India

District magistrates were told to dismantle the illegal collection points JAMTARA: Bhaipo (nephew) tax. Danda tax. Bamboo barricades. Illegal nakas. Highway strongmen from alleged “syndicates” armed with sticks. For decades, drivers of commercial vehicles entering Bengal from Jharkhand said those words defined border crossings more than signboards or toll gates. Trucks slowed. Cash changed hands….

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rome on Tuesday for the final leg of his five-nation tour, where he is scheduled to meet Italian President Sergio Mattarella, hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and participate in diplomatic engagements before departing for India on Wednesday.“Welcome to Rome, my friend!” Italian Prime Minister…

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Denmark, Finland and Iceland on the margins of India-Nordic summit in Oslo. In his meeting with Denmark’s acting PM Mette Frederiksen, the two welcomed the advances made in the India-Denmark green strategic partnership, which prioritises collaborati-on in the field of environment…

In a joint statement on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi and Nordic leaders expressed concern over the Ukraine war, saying it continued to cause immense human suffering and have global consequences. “They will continue to support efforts towards the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace through dialogue and diplomacy, based on the principles of…

KOLKATA: ‘Shantiniketan’, at Harish Mukherjee Road where a notice was pasted Monday for alleged unauthorised construction, is among the 17 properties “owned or co-owned by Abhishek Banerjee, his company and family” that are under the scrutiny of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, an official of KMC said. Officials said notices under section 400(1) of the KMC Act,…

NEW DELHI: Govt has notified a new standard for higher ethanol-petrol blends — E22, E25, E27 and E30 fuels — paving the way for blending of ethanol in petrol beyond the current 20% level. The govt push to increase ethanol blending comes amid reports of availability of surplus ethanol and to reduce crude imports due…

LUDHIANA: Punjabi singer Yashinder Kaur aka Inder Kaur, 29, was found murdered in Ludhiana Tuesday, six days after she was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint, reports Payal Dhawan. The suspect is an alleged ‘suitor’ who lives in Canada and is believed to have come to India via Nepal to kill her and flown back on May…

NEW DELHI: Mamata Banerjee said the BJP-led Central government would be “removed from power” in the future, days after her party, TMC, suffered a major defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.During a meeting with party MLAs in Kalighat, the former West Bengal CM said, “BJP will be removed from power in Delhi in the…

NEW DELHI: India’s peak power demand hit a record 260.5 GW on Tuesday, surpassing the previous high of 257.4 GW recorded a day earlier, as soaring temperatures, heatwave conditions and increased AC usage pushed up consumption. Power ministry officials said the peak demand was recorded at 3.40pm and met without shortages, with total generation at…

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay will expand his cabinet to induct two Congress legislators as ministers on Thursday, reports Julie Mariappan. Members of the AIADMK faction headed by former ministers C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani are, however, not to be included in this round of cabinet expansion, sources told TOI….