Kolkata, Aug 7 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, used the death anniversary of iconic Nobel laureate as well as Indian poet and writer ‘Gurudev’ Rabindranath Tagore, to reiterate her stance against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. In a statement posted on her official X account, Chief Minister Banerjee paid tributes to Rabindranath Tagore and said that the iconic Indian poet and writer continued to be her insp…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Manipur Budget for 2025–26, authorising an amount of Rs 30,969,44 (Rs 35,103.90 crore presented in March) amid uproar and “surprised No” from the members of the Opposition who kept on creating din in the House.Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Bill under Article 356.Despite persistent disruptions from opposition benches, the House first cleared the budget and the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, …

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who sparked a political storm with his ‘Sanatani terrorism’ barb, has been served a legal notice by Sanatan Sanstha, demanding that the Congress leader tenders an unconditional apology or face a defamation suit amounting to Rs 10 crores. The defamation notice has been sent by Sanatan Sanstha Trustee Virendra Marathe, who claimed that the Congress leader made highly objectionable and disparaging remarks against the w…

Kolkata, Aug 7 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Thursday, filed a charge sheet against West Bengal Minister in-charge of the micro, small and medium enterprises and textiles department, Chandranath Sinha, in the case regarding irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in state-run schools in the state. Sinha is the second Minister in the Bengal government against whom ED had filed a charge sheet in this case, the first being the former West Bengal Education Minister and Tr…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) As many as 311 polluted river stretches (PRS) have been identified on 279 rivers by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday. The stretches were identified based on monitoring results in terms of Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), as an indicator of organic pollution.Minister of Jal Shakti C.R. Paatil, in a written reply, said the number of PRSs has decreased from 351 identified in the year 2018 to 311 in the year 2022 across 30 States…

Bengaluru, Aug 8 (IANS) In a major development related to the election fraud allegations, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka on Thursday sought a signed declaration from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the issue.The letter has been sent to Rahul Gandhi in this regard, following a meeting between Indian National Congress (INC) leaders and the CEO, as well as the press conference addressed by Rahul Gandhi in Delhi regarding the alleged election fraud.The CEO stated in the letter, “As f…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Hosts India have been drawn with Islamic Republic of Iran, Palestine, Chinese Taipei and Lebanon in Group D of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers, following the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.Ahmedabad’s The Arena will host Group D of the Qualifiers from November 22 to 30, 2025.India will begin the Qualifiers with a clash against Palestine on November 22 before taking on Chinese Taipei on November 26, Lebanon on Nove…

Bulawayo, Aug 7 (IANS) Veteran batter Brendan Taylor said it was incredibly difficult for him to stay away from Zimbabwe’s national team after he made a successful comeback to international cricket after four years on Thursday. Taylor returned to Zimbabwe’s XI in the second test against New Zealand after serving a three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code.”How good is it that three years ago, I couldn’t get out of bed and now I am here doing what I love, and that’s r…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) With stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from Tests, expectations were understandably cautious around how a young Indian side led by Shubman Gill would handle the challenge of a five-match series in England. Only eight members of the squad had previously played Tests in England. Adding to the uncertainty was India’s pre-decided plan to field Jasprit Bumrah in just three of the five Tests – a move that raised questions about the bowling unit’s ability …

Dundee (Scotland), Aug 7 (IANS) Scotland will take part in the ICC U19 Men’s World Cup after defeating the Netherlands by 20 runs in the final Europe Qualifier. Chasing 238 for a World Cup spot, the Netherlands were well-placed at 108/3 despite losing two early wickets to Finlay Jones (4/41), who was the main architect of the Scotland win.Off-spinner Manu Saraswat (3/43) arrested the runflow of the visitors and Ollie Jones removed the crucial wicket of Tom De Leede (67), who was threatening to r…