British MPs are set to hold a debate in Parliament later this month on whether Hindu and Muslim religious occasions such as Deepavali and Id should be made into public holidays, following public calls for change, including through petitions submitted to Parliament. Over 45,000 people have signed a petition on …

A pro-government Turkish newspaper on Wednesday published a gruesome recounting of the alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, just as America’s top diplomat arrived in the country for talks over The Washington Post columnist’s disappearance. The report by Yeni Şafak adds to the …

A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Centre and the city government to act on starvation deaths, especially of children, in various parts of the country, including the national capital. The plea, moved by a lawyer, said that starvation deaths and malnutrition …

The Zika virus behind the ongoing outbreak in Rajasthan is closely related to the virus that caused the Brazilian outbreak, according to Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Dr. Bhargava told The Hindu that the National Institute of Virology (NIV) had fully sequenced the …

An upper air cyclonic circulation triggered thunderstorm activity across the city on Wednesday. Light rain may continue at a few places across the State till the weekend. Monsoon-like conditions returned to Chennai, which was experiencing a dry spell, on Wednesday afternoon. The weather station at Nungambakkam recorded 2 cm of …

The Supreme Court has barred State governments from diverting money from their Compensatory Afforestation and Management Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds meant for environmental protection, rehabilitation of displaced persons due to issues like depletion of forest, mining, etc. The apex court’s order came after realising that the Punjab government took Rs. …

Indian Coast Guard vessels have prevented apprehension of two Indian fishing boats by the Pakistani agencies. The Coast Guard’s patrol vessel, Rajratan, was alerted after intercepting a VHF communication regarding a “Pakistani warship chasing two fishing boats, reportedly operating in Pakistan waters.” Subsequently, the Coast Guard vessel intercepted two Indian …

India and China will resume the annual joint Army exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand’ in December in China’s Chengdu region, an Army official said. The drill was cancelled last year due to tense relations in the aftermath of the Doklam standoff. “The Exercise Planning Conference is scheduled to be held from November 1-3 …

Kuligod in Karnataka’s Belagavi district is the country’s best developed village, but more than a third of the gram panchayats ranked in the top 10 are in Andhra Pradesh, according to the findings of an ongoing Rural Development Ministry survey. With multiple panchayats assigned the same score – and thus …

The police cane-charged protesters on Wednesday as the Sabarimala temple opened for the first time since the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry to women of all ages to the hill shrine. As many as 13 policemen and 200 protesters from Hindu fringe outfits were injured in the incidents. Nilackal, the …