The Joint Opposition in the Maldives, a political grouping challenging President Abdulla Yameen, has expressed deep concern over reports of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s “rapidly deteriorating” health in prison. It has sought the international community’s help in pressuring the Government of Maldives to shift Mr. Gayoon, 80, at his …

The U.S. slapped steep tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods on Thursday, triggering a swift tit-for-tat retaliation from Beijing, even as negotiators from both sides seek to soothe trade tensions. The latest action completes the first round of $50 billion in Chinese products that President Donald Trump had …

Setting aside its ban on the sale of oxytocin, the Health Ministry has allowed private retail stores to sell the life-saving hormone from September 1, an official said on Thursday. State-owned Karnataka Antibiotics Pvt Ltd will be the only company to manufacture and distribute oxytocin in India from September 1. …

Senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Lalji Tandon was sworn in as Bihar Governor on Thursday. He replaced Satya Pal Malik, who was appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on August 21. Mr. Tandon was administered oath of office by Patna High Court Chief Justice Mukesh Rasik Bhai Shah. Bihar …

Like in most towns of northeast India, dusk descends quickly in Gangtok. As shops start winding up, the only places that continue to buzz with activity are three casinos, located within 10 km of Sikkim’s capital city. Sherap Lepcha, general manager of Casino Mahjong, is busy overseeing the casino which, …

India and China on Thursday agreed to work towards full implementation of ongoing confidence-building measures (CBM) along the border as well as improve military to military interactions. This was agreed during bilateral consultations between Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and visiting Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe. “It …

The Indian government and WhatsApp appear to be at loggerheads over tracing the origin of fake messages. The messaging platform has said it will not comply with the government’s demand as the move will undermine the privacy of WhatsApp users. “People rely on WhatsApp for all kinds of sensitive conversations, …

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the response of the Election Commission of India on separate petitions filed by Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Kamal Nath highlighting that lakhs of voters have been found to be fake and that only a small portion of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) …

The catchments of top seven large reservoirs that produce hydropower in India are likely to experience “substantial warming” leading to increased mean annual rainfall in near future (2020-2030), mid and end (2070-2099) of the century due to global warming. Based on modelling, a team of researchers from IIT Gandhinagar found …

Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose on Thursday filed a sworn affidavit in the Supreme Court detailing the trauma and scale of rescue and relief operations during the most devastating floods the State has seen in a century. The affidavit pays tribute to the overwhelming help received from unexpected quarters, including …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that “each paisa of every rupee released by his government from Delhi” now reaches its beneficiaries because his government had rooted out middlemen and corruption from the system, while taking a dig at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s remark that “if one rupee …

He took rest for three months after he underwent kidney transplant Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday resumed duties as the country’s Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister after a gap of three months during which he underwent a kidney transplant surgery. Mr. Jaitley spent the day meeting senior officials in …

The government is considering a proposal to provide interest-free loans up to Rs. 1 lakh for families in flood-hit areas to return home and start life afresh. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said this was one of the initiatives on the anvil to provide succour for people who had suffered heavy …

Rail patrol men, foot soldiers and key men of track maintenance of the Indian Railways, have also gone digital. With smartphones in everyone’s hands these days, the South Central Railway (SCR) has been successfully monitoring the condition of track, overhead power lines etc., making use of a mobile app to …

Finding the efforts by Internet giants to curb circulation of online videos of sexual violence against women and children inadequate, the government is likely to seek “stricter directions” to service providers, such as Facebook and YouTube, from the Supreme Court. The directions sought will include considerably reducing the time taken …