MOVIESS MAZA / Online Movies Masti

Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on Sunday said if his party, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), which form the Maha Vikas Aghadi, decide they can usher in change in Maharashtra. He also said it was difficult to engage with the present state government. He was speaking at a book launch function where he shared the stage with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat. Mr Pawar recalled how previous governments helped preservation of ancient art and culture, literature and history. "But it is difficult for us to engage with the present state government, But some solution will come out. If we three (MVA components) decide, there can be change," he asserted. It was for the first time since July 2, when the NCP split due to the rebellion by Ajit Pawar, that all three MVA allies have shared a stage. During the event, Mr Pawar, said Yeshwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, which he heads, will give Rs 50 lakh to Rajawade Itihas San

The opposition is "staging a drama" while the Centre is trying to restore normalcy, the BJP's National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh, said, slamming the Opposition delegation that visited Manipur. "This is mere show-off... PM Modi's government is trying to heal the wounds of people in Manipur but the Opposition is simply staging a drama," Tarun Chugh told news agency ANI. Earlier in the day, multiple teams of the Opposition delegation visited relief camps in Manipur's Churachandpur district. The leaders slammed the Centre for not sending a delegation and said that their visit is just a way of providing some "psychological healing" to the people in distress. Those staying in relief camps are all very scared, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said after visiting a camp. The Opposition leaders will accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he visits Manipur with an 'all-party delegation', he added. Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita De

A non-bailable warrant has been issued against a local BJP leader in a case of sexual abuse of a 17-year-old girl in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday. According to the police, the teenaged girl, working in the office of advocate Ramesh Chand Gupta, has alleged that she was sexually abused by Gupta, his relative and BJP metropolitan unit general secretary Arvind Gupta Marwari, and Uttar Pradesh Consumer Cooperative Union Sanjeev Goyal Sikka. Advocate Gupta was arrested on June 21 in the case. A special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act issued the non-bailable warrant (NBW) against BJP leader Arvind Gupta Marwari, Daurala police station SHO Sanjay Sharma said. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh over the issuance of NBW against the party leader. "The news coming from Meerut is enough for the BJP government to hang its head in shame. In a case of sexual abuse of a minor gi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Foxconn Chairman Young Liu in Gandhinagar and welcomed the company's plans to expand semiconductor and chip manufacturing capacity in India. Liu participated in three-day 'SemiconIndia 2023' conference on Friday, and affirmed that Taiwan is and will be India's "most trusted and reliable partner". “Mr Young Liu, Chairman of Foxconn, met PM@narendramodiin Gandhinagar. The PM welcomed Foxconn's plans to expand semiconductor and chip manufacturing capacity in India,” PMO said in a tweet. Mr. Young Liu, Chairman of Foxconn, met PM @narendramodi in Gandhinagar. The PM welcomed Foxconn's plans to expand semiconductor and chip manufacturing capacity in India. pic.twitter.com/Badv6NhzRm — PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 28, 2023 Earlier in the day, the three-day 'SemiconIndia 2023' conference kicked off here on Friday in the presence of PM Modi, with a focus on attracting investments in India's nascent semiconduc

India is an "indispensable" partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific and Japan intends to deepen cooperation with New Delhi in all areas to expand the special strategic and global partnership between the two sides, Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday. Complimenting India's focus on the Global South, he said the call for upholding the free and rules-based international order may sound like a mere slogan unless there was adequate commitment to address the challenges facing the developing countries. The Japanese foreign minister was speaking at the India-Japan Forum, convened by Ananta Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In his remarks at the event, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar elaborated on Japan's support to various sectors in India and identified the semiconductor sector as one of the potential areas for cooperation. "I think Japan has truly unleashed a number of revolutions in this country. There is th

A portion of a building perched on a hillside collapsed in a matter of seconds and fell into the valley in Mizoram's capital today. Dramatic videos of the collapse show the structure standing one second and gone the next while a woman is heard screaming. The falling portion can also be seen taking down parts of the main building with it. The incident took place in the Zohnuai locality of Aizawl. The building was home to five families, all of whom were evacuated when the structure began to shake.  An additional 18 families living close to the building have also been evacuated, said officials. Local residents said the road beside which the building stood had developed a crack on June 12.  Officials said it has been raining on and off in Aizawl, which may have contributed to the building's collapse. from NDTV News-India-news https://ift.tt/7DiVzXe

Ninety-eight students died by suicide in the past five years in higher education institutions, including central universities, IITs, IIMs, NITs and IISERs, according to the Union Ministry of Education. Twenty cases of student suicides have already been reported in higher education institutions (HEIs) in 2023 so far. These include nine cases from central universities and seven from IITs. The data was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha. The minister informed that the majority of the suicide cases being reported in the last four years were from engineering institutions. According to the data, of the 98 students who died by suicide, the maximum cases were from IITs (39), followed by NITs (25), central universities (25), IIMs (4), IISERs (3) and IIITs (2). In terms of year-wise breakup, the government data shows that 20 student suicides were reported in these institutions in 2023 so far, 24 in 2022, seven e

A deaf Indian citizen, who was swept into Pakistan by floodwaters of the Sutlej River has been handed over to an intelligence agency, officials in Pakistan's Punjab province said on Wednesday. "The Indian national who is in his 50s is deaf and communicates through sign language. He said he is a Hindu and the floodwater swept him here," a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said in Lahore. The man swept into Pakistan from the floodwater of the Sutlej near Ganda Singh Wala, Kasur district of Punjab, some 70 km from Lahore, on Tuesday, the spokesperson said. After his medical examination, the man has been handed over to an intelligence agency for investigation. The man bore a script in Hindi language tattooed on his right hand, according to a report in the Dawn newspaper. A video of the man also went viral on social media, it said. Adjoining low-lying areas of Ganda Singh Wala got affected by the low-level flooding at Ganda Singh Wala in Sutlej River recently. The flood in river

The two-day event to mark Vijay Diwas and commemorate the martyrdom of the 559 soldiers in the 1999 Kargil war kicked-started here on Tuesday. The celebrations begin at Lamochen viewpoint where war heroes and families of fallen soldiers remembered the brave souls. Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi was the chief guest. After that, a cultural programme was held which was graced by Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande. Later in the evening, tributes were offered at the Kargil War Memorial here. The Army chief, many current and former top army officers were also present on the occasion. #CORRECTION | #WATCH | Ladakh: The lamps being lit at the Kargil War Memorial, Dras on the eve of the 24th Kargil Vijay Diwas. pic.twitter.com/axtWhBS5s3 — ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023 With a view to paying homage to the supreme sacrifice made by the soldiers during ‘Operation Vijay', 559 lamps, each symbolising a braveheart, were lit at the Veer Bhoomi. The Army chief also felicita

A cloudburst in Gadsa valley of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Tuesday damaged some houses and agricultural land in the area besides snapping the power supply lines, officials said. Two bridges have been washed away and the Bhuntar-Gadsa road has been damaged at several points, they said, adding that some heads of cattle may have died in the cloudburst. The revenue department reached the spot to assess the situation. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said five houses were completely damaged while 15 were damaged partially in Gadsa and Kurla panchayats. Affected families have been provided temporary shelter, he added. #WATCH | Ashutosh Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Kullu says, "This incident is of 4.00 am in the morning when we were informed that there is a cloudburst in Gadsa Valley and still the flow of water is very strong. 23 families have been affected due to teh cloud burst. 5 families'… pic.twitter.com/zj4mg6LKRu — ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023 The offic

An official of the revenue department in Madhya Pradesh's Katni swallowed money he had taken as a bribe after spotting a team of the Lokayukta's Special Police Establishment (SPE), an official said. The incident took place on Monday when patwari Gajendra Singh received Rs 5,000 as a bribe in his private office as part of a trap laid by authorities, SPE Superintendent of Police Sanjay Sahu said. "A man from the Barkheda village had complained to us, accusing Gajendra Singh of seeking a bribe. After taking the money, Mr Singh spotted the SPE team and swallowed it. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors said he is fine," the official said. A case has been registered and further probe is underway, the police said. from NDTV News-India-news https://ift.tt/BbVoR1i

Sixty-four multi-tier, reusable graves have been built at a Christian cemetery in Madhya Pradesh's Indore to tide over a shortage of burial land. Four bodies can be buried in as many layers one over the other, while the lowest tier will be kept empty for bodies to be placed after five or more years, Indore Catholic Diocese's Bishop Chako Thottumarickal told news agency PTI. "These 64 five-tier graves have been built at the Kanchan Bagh cemetery. The work was completed on July 1. After the bodies are put in the lowest compartment, we will have space for another four bodies. The idea was finalised through consensus after we sought advice from the community for solutions to tackle a shortage of burial land," he said. The graves are 4.5 feet wide and 6.5 feet long, with a 16-foot pit with multiple layers as well as space for headstone inscriptions, he said, adding that such an arrangement may be a first for the country. Asked about the sprinkling of soil on the body b

BJP MP Vinod Sonkar, who is heading a five-member fact-finding team of the party to West Bengal in the aftermath of panchayat elections, on Sunday alleged that law and order in the state has "collapsed". He also claimed that post-poll violence in the state is common in every election from parliamentary to rural polls. Alleging that 10 BJP workers have been killed in the aftermath of the panchayat elections held on July 8, he said, "Eight of them belonged to the scheduled classes". "Law and order in Bengal has collapsed," he said at a press conference here before visiting some places where BJP workers were allegedly subjected to assault and intimidation following the rural polls. The five-member team sent by the BJP leadership over post-panchayat poll violence in Bengal, comprises MPs Suresh Kasyap, Vinod Chavda, S Muniswamy and Manoj Rajoria. They spoke to people, who claimed to have been at the receiving end of atrocities by ruling Trinamool Congress

A 33-year-old man has been arrested here for allegedly raping and forcing his live-in partner to convert to Islam, police said on Sunday. The Dalit woman, who moved in with Khalid Chaudhary in September 2022, was also forced to undergo an abortion by him, they said. Chaudhary was arrested on Saturday night and he confessed to his crime during interrogation, police said. According to a complaint lodged by the woman, she came in contact with Chaudhary, who posed as a journalist and introduced himself as Deepak, on social media three years ago and moved in with him in September 2022. Chaudhary forced her to convert to Islam, eat beef and terminate her pregnancy of almost four weeks, the complainant alleged, adding she was also raped and beaten up by him. "After receiving the complaint of the woman, an FIR has been lodged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Prohibition of Unlawful Religi

The railways stopped a long-distance train at an unscheduled station in West Bengal's Howrah district to help a Bangladeshi woman reach a hospital after she gave birth to a baby girl inside the train, officials said on Sunday. Directed by the authorities concerned, the Mumbai-Howrah Mail made an unscheduled halt at Bagnan station under the South Eastern Railway on Saturday, they said. An Ambulance was arranged outside the station with the help of railway authorities and the daily passengers' association, and as soon as the train reached Bagnan, the woman and the newborn were taken to a local nursing home, an RPF official said. Hailing from Satkhira district of Bangladesh, Manjila Khatun and her husband Rezaul Gazi went to Mumbai for medical purposes and were coming from there, the official said. The woman went into labour after the train departed the Kharagpur station in Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal. The travelling ticket examiner had drawn the attention of th

The Mumbai Police on Sunday received a call claiming an explosives-laden tanker was headed towards Goa, an official said, adding the call turned out to be a hoax. An unidentified person called up the Director General of the Police control room in Mumbai in the afternoon and said a tanker filled with explosives was on the Mumbai-Goa highway. Police intercepted the tanker, whose description was given by the caller, at Sangameshwar, 290 km from Mumbai, in Ratnagiri district, the official said. Police checked the tanker but didn't find any suspicious material and allowed it to proceed with the onward journey, he added. Further investigation is underway.  (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-India-news https://ift.tt/L5cSmah

At least 17 people, including three children, were killed and 35 others were injured after the bus plunged into the pond in Bangladesh's Chhatrakanda area under Jhalakathi Sadar Upazila on Saturday, The Daily Star reported. The survivors blamed the driver's carelessness for the accident. They also said the bus was overloaded with passengers, which might have contributed to the accident. The Barishal-bound bus of "Bashar Smriti Paribahan", which was carrying over 60 passengers against its capacity of 52, left Pirojpur's Bhandaria around 9:00 am and fell into a roadside pond in Chhatrakanda on the Barishal-Khulna highway around 10:00 am. "I boarded the bus from Bhandaria. The bus was overcrowded with passengers. Some of them were standing on the aisle. I saw the driver talking to the supervisor. Suddenly, the bus came off the road and crashed," said Md Momin, a survivor. "All the passengers were trapped inside the bus. As it was overloaded, the bu

A day after Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University VC Prof Rajesh Singh was assaulted and his office ransacked by a group of students, the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday arrested eight people. "We have arrested Shakti Singh, Prince Tiwari, Shubham Govind Rao, Shivam Pandey, Alok Gupta, Rishabh Singh, Mayank Rai and Shravan Kumar Mishra," Superintendent of Police (city) Krishna Kumar said. A case was registered under IPC sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 427 (mischief causing damage), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and under the Criminal Law Amendment Act on the basis of a complaint by varsity proctor Satyapal Singh, he said. The police, however, did not specify whether the arrested persons are students, contractors or outsiders. According to reports, the ac

The Manipur Police today asked people to not fall for misinformation after reports of a mob moving towards village Kwatha in Chandel district raised concerns. The police said the reports were false. Earlier, it was reported that a mob had moved towards the village, some 100 km from the state capital Imphal. The police chief of Tengnoupal, a tehsil of Chandel district, along with the Commanding Officer of the 20 Assam Rifles went to the village and found no such incident, the police said. "It was reported in some local daily newspapers that a large number of protesters form a mob have proceeded towards Kwatha village with alleged intention to attack and burn down the village," the police tweeted. "However, the Superintendent of Police of Tengnoupal district along with the Commandant of 20 Assam Rifles went to the village today and interacted with the villagers of Kwatha village. "It is reported that there was no such attempt to burn the village. Appeal is made

A building inside the premises of a police station in Meerut was engulfed in a fierce fire this evening. Four constables have sustained severe burns in the fire at the crime inspection building inside the police station in Meerut's Sardhana. A cloud of thick black smoke billowed skyward and was visible from several kilometers away, the locals said. More than half a dozen fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. According to the initial investigation, the fire originated from a short circuit in a switchboard inside the police station. It rapidly spread to the balcony, which houses a canteen. The fire's intensity was such that it led to the explosion of gas cylinders in the canteen. The inferno quickly engulfed the surroundings, including a warehouse nearby. "The flames have been doused. However, some of our officers suffered severe burns to their hands and faces while trying to put out the fire. They have been rushed to the hospital for medical attention

The Delhi government is on high alert due to the discharge of over two lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana into the Yamuna, Revenue Minister Atishi said. Some parts of Yamuna Khadar (floodplains) might get inundated if the river's water level crosses 206.7 metres. However, the government is prepared for evacuations, the minister said. According to the Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the flow rate at the Yamunanagar-located Hathnikund Barrage crossed the 1 lakh mark at 9 am and oscillated between 2 lakh and 2.5 lakh cusecs between 10 am and 4 pm. The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand till July 25. Atishi said a regular ' munadi ' (announcement) is being done in vulnerable areas to inform residents about the threat of flooding. Relief camps have been inspected and preparations made for people to stay there. The Delhi government is on high alert due to the discha

Manipur Police has arrested a sixth person in connection with the May 4 parading of two women naked in Kangpokpi district of the state, officials said on Saturday. Police said the arrested person is a juvenile. Police had made the first arrest on Thursday, a day after a 26-second video of the horrific incident surfaced on July 19. Three more arrests were made later that day. The fifth accused, 19-year-old youth, was arrested on Saturday. One of the women seen in the video is the wife of an ex-army man, who served as a subedar in the Assam Regiment and had even fought in the Kargil War.  More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, whil

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that the current situation in Rajasthan reflects that it is the most unsafe state for women.   While speaking to ANI, Pralhad Joshi said," I want to say Rajasthan has been a place of great culture where women were given the highest respect but today's situation shows that it is the most unsafe state for women. The law and order situation has collapsed." This comes after charred bodies of four family members were recovered in Jodhpur, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Rathore, on Wednesday said law and order in the state had deteriorated to such as extent that even the legislators of the ruling Congress were not safe. Earlier Rajasthan government sacked its minister Rajendra Singh Gudha over his remarks on the condition of women in the state. Former Rajasthan Minister and Congress leader Rajendra Singh Gudha said that we should look at the atrocities on women which have increased in the state in

Following the viral video of women being paraded naked in Manipur, National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma on Friday said that there were several complaints from people outside the country and Manipur. She also mentioned that NCW is in touch with officers from Manipur.  Sharma was responding to the reports claiming that NCW has received a complaint through a letter on June 12 mentioning the horrific incident of women being paraded naked on May 4.   After the video went viral, the commission took suo motu cognisance of it on Friday and sought an explanation from authorities on the matter. “First of all, my JS is from Manipur and he is continuously in touch with the officers over there on the phone, so we are in touch with the officers in Manipur. Again and again, I am saying that there were many complaints, there was not one specific complaint and that too from people outside India and outside Manipur. So firstly they had to clarify that whatever written is true and the gove

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that her government is planning a scheme to provide work to the poor in line with MGNREGA, the funds for which she claimed were stopped by the Centre. Addressing a rally in Kolkata, Ms Banerjee said the scheme will be named 'Khela Hobe' (Game On) -- the slogan of her party TMC during the 2021 assembly elections. "Despite being the best-performing state in the MNREGA scheme, the Centre has stopped funds out of sheer jealousy and vendetta politics. We will take our fight to Delhi, and on October 2, which is Gandhi Jayanti, we will hold a dharna in Delhi to press for our demands," she said. "We are planning to start our own 100-day job scheme and it will be named 'Khela Hobe'. The West Bengal government always stands for the poor, and we will create jobs for them," she added. The TMC also celebrates August 16 as 'Khela Hobe Diwas', during which different sports events are organis

A sessions court here on Thursday rejected activist Teesta Setalvad's application seeking discharge in a case related to alleged fabrication of evidence related to the 2002 Gujarat riots. While rejecting the plea, additional sessions judge A R Patel also asked the prosecution and defense to "open the case" (start trial proceedings) from July 24. The Gujarat government had opposed Teesta Setalvad's application, arguing that she abused the trust of riots victims and implicated innocent persons. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had granted bail to her in the same case after the Gujarat High Court denied her relief. Setalvad and two others - former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt - were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022 on charges of forgery and fabricating false evidence with the intent to implicate Gujarat government functionaries in the 2002 riots cases. Judge A R Patel had earlier re

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has held that a person suffering from HIV, who is otherwise fit, cannot be denied employment or promotion. The bench comprising Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Om Prakash Shukla passed the order on a plea by a CRPF constable challenging a single-judge bench's May 24 order, which rejected his appeal against the order issued by the CRPF that denied him promotion on the ground that he was tested HIV positive. "A person's HIV status cannot be a ground for denial of promotion in employment as it would be discriminatory and would violate the principles laid down in Articles 14 (right to equality), 16 (right to non-discrimination in state employment) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution of India," observed the two-judge bench in its order passed on July 6. Setting aside the single-judge bench order which had expressed favour with the CRPF that the appellant was not entitled to the promotion after having been tested HIV pos

The Centre has further eased the guidelines for international travelers in the context of COVID-19 and the earlier requirements for RT-PCR-based testing of a random two per cent subset of international travelers to India have been dropped. Health Ministry said that it has further eased guidelines for international travelers in the context of COVID-19 taking note of the prevalent COVID-19 situation and the significant achievements made in vaccination coverage across the globe. "Vide these new guidelines, which shall come into effect from 0000 Hrs (IST) of July 20, 2023, the earlier requirements for RT-PCR based testing of a random 2% subset of international travelers to India, now stand dropped," a Health Ministry release said on Wednesday. However, the earlier advice for precautionary measures to be followed in the context of COVID-19 by airlines as well as international travelers shall continue to apply. The updated guidelines have been made available on the official web

A dome-shaped mysterious object has washed up on a remote Australian beach, amid speculation that it could be from a 20-year-old Indian rocket that was used for launching a satellite. The canister was discovered near the beach in Green Head in Western Australia (WA) about 250 kilometres north of the city of Perth on Saturday. When contacted by PTI, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sources confirmed receipt of a formal communication from the Australian Space Agency. However, they did not provide the details. The bizarre-looking object has been declared a piece of space junk, while national agencies, including the Australian Space Agency (ASA), continue working to identify its origin. The copper-coloured bulky cylinder, which stands taller than a human, appears to be damaged at one end and is covered with barnacles, indicating that it has spent a significant amount of time at sea before washing up. "We are currently making enquiries related to this object located o

All seven candidates from Bengal - six from the Trinamool Congress, including Derek O'Brien and Saket Gokhale, and one from the BJP - have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, state assembly officials said. Six Rajya Sabha seats of the state are scheduled to go to polls on July 24, the tenures of which are going to end in August. A by-election was also supposed to be held on another Rajya Sabha seat. "After the scrutiny of nomination papers, the assembly secretary announced that all six candidates of the TMC and one of the BJP have been elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed," an assembly official said. The TMC leaders elected unopposed are Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Dola Sen. Mr O'Brien, an MP since 2011, is the TMC's leader in the Upper House, while Mr Ray, first sent to the Upper House of Parliament in 2012, is the deputy chief whip. Ms Sen, a senior leader and trade unionist, became an MP in 2017. The newcomers on the list were Bangla S

More than 75,000 loaded trucks are stuck across Tamil Nadu in major cities and towns. The trucks stuck in Tamil Nadu have to reach Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, said the president of the Lorry Owners Federation-Tamil Nadu.  The trucks are unable to reach the states due to the heavy rainfall, These trucks are unable to drive into the northern states at present. "More than 25,000 trucks heading to Tamil Nadu are also stuck in Northern states due to heavy rainfall," said the president of the Lorry Owners Federation - Tamil Nadu.  The goods present in the trucks are coconuts, sago, starch, raw materials used as ingredients in healthcare medicines, matchboxes, crackers, textiles, and steel and iron materials that cannot be transported to the northern states.  Even goods like apples, machines, and textile materials could not reach Tamil Nadu from the Northern Indian states. The trucks will stay in the places until the conditions get normal enough to t

Congress leader and former MLA Ashwani Sekhri on Sunday said he will join the BJP and alleged that several senior leaders were feeling suffocated in the Punjab Congress. Mr Sekhri stated this after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Mr Sekhri was the MLA from the Batala assembly seat thrice in 1985, 2002 and 2012 and a minister in the Amarinder Singh government in 2002-2007. He said that during his meeting with Mr Shah, he took up the issue of backwardness of six Punjab districts -- Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Pathankot. "I met Amit Shah ji and he welcomed me," Mr Sekhri said, adding he will join the BJP. Mr Sekhri slammed the Punjab unit of the Congress, alleging that a "gang" was operating there and it was taking decisions without consulting other senior leaders. "There is such an atmosphere there that many senior leaders are feeling suffocated," he alleged. In a joint statement, Punjab Congress leaders ask

The Zomi Students' Federation (ZSF) filed an FIR against singer Jayenta Loukrakpam, popularly known as Tapta, for his "controversial song" that triggered a row in the ethnic strife-hit Manipur. According to the ZSF, the song's lyrics called for violence against a particular community. ZSF President Nengzalian Tonsing, who filed the FIR at the Churachandpur police station on July 13, accused Tapta of promoting enmity between communities. The singer earned popularity in Manipur with his powerful debut album - "Power of Attraction". Over the years, he garnered substantial following across all communities in the state, and amassed a dedicated fan base. Over 150 people have been killed so far and several thousand injured since ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki communities in the northeastern state on May 3. The Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, includ

A suspected agent of Pakistan's spy network Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI was arrested here on Sunday for allegedly supplying vital information about Indian military establishments to his handlers, an official statement said. "Raees, a resident of Gonda, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). He was summoned to the ATS headquarters here and during interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in spying," Prashant Kumar, Special DG (Law and Order), said in a statement. According to the police, Raees came in contact with one Armaan in Mumbai who persuaded him to spy against India. He was also promised money and a job in Dubai by a Pakistani citizen. In 2022, Raees received a WhatsApp call from a foreign number and was asked to contact Hussain. He was then asked to send pictures of key military set-ups of India, the police said. One Salman and another unidentified man were also involved in the crime, they said. A police official said Raees go

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Saturday accused the ruling DMK of undertaking a disinformation campaign against the Centre on a host of issues including the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and said the truth will be exposed in the forthcoming Parliament session. The DMK leadership should self-introspect and address the issues concerning the people, he said. "The DMK has been uttering lies on several issues including the UCC, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and food inflation," K Annamalai claimed, while speaking to reporters here. "Its MP meeting passed resolutions faulting the Centre but was silent on the adamant neighbouring Karnataka which declined to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and on its decision to proceed with the construction of the Mekedatu dam." There is not an iota of truth in the DMK's resolutions against the BJP government at the Centre, he said, speaking to the media after paying floral tributes to former Chief Minister and Congress leader K

Seven families were evacuated from Kholaksa, located about 3 km from Losar in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, following flooding due to melting of a glacier. However, no casualty was reported. The floods were reported late Friday night and agricultural land was damaged. The seven families were shifted to safer places, Lahaul and Spiti Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar told PTI on Saturday. The melting of snow and glaciers has led to an alarming rise in the water level of several rivers and nullahs in the region and efforts are on to divert the water towards barren land, said the locals. The Spiti region witnessed snowfall on July 9 and 10 and about 250 people, mainly tourists, were stranded at the Chandratal lake at an altitude of about 15,000 feet for six days. They were rescued safely on Thursday. Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses of about Rs 8,000 crore as heavy rains hit the hill state, triggering landslides and flash floods and damaging roads and other infrastr

A passenger allegedly abused and assaulted a senior Air India official onboard a Sydney-Delhi flight on July 9, adding to the recent spate of unruly behaviour mid-air. The incident took place when the Air India official, who had to move to the economy from his business class seat due to a malfunction in his seat, requested the accused to speak softly, a source said. According to the source, the Air India official was allotted seat 30-C in the economy class. Since there were other passengers, he chose sit in row 25, the source said. "The official requested his co-passenger to speak softly. But he slapped the official, twisted his head and abused him," the source alleged. When the five cabin crew failed to contain the rowdy passenger, the official rushed to the rear seats, as per the source. "This unruly passenger was fiddling with the emergency equipment and walking freely in the aisle," the source further alleged. The cabin supervisor was called in and the pas

Pratibha Pawar, wife of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, underwent surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai on Friday, a party functionary said. The surgery was related to her hand, the functionary from the Sharad Pawar faction said without elaborating. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to meet Pratibha Pawar after she was discharged from hospital, the party functionary said. This is apparently the first visit of Ajit Pawar to Silver Oak after he rebelled against his uncle, split the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2. Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019 she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short lived government post the Assembly polls. Fondly known as 'kaki' among NCP leaders, Pratibha Pawar is often viewed as the matriarch of the party but has never been a

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday approved the advance release of Rs 180 crore as the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to flood-hit Himachal Pradesh. The release of funds will help the state government undertake relief measures for affected people during the monsoon, an official statement issued here said. The home minister approved the advance release of the second installment of the central share of the SDRF, amounting to Rs 180.40 crore for 2023-24, as an interim relief to Himachal Pradesh, it said. To support those affected in Himachal Pradesh, the central government had released the first installment of the central share of Rs 180.40 crore to the state from the SDRF on July 10 for relief measures immediate in nature. To deal with the situation caused due to flash floods and floods, cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, the central government has provided all necessary logistics and financial assistance to the state government to meet the

A human skull was found in the holy waterbody of the Tripureswari temple, one of Shakti Peethas, in Tripura's Gumati district, the assembly was informed on Thursday. The police have registered a case and investigations have started to find out how the skull reached the waterbody, known as Kalyan Sagar, inside the compound of the 500-year-old shrine, also known as the Tripura Sundari temple. A group of people found the skull floating in the Kalyan Sagar early in the morning and informed the authorities. "The police have received the skull and kept it in the district hospital for post-mortem examination. Divers of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) searched the waterbody to check if more human parts remained there. However, nothing was found," Chief Minister Manik Saha said in the assembly. Mr Saha said the police have examined CCTV footage of the temple and its nearby areas but no clue was found. Officer in Charge of the local police station, Babul Das, said a case has been r

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday brought up concerns pertaining to the security of Indian diplomats in the UK with his British counterpart James Cleverly amidst extremist elements threatening officers of India's missions in the country. Mr Jaishankar raised the issue with Mr Cleverly days after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval called upon his British counterpart Tim Barrow to take strong public action such as deportation against extremist elements threatening officers of the Indian High Commission in the UK. Taking to Twitter, Mr Jaishankar, who is here in the Indonesian capital to attend a meeting of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers, said he had "a broad-ranging discussion" with UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly. A broad ranging discussion today with British Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly . Spoke about the agenda of the ARF, including regional and global issues. Jointly assessed the progress in our bilateral exchanges. Brought up concerns perta

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to move the Supreme Court "very soon" against the Gujarat High Court order rejecting his plea for a stay on his conviction in a defamation case. Party sources said the petition may be filed in the Supreme Court within this week as work on it is underway. Asked about it at a party briefing, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said an appeal will be filed very soon. "It will be very soon. It is under preparation. Nearest future, you will come to know of that," he said. Mr Singhvi is also the lawyer appearing for Rahul Gandhi in the case. Mr Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on March 24, 2023 after a Gujarat court convicted him and sentenced him to a two-year imprisonment on charges of criminal defamation for comments he made about the Modi surname. A stay on Gandhi's conviction could pave the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. However, he has not received any relief from either the

Ahead of a planned debate in European parliament on the situation in Manipur, India on Wednesday said it has been made clear to the parliamentarians that this is a matter "absolutely" internal to the country. A motion for a resolution on the Manipur situation was tabled in the Brussels-based EU parliament and it was scheduled to be taken up on Wednesday. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said EU parliamentarians concerned are being reached out and it has been made clear to them that it is a matter "absolutely" internal to India. Manipur has been witnessing violent clashes, especially between Kuki and Meitei communities for close to two months. The opposition parties have been accusing the government of failing to contain the violence. "This is a matter totally internal to India," Mr Kwatra said, replying to a question on the matter at a press conference. He said New Delhi is aware about what is happening at the EU parliament in Brussels. "We made

Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud on Tuesday said the appointments of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate Kalpathy Venkataraman Viswanathan as judges of the Supreme Court within 72 hours of recommendation shows that the Collegium is vibrant, active and committed to its task. Speaking at a felicitation ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, he noted that Justices Mishra and Viswanathan bring together a tradition of continuity and freshness of ideas. "I accept with gratitude the credit which has been given to me for the appointments of these two judges. But I will accept the accolade on behalf of all those who are part of the process which includes all my colleagues not just in the Collegium but beyond. "All the appointments which we have made, we have extensively consulted all the judges of the Supreme Court. We must also accept the fact the government is a stakeholder in the process and in these appointments which have c