor CV Ananda Bose, a senior police officer said. The Raj Bhavan is yet to share CCTV footage with the investigating police officers as sought, the officer added. There is no progress in the investigation today. No one from the Raj Bhavan has appeared for questioning, the officer told PT

BHOPAL:Three prominent electoral districts, where high profile political figures were competing, recorded the highest voter turnout, with approximately 66% of the electorate casting their votes across nine constituencies in Madhya Pradesh during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday. After the total voter turnout stayed much below the 2019 polls figures in the first two phases, in a pleasant change, the voting percentage in the third phase (till the time of filling this news repo

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday night said she is divesting her nephew Akash Anand of his responsibilities as the party's national co-ordinator and her successor, barely five months after she had anointed him. Announcing it on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said she has taken the decision in the interest of the party and the movement till the time Anand gains full maturity. She said her brother and Akash's father Anand Kumar will continue to fulfil his responsi