NEW DELHI: Days after PM Narendra Modi’s appeal to reduce gold purchases, the finance ministry on Wednesday raised customs duty on the yellow metal and silver to 15% from 6% in a bid to lower the demand for precious metals.The move pushed up domestic spot market for gold by Rs 9,000-10,000 to about Rs 1.6…
VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala NEW DELHI: After nine days of intense lobbying that fuelled rumours, Congress will end the suspense Thursday morning by naming Kerala’s next chief minister, with leader of opposition V D Satheesan, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and veteran Ramesh Chennithala in contention.All three aspirants strongly pressed their claims…
CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and rebel leader C Ve Shanmugam traded charges of ‘anti-party activities’.While EPS accused Shanmugam and S P Velumani of supporting TVK’s confidence motion in exchange for ministerial berths, the rebel leaders shot back saying EPS had attempted to become CM with the support of DMK. Hours after a…
NEW DELHI: Two important MoUs in the areas of LPG and Strategic Petroleum Reserves are likely to be concluded during PM Narendra Modi’s stopover in the UAE on Friday on his way to Europe, official sources have said. Govt said that energy security will be a key focus area of Modi’s three-hour stopover in the…
NEW DELHI: At least 33 people were killed across five districts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday after a powerful storm accompanied by heavy rain caused widespread destruction, officials told news agency PTI.Taking stock of the damage, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered immediate relief measures and compensation for affected families. He directed district authorities…
NEW DELHI: Dealing with the sensitive issue of ‘faith vs fundamental rights’ emanating from quashing of a Sabarimala Ayyappa temple custom barring the entry of women in the 10-50 age group, a nine-judge SC bench on Wednesday said it would not revisit SC’s three-decade-old ruling of “Hinduism is a way of life”.As counsel after counsel…
The United Arab Emirates has denied reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the country during the recent Israel-US conflict with Iran, rejecting claims that it hosted either the Israeli leader or an Israeli military delegation.In a strongly worded statement, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said reports circulating about…
NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay said the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination exposed “structural flaws” in the system and demanded for the test to be scrapped.Vijay said governments in Tamil Nadu had “consistently and unanimously” opposed NEET since its introduction, arguing that it had “severely disadvantaged the students from rural…
Okay, so Tuesday night in NYC’s West Village, a group of some of the most connected people in entertainment quietly slipped into Via Carota for Lena Dunham’s 40th birthday dinner. No red carpet. No announcement. Just Taylor Swift, Emily Ratajkowski, Emily’s boyfriend Romain Gavras, Andrew Rannells, and Lena’s husband Luis Felber, all at the same…
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Pokhran II nuclear tests showcased that “no power can bend India”.Codenamed ‘Operation Shakti’, Pokhran II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb explosions in May 1998 that gave India official entry into the global “nuclear club” and the sixth country to declare itself a nuclear-armed…