National / The Sen Times
Patna, Mar 19 (PTI) JD(U) national general secretary Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi on Tuesday resigned from the party, triggering speculations that the former Union minister might be eyeing a return to the RJD. In a hand-written letter addressed to the JD(U) national president, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Fatmi said he was giving up the party post as well as the primary membership for protecting my moral values. Talking to PTI over phone, he said, I have quit JD(U) and do not wish to say much
Ranchi, March 19 (PTI) In a blow to the JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), Jama MLA Sita Soren tendered her resignation from the party on Tuesday, citing allegations of being sidelined along with her family. In her resignation letter addressed to the partys supremo and her father-in-law, Shibu Soren, Sita expressed her grievances, stating that following the demise of her husband, Durga Soren, the party failed to provide adequate support to her and her family. Sita lamented and said she was feeling ne
Vadodara, Mar 19 (PTI) Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ketan Inamdar on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the state assembly, saying he listened to his inner voice and that nothing is being than self-respect. Inamdar also said his move was not a pressure tactic and that he will work to ensure the victory of BJP candidate Ranjan Bhatt from Vadodara seat in the upcoming parliamentary polls. The three-term MLA from Savli seat in Vadodara district submitted
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought personal appearance of Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna before it in the contempt proceedings relating to advertising of the companys products and their medicinal efficacy. A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah took strong exception to the failure of the company and Balkrishna in filing replies to the courts notices issued to them earlier to show why contempt proceedings be no
SINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) Pakistan remained one of the worlds three smoggiest countries in 2023, as Bangladesh and India replaced Chad and Iran, with particulate matter about 15 times the level recommended by the World Health Organization, data published on Tuesday showed. Average concentrations of PM2.5 small airborne particles that damage the lungs reached 79.9 micrograms per cubic metre in Bangladesh in 2023, and 73.7 micrograms in Pakistan. The WHO recommends no more than 5 micrograms
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a plea of the Tamil Nadu government against the refusal of Governor RN Ravi to appoint senior DMK leader K Ponmudi as a minister in the state cabinet. The governor has recently refused to re-induct the senior DMK leader and former Higher Education Minister into the state cabinet, saying it would be against constitutional morality. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took
Hyderabad/Puducherry, Mar 18 (PTI) Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has tendered her resignation, the Raj Bhavan here said on Monday. Tamilisai, who is also the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, has submitted her resignation to Droupadi Murmu, President of India. The Honble Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan has tendered her resignation with immediate effect. The resignation has been submitted to the Honourable President of India, an
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday directed the SBI (State Bank of India) to make a complete disclosure of all details related to electoral bonds, including the unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party, by Thursday. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said there is no manner of doubt that the SBI is required to disclose complete details of the bonds. It directed the SBI chairman to fi
Patna, Mar 16 (PTI) The ruling NDA is locked in a straight battle, in Bihar, with the Mahagathbandhan that it had trounced five years ago when at least two constituents of the BJP-led coalition were with the opposition alliance. Besides relative lightweights Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha, the BJP has among its allies Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is past his prime but remains formidable. As of now, the BJP also enjoys the loyalty of squabbling factions of the now-extinct LJP, headed b
Chicago, Mar 16 (The Conversation) By harnessing light, my colleagues and I designed a wireless, ultrathin pacemaker that operates like a solar panel. This design not only eliminates the need for batteries but also minimizes disruptions to the hearts natural function by molding to its contours. Our research, recently published in the journal Nature, offers a new approach to treatments that require electrical stimulation, such as heart pacing. Pacemakers are medical devices implanted in the body
Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), March 16, 2024: People who sleep less than six hours every night may have a 16% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes even when they eat healthily, research suggests. An analysis of data from nearly 250,000 UK adults suggests people sleeping between three and four hours a night may have a 41% higher risk of developing the condition, compared with those who get more than seven hours, while five hours or so of sleep was associated with a 16% higher risk. The researcher
New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Retired bureaucrat Navneet Kumar Sehgal has been appointed as the new Prasar Bharati chairman, a post that had been vacant for four years. Sehgal succeeds A Surya Prakash, whose term ended in February 2020 after he turned 70, the upper age limit for a person holding the post. the President, on the recommendation of the Selection Committee, is pleased to appoint Shri Navneet Kumar Sehgal, IAS (retd) as the Chairman of the Prasar Bharati Board with effect from the date of h
New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in two complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate against him for skipping summons in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra also allowed Kejriwal to leave the courtroom. Offence being bailable, accused Arvind Kejriwal is admitted to bail, it said. The court further directed the ED to hand over
New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) The State Bank of India is duty bound and has to disclose the unique alpha numeric numbers of the electoral bonds received by political parties, the Supreme Court said on Friday while seeking a response from the bank for not doing so. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the apex court in its verdict on electoral bonds case had directed the disclosure of all the details of bonds, including the purchaser, amount and date of purchase. All details
NEW DELHI, 15, 2024 (Reuters) Some of Indias biggest companies, including Vedanta Ltd, Bharti Airtel, RPSG Group and Essel Mining were among the countrys top political funders over the last five years under a now-scrapped opaque political funding system, official data showed on Thursday. The information was made public by the Election Commission of India following an order on Monday from the countrys top court, just days before a national election is due to be called. The political funding mech
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI): The Assam government has decided to hike the dearness allowance by 4 per cent for its employees and pensioners on the occasion of Rongali Bihu in April, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday. The increase in DA will be effective from January 1, and the arrears of the first three months will be paid in instalments in May, June and July respectively, Sarma said at a press conference here. The DA hike will benefit around four lakh government employees and 3.5
London (AP): Artificial intelligence is supercharging the threat of election disinformation worldwide, making it easy for anyone with a smartphone and a devious imagination to create fake but convincing content aimed at fooling voters. It marks a quantum leap from a few years ago, when creating phony photos, videos or audio clips required teams of people with time, technical skill and money. Now, using free and low-cost generative artificial intelligence services from companies like Google and
New Delhi (Reuters): Behind the doors of a small, non-descript office in the heart of New Delhi lies the headquarters of an electoral trust run by just two men that is the largest-known donor to Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to a Reuters review of public records. The Prudent Electoral Trust has raised $272 million since its creation in 2013, funnelling roughly 75% of that to Prime Minister Narendra Modis party. The trusts donations to the BJP total 10 times as much as the
New Delhi (Reuters): Police in the Indian capital put up barricades, stepped up security and warned of traffic congestion on Thursday as thousands of protesting farmers were due to arrive for a rally in support of their demand for higher crop prices. Thousands of farmers began a Delhi Chalo (Lets go to Delhi) march last month to demand higher guaranteed prices for their crops but were stopped by police armed with tear gas and water cannons about 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital, where the
New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI) Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Wednesday announced five guarantees for women, including annual direct cash transfers of Rs 1 lakh to one woman from each of the countrys poorest families and 50 per cent quota in all new recruitments in central government jobs. In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party has announced the Nari Nyay guarantee, under which it is going to set a new agenda for the countrys women. Kharge said prior to this
NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) India this week implemented the contentious 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), sparking sporadic protests and a war of words between Prime Minister Narendra Modis government and opposition groups weeks before national elections are held. Here is a look at the law, its implications and the concerns surrounding it. WHAT IS THE CAA? The CAA fast-tracks citizenship for persecuted Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India before Dec. 31
Bhubaneswar, Mar 12 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced casual leave of 25 days in a year for women employees working in different departments of the state government. The women employees would now get an additional 10 days of CL taking their total CL in a year to 25 days, an official said. An official release issued by the Chief Ministers Office said Patnaik took this decision keeping in mind the family responsibilities and various problems of women. The state govern
Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], March 12 (ANI): Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Kurukshetra MP, OBC leader and Haryana BJP Chief Nayab Singh Saini, will be Haryanas next Chief Minister. Making the announcement after a meeting of the BJP legislators in Chandigarh, Haryana BJP MLA Krishan Lal Middha says, Nayab Singh Saini to be next CM of Haryana. All people are now going to meet the Governor. The BJP and its allies, 6 independent MLAs will now meet the governor. The new Chief Minister is expected
Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), March 12, 2024: Diabetes patients might benefit from adding non-starchy vegetables to their diet to control high blood sugar. Cucumber is a non-starchy vegetable, as its absolutely packed full of soluble fibre, its been claimed. Soluble fibre helps to slow down digestion, which means patients are less likely to have sudden blood sugar spikes. All non-starchy vegetables which includes cucumber contain soluble fibre, and you can never have enough of them. Medical website
Guwahati, Mar 12 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that he will be the first to resign if one person, who has not applied for National Register of Citizens (NRC), gets citizenship. His comment comes after protests erupted across Assam with opposition parties flaying the BJP government at the Centre for implementing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) on Monday, paving the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakist
New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI): Chastising the SBI, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered it to disclose the details of the electoral bonds encashed by political parties to the Election Commission by the close of the business hours on March 12 and warned the countrys largest public sector lender that the court may proceed against it for wilful disobedience if it failed to comply with its directions and deadlines. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, while dismissing th
New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will consider submission for early listing of a petition seeking to restrain the Centre from appointing new election commissioners as per a 2023 law, the provisions of which have already been challenged in the apex court. Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandeys retirement. Send an email. We will see, said the bench comprising Chief Jus
New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to restrain the Centre from appointing new election commissioners as per a 2023 law, the provisions of which have been challenged in the apex court. Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandeys retirement. The plea has been filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who has challenged the provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner a
New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the State Bank of Indias plea seeking extension of time and directed it to furnish the details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission by close of business hours on March 12. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud also directed the EC to publish the details shared by the bank on its official website by 5 pm on March 15. During the hearing, the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Kha
New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday asked the State Bank of India to apprise it about the steps taken so far to ensure disclosure of details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties before the scheme was scrapped last month. Commencing the crucial hearing, the bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said it had asked the SBI to do a plain disclosure as per the courts judgment. In a landmark verdict delivered on February 15, a five-
New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) The Congress Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of maintaining studied silence on issues that matter and targeted him over the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, MSP guarantee for farmers and the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against a BJP MP by women wrestlers. The opposition partys criticism came just ahead of Modis visit to Haryana on Monday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of development projects. In a post on X, Congress general secr
US President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hurting Israel more than helping Israel in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza. The US leader expressed support for Israels right to pursue Hamas after the October 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken. Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mount
ATLANTA (AP) President Joe Biden said Saturday that he regretted using the term illegal during his State of the Union address to describe the suspected killer of Laken Riley, as his all-but-certain 2024 GOP rival, Donald Trump, blasted the Democrats immigration policies and blamed them for her death at a rally attended by the Georgia nursing students family and friends. Biden expressed remorse after facing frustration from some in his party for the use of the term to describe people who arrived
New Delhi, March 9 (PTI) A day after a Delhi Police sub-inspector was suspended for kicking people offering namaz in Inderlok, security personnel remain deployed to maintain law and order in the area, officials said. At least three companies of paramilitary along with the local police will continue to be deployed in Inderlok and its nearby areas in north Delhi on Saturday, they said. Official sources said the senior police officers also held meetings with the members of a peace committee to calm
New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the Lok Sabha polls from Keralas Wayanad again, the party announced on Friday as it released its first list of 39 candidates. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal will contest from Alappuzha (Kerala), former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, Jyotsna Mahant from Korba, Tamradhwaj Sahu from Mahasamund and Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram. Venugopal said the list has 15 general category candidates
New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The Delhi Police on Friday suspended a sub-inspector for allegedly kicking a few people offering namaz on a road in north Delhis Inderlok area on Friday, police said. The incident happened during the Asar ki namaz around 2 pm near Inderlok Metro Station. Locals in response blocked the road and demanded action against the policeman, which led to stepping up of security in the area to maintain law and order situation. The act was purportedly caught in a video that has since
NEW DELHI, March 8 (Reuters) India said it had uncovered a major human trafficking network which lured young men to Russia with the promise of jobs only to force them to fight in the war in Ukraine. About 35 men have been sent to Russia in the scheme so far, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said late on Thursday, an increase from the 20 men that the Indian foreign ministry had earlier mentioned. At least two men who went to Russia expecting to work as helpers in the army have died whil
CAIRO, March 8, 2024 (AP) Over 230 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation, most of whom live in Africa, according to a report issued on Friday by the United Nations childrens agency. In the last eight years, some 30 million people have undergone the procedure, in which external genitalia are partially or fully removed, UNICEF estimated in the report, which was released on International Womens Day. The percentage of women and girls who experience female genital mutilati
March 8, 2024: We breathe, eat and drink tiny particles of plastic. But are these minuscule specks in the body harmless, dangerous or somewhere in between? A small study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine raises more questions than it answers about how these bits microplastics and the smaller nanoplastics might affect the heart. The Italian study has weaknesses, but is likely to draw attention to the debate over the problem of plastic pollution. Most plastic waste is ne
WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden delivered a defiant argument for a second term in his State of the Union speech Thursday night, lacing into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing resentment, revenge and retribution and for jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad. Reveling in the political moment, Biden fired multiple broadsides at my predecessor without ever mentioning Trump by name 13 times in all raising his voice repeatedly as he worked to quell voter concerns about his age and jo
Jaipur, Mar 7 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said 30 lakh vacant government posts will be filled and youths provided apprenticeships, if his party is voted to power in the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a rally in Rajasthans Banswara as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, he also assured that a law would be enacted to curb government recruitment examination question paper leaks. The former Congress chief also promised a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops to farmers,
NEW DELHI, March 7, 2024 (AP) Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday is making his first official visit to Kashmirs main city since New Delhi stripped the disputed regions semi-autonomy and took direct control of it in 2019. Thousands of armed paramilitary troops and police in flak jackets maintained extra vigilance across the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of the rebellion against Indian rule over the majority-Muslim territory where many residents strongly favor independence or a merge
Charleston, South Carolina, March 6 (Reuters): Nikki Haley ended her long-shot challenge to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Wednesday, ensuring the former president will be the partys candidate in a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in Novembers election. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trumps ambassador to the United Nations when he was president, made the announcement in a speech in Charleston a day after Super Tuesday, opens new tab, when Trum
New Delhi, March 6 (Reuters): Dozens of protesting Indian farmers were detained en route to New Delhi on Wednesday, forcing them to call off their plan to converge on the capital in their demand for higher crop prices, protest leaders said. Thousands of farmers, mostly from the northern state of Punjab, launched a Delhi Chalo (Lets go to Delhi) march last month demanding higher guaranteed prices for their produce but were stopped by police about 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital. Protest l
Hubballi, Mar 6 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar claimed on Wednesday several leaders from opposition parties will be joining the ruling Congress in the coming days, and that he does not want to divulge the secret now. He also did not rule out the possibility of rebel BJP MLAs S T Somashekar and Arabail Shivaram Hebbar joining Congress. Why take just two-three names? Shivakumar asked reporters here, in response to a question on whether Somashekar and Hebbar are joining the Co
Rudrapur, Uttarakhand March 6, 2024: Even people whose physical activity levels fall short of recommended guidelines, but who manage to do some during their leisure time, are likely to have a lower risk of stroke than their sedentary peers, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. While international guidelines recommend 150 minutes or more a week of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 minutes or mo
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 6 (ANI): TMC MP Saugata Roy on Wednesday accused former Calcutta HC Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay of working for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while sitting on the chair of the Judge and said that he has no value. Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who stepped down as a Judge of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday announced that he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party. When he was in the position of the Judge at that time also he was with the BJP and working for them. Sit
New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI): The income tax department on Tuesday allowed trusts and institutions, which filed audit reports for the assessment year 2023-24 in incorrect forms, to file documents in correct forms by March 31. Income of any fund or institution or trust or any university or other educational institution or any hospital is exempt from income tax subject to fulfilment of certain conditions. One of the conditions required to be fulfilled by the trust or institution in order to be eligible
Kolkata, Mar 5 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered transfer of the probe into an attack on Enforcement Directorate officials at Sandeshkhali on January 5 from the West Bengal Police to the CBI. The court also directed that the custody of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency. A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed that the directions be comp
New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre over the State Bank of India moving the Supreme Court to seek more time to disclose electoral bond details, alleging that the Modi government is using the largest bank of the country as a shield to hide its dubious dealings. The State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. In its verdict last month, the top c