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British and German air force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, the UK defence ministry said Wednesday, amid mounting concerns about confrontation in the skies near Russia and Ukraine. The UK and Germany are conducting joint air policing missions in Estonia as part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank in response to Russia, the PTI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condoled the loss of lives due to Cyclone Freddy in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar, and said India stands with them in this tough time, in a tweet. Cyclone Freddy has killed hundreds and displaced thousands since late last week.

India's exports dipped in February for the third consecutive month by 8.8 per cent to $33.88 billion against $37.15 billion in the same month last year, according to the data released by the commerce ministry on Wednesday.

Banking system remains resilient, solid, says US Federal Reserve governer Michelle Bowman amid SVB crisis.

Delhi court grants bail to ex-Railway Min Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-Bihar CM Rabri Devi, their daughter-RJD MP Misa Bharti & other accused. Court noted that CBI filed the chargesheet without arrest. Court directed every accused to furnish Rs 50,000 personal bail bond & a like amount surety.

Leaders of several opposition parties on Wednesday decided to take out a protest march from Parliament House to the ED office here and hand over a complaint to the probe agency on the Adani issue. The leaders met in the office of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament House complex to coordinate their joint strategy on the issue.

The United States Senate will vote on the nomination of Eric Garcetti as the country's next ambassador to India on Wednesday. Such a move by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer came amidst fresh round of campaign against Garcetti by his distractors on allegations of sexual assault against one of his staffers when he was the mayor of Los Angeles. If confirmed by the Senate, Garcetti would soon head to India as US Ambassador, a position that has remained vacant for more than two years. The confirmation vote on his nomination is scheduled at 2.15 pm local Washington time.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan accused the federal government of planning his arrest saying this is all part of a "London plan" to finish all cases against the country's former premier Nawaz Sharif. In a video message, Imran said, "This is part of the London plan and an agreement has been signed there to put Imran in jail, make the PTI fall and finish all cases against Nawaz Sharif."

A presidential advisory sub-committee has recommended the federal government to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from the existing 60 days to 180 days so that the workers have enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives. The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days, Ajay Jain Bhutoria, member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday.

9:59 PM

Good way to keep healthy is to practice Yoga at workplace: PM Modi

8:27 PM

Lt Gen Daljit Singh appointed new Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services

7:07 PM

Raipur police use water cannons, tear gas shells on protesting BJP workers

6:48 PM

Nuclear power sector saves 41 mn tonnes of carbon emissions every year: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

India's nuclear power sector is saving 41 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, compared to emissions that would have been generated by equivalent electricity generation from coal-based thermal power plants, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the PTI reported.

6:20 PM

Putin set to host Syrian leader Assad at the Kremlin: Dmitry Peskov

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host Syrian leader Bashar Assad for talks in the Kremlin on Wednesday that are expected to focus on rebuilding Syria after a devastating civil war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders would talk about postwar reconstruction and the continuation of the peace process, the PTI reported.

6:08 PM

Mayawati calls BJP, SP, Congress 'extremely casteist', 'anti-reservation'

BSP president Mayawati on Wednesday accused the BJP, Congress and the SP of being "extremely casteist" and "anti-reservation" and called upon people to give a befitting reply to the detractors of party founder Kanshi Ram by obtaining the "master key" of electoral success, the PTI reported.

5:00 PM

Lahore High Court stops police operation at Imran Khan's residence till 10am tomorrow

4:23 PM

84,866 posts vacant in 6 Central Armed Police Forces: Centre tells Rajya Sabha

A total of 84,866 posts are lying vacant in six Central Armed Police Forces like the CRPF and BSF against the total sanctioned strength of 1,005,520, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said recruitment of 31,785 personnel in the CAPFs has been done in the past five months, the PTI reported.

4:06 PM

No compromise in PM's security will be tolerated, says Punjab CM

3:59 PM

Naval forces from China, Russia, Iran hold joint drills in Gulf of Oman

Naval forces from China, Iran and Russia all countries at varying degrees of odds with the United States are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, China's Defence Ministry has announced. Other countries are also taking part in the Security Bond-2023 exercises, the ministry said Tuesday without giving details.

Iran, Pakistan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates all have coastline along the waterbody lying at the mouth of the strategic Persian Gulf, the PTI reported.

3:02 PM

Puducherry declares school holiday from March 16 to 26 over H3N2 flu scare

The Puducherry government on Wednesday announced a holiday for all schools up to Class 8 from March 16 to March 26 in view of the spread of H3N2 influenza virus in the Union Territory.

The order will be in force for schools in all the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam in the Union Territory in view of prevalence of the viral subtype of influenza, particularly among children.

2:03 PM

Paytm UPI LITE crosses 2 mn users with over half million daily transactions

Homegrown Paytm Payments Bank on Wednesday announced it now has over 2 million users on Paytm UPI LITE.

The Bank recorded over half a million daily transactions for Paytm UPI LITE through the Paytm app, it said in a statement.

"We have seen great adoption of Paytm UPI LITE, having crossed the milestone mark of over 2 million users within a short span of time," said a Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson.

1:29 PM

Bihar: RJD & BJP MLAs enter into scuffle with each other following the bail granted to Lalu land-for-job case

Bihar: RJD & BJP MLAs enter into a scuffle with each other over distribution of laddus at Assembly premises following the bail granted to Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi & Misa Bharti in land-for-job case.

BJP alleges that RJD MLAs tried to forcefully feed them & disturbed them.

1:11 PM

Delhi airport witnesses chaos, passengers complain about long waiting hours

Delhi airport again witnessed chaos on Wednesday morning with some passengers complaining about three-hour-long queues for immigration and security check.

"It's an absolute mess at the Delhi International Airport. Yet again. Three-hour-long queues for immigration and security check. People are fainting, fighting. Most of the counters are not operational. Is this the new normal," said an air passenger Tanushree Pandey on Twitter on Wednesday.

1:03 PM

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid ruckus on Rahul Gandhi's democracy remarks

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Topics : Lalu Prasad Yadav Imran Khan H1B Visa Banking system US banks Opposition parties Enforcement Directorate Delhi court US Senate US ambassador to India India Pakistan United States Tejashwi Yadav CBI

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First Published: Mar 15 2023 | 8:54 AM IST