Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai)
In first step after PM’S appeal, gold, silver duty raised to 15%
The government on Wednesday raised customs duty on precious metals including gold and silver to 15% from 6% to curb their imports and save foreign exchange for essentials such as energy and fertilizers amid a protracted war in West Asia that has...
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NEET mess: NTA orders retest as CBI probes leak
The National Testing Agency cancelled NEET-UG 2026 on Tuesday, nine days after 2.27 million students sat for the examination across 551 cities, after central agencies confirmed that the question paper had been compromised. Questions had been available...
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Trump says truce with Tehran on ‘life support’
President Donald Trump said on Monday that a ceasefire with Iran was “on life support” after he rejected Tehran’s response to a US peace proposal, fuelling concerns of a resumption of hostilities in the 10-week-old conflict that has killed thousands...
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Cut fuel use, gold buys: Modi as Iran war bites
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged Indians to adopt austerity measures ranging from cutting fuel consumption and postponing foreign travel to reducing edible oil use and chemical fertiliser dependence, as the government grapples with the...
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Numbers in order, Vijay to be TN commander-in-chief
Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Arlekar on Saturday invited C Joseph Vijay to form the state government after he handed over letters of support from a clutch of parties that helped his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) swing past the majority mark in the...
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Dada to replace Didi in West Bengal; Vijay meets guv again, left on hold
KOLKATA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday declared Suvendu Adhikari the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’S) West Bengal legislative party, paving his way to become chief minister of the eastern state after sweeping to power in a...
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Guv keeps Vijay waiting as TN deadlock deepens
The political churn in Tamil Nadu intensified on Thursday as actor-turned-politician Vijay met governor Rajendra Arlekar for a second time in two days even as Lok Bhavan defended its decision not to invite the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the...
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Suspense in TN as parties seek to make math work
Actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay met Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Arlekar on Wednesday to stake claim to power but wasn’t invited to form the next government as officials said Lok Bhavan was seeking legal opinion to ensure the Tamilaga Vettri...
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Didi digs in: Says didn’t lose, won’t resign as CM
KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Outgoing West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee declared on Tuesday that she won’t resign from the position despite losing a landslide election to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a day before, but experts said her dramatic...
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Iran officials leave, US envoys call off trip to Pak for parleys
The latest ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran appeared to fail Saturday before they began, as Tehran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and President Donald Trump soon afterward said he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad. The...
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Iran attacks 3 ships in Strait day after ceasefire extended
Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway. The attacks came a day after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American...
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Clock ticks on ceasefire, Iran-us talks uncertain
Last-minute ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran looked uncertain Tuesday as a two-week truce was set to expire and both countries warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting. US Vice President JD Vance, expected...
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21 dead, 57 injured as bus falls off slope in Jammu
JAMMU: At least 21 people died and 57 others were injured, three of them critically, when a private bus carrying 63 passengers veered off a hilly road, hurtled down a steep slope before hitting a passenger auto-rickshaw on a lower road in Udhampur...
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Trump says new talks, but confusion persists
US President Donald Trump said his negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran, lifting hopes of extending a ceasefire set to expire this week even as Washington and Tehran remain locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. The...
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Modi attacks Opposition after legislative setback
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday compared the Opposition’s vote against a constitution amendment bill that sought to expand the Lok Sabha to “foeticide”, and vowed that the government will not stop trying to give women their rightful share. In...
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Iran opens Hormuz, fuels war end hopes
US blockade a sticking point: Trump says still in force, Iran calls it a violation of truce deal Trump says Israel prohibited from striking Lebanon; Not finished with Hezbollah: Bibi Iran’s nuclear programme and uranium remains a point of contention...
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LS expansion will be fair, says govt; Oppn wants it in writing
NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday attempted to convince the Opposition that the proposal to increase the Lok Sabha’s strength and fast-track 33% reservation for women would involve a proportional 50% rise in each state’s seats, thereby not hurting...
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Trade talks: Indian team to visit US from April 20
A team of Indian officials led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain will visit the US for three days from April 20 to advance bilateral trade talks under the February 7 framework, with necessary changes to make it legally tenable and to ensure comparative...
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Women’s quota: Bills seek to take LS seats up to 850 based on 2011 census
NEW DELHI: The government’s legislative push to reserve a third of the seats in Parliament and state legislative assemblies involves raising the cap on seats in the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with the allocation of seats to states, the reserved...
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US cuts off Iranian ports; Tehran vows to hit back
The US military began a blockade of ships leaving Iran’s ports on Monday, President Donald Trump said, and Tehran threatened to retaliate against ports of its Gulf neighbours after weekend talks on ending the war broke down. Oil prices climbed back...
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Talks fail, Trump says US will block Hormuz
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would “immediately” begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after Us-iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement or next diplomatic steps in sight. In his...
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PM: Will speed up CAA implementation in WB
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will expedite the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in West Bengal to grant citizenship to refugee communities if it comes to power in the...
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UP SIR: Highest addition of voters from draft at 8.4 mn
Abhishek Jha, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Harsh Yadav Uttar Pradesh’s electorate expanded by 8.43 million between the draft roll in January and the final numbers released on Friday, the highest among the 13 states and Union Territories where the special...
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Israel pushes for Lebanon talks as Iran truce teeters
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT/ISLAMABAD: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he is seeking direct talks with Beirut, a day after the worst bombardment of the war killed more than 300 people in Lebanon and placed Donald Trump’s Us-iran...
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RBI cuts growth forecast, in ‘wait-and-watch’ mode
NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India’s projections for growth and inflation suggest that the Indian economy, thanks to the war in West Asia, has gone from a Goldilocks — low-inflation and high-growth — environment towards potential stagflation –...
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‘A whole civilisation will die’: Trump’s latest threat to Iran
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump threatened Iran with civilisational destruction as the US attacked military targets on the country’s key oil export hub, ramping up pressure on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday morning (Tehran...
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Trump threatens Tehran with night of destruction
Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war, while President Donald Trump appeared to widen his threat from civilian targets to the whole Islamic Republic and his ultimatum ticked closer. “The...
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US aviator rescued after tense search, Trump vows ‘hell’ if Strait stays closed
TEHRAN: US President Donald Trump on Sunday made expletive-laden new threats to escalate strikes on Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline, after American forces rescued an aviator whose Irandowned plane...
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Trump gives new ultimatum, hunt for US pilot intensifies
TEL AVIV: The US military on Saturday searched for a missing pilot shot down over a remote area in Iran, while President Donald Trump remained silent on the incident but reminded Tehran of his Monday deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz: “48 hours...
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US F-15 downed, Gulf energy sites hit as talks go nowhere
WASHINGTON: Iran shot down a US fighter jet for the first time in the war and targeted more sites, including energy facilities, in Arab Gulf states even as a handful of ships transited the Strait of Hormuz by using a new route hugging the Omani...
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Trump dashes hopes of quick end to war as Iran continues Gulf strikes
DUBAI: Iran fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states Thursday, demonstrating Tehran’s continued ability to strike its neighbours even as US President Donald Trump claimed in a televised address the threat from the country was nearly...
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EC transferred 483 officials in Bengal vs 23 in other poll states
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered the transfer of 483 administration and police officials in West Bengal since assembly elections were announced on March 15 — 21 times the 23 officers it has ordered transferred across the...
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Trump slams allies, Iran seeks guarantees for truce
TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil” as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the...
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India has become free from Naxals, declares Shah in LS
NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday declared India “Naxal-free” as he blamed the Congress and previous governments for the decades-long insurgency, criticised a landmark Supreme Court judgment that had banned a controversial militia, and...
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DMK’S poll pitch: ₹8,000 coupons, higher pension
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Sunday released his party’s manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections, promising a ₹8,000 coupon scheme for women from families not under the income tax...
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A month on, truce hopes dim, war inches closer to Red Sea
DUBAI: Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the month-old war in the Middle East on Saturday, claiming a missile launch that Israel said it intercepted. Pakistan said regional powers plan to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting, while Iran...
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35-year-old rapper Balen Shah sworn in as Nepal PM
Nepal’s rapperturned-politician Balendra Shah was sworn in as Prime Minister on Friday after sweeping the first election since deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government last year. The 35-year-old reformist and his Rastriya Swatantra Party...
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14 charred to death in Andhra bus inferno
Fourteen passengers died and 27 others were injured on Thursday when the private bus they were travelling in collided with a tipper-truck, triggering a massive fire, in Markapuram district of Andhra Pradesh, police said. According to police, the...
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Iran shoots down US plan, says will end the war when it decides
Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport. Iran’s defiance came as Israel...
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Aditya Birla-led group snaps up RCB; Us-based group bags Raj Royals
A consortium led by Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures and private equity firm Blackstone has bought the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for $1.78 billion, a record valuation for a team in the world’s most lucrative cricket...
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Trump presses pause, Iran denies talks claim
DUBAI: US President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. was talking with a “respected” Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz or...
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Ropeway trolley plunges in Chhattisgarh, 1 killed
RAIPUR: A 28-year-old woman was killed and six others were injured after a ropeway trolley crashed while descending from a hilltop temple in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district on Sunday, officials aware of the matter said. “The accident occurred...
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‘Collegium has failed to protect judges in past’
Supreme Court judge justice Dipankar Datta on Saturday said the top court’s Collegium has, in the past, failed to stand by judges who acted with courage and integrity, warning that such instances may discourage judges from prioritising ethics over...
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Iran threatens world tourism spots as more leaders killed
Iran threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was still building missiles. Its supreme leader issued another defiant statement on Friday, nearly three weeks into Us-israeli strikes that have killed a slew of...
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Gulf petrochem sites attacked; US eyes waiver for Iranian oil
DUBAI: Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday, raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy. The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian...
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Iran warns 5 Gulf sites after its gas field struck
Israel kept up its campaign of targeting Iran’s leaders on Wednesday, killing the country’s intelligence minister, and an Iranian offshore natural gas field was struck in a sign of the war’s mounting pressure – from both sides — on the region’s...
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Af-pak fight spirals as Kabul strike kills 400
More than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in an airstrike by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, a spokesperson of the Afghan Taliban government said on Tuesday, in the deadliest incident since fighting between the two began in...
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NDA makes gains in RS polls as cross-voting dents Oppn
BHUBANESWAR/PATNA: The Opposition suffered setbacks in Odisha and Bihar during Rajya Sabha polls on Monday as candidates backed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) benefited from cross-voting and lawmakers not showing up, and the contest in...
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State stops issuing new permits to autorickshaws
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Monday suspended the issuance of new autorickshaw permits across the state, citing rising pollution and traffic congestion in urban areas. State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said the suspension will remain in...
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Indian killed in Saudi amid rising hits on civilian infra
DUBAI: An Indian and a Bangladeshi were killed in Saudi Arabia when a “military projectile” fell onto a residential area in Al Kharj governorate south of Riyadh, the country’s civil defence agency said on Sunday, as the Iran war’s targets widened into...
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AHMEDABAD REDEMPTION
India will aim to exorcise memories of the 2023 ODI World Cup final heartbreak at Ahmedabad when they lost to Australia after remaining undefeated throughout the tournament. At the time, the batting faltered on a slow pitch and the hosts will look to...
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Farm loan waiver, infra push key to Maha budget
Farm loan waivers and a big push for urban infrastructure were the twin planks of the ₹7,69,467 crore budget presented by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. Fadnavis, who took over as the state’s finance minister after the death of Ajit Pawar...
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Israel pounds Tehran; Gulf cities under fresh Iran fire
DUBAI/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump claimed the right to join Iran in deciding its next leader on Thursday as the war escalated further, with US and Israeli jets hitting areas across the country and Gulf cities coming under renewed...
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MVA unanimous on Pawar’s name for RS
After protracted negotiations within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the coalition has decided to renominate Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar for the lone Rajya Sabha seat it is expected to win. The ruling Mahayuti alliance will contest...
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Israel steps up strikes on Tehran, Iran defiant
DUBAI: Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories Tuesday, and Iran retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel. As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel...
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Khamenei dead, Iran strikes widen war
JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV/DUBAI: Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Sunday and Iran responded with more missile barrages, a day after the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei pitched West Asia and the global economy into deepening...
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War engulfs West Asia as US, Israel strike Iran
The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and President Donald Trump urged the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iranian state...
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Pak declares ‘open war’ with Afghanistan, clashes escalate
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged crossborder attacks overnight in a dramatic escalation of tensions that led Pakistan’s defence minister to say on Friday that the two countries are in a state of “open war.” Afghanistan launched a...
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India, Israel elevate ties; trade deal on anvil: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India and Israel have elevated their bilateral relationship to the status of a special strategic partnership, adding that the “historic decision” reflects the aspirations of the people of the two countries...
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