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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, along with other ministers, will visit flood-affected areas of the Marathwada region on Wednesday, officials said.

 

Torrential rains over the past few days have left eight people dead and caused extensive damage to houses and crops in the region. Heavy downpours have been reported from Latur, Dharashiv, Beed and Parbhani districts.

 

In Parbhani’s Pathri area, waterlogging was reported overnight, an official said. With reservoirs in Marathwada filled to capacity, excess water was being discharged from them.

 

According to officials, crops spread across more than 33,000 hectares have been damaged in Dharashiv district alone. The chief minister, deputy chief ministers and ministers will tour the region on Wednesday to assess the extent of losses.

 

Rahul Gandhi to attend CWC meeting in Patna ahead of Bihar polls

 

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will take part in the party’s Working Committee meeting in Patna on Wednesday. Several senior leaders are also expected to attend the meeting, convened ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections due later this year.

 

Top Congress leaders have begun arriving in the state capital. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reached Patna on Tuesday, while Congress MP Randeep Surjewala also joined the gathering. Rahul Gandhi has left for Patna to attend the session.

 

Surjewala, speaking to reporters, underlined Bihar’s historic role in shaping political narratives. “The land of Bihar has consistently created new history, from Champaran [Satyagrah] to the present day. The policy and ideological decisions that the CWC will take under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will prove similarly far-reaching,” he said.

4:46 PM

Kerala Minister rejects campaign against Vavar Swamy

Kerala Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan on Wednesday rejected reports of a campaign by right-wing groups against "Vavar Swamy", the Muslim companion of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala. Asserting the significance of Vavar in the pilgrimage to the hill shrine, he said a large number of devotees reach Sabarimala via Erumely, where his mosque is located.

4:44 PM

Towering stalwart who delved deep into the soul of India: PM Modi on Kannada novelist Bhyrappa's death

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday mourned the death of noted Kannada novelist and philosopher SL Bhyrappa and described him as a towering stalwart who stirred people's conscience and delved deep into the soul of India.

4:15 PM

Delhi Police busts interstate arms racket, factory unearthed in Uttar Pradesh

The Delhi Police busted an interstate illegal arms and ammunition racket and unearthed a manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning, an official said. Three men allegedly involved in supplying arms and ammunition across state borders were arrested in an operation carried out by the Special Cell, he said.

3:52 PM

PM Modi's 'huglomacy' has backfired; it has left India diplomatically isolated: Congress

"Donald Trump continues to claim he used trade as a bargaining chip to coerce India into halting Operation Sindoor," the Congress said, adding that the Centre has refused to address the claim.

3:45 PM

BJP-RSS's relentless attacks on Constitution continue unabated: Congress

Under the BJP, social justice is being trampled on; reservations have been routinely eroded through rampant privatisation, the Congress said in a resolution passed by its working committee.

3:24 PM

Lego to buy entertainment centres from Merlin for $270 million

Danish toymaker Lego said on Wednesday it will buy 29 discovery centres from theme park operator Merlin Entertainments in a 200 million pounds ($269.5 million) deal, in line with a strategy to strengthen control over consumer interactions with its brand. Unlike theme parks, the discovery centres are entertainment venues offering activities such as Lego building zones and creative workshops.

12:01 PM

India's problems at international level due to 'diplomatic failure' of PM Modi: Kharge at Patna CWC

"We are meeting when India is going through a very challenging period at both international and national levels," Congress chief  Mallikarjun Kharge said at Congress' Working Committee meeting. 

9:57 AM

3 Maoists killed in gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand’s Gumla

At least three members of the banned Maoist splinter group Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand’s Gumla district on Wednesday morning, police said. The gunfight broke out around 8 am in a forest area under Bishnupur police station limits, involving personnel of the Jharkhand Jaguar unit and Gumla Police.

9:38 AM

UN chief warns world leaders of 'an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering'

With global peace and progress under siege, the United Nations chief challenged world leaders Tuesday to choose a future where the rule of law triumphs over raw power and where nations come together rather than scramble for self-interests. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN's founders faced the same questions 80 years ago, but he told today's world leaders at the opening of their annual gathering at the General Assembly that the choice of peace or war, law or lawlessness, cooperation or conflict, is “more urgent, more intertwined, more unforgiving.”

9:10 AM

‘Vote chori’, Trump’s tariffs on CWC agenda in Patna: Bihar Congress chief

Bihar Congress President Rajesh Kumar on Tuesday said that state, national and international issues — including “vote chori” and tariffs imposed by former US president Donald Trump’s administration — are expected to figure in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting scheduled in Patna on Wednesday.