LIVE: EC says TMC's letter on Mamata is 'full of insinuations & averments'

The Trinamool Congress chief has a slight fever and has been shifted to a special ward at the hospital's VVIP Woodburn Block soon after the MRI at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences

10:58 PM

Students of class 1-11 declared pass: Puducherry govt

Students of std 1-9 declared 'All Pass'. Students of 10th & 11th in Puducherry & Karaikal declared pass as per guidelines of Tamil Nadu board. Students of 10th & 11th in Mahe & Yanam regions declared pass as per guidelines of Kerala & Andhra Boards respectively: Puducherry Govt, according to ANI

10:17 PM

Uttarakhand cabinet expansion likely to happen tomorrow: State BJP chief

Cabinet expansion likely to happen tomorrow evening: Uttarakhand BJP State President Bansidhar Bhagat, according to ANI

8:58 PM

Mamata's responding well to treatment, but still has symptoms related to bony injuries: Doctors

8:50 PM

Completely incorrect to suggest that the commission has taken over law and order in Bengal: EC

Election Commission says it is "completely incorrect to suggest that the commission has taken over law and order machinery in the state in the name of conducting elections and appropriated whole governance structure".

8:47 PM

LIVE: EC says TMC's letter on Mamata is 'full of insinuations & averments'

LIVE: Election Commission responds to Trinamool's letter over 'attack on Mamata', says TMC's letter is 'full of insinuations and averments'

8:35 PM

Latest News: US weekly jobless claims drop to four-month low

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a four-month low last week as an improving public health environment allows more segments of the economy to reopen, putting the labor market recovery back on track.

 

Still, a full recovery from the deep scars inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic will probably take years, with the weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showing a whopping 20.1 million Americans collecting unemployment checks in late February.

 

"The economy and the labor market are entering the next phase of the rebound, supported by a ramping up of vaccinations and declining infections that will allow for a resumption of activity," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York.

8:26 PM

Mamata Banerjee has assets worth Rs 16.72 lakh

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared that her net worth is Rs 16.72 lakh.

 

Banerjee, who is contesting the Nandigram assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district, doesn't own any vehicle or property, according to her self-sworn affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India.

 

The 66-year-old leader's total movable assets are worth Rs 16.72 lakh.

 

Such assets owned by her were worth Rs 30.45 lakh before the assembly election in 2016.

 

Her income for the year 2019-20 was Rs 10,34,370.

8:12 PM

Latest LIVE: AIADMK, DMK cadres protest against parting with seats to allies

A section of ruling AIADMK and DMK workers on Thursday protested against allocation of constituencies from their home turf to allies for the April 6 assembly elections and wanted them to be set apart for partymen.

 

AIADMK workers protested against giving away the Egmore segment here to ally Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, while DMK cadres raised slogans against parting with the Ponneri constituency to Congress.

 

The ruling party men also protested against allocation of Poonamalle and Gummidipoondi constituencies to ally PMK.

 

Upset over omission of Labour Minister Nilofer Kafeel's name in the AIADMK list so far, her supporters in Vaniyambadi said the ruling party should not expect the votes of people from the region.

8:06 PM

Latest News: Tightening conditions not yet frightening for Fed and co

Rising Treasury yields, a dollar rebound and commodity prices at multi-year highs may be starting to feed into a tightening of global financial conditions, testing the resolve of central bankers to reverse the moves by providing additional support.

 

Financial conditions is the umbrella phrase for how exchange rates, borrowing costs, and equity swings affect the economy. Measuring them is an inexact science, but a range of indexes, or FCIs, exist to gauge day-to-day changes.

 

How loose or tight financial conditions are dictate the spending, saving and investment plans of businesses and households. Goldman Sachs says its index - one of the most widely used - has a strong historical correlation with growth.

8:01 PM

Latest News: ECB signals faster money-printing to keep lid on yields

The European Central Bank said on Thursday it was ready to accelerate money-printing to keep a lid on euro zone borrowing costs, signalling to sceptical markets it was determined to lay the foundation for a solid economic recovery.

 

Concerned that a rise in bond yields could derail a recovery across the 19 countries that share the euro, the ECB said it would use its 1.85 trillion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) more generously over the coming months to stop any unwarranted rise in debt financing costs.

 

"The Governing Council expects purchases under the PEPP over the next quarter to be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of this year," the ECB said in a statement after its regular policy meeting.

 

The widely expected move comes after a steady rise in yields since the start of the year that has mostly mirrored a similar move in U.S. Treasuries rather than reflecting improved economic prospects across the euro zone.

8:01 PM

Latest News: Banks unions call for two-day strike against proposed privatisation of PSBs

United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, has given a call for a two-day strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.

 

In the Union Budget presented last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan.

 

The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.

 

Conciliation meetings - before the Additional Chief Labour Commissioner on March 4, 9 and 10 - did not yield any positive result, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary C H Venkatachalam said in a statement.

7:46 PM

Akhilesh Yadav demands probe into 'attack' on Mamata

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Thursday demanded a probe into the alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during electioneering in Nandigram and hoped that people would elect her their CM once again.

 

Accusing the BJP of hatching pre-poll conspiracies against the Trinamool Congress and Banerjee, Yadav asserted that people in West Bengal know Mamata Banerjee has been the sole popular chief minister of the state.

 

The BJP may hatch as many conspiracies as they want how many more such incidents might take place? Yadav said while talking to reporters at the residence of his party MP Shafiqur Rahman Burq here.

 

I hope the people of Bengal will once again elect Mamata Banerjee. The people know if there is any popular chief minister, it is Mamata Banerjee, said Yadav.

7:43 PM

Latest News: Vyapam scam: CBI court frames charges against 33 accused

A special CBI court here has framed charges against 33 accused, including four former officials of Vyapam, in connection with the rigging of a 2012 Madhya Pradesh police recruitment test.

 

Earlier this week, CBI judge S B Sahu framed charges against 33 accused, including 17 candidates and 12 middlemen, under relevant provisions of the IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act, IT Act and MP Recognised Admissions Act, CBI special public prosecutor Satish Dinkar said on Thursday.

7:41 PM

Mamata will lose by 50,000 votes: BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be defeated from Nandigram in the coming Assembly polls.

 

She would have lost from Bhabanipur, her current constituency, and therefore decided to contest from Nandigram this time, he said.

 

"But she would lose from there too by a margin of 50,000 votes," Vijayvargiya, the BJP general secretary in- charge for the poll-bound state, told reporters at Shahpur in Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

7:37 PM

Latest News: Baidu looks to raise $3.03 billion in Hong Kong listing

Chinese search engine company Baidu Inc is looking to raise up to $3.03 billion by selling 95 million shares as part of its Hong Kong listing launched Thursday, a filing from the company showed.

 

The shares will be priced at no more than HK$295 per share for retail shareholders and represent 3.4 per cent of the company's total shares, it said in documents sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Institutional investors could pay more for the shares, the term sheet showed, without specifying a range.

7:28 PM

Latest LIVE: Preparations underway at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, ahead of Dandi yatra inauguration

7:11 PM

Latest LIVE: Return of Sonowal govt in Assam a foregone conclusion, says Jitendra Singh

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the return of the Sarbananda Sonowal government in Assam with a decisive mandate is a foregone conclusion due to the all-round development carried out by it in the last five years and restoration of peace in the state.

 

Singh, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), also said that the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had successfully pulled out Assam from a long nightmare of insurgency, road blockades, violence and misgovernance.

 

"If you ask the common man in the streets, he will tell you without any doubt that the return of the BJP government is a foregone conclusion," he told reporters here.

7:04 PM

Mamata Banerjee brought back to Woodburn Block of SSKM Hospital after medical tests

6:53 PM

Not to indulge in politics over CM's injuries, want probe: Bengal BJP

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was admitted to a facility here after receiving injuries during her Nandigram visit, the Bengal BJP said the party will not indulge in any politics over her injuries but will demand a comprehensive probe into the incident since she had alleged conspiracy behind it.

 

Noting that the fight with the TMC is a political one and on ideological and development issues, BJP spokesman Samik Bhattacharya wished her a speedy recovery and said, the party hoped for her return to the electoral arena as soon as possible.

 

"We will not do any kind of politics over the chief minister's injuries. We pray for her early recovery and return to the political stage," he told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.

 

According to information received by the BJP state leadership from local party workers and eyewitnesses, it was an accident, but a high-level inquiry is necessary when the chief minister herself has claimed that it was a conspiracy, he said.

6:40 PM

LIVE: Mamata Banerjee being taken to another building of SSKM Hospital for further medical tests

6:39 PM

IAF to induct the second squadron of Rafales at Hashimara Air Force in mid-April

Indian Air Force to induct the 2nd squadron of Rafale fighter aircraft at Hashimara Air Force base in West Bengal in mid-April. The Air Force would be moving fighter aircraft there in May. The training of the fighter pilots in France completing around the same time: IAF officials

6:36 PM

Latest News: European Central Bank to step up pace of stimulus programme

The European Central Bank said Thursday it will step up its bond-buying stimulus in the coming months, a step aimed at halting what is regarded as a premature rise in borrowing costs in the 19 countries that use the euro.

 

The central bank said that over the next quarter the purchases would be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of the year."

 

ECB officials have expressed concern at the rise in longer-term borrowing rates, regarded as a spillover from the U.S., where the economic recovery is expected to be faster. The eurozone is still in a double-dip recession and is seen by economists as not ready for rising rates.

6:34 PM

Latest News: INS Kulish and INS Sumedha undertook passage exercise with Bangladesh Navy

6:20 PM

Latest News: Farmers withdraw dharna on rail tracks near Amritsar after 169 days

A group of farmers squatting on railway tracks near here to protest the Centre's new farm laws withdrew their agitation on Thursday after 169 days, as suspension of trains caused losses to them and traders.

 

Savinder Singh, a leader of the Kissan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee which had been spearheading the stir, said they decided to withdraw the rail blockade at Devidaspura on the Amritsar-Delhi route after a meeting of all protesting farmer unions.

 

Devidaspur near Jandiala station is about 25 km from Amritsar railway station.

6:18 PM

Latest News: India likely to block China's Huawei over security fears, says report

India is likely to block its mobile carriers from using telecom equipment made by China's Huawei, two government officials said, under procurement rules due to come into force in June.

 

New Delhi is wary about awarding new technology business to Chinese firms both because of security fears and a desire to get Indian manufacturers to produce more telecoms equipment.

 

A US campaign to curb Huawei has triggered bans or limits on the use of its equipment around the world but the situation in India has been amplified by strained relations between New Delhi and Beijing over their shared border.

6:02 PM

Tamil Nadu elections: AMMK releases its second list of 50 candidates

Tamil Nadu assembly elections: Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam releases its second list of 50 candidates. AMMK general secretary TTV Dinakaran to contest from Kovilpatti assembly constituency

5:49 PM

Latest News: Nominations papers of 284 candidates found valid for first phase of Assam election

Nomination papers of 284 contestants were found valid after scrutiny for the first phase of polling for 47 seats of Assam Assembly on March 27, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Thursday.

 

Altogether 295 contestants had filed their papers for the first phase and upon scrutiny on Wednesday 284 papers were found valid, the CEO office here said.

 

The prominent candidates whose nominations papers were found valid from the ruling BJP are Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal (Majuli), Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami (Jorhat), ministers Ranjit Dutta (Behali) Naba Kumar Doley (Dhakuakhana-ST) and Sanjoy Kishan (Tinsukia).

 

NDA alliance partner AGP ministers Atul Bora (Bokakhat) and Keshab Mahanta (Kaliabor) papers were also found valid.

5:41 PM

Latest News: Prince William defends UK royal family against racism claims

Prince William has as defended the UK royal family against accusations of racism made by his brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan, saying the royals are very much not a racist family.

 

In comments made Thursday during a visit to an east London school, William became the first royal to directly address the explosive interview his brother and Meghan gave to Oprah Winfrey.

 

Buckingham Palace's sought to respond to Harry and Meghan's allegations of racism and mistreatment in a 61-word statement, but it has failed to quell the controversy.

5:40 PM

Tamil Nadu election: AIADMK MLA, MSR Rajavarman joins AMMK in the presence of TTV Dhinakaran in Chennai

5:31 PM

Latest News: Maharashtra's state civil service exams postponed again, protests break out

In a huge scare in corona times, thousands of students took to the streets in Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur on Thursday afternoon following a state government notification postponing the upcoming prestigious Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) preliminary examinations.

 

The MPSC 2020 prelims exams, scheduled to be conducted on March 14, have been postponed for the 5th time in the past one year owing to the Covid-19 crisis, putting the future of many in jeopardy.

 

An estimated 260,000 plus candidates, including several women, who have traveled from remote parts of the state, were hoping to appear for the prelims exams for two objective-type papers at various centres in the state on Sunday.