Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to stand trial on fraud and money laundering charges, told a UK court on Thursday that he could be in England for years as some ongoing proceedings prevent his extradition. The 52-year-old former billionaire appeared for a hearing at Barkingside Magistrates' Court in east London via video link from Thameside prison in relation legal costs, or fines, amounting to GBP 150,247.00, accrued over his failed extradition appeal proceedings in the London high court. Dressed in a pink prison-issue outfit and sporting a moustache, a plump and bald Nirav addressed the three-member magistrates' bench to reveal that he had complied with the previous court direction to pay in GBP 10,000 per month towards the fines.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
The Bharatiya Janata Party sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party on Saturday for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with former chief minister of the southern state N Chandrababu Naidu asserting that the combine will sweep the polls.
'If you look at the average age of all our candidates, you will notice that their average age is between 35 and 40. It is a kind of revolution that the MNS is bringing in Maharashtra.'
A group of 101 farmers resumed their foot march to Delhi on Sunday to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP). However, they were stopped at the barricading by Haryana Police who cited a prohibitory order clamped by the Ambala administration. The farmers have been pressing for various demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP, a farm debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases (against farmers), and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.
An obscure US-based firm with just 19 employees, USD 15 million in revenue and hosting just a one-page website, wants to invest USD 500 billion in equity into India's National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).
'Deeply hurt by Modi's conspicuous silence for over a month-and-a-half since the outbreak of violence, people in Manipur came on the roads and crushed their radio sets to express their frustration and anger.' 'The fact that Modi's Mann Ki Baat did not have a single reference to the Manipur violence further accentuated this hurt and anger.'
The prime minister, wearing an especially customised white yoga T-shirt and trousers, began his address with a 'Namaste' and thanked people for coming here from far away to attend the celebration.
'Slogans like 'Ek hai toh safe hai' and 'Batenge toh katenge' resonated with voters.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Gujarat high court seeking a review of its recent order setting aside the Central Information Commission's directive to the Gujarat University to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to the AAP national convener.
The rout of Sharad Pawar-led faction has raised questions over his political future with a potential risk of a further slide in the party flock in future.
Imsaram Ali, president of the Mango Growers Association of India on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate measures to increase export of mango in the international market.
'More than 9.5% new voters have been added to the electoral voters' list compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.' 'This led to an increase in about 5% to 6% in total votes polled for this assembly election.' 'That has tilted hugely in our favour because we worked hard for registration of these voters and concentrated on bringing out these new voters out during this assembly election.'
After Arvind Kejriwal faced criticism over the breach of protocol by sharing a live telecast of an "in-house" COVID-19 review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minster's Office said it has regretted the inconvenience caused by the live streaming of the conference, adding that there was never any instruction from the Centre that the interaction could not be shared live.
'Higher interest rates make gold less attractive as it doesn't generate yield.' 'However, with rates set to fall, the tables are turning for gold.'
Kharge also urged voters to take pride in the fact that he as a bhoomi putra of Karnataka had been made All India Congress Committee president, and sought a win for the Congress in that name.
Vinesh was disqualified on the morning of the Paris Olympics final for exceeding the 50kg weight limit. During the weigh-in, she was found to be 100 grams over the limit.
He also said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored at the earliest. "Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times," he added.
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh on Sunday pledged to donate Rs 50 lakh to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's PM CARES Fund to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. The two-time World Cup winner also appealed to the people to stay united in the fight against the pandemic that has so far claimed more than 70 lives while infecting over 3000 across the country.
The PM expressed his anguish over the deteriorating situation and the humanitarian crisis in the war-hit country, while reiterating India's appeal for cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue.
'The central BJP leaders were determined to push Hindutva hard, and it failed.'
The impact of Trump's announcement of increasing import tariffs will have negligible benefit for India not because of companies trying to shift from China to other countries or their supply chains being affected due to their Chinese operations but because of our faulty policies, explains Mudit Jain.
The opposition INDIA bloc has written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai over their social media platforms' alleged role in "aiding communal hatred" in the country and demanded that the platforms maintain neutrality in the upcoming elections.
Notably, the JD-U has put up a better than expected performance in Lok Sabha polls.
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Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate took a swipe at Sonia Gandhi for her televised appeal, saying it reflected her realisation that her son Rahul had not delivered on the election front.
"Votes will be cast for the second phase in the Bihar assembly elections today. I appeal to all voters to make this festival of democracy successful by voting in large numbers," Modi said in a tweet in Hindi. He urged voters to adhere to social distancing norms and wear a mask while voting.
'I appeal to the BJP to keep the Lord above any political discourse.'
A packed beyond capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of the over 60 people on board.
'Although perhaps not with a greater majority, and maybe even a slightly reduced majority in the Lok Sabha.'
Sixty-nine-year-old Kumar appealed to his party workers to work towards bringing the BJP to power in Tamil Nadu following polls to the state assembly in 2026.
The PM targeted the Opposition after launching the National Sickle Cell Anemia Eradication Mission 2047 by unveiling a portal and releasing a guideline for the management of the disease and different modules at Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh.
In a last ditch effort, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday appealed to Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to "use his good office" to keep Andhra Pradesh united till an amicable solution is reached on the issue of creation of separate Telangana.
Gandhi, who is seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala, in a video appeal said this election is to save democracy and the Constitution.
Pawar's comments were at variance from ally Shiv Sena-UBT, whose leader Sanjay Raut had said PM Modi should come forward to inform about his academic qualification and that his degree should be displayed at the entrance of the Parliament building.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met leading NRI investors in UAE, who briefed him about various projects they are investing in India.
The high court in London on Tuesday began hearing evidence from two leading experts in the field of psychiatry to determine the level of suicide risk faced by Nirav Modi if he is extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering, amounting to an estimated $2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case. Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay heard from Andrew Forrester, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Cardiff University, and Seena Fazel, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Oxford University, in the final stages of the extradition appeal being pursued by the 51-year-old diamond merchant. The two psychiatrists weighed up Nirav's level of depression, which could pose a "substantial" or "elevated" risk of suicide.
Relentless accuracy by the bowlers, led by Radha Yadav, drove India to a comfortable 59-run victory over New Zealand in the first women's ODI in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
"If there is a valid degree of Modi, why Gujarat University is not showing it," Kejriwal asked.
Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has reacted to Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan's out-of-turn taunts with a one-liner, 'Let's wait', and thereby hangs a tale, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
