National / Rediff
The Supreme Court of India has refused to interfere with a Madras High Court order quashing notices issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) against Isha Foundation, founded by Jaggi Vasudev. The notices were issued for alleged violation of environmental norms in the construction of a yoga and meditation center in Coimbatore. The court, however, emphasized that its order should not be seen as a precedent for regularizing illegal constructions and that Isha Foundation must comply
Financial liabilities are suspected to be the motive behind the gruesome mass murder in Kerala's Venjaramoodu, where a man allegedly killed his grandmother, brother, girlfriend, paternal uncle and the latter's wife. The accused, Afan (23), had a debt of over Rs 65 lakh and his family was on the brink of suicide due to the financial burden. The police are investigating all angles, including a possible drug connection.
'These beach shacks were meant to protect the employment of local Goans who in turn would showcase Goan cuisine and culture on the beaches of Goa.'
The Supreme Court has refused to hear a plea by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) challenging the temporary release of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The court noted that Singh's counsel objected to the maintainability of the PIL before the high court, which was disposed of on the ground that it was filed against a single person, Singh. The bench said it was not inclined to consider the present petition. Singh is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his
The trial incineration of 10 tonnes of waste from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, responsible for the 1984 gas tragedy, began on Friday afternoon in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. The process, ordered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, is expected to take 72 hours to complete. The waste includes soil, reactor residues, pesticide residues, and other materials. The State Pollution Control Board says the chemicals in the waste have become almost negligible and there is no presence of methyl isocyanat
A woman and her two daughters were found dead on the railway track near Kottayam, Kerala, on Friday morning. The deceased have been identified as Shiny Kuriakose (42), and her daughters, Aleena (11), and Ivana (10). According to police, they were struck by the Kottayam-Nilambur Road Express at 5.20 am. The Ettumanoor police have registered a case, and the bodies have been shifted to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital mortuary. Initial findings suggest family issues may have led to suicide.
A college in Madhya Pradesh's Indore has expelled four student leaders after they were found guilty of holding 150 people, including the female principal and professors, hostage for denial of permission to a Holi programme on the campus, its top official said on Friday.
A 30-year-old tech firm employee in Agra, India, has died by suicide, leaving behind a video accusing his wife of driving him to the extreme step. The incident bears striking similarities to the death of Atul Subhash in Bengaluru last December, where the techie also ended his life after recording a video alleging harassment by his estranged wife. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including allegations of abuse from both sides, after registering a case of abetme
Mumbai Traffic Police on Friday received a message from a Pakistani number, threatening to attack Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, officials said.
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has resolved her long-running defamation case with veteran screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar through mediation. Ranaut posted a photo with Akhtar on Instagram and said the cinema veteran was kind and gracious during the mediation process. Akhtar had claimed that Ranaut defamed and damaged his 'immaculate reputation' by dragging his name into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death in her interview with a news channel in July 2020.
BJP leader PC George was granted bail by a court in Kottayam, Kerala in a hate speech case. George had surrendered before the court on Monday and was remanded to police custody. The High Court had rejected his anticipatory bail plea, observing that granting bail would send the wrong message to society. George was accused of delivering a hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion. He was booked under sections 196(1)(a), 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and section
Fifty-seven labourers from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) were trapped under an avalanche near the border village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday. The avalanche buried a camp of the Border Roads Organisation between Mana and Badrinath, Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said. Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF have left for the spot amid continuing snowfall
The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea seeking directions on crowd management at the New Delhi railway station, following a stampede that resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people. The court questioned the claim of 200 deaths and suggested the petitioner approach the Delhi High Court.
The Allahabad high court on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to clean the premises of Jama Masjid in Sambhal but did not pass an order for whitewashing of the mosque.
Several places in Bihar were jolted by a 5.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal early on Friday, with tremors felt in Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and other bordering districts, officials said.
A 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station in Pune was arrested after a days-long manhunt. The accused, Dattaray Ramdas Gade, was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil. Police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down.
According to a parliamentary response by the Union health ministry in 2023, around 654,000 families in Delhi are eligible to enrol under the scheme.
'The present generation, either due to historical amnesia or political propaganda, has been fed a narrative that paints India as an adversary rather than an ally.'
South Central Railway has joined the rescue teams that are engaged in locating the eight persons who remain trapped in the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel for the past six days, with necessary equipment, a senior official said on Friday.
'After his warm and affectionate farewell speech, the Chief of Staff of the formation asked me, So, now you are off to Coorg to look after your coffee estates?' For the last time, in Army uniform and much to his surprise, I replied, Sir, I am not from Kodagu..'
A man who allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at Pune's Swargate bus station was detained in Shirur Tehsil on Friday, police said.
'Peninsular Indians could ask 'Why should we contribute half of India's tax revenues if we account for only a quarter of the seats in the Lok Sabha?'.' 'The rest of the country seems likely to counter that 'democracy means one vote per person irrespective of where that person resides in India'.' 'With no easy answers to this thorny debate, the south's economic ascendancy could end up creating a Hobson's choice.' A revealing excerpt from Nandita Rajhansa and Saurabh Mukherjea's book, Behold the L
The Rose Monday Parade is the highlight of Germany's carnival celebrations, particularly in cities like Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz.
On the 94th anniversary of the revolutionary giant's martyrdom, Utkarsh Mishra revisits the events of February 27, 1931.
Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Thursday said he was invited to speak at an Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee event via a video link when just minutes after his speech, a hacker infiltrated and began streaming explicit, inappropriate content.
The pani puri vendor is drawing attention with exclusive deals, including a lifetime unlimited pani puri offer for Rs 99,000 and a Rs 21,000 reward for anyone who can eat 151 pani puris in one sitting.
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a special Rs 10,000 bonus and the 'Maha Kumbh Seva Medal' for 75,000 police personnel who served during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath praised the police force's efforts in managing the grand religious event, highlighting the event's economic impact and the transformation of the UP Police into a Mitra Police. He also emphasized the state government's commitment to police welfare and infrastructure development, citing increas
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set an ambitious goal of winning over 215 seats in the 2026 state assembly elections, aiming to secure a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She declared that the party will work to significantly reduce the BJP's tally and ensure that their candidates struggle to retain their deposits. The TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, echoed this sentiment, urging party workers to ensure a decisive victory and achieve a
A Delhi court has sought the trial records of the 26/11 terror attack from a Mumbai court ahead of the expected extradition of the crime's alleged mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India from the US. The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for Rana's extradition, dismissing his final legal challenge against the move.
Delhi University (DU) has informed the Delhi High Court that it is willing to show its records on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to the court, but not disclose it to strangers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The university's solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, argued that the ight to privacy superseded the ight to know in this case, and that allowing disclosure would expose the university to RTI applications for information about lakhs of its students. The court has reserved its
The first round of trial incineration of 10 tonnes of waste connected to the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy has begun in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, amid tight security. The Supreme Court refused to intervene in the MP High Court's order directing the transfer and disposal of waste at a private company-operated plant in Pithampur. The trial incineration is being conducted in the presence of scientists from the central and state pollution control boards. Protesters have expressed apprehensions about harm
BJP MLA Michael Lobo claims that the sale of idli-sambar in beach shacks is contributing to a decline in international tourists visiting Goa. He attributes the issue to the influx of businessmen from other places, including Bengaluru, who are operating food stalls in the shacks. Lobo also cites other factors impacting tourism, such as the war in Ukraine, the lack of younger foreign tourists, and conflict between cab aggregators and local taxi operators.
The Chinese Defence Ministry has stated that the Indian and Chinese militaries are implementing the resolutions to end the standoff in eastern Ladakh in a compressive and effective manner. This follows the disengagement process completed late last year after a pact for troop withdrawal from Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh. The disengagement has paved the way for the resumption of various dialogue mechanisms between the two countries, with the aim of normalizin
A Class 3 student in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly suffered a severe eye injury, leading to the loss of vision in one eye. The student's mother has accused the school principal of causing the injury, while the principal denies the allegations and claims the injury occurred due to an accidental elbow strike by a classmate. Authorities have initiated an inquiry into the incident.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar faced criticism from within the party for his participation in Mahashivaratri celebrations in Tamil Nadu, which was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Shivakumar defended his attendance, asserting his Hindu faith while emphasizing his respect for all religions. He also clarified that he had not met Amit Shah and refuted claims of aligning himself with the BJP.
Pahalwan, who won the recent assembly polls from Najafgarh defeating AAP's Tarun Kumar by over 29,000 votes, claimed on the floor of Delhi Assembly that the renaming effort has been in the works for a long time.
Neelam Shinde from Maharashtra's Satara was critically injured in the accident on February 14 and has been in a coma at a hospital since then.
A Thane resident allegedly bit off a part of his friend's ear and even swallowed it after the two got into an argument at a party. The incident occurred in a posh housing society in the Patlipada area on Wednesday morning. The victim, Shravan Leekha (37), said that he and the accused, Vikas Menon (32), were partying with friends when the two got into an altercation. Menon suddenly became violent and bit off a part of his ear and swallowed it, alleged Leekha. Police have booked Menon for voluntar
The Maha Kumbh had already passed on Purnima. What is currently happening is the 'Sarkari Kumbh. The real Kumbh takes place in the month of Magh. The full moon of the Magh month had passed, and all the 'Kalpavasi' who were at the Kumbh had already left after the Purnima of Magh month, Shankaracharya said.
The Uttar Pradesh government has said that over 65 crore people visited the sacred site in Prayagraj since the Maha Kumbh began on January 13.
US President Donald Trump has shared his development plan for Gaza via an AI-generated video on social media.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has reiterated the state's opposition to Hindi imposition by the Centre, calling it a 'mask' for Sanskrit. He also claimed that the National Education Policy (NEP) is being used to promote Sanskrit in many states, and that the Centre is trying to do away with languages like Tamil and impose Sanskrit. Stalin's statement comes amid growing concerns over the alleged imposition of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states.
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
Pune Police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of a history-sheeter who allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a state transport bus at the Swargate bus station. The accused, Dattatray Ramdas Gade (37), is on the run since the incident which took place on early Tuesday morning. He has half a dozen cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district, and was out on bail since 2019 in one of the o
Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the TBM that is struck inside will be cut into pieces by using gas cutters and removed. After this, the Army, Navy, Rat Miners and NDRF teams will make another serious effort to rescue the eight persons who are missing, without compromising their own safety.
Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting of his second term, featuring a controversial appearance by Elon Musk, who stood wearing a ech support T-shirt.
The Congress party has criticized the Modi government for appointing Dr Shaija A, a professor at NIT-Calicut, as Dean despite a pending police case against her for allegedly praising Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin. The party alleges this appointment is part of a larger pattern by the government to appropriate Gandhi, glorify Godse. The appointment has sparked protests from political parties, including DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M). Shaija was questioned by police last year after
'Why should children, who are already burdened with so many subjects, be over-burdened with three languages?'
Anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, then we'll throw them out of here, Trump said
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates India's largest airport, dismissed the expert committee report as inaccurate, claiming it relied on probabilities, hypothesis, and conjectures rather than empirical data or complete documentation.