Iran has dismissed US President Donald Trump's assertion that Iran was responsible for a drone attack on Indian ships in the Strait of Hormuz as 'simply baseless'. The Iranian embassy stated that Trump's comments were an attempt to deflect attention from recent US military strikes on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Oman, which resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners.
Two India-bound LPG tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions in the region, while an India-flagged vessel sank after being hit near the strategic shipping corridor.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he has directed the country's Navy to take decisive action against any vessels attempting to lay mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tension over the virtual control of the waterway between Tehran and Washington.
The first thing you notice about Bhutan is not the mountains, but the silence.
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has strongly condemned racial discrimination against people from the Northeast and urged the central government to enact a stringent anti-racism law.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
'Our diplomacy should have been focused on preventing war and avoiding the inevitable disruptions it would cause, posing a real risk to India's growth story,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
US border patrol agents have arrested 30 Indian nationals, living illegally in America, operating semitrucks with commercial driver's licenses. The arrests were part of a larger operation targeting illegal immigrants operating commercial vehicles.
The Indian military will showcase an Operation Sindoor-themed tableau for the Republic Day parade, highlighting the jointness of the three services and India's military capabilities.
The clinics are expected to operate for at least two hours daily, particularly between September and March -- the period when air pollution levels are typically high.
As the players waved to their supporters at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, there was no sense of an ending, only a beginning. A young team, a fearless philosophy, and a debut season that sparked belief.
Sri Lanka stays with you not just in memory, but gently reminds you what a society can achieve when heart and heritage guide the way.
The Supreme Court has directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to relocate stray dogs to shelters, emphasizing public safety and addressing concerns about dog bites, particularly among vulnerable populations.
'Through embracing motherhood myself, I've come to understand the depth of your love and sacrifices.'
Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl said the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry. Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1. The first three are more prevalent, Dr Behl said. "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants." The ICMR DG said there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India. All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said. "Whenever cases increase, we look at three things. It's dependent on three factors with the first being how transmissible it is, conversely how fast the cases are increasing. Previously we saw Covid cases double in two days, but this time it is not that cases are increasing rapidly. "Secondly, are the new variants evading our previous immunity? When new variants come, they evade immunity -- be it natural or from the vaccine. But there's nothing to worry about at the moment," Dr Behl said. He also said that the third factor is the percentage of severe cases in all Covid instances. "Are we getting a very severe disease without comorbidities? As of now, the severity is generally low. There's nothing to worry about. We should be vigilant and we should always be prepared," the ICMR DG asserted. Dr Behl also informed reporters that the Union Health secretary chaired a meeting on Sunday that was also attended by the director general of health services and himself. "We have been closely monitoring the situation. We should be vigilant at this moment, but there is no cause to worry. The general public should be vigilant. There is no need to take any such action as of now," he said. The officer added that the WHO database has been showing that the new variants were not causing severe disease. "People do not need to take any immediate action. They should follow normal precautions. So, there is nothing special to do right now." Asked about the need for a booster dose, he said there is no need for vaccination as of now. "India has the capability to make vaccines and if need be, we can make any vaccine in no time."
"The moment we let technology take the driver's seat in the legal system, we begin to erode the public's faith in us and with it, the foundations of the rule of law," CJI Gavai added.
As pipes played and ceremonial commands echoed across the parade ground, a subtle but sharp undertone ran beneath the pride -- the knowledge that these young men may soon be called to act in a world where real-time threats blur the lines between battlefield and cyberspace.
Markets regulator Sebi's new guidelines on research analysts (RAs) are forcing several equity research firms publicly announcing plans to shut down their shops due to heightened compliance and operational requirements. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on January 8, came out with guidelines for Research Analysts in a bid to curb fraudulent stock recommendations and illegal practices in the securities market.
Pakistan was waiting for an opportunity to bring the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the global agenda and resorted to the terrorism route to provoke India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
India has reported 59 cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and two deaths due to co-morbidities between January 6 and 29, according to Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav. The virus primarily affects young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to respiratory illnesses. The government has taken measures to monitor and control the spread of HMPV cases and create public awareness.
Named 'Kamala ' by Giri, Mrs Jobs arrived in Prayagraj on Monday. She is staying at the Kumbh tent city at the Niranjini Akhara camp till January 15, before returning to the US to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
If you're a fan of the Transformer films already, you will be delighted with a hearty dose of nostalgia here but... Mayur Sanap adds a caveat.
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
When in Landour, discovers Supriya Newar, one of the most important things to do and that too in large measures, is to do nothing at all.
She also pointed out that the poor from villages are afraid to go to court.
Not only army personnel but Indian Army's canine 'soldiers' perform their duties in counter-insurgency operations.
There is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
Y S Sharmila's message to voters in Kadapa is brief: 'I am YSR's daughter, my brother Jagan has ruined Andhra, vote for me, vote for Congress.' A Ganesh Nadar listens in.
The prime minister's insistence that his voice cannot be suppressed left me both puzzled and amused. He has at his call, the government's official news dissemination/publicity channels, the pliant newspapers and television channels that were eager to prostrate themselves before a powerful government and yet, the dominant voice thinks it is in competition with other voices! exclaims Shyam G Menon.
An advisory in this regard will be issued by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a virtual meeting with the health ministers of the states and Union territories at 3 pm on Friday, the sources said.
Of the seven cases, three were found in Gujarat and one each in Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said.
People of this village allege that heavily-armed militants used to enter their houses at gun point, eat and even harass women.
The ICMR-National Institute of Virology has been regularly undertaking studies to understand the protective efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against emerging variants.
Lok Sabha proceedings on Tuesday began in the new Parliament building, located adjacent to the old one, starting a new chapter in the parliamentary history of India.
The cricket World Cup could be staged for the first time in the USA with some matches of the T20 World Cup 2024 likely to held at Central Broward Regional Park.
More than 15 lakh international air passengers have so far been screened and 200 of them have tested positive for COVID-19, Mandaviya said on the sidelines of a book launch.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said swift and transparent decision-making and availability of optimal resources were needed for a country's combat readiness.
The World Photography Organisation has revealed the winners for the Sony World Photography Awards 2024.
