Afghan presidential run-off candidate Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday alleged massive election fraud and demanded an immediate halt to vote-counting amid reports that his rival had a million-vote lead, plunging the war-torn country's first democratic transition of power into question.
The parties, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress, said they will collectively oppose the Union home ministry's order issued on Thursday.
'For around five hours the storm, reportedly the strongest one ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal, that mother of many a deathly vortex, shook Kolkata like a toddler playing with a rattling toy,' observes Debashish Chatterjee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests.
The Congress, Left parties, Trinamool Congress and some others were in the forefront of this attack on the government, which is set to garner around Rs 7,900 crore through the decision.
'We had no inkling this would come. Admittedly, we failed to inspire confidence in migrants that no harm would come to them if they stayed back.' Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
'We have created fear in the minds of villagers so that they don't indulge in wrongdoing. We have already seized Rs 1 crore of bribe money,' Madurai Superintendent of Police Vijayendra Bidari tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.
No one, not even ministers and officers, should be allowed to come too close to the prime minister unless cleared by his special security, the home ministry communication said, citing an "unknown threat" to Modi.
Some of the proposals (for example trade margin calculation for imported medical devices) were not approved by the PMO and were sent back for revisions.
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Thursday rushed to the ICU of a naval hospital in Karachi after he developed high blood pressure and fainted.
Despite Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis' ambitious plan, 40 per cent of the state is reeling from drought and its water tanker economy is booming. As of February 2019, the state government declared drought in 151 of the 358 talukas.
'India's election process is smoother, more efficient, more credible, cheaper to conduct and quicker to deliver than any other large democracy, including the United States. It seems to me that the election process is getting better with each passing year and it is something all Indians can be very proud of,' says Aakar Patel.
"The situation has already improved in Gorakhpur and it would soon improve in the state as well," he said.
The legislature party meeting will be held on Friday in the presence of the central observers and party in-charge of Uttarakhand affairs Shyam Jaju.
With Ram temple issue once again coming into focus before 2014 Parliamentary elections through VHP yatra, a BJP sub-committee under the campaign panel headed by Narendra Modi is gathering feed back from people on Ayodhya and other burning issues to gauge "country's mood".
On the president's directive, officials have also kept President-elect Barack Obama's national security team posted with all the latest information to make sure "they are in the loop."
As many as 19.31 lakh applications have been registered so far as part of the ongoing summary revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra and voters would have the opportunity to enrol themselves until the last date of filing of nomination papers, the Election Commission of India said in Mumbai on Tuesday.
'They plan to purchase votes.' 'We will not purchase people, but win the elections.' 'In our manifesto there are no free gifts. It says what we will do for the people.'
The domestic currency had gained a massive 47 paise to close at 60.60 on Friday amid heavy selling of the US currency by corporates, exporters and banks.
'Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are the technical definition of an economic recession, and for the first time in this generation's memory, we may be staring at one,' observes Aakar Patel.
According to official figures, retail inflation in June touched its lowest mark at 7.31 per cent since January 2012.
Political parties will have to bear the expenses on inviting star campaigners but in case a candidate shares dais with the star or exhibits his photo or poster with his name, the money spent will be included in his account, Delhi Election Commission said.
Mission Shakti 'shows the development within India's military space programme, its desire to be seen as a global space power and its recognition of the potential dangers of China's counterspace programme.'
'We are not interested in forfeiting the tie. We look forward to working with the ITF to find a solution that guarantees the safety of all the players'
The nearly two month-long grueling campaigning in peak summer for the May 16 Tamil Nadu assembly election that is witnessing a multi-cornered contest comes to an end on Saturday.
The names of a host of leaders, including some sitting MPs are doing the rounds in political circles.
If the FATF lets Pakistan off the hook, which is to be expected, it would signify a big boost to Pakistan's standing in the fight against terrorism. Delhi, on the other hand, loses the propaganda advantage, states Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Senior Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajeev Shukla sounded out a warning on Wednesday, saying there will be zero-tolerance towards match-fixing and anyone found guilty of indulging in the malpractice during IPL-7 will be "banned for life".
'As of now, it may be best for India to insist that Yameen honours the supreme court rulings and ensures that the next election is free and fair,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The Congress has conceded the plum Finance portfolio to its junior partner, resolving a thorny issue, after its president Rahul Gandhi intervened and spoke to Kumaraswamy.
'Even after vaccines are given, precautions like using a mask and maintaining social distancing have to be taken.'
'Look at the impropriety of the Anti-Corruption Bureau giving Ajit Pawar a clean chit!'
Bowing to public outcry, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he will request the high court to order a CBI probe into the Vyapam case, including the large number of deaths of people allegedly linked to the scam.
The rupee closed 2 paise lower at 60.13 on Wednesday as a sudden demand for the US currency emerged at fag-end of trade.
In the video, the former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo is seen holding a glass and drinking from it, while reportedly watching TV.
More than 20 national leaders will attend the meeting, TMC sources said. Most of them have already arrived in Kolkata.
'The economy needs to deliver the expected 7.5% growth for the markets to deliver better than single digit returns.' 'Any disappointment in growth can see the markets correcting downwards.'
A bullet does not whom it will hit. My appeal to all the young boys is that they should remain in their homes and not come to encounter sites, he said.
Verdicts paving the way for construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya and India's multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter jet deal with France were 2019's landmark imprints of the Supreme Court, which also found itself at the centre of a controversy with then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi being accused of sexual harassment before getting the clean chit.
Recently-elected Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran has promised to make national federations more accountable and transparent in their functioning, saying that he would not hesitate to resign from his position if he fails to make a difference.
