It’s official: the Saharan silver ant is the fastest of the world’s 12,000 known ant species, clocking a blistering 855 millimetres — nearly a metre — per second, researchers said on Thursday. Measured another way, the six-legged sprinter covers 108 times its own body length per second, a feat topped …

Domestic aviation traffic grew at a measly rate of 1.18% in September as compared to the year ago period, according to the monthly data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Airlines altogether flew 1.15 crore passengers last month as compared to 1.13 crore during the same period …

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), has completed its first asset sale plan, selling 51% stake in its wind energy arm to Orix Corporation. “The IL&FS Group has completed the sale process of its 51% stake, held through IL&FS Wind Energy Limited (IWEL) in seven operating wind power SPVs (with …

Investors can find no better place in the world than India that has a democracy- loving and a capitalist-respecting environment, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. She also assured international investors during an interaction session at the IMF’s headquarters that the government was continuously working towards bringing reforms. “It …

For the first time in seven years, rural growth has fallen below that of urban for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, whose sales are often looked upon as a barometer of overall economic growth and consumption due to the range and reach of products across price points. According to …

Pro-democracy lawmakers were dragged out of Hong Kong’s legislature by security guards on Thursday after they heckled the ci ty’s pro-Beijing leader for a second day running, the latest outburst of political rancour in the strife-torn city. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has faced an outpouring of anger from her opponents …

Damascus on Thursday said Syrians are unified against a cross-border Turkish assault, in its first statement since deploying troops in Kurdish-controlled areas to contain Ankara’s offensive. “The Syrian government renews its absolute rejection and strong condemnation of Turkey’s blatant aggression,” said a Foreign Ministry statement carried by state news agency …

Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson on Thursday urged MPs “to come together” and support his “excellent” Brexit deal without any more delay. But he is facing a desperate scramble for votes to pass the deal in Parliament, as his Conservative government is well short of a majority. MPs will debate …

Pakistan said on Thursday that it had “exclusive rights” over three western rivers and any attempt by India to divert the flow of these rivers would be considered an “act of aggression”. Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal made the remarks during his weekly media briefing here in response to a …

After the Balakot air strikes in February, the Army fast-tracked procurement of 155-mm Excalibur precision-guided ammunition from the U.S., and it has recently been inducted. The ammunition gives the artillery guns extended range and the ability to hit targets with very high accuracy, sources said. “The need for precision-guided munitions …

In response to the State government’s proposal in February 2014 and March 2016 to release the convicts, the order said the move would “set a very dangerous precedent and lead to international ramifications”. Before making its recommendation in September last year, the government received opinion from Advocate-General Vijay Narayan too. …

The National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to Odisha government for payment of Rs. 10 lakh each to 36 children who were administered expired medicine in Kendrapara district. The incident took place in November 2014. ASHA workers gave Albendazole oral suspension past their expiry date at a deworming camp …

Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has asked the Madhya Pradesh government to submit a “detailed report” within 15 days on alleged irregularities inSwachh Survekshan 2019. On October 7, J.C. Upreti, Under Secretary to the Government of India, wrote to the Principal Secretary, State Urban Development and Environment Department, …

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has now prescribed the Gandhian way of intake of food — eat less, safe and healthy — to counter hunger and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country. The Minister also advocated developing the habit of sharing surplus food. “Our Eat Right India …

Team led by Ambassador Shringla explains Centre’s view With less than a week to go before a Congressional hearing on Human Rights in South Asia, India is exerting its diplomatic muscle on Capitol Hill to explain the government’s point of view on Kashmir to U.S. lawmakers. A team of five …

The tuberculosis incidence rate in India has decreased by almost 50,000 patients over the past one year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)-2019 edition of the Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report released on Thursday. The report notes that in 2017, India had 27.4 lakh TB patients which came down to …

Karnataka has been ranked as the most innovative State in the NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index 2019, released on Thursday. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh follow in the rankings of the 10 major States, in that order. “The study examines the …

Two-wheelers and cars carrying children in school uniform will also be exempted from the odd-even road rationing scheme which will be implemented in Delhi from November 4 to 15, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. The odd-even scheme will be implemented from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on all …

Once dominating the news for setting debates and settling sticky discourses for 70 years, the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council, the upper house of the Assembly, was abolished on Thursday as per Section 57 of the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019, which reduced the State to the Union Territories of J&K …

For several years now, the problem of introducing powerlooms to the large number of weavers in Tamil Nadu has been postponed, but the present Government has announced its determination to see the scheme through. It has been pushed in this direction by the yarn industry which now depends on distant …