Page 38 - Bs Reads

Cheetah Gamini delivers fourth cub at Kuno; population rises to 39

South African cheetah Gamini has given birth to the fourth cub at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, taking the number of these big cats in India to 39, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday. "Kunoh national park is pleased to announce the birth of the fourth cub to female cheetah Gamini. The presence of the fourth cub was confirmed during intensive monitoring by the field and veterinary teams. "All four cubs are presently healthy and doing fine. The number of cheetahs in India now stands at 39, including 28 India-born cubs," Yadav said in a post on X. Gamini was translocated to India from South Africa as part of the ambitious project launched in September 2022 to revive the population of the world's fastest land animal in India, which had gone extinct decades ago. Yadav had announced the birth of three cubs of Gamini earlier this month.

IBA to set up committee to review BC payouts, fixed remuneration on cards

Move follows NFIS 2025-30 observations and RBI survey findings flagging inadequate and delayed remuneration as key reasons for inactivity among Business Correspondents

World order shaken, can't give up on multilateralism: Angela Merkel

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday made a strong case for multilateral cooperation and said in these times of protectionism, giving up on multilaterism was not an option. Delivering the inaugural Dr Manmohan Singh lecture, she referred to the US-led protectionist trade policies and said the world order had been shaken. She also called for regulation on artificial intelligence and new technology including social media, saying all have to come together in doing so as no one country can solve the problem. Referring to multiple challenges the world is facing, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine, wars and tariffs, Merkel said the right of territorial integrity of states was being treated with contempt and democracies were under pressure. She said what we are losing sight is that life on earth is in peril and we have no choice but to cooperate on a multilateral view. The first of the lecture series was organised by the Manmohan Singh Trust, run to carry on the

Hillary Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein activities in testimony

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before US House lawmakers in New York on Thursday as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying she has no information on Epstein's criminal activities and never recalls meeting him. Her testimony starts off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton. The closed-door depositions in the Clintons' hometown of Chappaqua, a typically quiet hamlet north of New York City, come after months of tense back-and-forth between the former high-powered Democratic couple and the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee.

Indira Gandhi and the remaking of India's democratic institutions

Srinath Raghavan is less interested in the spectacle of the Emergency than in the decisions that preceded it and endured long after

Afghan forces hit military targets in Pakistan to retaliate for airstrikes

Afghan military authorities say they have begun carrying out strikes against Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes days ago. A statement issued by the media office of Afghanistan's military corps in the east said "heavy clashes" had begun Thursday night "in response to the recent airstrikes carried out by Pakistani forces in Nangarhar and Paktia" provinces. There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan and no immediate information on casualties. On Sunday, Pakistan's military carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan, saying it had killed at least 70 militants. Afghanistan rejected the claim, saying dozens of civilians had been killed, including women and children.

Emirates SkyCargo to deploy 2 more weekly freighters to India

Gulf carrier Emirates' cargo arm SkyCargo on Thursday said it has expanded capacity in India with the deployment of two additional weekly freighter services, one each to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, starting from next month. SkyCargo also said it continues to strengthen trade lanes and connect businesses in India with their partners, suppliers, and customers worldwide, with an average cargo uplift of 3,000 tonnes weekly. Beyond aircraft capacity, Emirates SkyCargo said it has built a vast trucking network, to reach more offline destinations across India. Emirates currently serves India with three weekly freighters one to Mumbai and two to Ahmedabad as well as bellyhold capacity in 167 passenger services to nine gateways per week. The new freighter service to Mumbai will start on March 4, and connect Dubai, Singapore and India. Ahmedabad service will be a direct, dedicated freighter starting next month, it stated. The cargo airline said it expects to carry key commodities such as ...

Flex moves Supreme Court to overturn tribunal ruling in Xiaomi tax case

US-listed Flex told India's Supreme Court it did not help Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to undervalue certain imports into India, the court filing showed

Mandelson, Summers, Brende: Big names who quit over Epstein connections

While not all individuals named faced consequences, a cluster of senior figures stepped down or lost positions after fresh scrutiny

Trump EPA eyes reallocating waived biofuel obligations to refiners: Report

The question of whether to reallocate those exempted blending obligations to larger refiners is a point of contention between the agriculture and fuel industries

Online extortion centres in Myanmar, Cambodia completely dismantled: China

China's security officials claim to have "completely dismantled" Myanmar and Cambodia based notorious Chinese criminal gangs who terrorised the world with online extortion rackets forcing people to part with their hard-earned savings. Thousands of people in India, China and several other countries were defrauded by these gangs operating in Thai-Myanmar borders and Cambodia. By the end of 2025, Chinese courts nationwide had sentenced more than 41,000 individuals repatriated from northern Myanmar for their involvement in telecom fraud, executing 16 after death sentences were pronounced against them and sentenced 39 to life terms in jail, a spokesman of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) said. The notorious Ming and Bai family criminal gangs based in northern Myanmar have been completely dismantled, state-run Global Times quoted the spokesman as saying on Thursday. More than 27,000 first-instance cases involving telecom fraud linked to northern Myanmar had been concluded by Chinese

Jio Financial Services infuses ₹2,000 crore into subsidiary Jio Credit Ltd

Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) on Thursday said it has infused Rs 2,000 crore in its subsidiary Jio Credit Ltd to fund its business growth. The company has subscribed to and has been allotted 3,35,71,923 equity shares of Rs 10 each of Jio Credit Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary (non-banking financial company), for cash at a premium of Rs 585.70 per equity share, aggregating Rs 1,999.88 crore, JFSL said in a statement. JCL will utilise the amount to fund its business operations, it said. Last month, JFSL reported a 9 per cent drop in consolidated profit at Rs 269 crore in the third quarter ended December 2025. The company earned a consolidated net profit of Rs 295 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. However, the company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 695 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal. Total income nearly doubled to Rs 901 crore, from Rs 449 crore in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

Sunetra Pawar to become next NCP chief; Parth Pawar set for RS seat

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar was on Thursday unanimously elected as the new national president of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) here, nearly a month after her husband Ajit Pawar, who held that position, died in a plane crash. NCP working president Praful Patel made this announcement after the party's national executive committee meeting in Mumbai. He also said that Parth Pawar would be nominated to the Rajya Sabha seat, which fell vacant after his mother Sunetra Pawar resigned and became the state deputy CM. In June 2024, Sunetra Pawar was elected unopposed as a Rajya Sabha member from the NCP following her defeat in the Lok Sabha election prior to that. After her husband Ajit Pawar's death on January 28 in Baramati, she resigned as a member of the Upper House of Parliament, and was sworn in as Maharashtra deputy CM.

SC asks Centre, states to respond on PIL over fake complaints

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a PIL seeking direction to the Centre and state authorities to install display boards at all public institutions, such as police stations, court premises and municipal offices, on the legal consequences of lodging false complaints. A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi issued notices to the Centre and states and sought their response by April 20 on the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay. Upadhyay, appearing in person, told the bench that there was a rise in lodging of false cases of rape, molestation or under the SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as there is no lawful measure against such actions. He submitted that there is a rise in false cases as people are not aware of legal consequences, and hence, display boards should be put at the public institutions like police stations, where the complainant should be made aware of the consequences for such actions. Chief Justice

Kolkata Port begins first-ever night pilotage to cut vessel turnaround time

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (SMPA) on Thursday said it has, for the first time in its 155-year history, carried out night-time pilotage in the Upper Reaches of the Hooghly river, a move expected to reduce vessel turnaround time and improve overall port productivity. Upper Reaches refers to the upstream stretch of a river closer to the inland port, and, in this case, the segment of the Hooghly River between Diamond Harbour and Kolkata. Kolkata Port said its experienced pilots safely navigated container vessel Sinar Pangalam Susu on her inward voyage through the narrow channel of the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) during hours of darkness on the night of February 25, a statement said. SMPA said the successful night transit follows a trial movement undertaken on May 2, 2025, with outward-bound container vessel Sinar Penida, which laid the groundwork for round-the-clock navigation. The inbound vessel, with a length overall of 128 metres and a draft of 6.1 metres, completed the ...

BJP will win Bengal polls, drive out every single infiltrator: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday exuded confidence that the BJP will win the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal, and "drive out every single infiltrator" from the state, which was among the ones "worst affected by demographic change". Shah made the remark in Araria district of Bihar, where he launched projects worth Rs 175 crore of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and dedicated to the nation a couple of new border outposts. "It is the top priority of the BJP government to drive out every single infiltrator from the country, who are not just a threat to national security, but also feed on welfare benefits meant for people, thereby diluting the impact schemes run by the government could make," he said. "Infiltration on a large scale also results in encroachments in bordering areas. We are committed to demolishing these. Infiltration also poses the threat of demographic change, which can wreak havoc with the culture, and even geography, of a region," Shah said. The Narendra

Sebi Working Groups submit agri derivatives review reports to chairman

Working groups constituted by Sebi to review the delivery and settlement framework and existing regulatory norms in the agricultural commodity derivatives segment have submitted their reports to Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the regulator said on Thursday. The expert panels were mandated to examine whether the current framework governing margins, position limits, and delivery and settlement mechanisms could be optimised without compromising market integrity. "The Working Groups set up by Sebi in the agri commodity derivatives segment for review of the current framework of delivery and settlement and review of current regulatory norms presented their reports to Sebi Chairman," the regulator said in a post on X. In December, Pandey indicated that Sebi would soon constitute another working group to undertake a similar review of the non-agricultural commodity derivatives segment following consultations with stakeholders. "After due consultation with all stakeholders, we are going to for

Greg Abel to set course for Berkshire Hathaway after Warren Buffett exit

This Saturday, Wall Street will see how he tackled one unique to Berkshire: the highly anticipated annual letter to shareholders

Indian Army to induct dedicated drone platoons across combat units

Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, on Thursday said the Army is raising dedicated 'Ashin' drone platoons across infantry, artillery and armoured regiments to strengthen drone warfare capabilities. Talking to reporters, Lt Gen Katiyar also said specialised 'Bhairav' units will be tasked for deep operations inside hostile territory, adding that the Army has restructured its formations recognising the growing importance of drones in modern warfare. "We realised that the use of drones is extremely important. Therefore, we have integrated drone usage across all units, right down to the smallest sub-units," he said. He said dedicated 'Ashin' drone platoons - small sub-units within infantry battalions - have been created and similar specialised platoons will be raised in every regiment. "These platoons have achieved expertise in drone operations. Every regiment -- infantry, artillery or armoured -- will have such units specialisin

World Economic Forum chief Borge Brende quits over ties with Epstein

The CEO role at the WEF is more an operational position, and separate from the high-profile chairman position that was long held by founder Klaus Schwab