Next Central govt cannot be formed without AAP's support: Punjab CM Mann

NEW DELHI: Days after Hong Kong and Singapore banned three repackaged products of Indian spice brand MDH after detecting carcinogenic ingredients, the famous spice brand dismissed the allegations, saying they do not use ethylene oxide and adhere to stringent health and safety standards both in India and internationally. The clarification from MDH, which claims to be the king of Indian species, came after the USFDA said they were gathering information on the four productsthree of MDH and one of E

NEW DELHI: To promote the internationalisation of Indian higher educational institutions (HEIs), the University Grants Commission (UGC) has once again reiterated guidelines mandating reserving supernumerary seats for international students. Under the guidelines, HEIs have been asked to allocate up to 25 percent of supernumerary seats for international students. In a public notice, it said that to facilitate the internationalisation of Indian HEIs, the UGC has framed the guidelines for admission

GUWAHATI: One person was killed while three others were injured during a gunbattle in Manipur on Sunday, even as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vowed punishment for the perpetrators of Friday nights deadly attack on its camp in Bishnupur district. The gunfight broke out in the wee hours of Sunday between two groups of village volunteers from the warring communities. It occurred in the Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district. The Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) identified the deceased as Lamma

NEW DELHI: Following precise intelligence input, the security agencies on Sunday carried out an overnight joint operation and apprehended a boat in Indian waters west of Porbandar, Gujarat, which was laden with narcotics valued at Rs 600 crore. In a statement, the Indian Coast Guard said on Sunday that the anti-narcotics operation took place at sea Approximately 86 kg of narcotics worth Rs 600 crore has been apprehended along with 14 crew members from the Pakistani boat. The operation was an epi

NEW DELHI: For the past two and a half months, the 85-year-old mother of Commander Purnendu Tiwari has been speaking to her son every day, asking him the same question: when will he return? His response is always soon. However, there has been no update on when the senior-most and only naval veteran, who was expected to return from Doha, will finally be allowed to come home. Commander Tiwari is facing a travel ban due to a pending issue, which has prevented him from returning to India, unlike his

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the appeal filed by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made in 2016 by the state's School Service Commission (SSC). A three-judge bench of the apex court, led by CJI DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, will hear the appeal of the West Bengal government after it moved the court on April 24, appealing the Calcutta HC'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the plea of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren challenging the delay by the state high court in pronouncing the verdict on his petition, which contested his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. A two-judge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will hear the JMM leader's plea. Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the JMM leader, brought up the matter before the Supreme Court bench on Wednesday.

HYDERABAD: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that RSS has always supported reservations for certain groups and reiterated that the Sangh will continue to do so. Bhagwat was speaking at an event at Vidya Bharti Vignana Kendra in Ranga Reddy district where he said, When I came to Hyderabad yesterday, I learnt that there is a video in circulation that says Sangh pretends to support the reservations only on the outside, but on the inside they oppose the reservations, and that we can never suppo

BELAGAVI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of insulting India's Rajas and Maharajas, but remaining silent on the atrocities committed by Nawabs, Nizams, Sultans and Badshahs for the sake of appeasement politics. The statement given by Shehzada was to appease a section of people and that at the same time, he (Rahul Gandhi) remained tightlipped about the tyranny which was committed by the Nawabs, Nizams, Sultans and Badshahs in the past. The Congress Sheh

SALIPUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that while PM Narendra Modi runs a government for billionaires from Delhi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik leads a dispensation that works for select people in Odisha. Addressing an election rally in Cuttack's Salepur, Gandhi claimed that though the BJD and BJP were fighting the electoral battle against each other but in reality they were working together. Call it a partnership or marriage, both BJD and BJP are together, he claimed. Taking a

RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will blow the poll bugle in Jharkhand from Palamu on May 4. PM Modi will seek votes for former Jharkhand Director General of Police and BJP candidate VD Ram who is contesting elections for the third consecutive time from Palamu Lok Sabha seat on BJP ticket. According to party sources, the Prime Minister will be addressing the rally at Chianki Airport in Palamu. Officials associated with the Prime Minister's security are likely to reach Palamu by Monday or Tue

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi on Sunday alleged that the Election Commission has banned the party's campaign song, 'Jail ka jawab vote se' stating that it showed the ruling party and agencies in a very poor light Addressing a press conference in the national capital today, Atishi said, It happens in a dictatorial government that the opposition is put in jail and is also prevented from campaigning. Today Election Commission of India has banned AAP's campaign song. This would have happe

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is likely to hear the matter. Kejriwal had earlier told the apex court that his illegal arrest in the case constitutes an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy based on free and fair elections and federalism. In a rejoinder to the En

JAIPUR: A group of three masked men allegedly beat to death a 30-year-old cleric of a mosque in Rajasthan's Ajmer, police said on Sunday. A case has been lodged in the matter and efforts are on to identify and nab the accused, they said. According to the police, the incident took place around 2 am on Saturday when the accused allegedly entered the mosque located in Kanchan Nagar under the Ramganj police station limits and attacked the cleric, Mohammad Tahir, with sticks. Tahir died on the spot.

JAMMU: A Village Defence Guard (VDG) member was killed in a gunfight with terrorists in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district early Sunday, officials said. A massive search operation is underway to flush out the terrorists, who are believed to have recently infiltrated from Pakistan, they said. The exchange of fire was reported from Panara village of Basantgarh when a patrolling party of police and VDGs confronted the suspected terrorists around 7:45 am, the officials said. A

In the days after D Gukesh became the youngest to win the Candidates, the International Chess Federation (FIDE), tweeted an official video from when the Indian was 12 years. I want to become the world champion, he said then. Hes now mere months away from challenging Chinas Ding Liren in the summit clash. The win would make him only the second Indian to become the champion and first since his idol, Viswanathan Anand. In five years, the Indian, the third youngest GM in history, has already blossom

NEW DELHI: A war of words has erupted between the TMC and BJP following the seizure of arms and ammunitions during raids conducted by CBI on Friday in Sandeshkali. Kicking off an attack on the Modi government, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the raid was conducted by the central agency without informing the local West Bengal police. She accused the Modi government of resorting to central law enforcement agencies to intimidate the Opposition parties. Small arms including foreig

Following the conclusion of Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, Usman Ghani, former President of Bikaner BJP Minority Morcha, has been apprehended by the police on charges of breach of peace. It is noteworthy that three days prior, the BJP had expelled Ghani from the party. The police released a statement regarding Ghani's arrest, citing his altercation with officers at the police station as the reason for his detention on charges of breaching peace. Officer-in-charge of Muktaprasad police station

Following the conclusion of Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, Usman Ghani, former President of Bikaner BJP Minority Morcha, has been apprehended by the police on charges of breach of peace. It is noteworthy that three days prior, the BJP had expelled Ghani from the party. The police released a statement regarding Ghani's arrest, citing his altercation with officers at the police station as the reason for his detention on charges of breaching peace. Officer-in-charge of Muktaprasad police station

India is in the grip of a severe heat wave, with temperatures soaring to record highs in states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The scorching heat has left citizens gasping for breath, and the authorities are scrambling to mitigate its impact. In Odisha, the capital city of Bhubaneswar recorded its hottest day this season with a temperature of 43.6 degrees Celsius, leaving residents sweltering in the heat. The city's residents are no strangers to hot summers, bu

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday declared the names of candidates for the three Assembly seats of Bhogarai, Khurda and Begunia. With this, the BJD has so far nominated candidates for 144 of the total 147 Assembly seats in the state. The remaining three constituencies are Korei, Khandapada and Nilagiri. Sitting MLA from Begunia Rajendra Sahoo will contest from Khurda while Pradeep Kumar Sahoo, who had quit Congress and joined BJD two-and-half years back, wi

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Arvinder Singh Lovelyhas resigned from his post, Delhi Congress officials have informed. In his resignation letter, Lovely expressed his discontent with the party's decision to ally with AAP. The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a Party which was formed on the sole basis of leveling false, fabricated and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party. Despite that, the Party made a decision to ally with the AAP in Delhi..., Lovel

DEHRADUN : With forest fires engulfing the Nanda range in Nainital district of Uttarakhand, the Centre deployed a Air Force helicopter on Saturday to control the blaze. Parallelly, the state government requested the assistance of the Army. The IAFs Mi-17 helicopter did 13 sorties, drawing water from the Naini and Bhimtal lakes in a Bambi bucket and emptying it over the flames in the Pines, Bhumiadhar, Jyolikot, Narayan Nagar, Bhawali, Ramgarh and Mukteshwar areas. Fire-fighting operations are ex

NEW DELHI : The Delhi governments ASOSE have yet again excelled with 70% students qualifying for JEE Advanced this year, results of which were declared three days ago. A total of 395 students of 12 Dr BR Ambedkar Schools of Specialized Excellence (ASOSE) of the Kejriwal government had appeared for JEE Mains examination. Of these, 276 students, that is, about 70% cleared the Mains and qualified for JEE Advanced. These students have also achieved excellent percentile. While four ASOSE students hav

NEW DELHI : The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted three state-of-the-art laboratories in Gujarat and Rajasthan where synthetic drugs were being manufactured, and arrested seven people involved in the drug cartel in this connection. The NCB said they have also seized contraband valued at more than Rs 300 crore during multiple raids and even identified the kingpin of this racket. NCB Deputy Director General (OEC) Gyaneshwar Singh said information was received by Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)

NEW DELHI : The Raj Niwas on Saturday accused AAP-led Delhi government, particularly Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, of sitting for over seven months on a proposal to temporarily enhance financial powers of MCD Commissioner from Rs 5 crore to Rs 50 crore. As per officials, the delay is eliciting inactions in the fields of education, health and garbage disposal. When the L-G invoked his powers by delegating more financial powers to the commissioner, the city government did not send h

RAIPUR : The Mungeli district authorities in Chhattisgarh are contacting people from the area who have migrated to other places in search of a livelihood through video calls and encouraging them to return to exercise their franchise in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Over 22,000 workers, away from their home districts, have been contacted. The vision remains to meet the mandate of the Election Commission under the Systematic Voters Education & Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme, but with a u

CHANDIGARH : Former Haryana unit president of Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) Nishan Singh is all set to join the Congress. This makes the fight on the Sisra (reserved) Lok Sabha seat in the state more interesting. Former Union minister and Ex-Haryana Congress unit president Kumari Selja is pitched against Ashok Tanwar of the BJP, who was earlier the state Congress chief. The JJP is the former coalition partner of the BJP in the state. Sources said Nishan Singh may join Congress on April 29 with his

DHARAMSHALA : A year ago, Namkyi left her home in Charo village, Tibet, embarking on a ten-day journey with her aunt Tsering Kyi, traversing both day and night until they crossed into Nepal and eventually reached India. Now 24 years old, Namkyi recounts her harrowing experience of being imprisoned for a year by Chinese authorities. They had apprehended her and her sister while peacefully protesting against the denial of their religious practices. She was a mere 15 years old at the time and endur

MANGALURU: The Dakshina Kannada district administration has put the border areas on alert in view of a bird flu outbreak in the neighbouring Kerala state. Department of Animal Husbandry deputy director Dr Arun Kumar Shetty said surveillance has been intensified at check posts at Jalsur in Sullia, Saradka in Bantwal and Talapady in Ullal to check the spread of the bird flu. The bird fever affects humans who work in farms and meat processing units. Dakshina Kannada supplies chicken to Kasargod dis

MYSURU: The Election Commission has ordered repolling at Indiganatha village in MM Hills police limits even as people have fled the village fearing police action for Fridays violence. Repolling will be held at the government lower primary school at Indiganatha on Monday between 7am and 6pm. The villagers, who boycotted polling in protest against lack of basic amenities at Indiganatha, had set fire to EVMs and furniture inside the booth and attacked election officials for forcing them to vote. Mo

NEW DELHI : Indian Railways will launch indigenously designed and developed Vande Metro trains and run more Amrit Bharat trains, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday. The Vande Metro train will have a very swift run between one major city to another covering a shorter distance of nearly 100 to 150 kms. Designed on the concept of European regional train, the first new train set of Vande Metro is likely to roll out from the railway manufacturing unit by July this year for test run on a s

NEW DELHI : After four months of removing the ban on onion exports, the Government of India has finally allowed the export of onions to six neighbouring countries. This decision comes one day after permitting Gujarat to export white onions to West Asian countries. The government has approved the export of 99,150 metric tons of onions to six neighbouring countries: Bangladesh, UAE, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. The National Cooperative Exports Limited, the designated agency for onion

KOLKATA : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her balance and fell while attempting to board a chopper in Durgapur, West Burdwan district, on Saturday. CM Banerjee slipped and fell while trying to take a seat on her helicopter. Her security personnel at the scene assisted her to her seat. The Trinamool chief reportedly suffered a minor injury, but was still able to proceed with her journey to Asansol. Mamata Banerjee was en route to Kulti for an election rally when the incident occur

NEW DELHI : Over 1,000 influential personalities belonging to the Sikh community, including members of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, joined the BJP on Saturday in the presence of BJP chief JP Nadda. Welcoming them at the party headquarters, Nadda said the party was honoured to welcome the community members. The BJP is the only party through which we can advance the unity, integrity and security of the country, Nadda said. Highlighting a slew of initiatives taken by the Modi governmen

PATNA : The ongoing war of words between the BJP and RJD heated up on Saturday when Bihars former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad said that BJP leaders were in a state of depression after the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modis two back-to-back rallies in Bihar on Friday, Tejashwi told the media that farmers, youth, women, students, businessmen and employees had come to know that it was difficult to get jobs and the problem of une

AHMEDABAD : Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that the BJP has secured its first victory in the Lok Sabha elections from the Surat constituency even before the counting of votes, attributing it to the foresightedness of the people of Gujarat. In 2014 and 2019, the wonderful people of Gujarat endorsed Narendra Modis leadership by giving all 26 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP. This time taking it a step further, even before the counting, people have ensured that the account has already bee

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shocked and embarrased by the controversy that erupted on the day of Lok Sabha election, the CPM leadership will take up the E P Jayarajan episode for discussion on Monday. The LDF conveners meeting with BJP leader Prakash Javadekar in the presence of controversial middleman T G Nandakumar has left the party in a spot. The CPM state and central leaderships are unhappy with the sudden development on the polling day. Jayarajan admitting about his meeting with Javadekar too was

GHAZIABAD: A 25-year-old engineering student was allegedly shot dead by the father of a woman he was in a relationship with, police said on Saturday. One Vipul, a BTech student, was shot dead in a flat in the Crossing Republic area around 3.30 am on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Vivek Chandra Yadav said. Accused Rajesh Kumar Singh retired from the Border Security Force (BSF) and is currently working for a private security company. The victim was allegedly in a relationship with t

DHARAMSALA: A year ago, Namkyi left her home in Charo village, Tibet, and walked continuously for 10 days and nights along with her aunt Tsering Kyi before crossing into Nepal and finally reaching India. Now 24, she recalls how she was imprisoned for a year at the age of 15 by Chinese authorities after she and her sister protested over not being allowed to practise their faith. I have left my family behind and crossed over to tell the world how difficult life is for us in Tibet. Human rights are

BHOPAL: Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj on Saturday said accountability was needed to be fixed in the now-scrapped electoral bonds (EB) scheme which had become a `big scam'. A petition seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team into the scheme was likely to come up before the Supreme Court next week, they told reporters here. In a landmark judgement, the apex court in February this year struck down the electoral bonds scheme, terming it unconstitutional. We wa

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced on Saturday that it has assumed control of the investigation into the murder of the 22-year-old son of BJP MLA Ishwar Sahu during an incident of communal violence in Chhattisgarhs Bemetara district last year. The agency has registered an FIR naming 12 individuals as accused. Bhuneshwar Sahu was killed in the violence that erupted in Biranpur village of the district on April 8, 2023, following an altercation between schoolchildren fro

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal filed his response on the EDs affidavit in the Supreme Court on Saturday and said that the mode, manner, and timing of his arrest just before the Lok Sabha elections had been announced and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) had come into play, spoke volumes about the arbitrariness of the ED. Kejriwal, in his rejoinder, a copy accessed by this Newspaper, filed in the top court, said that his arrest is a classic case of how the ruling party led central

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a swipe at former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, labelling his party as fake Shiv Sena and claiming that his father Bal Thackeray would be disheartend for aligning with INDIA bloc members Congress and the DMK. Addressing a public rally in Maharashtra's Kohlapur, Modi said that fake Shiv Sena was walking shoulder to shoulder with Congress and the DMK, which has abused Sanatan Dharma and that Bala Saheb must be upset seeing these activiti

USHAGRAM: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said there was o evidence of arms seizure in Sandeshkhali, asserting that CBI teams conducted searches without informing the state police. She expressed scepticism regarding the operations, stating that the recovered items might have been brought by officials of the central agency. If a firecracker goes off in Bengal, the NIA, CBI, NSG are coming to investigate. It seems that a war is going on. The state police were not informed.

Guwahati: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, stating that he could not fulfil even one of the many promises he had made. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Kharge took potshots at the PM saying Modiji promised sabka vikas (development of everyone) but what actually happened was sabka satyanash (annihilation of everyone). He had promised two crore jobs (annually). It was his guarantee. So, there should have been 20 cro

RANCHI: In a setback for former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi declined to grant him interim bail in a land scam case to attend his uncle's funeral. Soren had filed an application seeking 13-day interim release, but his request was turned down. The demise of Rajaram Soren, the elder brother of JMM Supreme Shibu Soren, occurred after a prolonged illness early on Saturday. On Wednesday, Soren had moved Supreme Court seeking relief in a money laundering case

BJP will change Constitution if it returns to power, PM Modi a mehengai' man: Priyanka Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday told the Supreme Court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has acted in a most highhanded manner in a money-laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. In a rejoinder to the ED's reply affidavit filed on his petition challenging his arrest in the case, Kejriwal said he has always cooperated with the investigation. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said the ED, in its reply affidavit filed in the apex court, has said t