Protests against the Waqf Act turned violent in parts of West Bengal on Friday, with demonstrators setting ablaze vehicles, disrupting traffic and rail movement, and injuring several policemen. The unrest erupted in Suti, Murshidabad district, where protesters defied prohibitory orders, hurled stones at security personnel, and torched police vans and public buses during processions. Police responded with lathi charges and tear gas, while some officers were forced to seek refuge in a nearby mosque. Similar protests were held in Malda and Kolkata, prompting Governor C V Ananda Bose to direct the state government to take swift action against those responsible. The governor also contacted Union Home Minister Amit Shah and held discussions with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was recently passed by both houses of Parliament, aims to improve the management of Waqf properties, safeguarding heritage sites and promoting social welfare.
The sources in the government said the notification announcing the name of the next CEC could be issued "in the next few hours".
The senior IPS officer said that 45 percent of cyber financial frauds taking place in the country are originating from the South East Asia.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
The December meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will start on Wednesday even as there is no clarity on whether Governor Shaktikanta Das, the chair of the panel, will continue in office after his term ends next week. The outcome of the meeting will be announced on Friday by Das at 10 in the morning.
In a sensational case, defence ministry authorities have detected alleged bugging of the office room of Defence Minister A K Antony and Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been asked to probe the matter.
A Delhi police constable was shot by a colleague, outside the Prime Minister's Office, on Friday afternoon. The injured constable has been admitted to RML Hospital. According to preliminary reports, it was a case of accidental firing.Senior Delhi police officials rushed to the venue to ensure that the investigations were being conducted properly.
A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
In what was perhaps the most critical meeting before full-scale war broke out, Shastri defined India's immediate war objectives to his defence minister, army, and air force chiefs: 'To defend against Pakistan's attempts to grab Kashmir by force and to make it abundantly clear that Pakistan would never be allowed to wrest Kashmir from India; To destroy the offensive power of Pakistan's armed forces...' A fascinating excerpt from Shiv Kunal Verma's must-read 1965: A Western Sunrise India's War With Pakistan.
China has defended its newly-released AI tool DeepSeek, after several countries, including India, imposed restrictions on government officials accessing it. Beijing claims actions against DeepSeek amount to "politicisation" of trade and tech issues and vowed to protect the interests of its companies. India's Finance Ministry directed officials to avoid using DeepSeek on office devices, citing confidentiality risks. The tool has garnered global attention for its low-cost model and efficient use of resources, surpassing ChatGPT in popularity on Apple's Appstore.
Lee Jae-myung's decisive victory in South Korea's snap presidential election marks a major political shift driven by public backlash against authoritarian, with significant implications for domestic reform and the future of the US-South Korea alliance, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
United States Ambassador-designate to India Timothy J Roemer on Friday met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon in New Delhi, hours before United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks on a five-day visit to India. Roemer, who met Menon at his South Block office, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday night after his confirmation by the full Senate last week for the post. On his nearly hour-long meeting, Roemer refused to make any comment and only said, "Namaste."
The government also plans to build MPs' chambers that will come up on the land where the Transport Bhawan and Shram Shakti Bhawan are located.
A Sikh Indian Police Service officer, who was deputed at Dhamakhali to prevent senior West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari from visiting restive Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, got agitated after a group of activists of the saffron party allegedly hurled the 'Khalistani' jibe at him.
Newly-appointed Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Sunday said his 'utmost and foremost' priority would be to ensure very high standards of operational preparedness to face current, contemporary and future security challenges across the entire spectrum of conflict.
A sum of Rs 2,600.99 has been been allocated for the construction of non-residential office buildings, including the Parliament and Supreme Court of India. For residential purposes, the ministry has been given Rs 873.02 crore.
On Tuesday, December 3, 2024 South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an 'emergency martial law' accusing the Opposition of plotting an 'insurgency' and 'trying to overthrow the free democracy' in the country.
The West Bengal government has assured the Calcutta High Court that the law and order situation in violence-hit Murshidabad district is under control. The court was hearing a petition by the Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, who alleged bomb blasts during communal riots and sought an NIA investigation. The state government claims adequate steps have been taken to quell the violence, while the Centre has requested an extension of CAPF deployment in the district. The violence erupted during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad, displacing several families. The state government has reported that some families have returned to their homes.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday personally bid goodbye to his personal staff in his South Block office while thanking them for their assistance.
The central public works department on Monday cancelled the pre-qualification bids for the construction of a Rs 360-crore new residence for the prime minister for the second time within more than two months.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
Seven rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level, even as the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state.
Government offices located in New Delhi's central area, including North Block and South Block, will be closed from 2 pm on Thursday till 9:30 am on Friday in connection with the 'Run for Unity' to be flagged off by Prime Minster Narendra Modi.
Sachin Pilot on Thursday became the first Union minister to be commissioned as a regular officer in the Territorial Army, fulfilling his desire to follow his father's footsteps to be in the armed forces.
The situation in these violence-hit places remained tense on Saturday morning, but no untoward incident was reported, officials said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday held consultations with Congress leaders from Karnataka on sharing of Cauvery waters with Tamil Nadu during which they told him about the "grim" situation in Karnataka.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had an appointment with senior journalists from East European countries on Tuesday, which included Poland, Denmark, Croatia and Slovenia.
Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, who is a communication and electronic warfare specialist, on Tuesday assumed charge as the 26th Navy chief after incumbent R Hari Kumar retired from service.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed the evolving situation in Nepal and the upcoming SAARC Summit in Dhaka with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and leader of opposition L K Advani on Wednesday.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
ONGC's overseas arm applied for a sanctions waiver to access $500 million dividend from two Venezuelan projects.
Speaking to media persons outside his South Block office in New Delhi, Tharoor said: "We know Pakistan has been misusing US aid for years. I am not surprised by former President Musharraf's statement. This confirms India's stand on the misuse of aid. The United States should monitor aid given to Pakistan more carefully."
So far, over 30 people have died across Northeastern states due to heavy rainfalls, floods and landslides, according to media reports.
It is learnt that defence minister Rajnath Singh did not attend office as part of a precautionary measure.
The government on Monday decided to immediately dispatch search and rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force, medical teams and relief material to earthquake-hit Turkey following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions to offer all possible assistance to the country.
United States National Security Adviser James Jones met his Indian counterpart M K Narayanan in New Delhi on Thursday evening and is understood to have shared with him assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Jones, who arrived in NDelhi on Thursday after a tour of Afghanistan and Pakistan, met Narayanan at his South Block office.
Daily life was partially affected in West Bengal on Wednesday due to a 12-hour shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party, protesting the police action against demonstrators during a march to the state secretariat.
The letter was delivered to Dr Singh by a Shiv Sena delegation headed by Sena's Executive President Udhav Thackeray at the prime minister's South block office.
