THANJAVUR: For 93 years, villagers around Kalimedu in Thanjavur have attributed much of their well-being to participation in the Appar Swamy chariot festival. But the 94th annual run left them mourning the deaths of 11 people after the top of the 25-foot chariot grazed a high-tension power cable triggering electrocution and fire. Three of the … Read more
NEW DELHI: Following his strong pushback against Europe on India’s ties with Russia, foreign minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday once again justified India’s position on Ukraine, saying India’s choices and positions are best placed to advance the goal of ending the conflict and returning to the dialogue table. In a message again aimed at the … Read more
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday panned Europe for questioning India’s Russia-Ukraine policy as he reminded the Europeans that they were not actually bending over backwards to address India’s concerns when the rules-based order was under threat in Asia. “There are equally pressing issues in other parts of the world like Afghanistan … Read more
PUNE: Twenty states have recorded largely deficient pre-monsoon rain from March 1 to April 25, IMD data shows. The lack of rain in these two months sustains heat wave conditions, offers fruits and vegetables no respite from heat stress, and can impact irrigation for sugar cane and cotton, besides affecting pre-kharif sowing activity to some … Read more
GUWAHATI: Arrested Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was freed on bail in Assam’s Kokrajhar on Monday, only for Barpeta police to take him into custody again on charges of assaulting a woman cop the day he was brought to the state to face a probe into allegedly provocative tweets on PM Narendra Modi. “BJP and RSS … Read more
NEW DELHI: EU’s partnership with India on solar power and green hydrogen is critical as it accelerates efforts to diversify away from fossil fuels and invest heavily in clean renewable energy because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. EU has paid Russia … Read more
NEW DELHI: Moving towards rolling out the world’s first comprehensive health insurance scheme, the government plans to expand the Ayushman Bharat health cover to over 40 crore more people who are currently not covered under any government or private health insurance scheme. While over 50 crore people (10.74 crore families) are already covered under the … Read more
NEW DELHI: After a hiatus of over two years during which Covid-19 disrupted the Supreme Court’s normal functioning, it will resume in July hearing a batch of petitions challenging the scrapping of J&K’s special status under Article 370 and its bifurcation into UTs. On mention by senior advocates Shekhar Naphade and P Chidambaram for urgent … Read more
NEW DELHI: India remains ahead of Russia and the United Kingdom as the third largest military spender in the world, but far behind China that spends four times and the United States, which spends 10 times its defence budget. The total global military expenditure rose to $2,113 billion in 2021, surpassing the two-trillion-USD mark for … Read more
NEW DELHI: An Assam court on Monday granted bail to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani in a case over a purported tweet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mevani, an independent legislator supported by Congress, was arrested by Assam police last week for a purported tweet in which he claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “considered Godse as … Read more