United Nations coordinator says the majority of the nine lakh refugees fear persecution There is no “real possibility” of Rohingya refugees returning to Myanmar from Bangladesh despite serial attempts to repatriate them, said Sumbul Rizvi, a senior United Nations coordinator in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. “The UNHCR, UNDP and Myanmar …

Defence Minister to also discuss sanctions waiver during six-day visit India and the U.S. will review the progress of their expanding defence cooperation as well as discuss the issue of sanctions waiver for the arms purchases from Russia during Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s six-day visit starting Sunday. Ms. Sitharaman will …

A recent publication reveals the deep bond between the two Nobel Laureates which developed over the years of their correspondence “When my mind was steeped in the gloom of the thought that the lesson of late war has been lost… your letter came and cheered me up with the message …

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Saturday approved procurements estimated at Rs. 3,000 crore. These include BrahMos cruise missiles for two stealth frigates to be bought directly from Russia and armoured recovery vehicles for the Arjun tanks. “As a follow-up to the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security in …

Church sceptical of link, contends allowing liquor sales hasn’t curbed drug use The quantity of heroin seized in Mizoram has increased steadily since 2014 when the State government replaced total prohibition with controlled prohibition. While enforcement officials attribute this trend to the 2013 countrywide ban on the sale of painkiller …

The turnout in the panchayat polls in Kashmir slid to 17.3% on Saturday, while Jammu recorded a heavy 84.6% polling. “An overall poll percentage of 76.9 was witnessed across the State. A massive 84.6% polling was witnessed in Jammu division and 17.3% in Kashmir division,” Shaleen Kabra, Chief Electoral Officer, …

The Centre has prepared guidelines for setting up of crèches at workplaces, which prescribe trained personnel to man the facility as well as infrastructure requirements and safety norms. In March this year, Parliament passed the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017, enhancing paid maternity leave from a period of 12 weeks …

Releasing multiple videos of polling officials with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in a private hotel, a school bus without number plates carrying the machines and various persons approaching the strongrooms where the machines are kept, the Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of “an organised attempt to subvert the mandate” …

The turnout in the panchayat polls in Kashmir slid to 17.3% on Saturday, while Jammu recorded a heavy 84.6% polling. Anantnag and Kulgam districts, witnesses to widespread militancy and violence, recorded a dismal 7.3% and 4.6% polling, respectively. Source  :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/kashmir-sees-173-voting-in-panchayat-polls/article25646031.ece

Taking some burden off school students in Delhi, the AAP government issued a circular on Saturday fixing the maximum weight of a school bag. It stated that school bags for students in Class I and II should not weigh above 1.5 kg, 2-3 kg for Classes III to V, 4 …