RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday inaugurated a unique Pandum Cafe at the divisional headquarters in Jagdalpur in the Bastar region to provide employment opportunities to former Maoists who have surrendered. After the inauguration, the Chief Minister interacted with the hired enthusiastic team who began a new chapter of hope and reintegration after returning to the social mainstream. Pandum Cafe is an inspiring symbol of the positive change underway in Bastars ongoing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, by a 2:1 majority, recalled its May 16 judgment that had barred the Union government from granting retrospective environmental clearances (ECs) to projects found to be in violation of environmental norms. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice K Vinod Chandran delivered three separate verdicts on a batch of nearly 40 review and modification pleas filed against the Vanshakti judgment. The May 16 verdict had prohibited the Ministr

MODASA: A newborn baby, a doctor and two other persons were charred to death when an ambulance they were travelling in caught fire near Modasa town in Gujarat's Arvalli district in the wee hours of Tuesday, police said. The blaze erupted in the ambulance on Modasa-Dhansura road at around 1 am when the one-day-old boy, who was sick after birth, was being taken to a private hospital in Ahmedabad from a Modasa-based hospital for further treatment, police inspector DB Vala said. The child, his fathe

KOLKATA: The Election Commission is set to introduce artificial intelligence-based verification systems during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal to prevent the inclusion of fake or deceased voters, a senior official said on Tuesday. By analysing facial similarities across photographs in the voter database, the AI system will help identify individuals registered at multiple locations. We are taking the help of AI because of a rise in the number of

A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Tuesday. The exchange of fire broke out in the morning on a forested hill under Errabor police station limits when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation based on inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the area, a police official said. So far, the body of one Naxalite has been recovered from the spot, he said. An intermittent gunfight was underway, and further deta

PATNA: Tej Pratap Yadav, the chief of Janshakti Janta Dal and elder son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, has come out in support of his sister, Rohini Acharya, following her recent public allegations of humiliation by her brother Tejashwi Yadav and aide, Sanjay Yadav, stating Jaichands will have to pay the price and face the consequences. The former Bihar minister, who lost the election from Mahua assembly seat, voiced his sentiments in support of his sister Rohini Acharya in a post on his X handle,

SRINAGAR/CHANDIGARH: The conspirators of the Red Fort blast in Delhi were planning to weaponise drones with explosives and rockets, officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Monday, a day after arresting a key associate of alleged suicide bomber Dr Umar un Nabi. The agency arrested Jasir Bilal Wani, alias Danish, from Srinagar saying that he was an active co-conspirator. The multi-state, multi-agency investigation into the attack continued on Monday, with investigators taking

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at 25 locations in Delhi NCR in connection with its probe into the November 10 Delhi blast. The premises raided include those linked to the terror-tainted Al-Falah University and individuals associated with the institution. The ED operation forms part of an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities, the use of shell companies, accommodation entities, and money laundering, the central agency said in a press release. Nine s

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at 25 locations in Delhi and Faridabad in connection with its probe into the November 10 Delhi blast. The premises raided include those linked to the terror-tainted Al-Falah University and individuals associated with the institution , ANI reported. The central agency has registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate alleged financial irregularities involving the university. The institution had

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government not to exceed the 50% reservation policy in local body elections that are scheduled for next month, warning to stay the polls if the quota limits are breached. The SC was hearing a batch of pleas concerning the Maharashtra governments decision to implement a fresh OBC reservation matrix for local body elections based on the Banthia Commissions findings. The Maharashtra government had set up the Banthia Commission to carry ou

PATNA: The RJD claimed on Monday that its Raghopur MLA Tejashwi Prasad Yadav would serve as the LoP in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, aswith 25 MLAsthe party has a little over 10% of the strength of the 243-member House. A party is required to have 10% of the total strength to have its member recognised as LoP. In this case. A decision to this effect was taken at RJDs legislature party meeting convened at 1 Polo Road residence of Tejashwi to review debacle of RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in the Asse

PATNA: Sanjay Yadav, 41, has long been a surging presence in the RJD. In recent weeks, his name has surfaced at the centre of the turbulence in the first family of the partys founder and former CM, Lalu Prasad. Matters came to a head on Saturday, when Lalus daughter Rohini Acharya publicly quit politics and severed ties with the household, blaming Sanjay. A post-graduate in computer science from Mahendragarh, Haryana, Sanjay worked as a software engineer in Delhi before meeting Tejashwi in 2012.

LUCKNOW: Rameez Nemat, referred to by Lalu Prasads daughter Rohini Acharya during her public criticism of her brother Tejashwi Yadav and the family, has a strong connection to Uttar Pradesh. He hails from Bhangha Kalan village in Balrampur district and is the son-in-law of former MP Rizwan Zaheer. Local records show he has around 12 criminal cases registered against him, two of which were quashed, and he was jailed in a 2022 murder case. He is currently out on bail, and the court order in that c

In a move aimed at protecting local aquatic life, the Jharkhand Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, has officially declared Desi Magur (Clarias magur) as the State Fish. The decision is in line with the recommendations from ICARNational Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICARNBFGR), which identified the Clarias magur as an emblematic species deserving of state recognition. Native to Jharkhands rivers, ponds, and wetlands, the hardy, air-breathing catfish is expected to help promote susta

Chhattisgarh is celebrating the silver jubilee of its formation this year. The BJP has governed the tribal state for most of this period. In an interview with TNIE , Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai discusses his governments achievements and the developmental challenges that persist. Excerpts: Looking at the next 25 years, what is your boldest vision for Chhattisgarh in 2050? Earlier, our people faced the dire issue of hunger. People relied solely on traditional sources for their livelihoods, such

BHOPAL: TMC MP and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjees nephew Abhishek Banerjee has been granted relief by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a defamation case filed against him in 2021 by former Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya. A single-judge bench of the MP High Court in Jabalpur has stayed the arrest warrant issued against Banerjee by the Bhopal MP/MLA cases Court for non-appearance in during the trial of the defamation case. While staying the arrest warrant on Monday, Justice Pramod Kuma

BHOPAL: A youth from Bihar, working as a labourer in Madhya Pradeshs Guna district, was allegedly murdered by two men following a verbal spat over the assembly polls results of their home state. Acting in the matter, the Guna district police arrested both the accused, identified as the youth's uncle Toofani (35), and coworker Rajesh (29) within an hour. All the three men, including the deceased and two accused, hail from Sheohar district of Bihar. The duo allegedly murdered 22-year-old Shankar M

NEW DELHI: In a dramatic turn in the NEET-UG fake-certificate scandal in the Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Monday confronted the State with a pointed question, Wouldnt a higher-merit student get heartburn seeing a lower-merit candidate get a better seat?, but it refused to entertain a plea, citing risk of 'creating chaos.' The query came from a Bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice N.V. Anjaria, which heard the urgent plea of 18-year-old Jiya Jai

JAIPUR: Ending an agonizing 11-day wait for the family, the body of Ajit Chaudhary, an MBBS student from Laxmangarh in Rajasthan's Alwar district, arrived in India from Russia on Monday morning. A medical board conducted a re-postmortem soon after the body reached Alwar, and the funeral was finally conducted. Ajits body arrived at Delhi airport at around 4:05 AM and was taken to Alwar District Hospital by 9 AM. Although a post-mortem had already been conducted in Russia, the family requested ano

Observing that the vacancies in the Information Commissioner posts undermine the functioning of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Supreme Court on Monday directed Himachal Pradesh to fill all vacant posts in its State Information Commission (SIC) within two months. It also instructed Jharkhand to complete its long-pending appointment process within one month. A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Surya Kant and including Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a petition file

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Bihar election results have taught a lesson that the aspirations of the people from the government are very high and they trust political parties with good intentions. Delivering the sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture, Modi said be it the central government or state governments led by regional parties, their primary focus should be development. The results of the Bihar elections have once again taught a lesson on the high aspirations and ambit

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh police on Sunday arrested Hamud Ahmad Siddiqui, brother of Al-Falah University founder-chairman Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, in connection with three cases lodged over two decades ago. Hamud was arrested by the Mhow Police from Hyderabad on Sunday and later taken to Indore. According to police, 50-year-old Hamud has been accused in four cases: one dating back to 1988, which pertained to rioting and attempted murder, and three cases on alleged investment fraud registered in 20

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an advisory requesting people to beware of fraudulent investment schemes, fake job offers and other online scams. The I4C under the MHA stated in the advisory that, in most of such advertisements, scamsters use deepfake videos to misguide the users leading to devastating financial losses for victims across the country who could be deceived by convincing visuals, false claims and professional-looking online pages. The advisory also hi

GUWAHATI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday ordered Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam which is expected to go to elections in March or April next year. The Commission has directed a Special Revision u/s 21 of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1950 with reference to 01.01.2026 as the qualifying date in the State of Assam, the Commission instructed Assams Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The SR stands between the annual special summary revision and the Special Inte

NEW DELHI: Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday said that relations between India and China have improved a lot over the last year. He attributed this change to a rise in communication at various levels between the two countries. General Dwivedi said, I would like to say that there has been a lot of change in the last year. From October 2024 to today, there has been a lot of improvement in our relations. The Army Chief was speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue Curtain Raiser e

NEW DELHI: Voicing serious concern and displeasure over the sale of liquor in tetra packs, which might make it easily accessible to school-going children, the Supreme Court on Monday criticised State governments for prioritising revenue over public health. The sale of liquor in tetra packs may provide easy access to school-going children and, deceptive in appearance, may go unnoticed by parents as well, observed the two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Ba

NEW DELHI: In the suo motu case of digital arrest scams, the Supreme Court on Monday, in an unusual and rare decision, restrained the release from jail of the persons accused of duping a 73-year-old woman Advocate-on-Record. It was pointed out to the court that the accused in the woman AoR's case might be released soon, as the 90-day period is about to expire, then the bench passed its order restraining the accused's release. The top court's two-judge bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant and Just

RANCHI: Days after Mahagathbandhans rout in Bihar Assembly polls, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is now mulling to review of the alliance with Congress and RJD in Jharkhand. The RJD and Congress did not coordinate with the JMM during the Bihar Assembly elections; both parties underestimated the JMM, said JMM General Secretary Vinod Pandey. Notably, despite being a key coalition partner in the Bihar Assembly elections, the RJD did not concede a single seat to the JMM, and Congress remained silent o

After the Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj buried the hatchet, the bonhomie has now extended to their sons. Uddhav's son Aditya Thackeray has come out in support of Raj's son Amit Thackeray against whom a case was filed for unlawful assembly and forceful unveiling of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Nerul in Navi Mumbai. Sixty MNS workers were also charged in the case. Reacting to the FIR, Amit Thackeray said he is ready to face 100 FIRs for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He said that

NEW DELHI: For the second time, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation case, the agency said on Monday. Ambani had requested the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record his statement through virtual means after the agency issued a summons for Foreign Exchange Management Act violation for Friday. ED had rejected Ambanis offer and issued him a fresh summons for Monday. The probe pertains to m

KOLKATA: The face-off between West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose and Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee continued on Monday with the former asking the Kolkata Police to conduct search operations inside the Raj Bhavan premises to find out whether arms and ammunition have been stored there. Bose took this unprecedented move to counter Kalyans claim that the Governor had been sheltering BJP goons and supplying them with arms and ammunition to kill Trinamool workers. The veteran MP from Sreeram

AHMEDABAD: With 42-year-old farmer, Shailesh Devjibhai Savaliya, from Junagadh turning out to be the fifth farmer to die by suicide in just one month, Gujarats Saurashtra is reeling under a grim wave of agrarian despair. Unseasonal rains, failed crops, and crushing debt have triggered a chain of tragedies, exposing the widening cracks in the States rural crisis despite government relief claims. Savaliya's suicide tightens the noose of fear that already hangs heavy over the countryside. It comes

NEW DELHI: Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women globally, claims over 3,50,000 lives each year, said the WHO on Monday. Marking the first World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it is a disease that already has the tools to be eliminated. In 2018, I was proud to launch the global call to action on cervical cancer elimination, and I'm even prouder now to see what was once a distant dream becoming a reality, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghe

LUCKNOW: Senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan and his son, Abdullah Azam, were sentenced to seven years in a dual PAN card case by the MP/MLA Court in Rampur on Monday. Advocate Sandip Saxena, while providing details, stated that the court convicted both leaders after finding them guilty in the case involving two fake PAN cards of Abdullah Azam Khan. The order was delivered under sections of forgery, fraud, and criminal conspiracy. The Rampur MP/MLA court also imposed a fine of Rs 50

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to revoke the appointment of an interlocutor for Darjeeling. This comes exactly 29 days after her first letter on 18 October. The Centre had appointed former deputy national security adviser Pankaj Kumar Mishra as 'interlocutor and government representative' on the issue of 'Darjeeling, the Dooars and the Terai', prompting the chief minister to oppose the move. In her se

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Rajasthan authorities for their failure to control pollution in the Jojari River, saying the suffering that has been caused to two million people was unbelievable. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a suo motu case concerning contamination of the Jojari River water. The harsh reality that is going on at the spot is alarming, the bench said, adding, The suffering which has been caused to the people is unbelievable. It w

A 23-year-old woman, Misba Sheikh, was strangled to death by her husband inside their rented home in Vadodaras Tandalja area. The couple has a six-month-old baby. Police arrested the husband, Qasim Shabbirbhai Sheikh, within hours and launched a detailed probe into the domestic-violence-driven murder. According to the police, the couples constant disputes over childcare and Qasims unemployment had created mounting tension in the household. Investigators revealed that Qasim claimed Misba often sc

SRINAGAR: The Centre promised to make Jammu and Kashmir safe, but its policies made Delhi unsafe, said PDP supremo and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, referring to the recent blast in the national capital which claimed 13 lives and left several injured. She urged the Centre to revisit its Jammu and Kashmir policy. She urged the government to open the doors of dialogue to heal the wounds of people. You told the world, everything is fine in Kashmir. But you saw Kashmir's problem echoed in fr

New Delhi: Air India on Monday announced the resumption of its non-stop flights between Delhi and Shanghaifrom February 1, 2026, marking Air Indias return to mainland China after nearly six years. Air India also intends to introduce non-stop flights between Mumbai and Shanghai next year, subject to regulatory approvals. An official release said Air India will operate four times a weekbetween Delhi and Shanghai using its twin-aisle Boeing 787-8 aircraft, featuring 18 flat beds in Business Class a

NEW DELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Monday alleged that Kashmiri students across several northern states are facing profiling, eviction and intimidation in the aftermath of the Red Fort blast in Delhi, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly intervene to call off the vilification of the community. Addressing a press conference here, JKSA National Convenor Nasir Khuehami said a particular community is being targeted after the attack, claiming that Kashmiri s

KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose will lead a team of security personnel, who would carry out a search operation at the Raj Bhavan on Monday in the wake of allegations by a TMC MP that arms and ammunition were stacked within its premises, an official said. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee had on Saturday accused Bose of sheltering BJP criminals inside the Raj Bhavan and arming them with bombs and guns. The entire Raj Bhavan will be searched by a joint team of the Kolkata Police

JAIPUR: Amid rising incidents of petrol and diesel theft from army vehicles, the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner district has issued a strict warning that those caught stealing fuel from military vehicles could be shot. The orderan unusually severe stepcomes after several large-scale thefts were reported over the past few days, triggering serious security concerns. According to officials, armed security has been increased at night to monitor suspicious movement around the range. Local acco

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed strong displeasure and issued a contempt notice to the Telangana Speaker for failing to decide within the stipulated three months from July 31 to October 30 the plea by BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy seeking the disqualification of 10 MLAs who defected to the Congress. The Court warned the Speaker he could face contempt if he did not act within two weeks. It was for him (Telangana Speaker) whether he wants to decide the matter or face contempt of the cou

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday asserted that the country will continue to treat terrorists and their supporters without distinction and respond firmly to any act of terrorism. Gen Dwivedi said India is committed to progress and development, but will not hesitate to act against those who attempt to derail its path. India focuses on progress and prosperity. If someone creates obstacles in our course, then we will have to take some action against them, he said, in a firm mess

MHOW: The brother of Al Falah University Chairman Javed Siddiqui, who is under investigation in the Delhi blast, has been arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police from Hyderabad in connection with a financial fraud in Mhow, officials said on Monday. Hamood Ahmed Siddiqui, accused of orchestrating a large-scale financial fraud in MP's Mhow 25 years ago, was arrested from Hyderabad on Sunday, an official said. Hamood vanished from Mhow in 2000 after allegedly establishing a bogus private bank and lur

CHANDIGARH: Around 200 people are reportedly under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Faridabad-based white-collar terror module linked to the Red Fort blast. This development comes after a review of call records and online transactions allegedly connected to the three key accused in the case. Sources said those under the scanner include former students and colleagues from Al-Falah University, shopkeepers, diagnostic centre owners and imams of madrasas. Three of the key accused, includ

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan after the last cabinet meeting of the outgoing NDA government in Bihar 'authorised' the JD(U) leader to recommend dissolution of the assembly, official sources said. On November 19, Kumar will submit his resignation to the Governor as head of the outgoing government, one of the sources said. He is likely to be sworn in again on Thursday (November 20). On Sunday, Nitish Kumar held a series of meetings with National Democr

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday submitted the letter of recommendation regarding the dissolution of the current government to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, ahead of the formation of the new government. He is likely to be sworn in again on Thursday (November 20). On Sunday, Nitish Kumar held a series of meetings with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders at his official residence in Patna to discuss the formation of the new government. According to coalition insiders , the NDA is

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a slew of directions to ensure conservation measures at the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, ordering Uttarakhand to undertake restoration work to compensate for illegal tree felling and to demolish all unauthorised structures within three months. In the nutshell, we have held that if tourism has to be promoted, it has to be eco-tourism. We have directed special treatment to those working in the core area away from their families, said a three-judge bench

SONBHADRA: Three more bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a stone quarry that collapsed in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll to four, an official said on Monday. District Magistrate, Sonbhadra, BN Singh said the bodies were recovered on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. One body was recovered in the night. The deceased was identified as Indrajit (30), a resident of Panari, Obra. The other two bodies have not been identified and efforts are on to ident