Highlights: Exercise not the problem, timing is, says SC on Bihar voter roll revision

Highlights: Catch all the news developments from around the world here

     

The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the timing of the Election Commission’s ‘special intensive revision’ of the electoral rolls in Bihar, taking place months ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in November. The court was hearing multiple petitions contesting the ECI’s decision to carry out the revision in the lead-up to the state elections.

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart will meet Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow's increasing attacks on Ukraine and questions about whether Russia's leader is serious about a peace deal.

Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are to see each other in Kuala Lumpur, where both men are attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together all 10 Asean members and their most important diplomatic partners, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, the Europeans and the US. 

 A Liberian-flagged cargo ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels sank on Wednesday in the Red Sea, and a European naval force in the Mideast said only six of the 25 people who were on board have been rescued.

The attack on the Eternity C, which also killed at least three of the crew, represents the most serious assault carried out by the Houthis in the crucial maritime trade route where $1 trillion in cargo once passed through annually.

From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones in a campaign the rebels describe as supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. 

 

4:57 PM

No need of alliances like INDIA, MVA for local polls: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Thursday that arrangements like the INDIA bloc or the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are not necessary for the upcoming local and civic body elections in Maharashtra. Raut also said there is growing public pressure that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) contest the upcoming local body polls jointly.

4:56 PM

Centre working on strategies to make Indian Telecom Industries Ltd financially sound: Scindia

Union Minister for Communication Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Thursday said the Centre is working on strategies to ensure that Indian Telecom Industries Limited (ITI) becomes more financially sound. The ministry is committed to making ITI Limited a sustainable enterprise, he added. "ITI is an institution that has contributed tremendously to the telecom revolution in our country. The adaptation and technological advancements ITI has made—from manufacturing rotary and push-button dial phones to producing core telecom equipment, radio access networks, routers, and PCB boards—have been remarkable," the minister said.

4:00 PM

Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat receives Income Tax notice

Maharashtra Minister of Social Justice Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday said he has received a notice from the Income Tax department. Shirsat, an MLA from Aurangabad (West), belongs to the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. When asked by reporters, the minister confirmed that he had received a notice. "People think no action is taken against political leaders. This is not the case. I will reply to the notice legally," he said.

3:43 PM

News update: EU official Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survives a confidence vote in European Parliament

1:21 PM

Why connecting SIR in Bihar to assembly elections in November?: SC to ECI

No one will be excluded from voter list without an opportunity to be heard, the poll body told the Supreme Court.

1:12 PM

You should have acted early; it is a bit late: Supreme Court to EC

The poll body told the Supreme Court that citizenship is required to be checked for being voter in India under Article 326 of Constitution.

12:34 PM

What EC is doing is mandated under Constitution: SC on Bihar voters list revision

The Supreme Court has questioned the poll body over the exclusion of Aadhaar card from the list of documents in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

11:38 AM

News update: Supreme Court begins hearing pleas on revision of electoral rolls in Bihar

11:10 AM

Amarnath Yatra: 7,307 pilgrims leave Jammu base camp

A fresh batch of more than 7,300 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here to join the annual Amarnath pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas on Thursday morning, officials said.

11:03 AM

ED searches against Karnataka Congress MLA in Fema case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of Karnataka Congress MLA SN Subba Reddy and some others in a Fema probe linked to alleged possession of undisclosed foreign assets. At least five premises in Bengaluru, including that of the Bagepalli legislator, are being covered under section 37 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema), they said.

10:59 AM

Part of Los Angeles tunnel collapses, possibly trapping workers inside

A portion of a huge industrial tunnel under construction in Los Angeles collapsed Wednesday and up to 15 workers may have been trapped, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The workers were up to 9.6 kilometres from the tunnel's only entrance, the department said. 

10:21 AM

PM Modi can now find time to visit Manipur, review why Pahalgam terrorists not brought to justice: Congress

The Congress on Thursday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he returned home from his five-nation visit, saying that now that he is back, he could find time to visit Manipur, review why the Pahalgam terrorists are yet to be brought to justice and reflect on infrastructure collapses in his home state.

10:17 AM

Home Minister Amit Shah to chair Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Ranchi on Thursday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the Eastern Zonal Council meeting here on Thursday in which around 70 representatives from the four eastern states - Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal - will participate, officials said. Shah arrived in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi around 10 pm on Wednesday to chair the meeting for which security has been beefed up in the city.

 

9:21 AM

South Korean court approves new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over martial law decree

A South Korean court early Thursday approved the new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges related to his brief imposition of martial law in December, accepting a special prosecutor's claim that he poses a risk of destroying evidence. The arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court sent Yoon back to a detention centre near the capital, four months after his release in March