The Hindu (Tiruchirapalli)
Highest annual spike saw 44,000 start-ups added last year: Modi
Nearly 44,000 startups registered with the government in 2025, the highest annual addition since Startup India was launched, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday at an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the scheme. Launched on January...
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Iran signals at executions, trials amid Trump’s threat
The head of Iran’s judiciary defied a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump and signalled on Wednesday that there would be swift trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests. The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief...
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SC questions EC on voter roll deletions, citizenship
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission (EC) whether an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO)’s decision to strike a person off the electoral rolls after an “inquisitorial” enquiry into his citizenship under the special intensive...
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PM urges investors to seize India opportunities
India is the world’s fastestgrowing economy and is rapidly on course to become the third largest globally, amid rising international expectations for the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday after inaugurating the Vibrant Gujarat...
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15 booked for sexually assaulting a minor girl in Tiruchi
In a disturbing case that came to light during a routine review of child welfare files, a 15yearold girl has been allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assaults in Karur and Tiruchi since 2021. The Srirangam All Women Police Station (AWPS) has...
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EC says it has constitutional duty to bar foreigners from voter rolls
The Election Commission of India (EC) began its defence of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls before the Supreme Court on Tuesday by dismissing claims that it is conducting a “parallel” National Register of Citizens (NRC)...
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Maduro pleads not guilty, says he is still President of his country
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges of narcoterrorism in a New York court on Monday, two days after being snatched along with his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces from Caracas. “I'm the President of the Republic of...
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Venezuela V-P to take over as Maduro held in U.S. jail
enezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was held in a New York prison on Sunday to face criminal charges after being captured in a nighttime military operation done without approval from the U.S. Congress, even as the South American country’s top court...
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U.S. forces capture Maduro after strikes on Venezuela
The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and took him out of the country on Saturday after an extraordinary nighttime operation that was accompanied by a flurry of strikes following months of escalating pressure on the oilrich...
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U.S. ‘locked and loaded’ as Iran protests turn deadly
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to intervene if Iran used lethal force against protesters, drawing swift and angry responses from Iranian officials who warned that American troops and bases in West Asia would become legitimate targets...
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Centre’s tobacco tax rejig to take effect from Feb. 1
he Union Finance Ministry on Thursday issued a series of notifications that will give effect to the new taxation regime for tobacco products from February 1. The Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025, passed in the recently concluded Winter Session of...
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EC gives one more week for U.P. SIR in another extension
The Election Commission of India (EC) on Tuesday revised the schedule for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh yet again, extending it by a week. Now the draft list will be published on January 6, instead of...
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SC pauses its judgment on Aravalli, moots new panel
The Supreme Court on Monday kept in abeyance its November 20 judgment upholding a government expert panel definition restricting the world’s oldest surviving mountain system, the Aravalli Range, to hills sporting an elevation of 100 metres or above,...
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Nagapattinam’s deltaic coast caught in ‘silky crisis’
On the sunbleached shores of Vellapallam, the rhythm of tides is no longer the only clock the fishermen watch. Instead, they wait for the rumble of a tractor engine. In a peculiar geological phenomenon, the coastlines of Vellapallam, Pushpavanam, and...
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10.56 lakh names cut on draft rolls in Assam
The names of 10.56 lakh voters have been deleted on the draft electoral rolls of Assam which were published on Saturday after a housetohouse verification of the voter lists during the special revision exercise conducted by the Election Commission in...
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Will not allow BJP to succeed in creating communal disharmony in T.N., says Stalin
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday said he would not allow the BJP to succeed in its attempt to “create communal disharmony” in Tamil Nadu. “As long as Stalin and the ‘Dravidian Model’ government are there, the BJP will never succeed in its attempts...
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BNP leader calls for ‘secure’ Bangladesh at homecoming
Bangladesh should be a “secure” home for all communities cutting across religious and regional differences, said the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Tarique Rahman, on Thursday following his return home after nearly 18 years...
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Bangladesh missions in India witness protests
Hundreds of supporters of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal gathered near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and demanded safety for the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh. Protests were also held outside the...
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India, New Zealand wind up FTA talks, set to boost trade
India and New Zealand on Monday concluded discussions on a free trade agreement (FTA) that will give India tarifffree access to the island nation’s markets, bring in $20 billion in investments over 15 years, and help double bilateral trade to $5...
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Keeping a close watch on Bangladesh events: India
India on Sunday described the killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh as a “horrendous act”, and expressed “strong concern” about the safety of minority communities in the neighbouring country. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal...
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U.S. wants India’s nuclear norms globally aligned
Two days after Parliament cleared the SHANTI Bill, which allows private participation in India’s nuclear sector and eases liability norms by capping operator liability for a nuclear incident to ₹3,000 crore, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed...
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97 lakh electors deleted in T.N., 74 lakh in Gujarat
Among those deleted in T.N., 66.4 lakh had shifted or were absent; over a third of Chennai’s voters were removed from the rolls; in Gujarat, 40 lakh had migrated permanently and 9.7 lakh absent Over 15% of Tamil Nadu electors and 14.5% of those from...
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LS passes nuclear energy Bill allowing privatisation
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, despite demands by several Opposition parliamentarians for referring the legislation to a parliamentary...
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Sydney beach shooter was Indian citizen, say officials
Sajid Akram, one of the two Bondi Beach attackers who killed at least 16 people at a Jewish event in Australia on Sunday, was an Indian citizen from Hyderabad, government officials who ran a background check on the deceased told Hindu. The He last...
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With new Bill, demand-led job scheme set to turn supply-driven
The Union government is set to introduce the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 in the Lok Sabha. The move will mark a shift from...
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11 dead as gunmen fire on Jewish event in Sydney
At least 11 people were killed and 29 wounded when gunmen fired on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday in what Australian police and officials described as a terrorist attack. One suspected gunman was killed and another was in a...
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Fans run riot in stadium as VIPs block Messi view
Violence erupted at Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday after football legend Lionel Messi made a 20minute public appearance, disappointing fans who had paid large sums and travelled long distances but failed to catch a glimpse of the Argentine star due to...
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EC extends deadline for SIR in five States, one U.T.
The Election Commission has extended the schedule of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in five States and one Union Territory: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and the Andaman and Nicobar...
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Illegal immigrants will be detected, deported: Shah
The National Democratic Alliance government will “detect, delete and deport” illegal immigrants from the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday, as the Lok Sabha witnessed a faceoff during a discussion on electoral reforms, leading...
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Citizenship under CAA only if claims verified: SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said conferment of rights associated with Indian citizenship to people claiming to be religious minorities who fled persecution from Pakistan, Afghanisation, and Bangladesh and protected under the Citizenship (Amendment)...
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Govt., Opposition spar in LS over Vande Mataram
The Centre and the Opposition on Monday sparred in the Lok Sabha over Vande Mataram, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming it the voice of the freedom movement that had been “fragmented” by the Congress in its “surrender before the Muslim...
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25 dead in fire in Goa nightclub; probe finds fireworks use; 4 held
Amassive fire erupted at a nightclub in north Goa just before midnight on Saturday, leaving 25 people dead and six injured. The initial police investigation found that the blaze was caused by a fire show with “electric firecrackers”, organised without...
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Court warns against abuse of disabled prisoners
The Supreme Court has held that prison authorities who abuse disabled prisoners will be penalised under the Right to Persons with Disabilities Act. A Bench directed all States and Union Territories to change their prison rules, draw up new modalities...
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India-Russia friendship remains steady like the pole star, says PM
Appreciating Russian President Vladimir Putin for taking the IndiaRussia relationship to “new heights” over the past quarter of a century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid out an expansive canvas of energy and trade collaborations between the two...
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SC tells States to replace distressed BLOs for SIR
The Supreme Court on Thursday put the onus entirely on State governments to substitute employees unable to bear the work pressure of a boothlevel officer (BLO), while refusing to let the reported distress of the workforce “hamper” a tightly wound...
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Govt. withdraws order to install Sanchar Saathi app
The Department of Telecommunications on Wednesday walked back its directions to phone manufacturers ordering them to install a government app starting next year. The reversal caps a turbulent episode, in which the government first downplayed the nature...
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DoT order to ‘pre-install’ govt. app triggers storm
The Union government’s mandate on Monday for smartphone makers to preinstall the Sanchar Saathi app sparked backlash from the Opposition and from digital rights activists. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X that...
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SC gives CBI free hand to stop ‘digital arrest’ scams
The Supreme Court on Monday tasked the Central Bureau of Investigation with cracking down on ‘digital arrest’ scammers and their associates, giving the agency a “free hand” to launch an anticorruption probe into bankers involved in the opening of mule...
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SIR form deadline extended to Dec. 11 amid BLO distress
Amid widespread reports of boothlevel officers (BLO) facing severe stress, the Election Commission on Sunday extended the schedule of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine States and three Union Territories by a...
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Ditwahdriven rain floods south T.N., damages crops
Torrential downpour triggered by Cyclone Ditwah battered several south coastal and delta districts of Tamil Nadu since Friday night, inundating residential pockets, damaging standing crops and submerging salt pans even as the system continued to inch...
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SC asks govt. to regulate user content on Internet
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to work on guidelines for usergenerated content to protect innocents from becoming victims of obscene, even perverse, “antinational” or personally damaging online...
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No problem in Kerala SIR, 99% forms given: EC to SC
The Election Commission (EC) expressed confidence that it can conduct the special intensive revision (SIR) of poll rolls in Kerala in the midst of local body elections, telling the Supreme Court on Wednesday that there is “no problem” whatsoever, and...
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Assam proposes jail term, heavy fines for polygamy
An antipolygamy Bill tabled by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the State Assembly on Tuesday prescribes imprisonment and heavy fines for people entering into, or hiding, a second marriage while the first continues to be valid. The Assam...
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Goa tops in digitisation of SIR forms, Kerala lags
ith 10 days remaining to complete the enumeration phase of the second round of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Election Commission on Monday said more than 47% of the enumeration forms distributed across 12 States and Union...
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Mind the ‘language of court’, says SC report
Hcycle alalkhor, sawar, dhobi, coolie, scavenger, masalchi, malan, basta chowkidar, and bardhar, bundle lifter are among the job titles a Supreme Court report wants the judiciary to get rid of. The report from the court’s Centre for Research and...
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Driver, doctor accused in blast case visited Red Fort in January
Security officials investigating the November 10 car explosion near the Red Fort said on Wednesday that one of the accused in the case, a doctor, and the driver of the explosivesladen vehicle, also a doctor, had visited the monument in...
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Delhi blast toll hits 13; Pulwama doctor likely sole car occupant
As the death toll in the Red Fort blast rose to 13 on Tuesday, a doctor from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as the likely sole occupant of the car which exploded in the national capital on Monday, senior government officials told...
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High-intensity explosion in capital kills at least 9
Ahighintensity explosion in a slowmoving car outside the Red Fort in central Delhi left at least nine people dead and more than 20 injured on Monday, sparking a nationwide alert and a probe involving multiple agencies. A person in whose name the car...
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Investigation into Bilaspur accident finds passenger train crossed signal in red
A probe into the train accident near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh that claimed 11 lives on November 4 has found the crew had crossed the signal in red, resulting in the collision. While a loco pilots’ association blamed poor visibility as the accident...
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Centre rules out Kuki-Zo groups’ demand for U.T.
KukiZo insurgent groups in Manipur on Saturday said that they held talks with the Union Home Ministry this week, “focusing on the core demand for a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly” for KukiZo areas, insisting that “coexistence” within the...
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Remove stray dogs from public places, orders SC
Expressing concern over the “disturbing increase” in dogbite incidents across the country, the Supreme Court on Friday directed all the States and the Union Territories to “forthwith” remove stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports...
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Record 64.66% voting in first phase of Bihar Assembly polls
Bihar recorded its “highestever” voter turnout of 64.66% as the first phase of the Assembly election ended on Thursday. In this phase, 121 Assembly constituencies in 18 districts went to the polls with a total electorate of over 3.75 crore. The...
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Rahul alleges ‘vote theft’ took place in Haryana with EC help
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made another major allegation of “vote theft”, saying 25 lakh fake voters were added to the electoral rolls of Haryana ahead of the Assembly election in the State in 2024, which the Bharatiya Janata Party...
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SIR 2.0 begins in 9 States, 3 U.T.s
The Election Commission on Tuesday launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine States and three Union Territories, covering around 51 crore voters, with boothlevel officers distributing enumeration...
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‘Digital arrests’ are a big challenge; victims lost ₹3,000 cr. in India: SC
The Supreme Court on Monday said more than ₹3,000 crore had been scammed by fraudsters from victims, mostly drawn from the elderly population, through “digital arrests”. A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant was referring to a confidential report...
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Indian women script history, clinch maiden World Cup title
Indian women created history before a packed D.Y. Patil Stadium here on Sunday, winning the Women’s ODI World Cup defeating South Africa by 52 runs. If the team’s astounding run to the final in 2017, slaying giant Australia en route, is often cited...
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Nine devotees killed, 15 injured in Srikakulam temple stampede
Nine devotees — eight women and one child — were killed and 15 injured in a stampede at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Kasibugga in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning. Thousands thronged the temple, managed by a private...
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October wraps up with excess rainfall over T.N. for second consecutive year
October ended with excess rainfall over Tamil Nadu for the second consecutive year amid an active northeast monsoon. After a few days of dry weather, rainfall activity is likely to pick up marginally in the State from November 5. The State has logged...
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India gets 6-month waiver for Iran port
India has received a waiver on the United States’ sanctions against Iran’s Chabahar port for six months, the Ministry of External Aairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced on Thursday. Ocials said that the sanctions waiver had come into eect from...
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U.S. is doing a trade deal with India, says Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington is “doing a trade deal with India”, and emphasised that he has “a great relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as both sides continue negotiations on a proposed pact. “If you look at...
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Cyclone Montha makes landfall; rain batters several parts of A.P.
he severe cyclonic storm Montha began its landfall near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The storm triggered very heavy rain in the State as well as Odisha. In Andhra Pradesh,...
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SIR 2.0 to begin in 12 States, U.T.s, cover 51 crore voters
The Election Commission on Monday kicked off the second phase of the special intensive revision of voter lists in 12 States and Union Territories, including pollbound Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, and Puducherry. The revision will cover 51 crore...
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Central teams assess paddy moisture level in T.N.
Central government teams visited Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, and Tiruchi districts on Sunday to assess the moisture content in paddy stocks following continuous rain under the influence of the Northeast monsoon. Farmers across the Cauvery delta have urged...
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Cong. seeks probe into LIC’s Adani investment
The Congress on Saturday demanded an inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament into what it described as a “disturbing misuse” of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) funds to benefit the Adani Group. The party alleged that...
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19 passengers burnt to death as sleeper bus catches fire in A.P.
Nineteen people, including two children, were burnt to death, their bodies charred beyond recognition, after a HyderabadBengaluru sleeper coach bus caught fire following a collision with a motorcycle at Chinna Tekur village, on the outskirts of Kurnool...
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U.S. sanctions Russian oil majors; Indian refiners poised to cut buy
U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia’s two biggest oil companies with sanctions in his latest policy shift on Moscow’s war in Ukraine, prompting global oil prices to rise by 3% on Thursday. Mr. Trump also reiterated his claim that India has agreed...
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Modi, Trump speak; U.S., India call accounts differ
Days ahead of a possible meeting in Kuala Lumpur, and amidst intense ongoing trade negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to extend Deepavali greetings, the leaders said. However, the two sides differed...
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Deepavali fireworks send Delhi air quality inching to a fiveyear low
Following Deepavali, pollution in Delhi inched close to a fiveyear low with average concentrations of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 across several locations crossing 400 microgram per cubic metre (µg/m3) — levels not seen since 2021. On Deepavali day,...
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In Doha, Pakistan and Afghanistan agree on ceasefire
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and setting up of “mechanisms” to ensure lasting peace after days of violent clashes along the border that left several soldiers, civilians, and terrorists dead on both sides, officials...
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Rain fury causes massive damage in Kerala’s Idukki
The highrange villages of Kerala’s Idukki district witnessed extremely heavy rainfall on Friday night and Saturday morning, causing widespread damage. The water level rose by nearly six feet in the Mullaperiyar dam in 24 hours, prompting Tamil Nadu to...
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U.S. trade body moves court over Trump’s H-1B fee hike
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit challenging the Donald Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on new H1B visa applications, saying it overrides existing provisions in current laws that apply to the H1B programme. The fee hike on fresh...
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Trump and MEA at odds over Russian oil imports
India and the United States continued to differ publicly over Russian oil as U.S. President Donald Trump said he had been assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India will stop buying oil from Russia, while the Ministry of External Affairs...
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SC eases ban, clears green fireworks in Delhi for Deepavali
Ahead of Deepavali, the Supreme Court on Wednesday relaxed the blanket ban on fireworks in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and allowed the sale of green fireworks approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)...
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SC questions if ED is overstepping in T.N. liquor-scam probe
Extending the stay on the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into money laundering cases registered against the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) in connection with an alleged liquor retail scam, the Supreme Court on Tuesday orally...
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Retail inflation eases to 1.54% in Sept., lowest since 2017
Retail inflation fell to a more than eightyearlow of 1.54% in September on falling food and fuel prices, official data showed on Monday. This is once again below the RBI’s lower comfort bound of 2%. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index...
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