KOLKATA: Election Commission has designated 837 out of the 1,835 booths under the Kolkata North parliamentary constituency as ‘super sensitive’, citing concerns about possible trouble-mongering. On hundreds of these booths, 150 or more names were deleted from the electoral rolls in the SIR exercise. “The EC apprehends residents left out of the voter list might…
MALDA: NIA has made its first arrests over the April 1 siege of judicial officers involved in SIR verifications at Mothabari in Malda, picking up two members of Congress and one of ISF. Congress’ Sahadat Hossain and Asif Sk were taken into custody on Sunday alongside ISF’s Golam Rabbani. Sayem Choudhury, the local Congress candidate,…
NEW DELHI: In a setback to Lalu Prasad, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to quash FIR against him in the land-for-jobs case but granted him exemption from appearance before the trial court and also allowed him to raise the issue of requirement of sanction during the trial. “We do not say anything about the…
NEW DELHI: Access to quitting aids like nicotine gums and lozenges may soon be tightened, raising concerns among experts it could become harder for smokers to quit. The trigger is a recommendation by the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) to restrict over-the-counter (OTC) access to most nicotine replacement products. The proposal exempts only unflavoured 2-mg…
NEW DELHI: Government on Monday hinted that ethanol blending in petrol can be increased to 21% from the current 20%, considering the tolerance level of vehicles.Responding to a question on whether discussions have started to increase the ethanol blending in the light of ongoing conflict in West Asia, heavy industries additional secretary Hanif Qureshi said,…
BENGALURU: When Vikram, India’s Moon lander, briefly lifted off and settled back down on the Moon in 2023, it marked a small but telling moment in the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Now, that short “hop”, which lasted around 3 minutes, is helping scientists piece together what lies just beneath the lunar surface, with very fine measurements.The manoeuvre,…
NEW DELHI: In what may be bad news for India’s farm sector and the overall rural economy, the IMD on Monday predicted ‘below normal’ southwest (summer) monsoon seasonal (June-Sept) rainfall over the country as a whole amid growing risk of El Niño conditions, which is invariably linked to depressed rainfall over the Indian sub-continent during…
At the Times Internet Half Marathon, the real momentum of the race wasn’t just created by speed, but by those who mastered control. Pacers – steady, disciplined, and focused – became the silent architects of the course, guiding hundreds of runners towards their goals with precision.In the 10K category, their impact was immediate. Groups of…
US CENTCOM said it will begin a blockade targeting Iranian ports on Monday after talks collapsed. UP government set up a probe panel after protests erupted in Noida, attributing the violence to “vested interests.” Iran warned a Hormuz blockade could trigger a sharp, disproportionate surge in global fuel prices. Arvind Kejriwal seeked a judge’s recusal…
DIBRUGARH: Shots were fired near militant group ULFA(I) chief Paresh Baruah’s paternal house in Assam‘s Dibrugarh district, his family claimed on Monday.Two rounds of blank fire were heard near the house in Jerai Gaon after midnight, but nothing was captured on CCTV, his brother Bimal Baruah claimed.Alleging that someone wanted to create law and order…