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11:22 PM

Bangladesh election clashes: Policeman dies, over 200 injured in violence

A Bangladeshi policeman was killed and more than 200 people, including security personnel, were injured on Saturday as violence erupted during rallies called by the ruling and opposition parties here, heightening tensions in the country ahead of the expected elections in January.

11:14 PM

PM Modi congratulates Indian contingent for historic performance in Para Asian Games

10:54 PM

Participation of women in country's workforce increased to 37%: Pradhan

Participation of women in the country's workforce increased to 37 per cent in 2022-23, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday. Speaking at the 'Rozgar Mela' here, Pradhan said the figure was 23 per cent in 2017-18. "There has been balanced growth in society as there has been a rise in women's participation in the workforce," he said, adding that women are hard-working than men.

10:29 PM

MCD to regularise 5,000 sanitation workers next week: Shelly Oberoi

10:06 PM

Israel army warns civilians Gaza City region now a 'battlefield'

Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza exceeds 7,700. Israeli military said it's expanding ground operation in Gaza with infantry, armored vehicles, backed by 'massive' fire.

9:37 PM

Talks on Ukraine's peace plan open in Malta with officials from 65 countries, but not Russia: Report

Talks on Ukraine's plan for peace kicked off in Malta on Saturday, with the participation of more than 65 countries - but not Russia, Maltese and Ukrainian officials said. The two-day meeting of national security delegates is the third round of such talks in recent months. Ukraine sees them as an opportunity to win support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan from countries across the globe, especially as the conflict in the Middle East risks shifting the focus away from Ukraine.

9:35 PM

Cong to pass bill guaranteeing protection of land, forests, tribal people's rights in Mizoram: Ramesh

In a post on X, Ramesh said the Modi government "bulldozed" amendments to the Forest Conservation Act during the monsoon session of Parliament that evoked tremendous opposition and outrage across the country, even more so in the northeast. The Congress promises that the first session of the new Mizoram Assembly led by the party will pass a new bill that guarantees to protect the land, forests and rights of the state's tribal people, he said.

8:47 PM

ED interrogates arrested West Bengal minister's aides in ration 'scam'

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday interrogated associates of West Bengal minister Jyoti Priya Mallick who was arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the state's public distribution system, officials said. Mallick, 66, who held the food and supplies portfolio from 2011 to 2021, is at present the state's forest minister. He was arrested in the early hours of Friday in a money laundering case linked to the alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam.

8:13 PM

WAPC condemns death of journalists covering Israel-Palestine war

The World Association of Press Councils has condemned the death of journalists covering the ongoing Israel-Palestine war in Gaza. In a statement, the WAPC also demanded an independent investigation under the United Nations into incidents of death, and injury to media persons in the war zone. According to reports, 18 journalists were killed and 20 wounded in Gaza, it said.

7:59 PM

Anant Nath elected as the president of Editors Guild of India

Anant Nath, editor of 'The Caravan', was on Saturday elected the president of the Editors Guild of India. At its annual general meeting, the editors guild also elected Ruben Banerjee, former editor-in-chief of Outlook, and K V Prasad, former senior associate editor of The Tribune, as its general secretary and treasurer, respectively. Nath, who was the general secretary, succeeded Seema Mustafa as president. Prasad succeeds Shriram Pawar, editor of the Sakal Media Group, as the treasurer. The announcement was made by a three-member election committee comprising Rajdeep Sardesai, Vijay Naik and Kumkum Chadha.

7:48 PM

Earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hits Indonesia region

An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck Kepulauan Barat Daya in Indonesia on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles) and the epicenter of the quake was at a distance of 375 km north-northeast of Kupang, Indonesia, the EMSC said.

7:47 PM

BJP govts working for business tycoons, not for poor and farmers, says Priyanka Gandhi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday accused the BJP-led central and state governments of working for business tycoons rather than for the poor, middle class and farmers. Speaking at an election meeting in Damoh district in the impoverished Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, where elections are scheduled to be held on November 17, she also alleged that the Centre had given the "country's property" to some big industrialists.

7:45 PM

Operation in Gaza to continue until new order, says Israeli defence minister

Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza exceeds 7,700. Israeli military said it's expanding ground operation in Gaza with infantry, armored vehicles, backed by 'massive' fire. Israeli military said "Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, the Head of Hamas' Aerial Array who was responsible for Hamas' UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defense. He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts."

7:10 PM

Onion prices soar in Delhi to Rs 65-80 per kg, traders blame low supply

Onion prices have further risen to Rs 65-80 per kg in the retail market of the national capital on lower supply. Mother Dairy, which has around 400 Safal retail stores in the Delhi-NCR, is selling loose onions at Rs 67 per kg. E-commerce portal Bigbasket is selling at Rs 67 per kg, while Otipy at Rs 70 per kg. Local vendors are selling onions at Rs 80 per kg.

6:40 PM

ED arrests 3 including 2 Ashoka University founders in money laundering case

Two co-founders of the private institution Ashoka University are among three people arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering, official sources said. Parabolic promoters Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta and Chartered Accountant S K Bansal were taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The Guptas are the co-founders of Sonepat-based Ashoka University but had stepped down from their posts in 2022 at the educational institution after the CBI registered a case against them and the company in 2021.

6:22 PM

PM Modi cancels campaign trip to Mizoram, Amit Shah to fill in: Report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cancelled his planned campaign trip to Mamit in poll-bound Mizoram on October 30, a senior BJP leader said here on Saturday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will fill in for Modi, but his date of campaigning is yet to be decided, state BJP media convener Johny Lalthanpuia told PTI.

6:20 PM

Bharti Kisan Union demands clearance of cane dues, plans protest on Nov 2

Farmers' body Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) on Saturday said it will stage a 'dharna' on November 2 to protest against non-clearance of cane farmers' dues of about Rs 42 crore by a sugarmill here. The farmers have been demanding the clearance of Rs 42 crore which remains pending for the last three years. BKU(D) senior vice president Kirpal Singh Moosapur said the dues, along with interest, should be cleared and only then the mill should be started without any further delay as the crushing season is already around the corner.

 

5:27 PM

Pension amount of destitute women will be increased in near future: Yogi Adityanath

Addressing a gathering in Auraiya, the Chief Minister said that without giving respect to half the population, the value of development plans remains incomplete. He said that the pension amount of destitute women will be increased in the near future. He also mentioned that the government has decided to increase the amount from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 from the next financial year under Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana. The amount is given to support a girl child right from her birth to her graduation.

5:04 PM

MLAs disqualification row: SC set to hear pleas of Uddhav, Sharad Pawar factions on Oct 30

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on October 30 pleas filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar bloc of the NCP, seeking a direction to the Maharashtra assembly speaker to expeditiously decide disqualification petitions against some MLAs. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is scheduled to take up two separate pleas filed by both the factions.

4:25 PM

PM Modi all set to return for third term with clear majority in 2024, says Rajnath Singh

"The faith of the people of the entire country is with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it is not just me but several political observers have also accepted this fact that he is coming back with a clear majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Singh, on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Lucknow, told reporters.

3:58 PM

Manipur violence case: NIA opposes bail plea of man accused of transnational conspiracy

"The accused was involved in transnational conspiracy hatched by the Myanmar-based leadership of terror outfits operationally active in the North Eastern Indian states to exploit the current ethnic unrest in the state of Manipur to wage war against the Government of India and execute terror attacks there by exacerbating the current situation...," the agency told the court.

3:46 PM

Rahul Gandhi promises free education in govt schools in Chhattisgarh

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday promised free education in govt schools, colleges ‘from KG to PG’ in Chhattisgarh if Congress retains power in state, reported PTI.

 

3:45 PM

LS Ethics Committee asks TMC MP Mahua Moitra to appear by Nov 2

The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on Saturday rescheduled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's appearance date in the cash-for-query case to November 2 from October 31, 2023, reported PTI. However, the extension comes with a firm stipulation that no further extensions will be granted to the MP. Moitra had written to the Ethics Committee earlier, expressing her unavailability on October 31 and stating her readiness to appear only after November 4.

2:51 PM

Pandian directs authorities to complete Srimandir heritage Corridor work by Dec 15

Newly appointed chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha scheme V K Pandian on Saturday asked the authorities to complete the Sri Mandir Heritage Corridor project in Puri before December 15.

Pandian, who took voluntary retirement from the IAS on October 23, was appointed as the chairman of the 5T initiative and Nabin Odisha scheme with the status of a Cabinet minister on October 24.

The 5T chairman visited and reviewed the corridor project on Saturday from 4 am to 6 am. Puri District Collector Samarth Verma and some other officers attended the review meeting.

2:44 PM

Stubble burning contribution to Delhi's pollution likely to reduce this year: Gopal Rai

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday that the number of stubble burning incidents recorded in neighbouring states so far is fewer than last year, and the overall contribution of farm fires to the city's air pollution is expected to reduce.

However, he cautioned that air pollution may increase in the coming days due to unfavourable meteorological conditions.

Only around 2,500 stubble burning incidents have been recorded so far, compared to 5,000 such cases during the same period last year, he told reporters here.

2:41 PM

Govt boosted employment in traditional as well as emerging sectors: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Saturday that his government has boosted employment opportunities in traditional as well as emerging sectors like renewable energy, defence industry and automation.

He made the remarks as he distributed appointment letters to nearly 51,000 youths recruited in different government departments.

He said his government and states ruled by the BJP and its allies have been holding 'Rozgar Mela' since October last year, and lakhs of youngsters have been given appointment letters so far.

2:40 PM

Chhattisgarh polls: 26 out of 223 candidates contesting first phase of elections face criminal cases

Twenty-six out of the 223 candidates contesting the first phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections are facing criminal cases, and 16 of them have serious charges, including those related to voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation, against them.

As per the report by the Chhattisgarh Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), out of the 223 candidates analysed, 26 (12 per cent) have declared criminal cases. Twenty of the total 90 assembly seats will go to polls in the first phase of two-phased elections on November 7. The remaining 70 constituencies will vote on November 17. Five (25 per cent) of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's 20 candidates are facing criminal cases, followed by the ruling Congress with two (10 per cent) of its 20 candidates, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with four (40 per cent) of 10 candidates and the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) with three (20 per cent) of 15 candidates, among others. 

2:34 PM

Cash-for-query case: LS panel asks Mahua Moitra to appear on Nov 2

The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on Saturday asked Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra to appear before it on November 2 instead of October 31 in the cash-for-query case, but asserted no further extension would be granted.

Moitra had on Friday wrote to the Ethics Committee, which is probing the allegations against her, expressing her inability to appear before it on October 31, saying she will be available only after November 5.

In its response, the LS Lok Sabha Ethics Committee extended the date of appearance by three days, asking her to depose before it on November 2.

2:26 PM

PM Modi distributes 50,000 appointment letters under Rozgar Mela

Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed over 50,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits via video conferencing on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that till now lakhs of youth have been given appointment letters for government jobs under the Rozgar Mela.

"Rozgar Mela was started in October last year. 'Rojgar Mela' is being organised at the Centre and in NDA, BJP-ruled states. Till now, lakhs of youth have been given appointment letters for government jobs. Today, more than 50,000 youth have been given government jobs. There is some time in Diwali, but this occasion is no less than Diwali for the families of the receivers of 50,000 appointment letters," he said.

2:25 PM

Ahead of MP assembly elections, BJP and Congress spar over Ayodhya Ram temple

A war of words has erupted in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh after the Congress objected to the ruling BJP putting up hoardings taking credit for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The BJP said the Congress was pained over the construction of the Ram temple, while the opposition party accused the former of going astray from the devotion to Lord Ram.

Earlier this week, the Indore unit of Congress complained to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the BJP, in violation of the model code of conduct, used religious symbols during poll campaigning by showcasing the Ayodhya Ram temple and Mahakal Lok in Ujjain.