Lucknow, Aug 22 (IANS) Rebel Uttar Pradesh MLA Pooja Pal, recently expelled from the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Friday launched a blistering attack on party president Akhilesh Yadav, holding him directly responsible if any harm comes to her life.Pal said, “If I am murdered, the real culprit will be Akhilesh Yadav. My husband was killed in broad daylight, and instead of standing with us, the SP shielded the criminals. Today, I am receiving threats and I fear the same fate.”Pal, a two-time MLA w…

Jabalpur, Aug 22 (IANS) A day before Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav are scheduled to inaugurate the state’s longest flyover in Jabalpur district on Saturday, a political controversy erupted over venue for the inauguration event. A group of Jabalpur Congress workers on Friday held a protest, raising questions on section of the venue.As the event is being organised in the middle of the road, vehicular movement on several roads have…

Chennai/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 22 (IANS) Kerala Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan on Thursday formally extended an invitation to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to attend the Global Ayyappa Summit, scheduled to be held on September 20 as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).The TDB oversees the functioning of all temples in the south Kerala districts, which come under its remit.This includes the Sabarimala temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, located…

Ahmedabad, Aug 22 (IANS) A shocking incident at Seventh Day Adventist High School in Khokhra, Ahmedabad, has left the city in grief and anger after a Class 10 student was fatally stabbed by a fellow student. The tragedy sparked massive protests outside the school, where thousands of people — including the victim’s family, members of the Sindhi community, parents, and Hindu organisations — gathered demanding justice.The crime branch has now booked the school and its principal, Dr. G. Immanuel…

New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday described the continuous development of the trans-Yamuna area as her top priority, promising that the shortage of funds will never be allowed to pose a hurdle in achieving the objective.Speaking at Vastrika-2025, an event held at Ashok Bazaar in Gandhi Nagar, which is Asia’s largest ready-made garments market, CM Gupta said the government would allocate the required budget in line with developmental assessments, without hesita…

Hyderabad, Aug 22 (IANS) The Telangana High Court, on Friday, refused to pass any interim orders on the petitions filed by former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao seeking to quash the report of P.C. Ghose, which inquired into the allegations of irregularities in execution of Kaleshwaram project. With the state government making it clear that that no action would be taken against the petitioners before tabling and discussing the Commission’s report …

New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, on Friday underlined the importance of continuous investment in defence and rigorous training for the armed forces, stressing that India’s safety rests on the preparedness of both its military and police forces. He was addressing students as the chief guest at an event at Maharaja Agrasen College in Delhi.“Our boundaries – from external and internal threats – remain safe because of the defence forces and the polic…

Shimla, Aug 22 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh High Court has granted bail to a man who was arrested for sharing an AI-generated image of the Prime Minister on social media with the words ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. A single-judge Bench of Justice Rakesh Kainthla took note of the submission that the petitioner-accused was “falsely implicated” and had no direct role in posting the controversial content, as the Facebook account was created by his son, and the informant had access to his mobile phone …

Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.49 billion to $695.11 billion for the week ended August 15, data released by the RBI on Friday showed.The increase comes on the back of a $4.75 billion surge to $693.62 billion during the preceding week ended August 8, reflecting the stable external balance position of the country.An increase in the country’s foreign exchange kitty gives the RBI more headroom to strengthen the rupee vis-a-vis the US dollar. Adequate forex reser…

New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Urea production has witnessed a robust increase from 227.15 lakh metric ton (LMT) in the financial year 2013-14 to 306.67 LMT in 2024-25 fiscal, marking an impressive growth of 35 per cent over the past decade, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said on Friday. Similarly, the production of DAP and NPKS fertilisers combined has grown from 110.09 LMT to 158.78 LMT during the same period – a 44 per cent increase, reflecting the Government’s consistent efforts to en…