Chennai, Aug 18 (IANS) Security has been tightened at Chennai airport and along East Coast Road ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s two-day visit to the city. Shah will arrive on Wednesday evening and chair a conference of the Chief Ministers of southern States and Puducherry at Kovalam in Chengalpattu district on Thursday.The high-level meeting, to be held at a private luxury hotel on East Coast Road, will bring together the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Prades…

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The NCB, in association with State/UT Police and Immigration authorities, will launch a fortnight-long nationwide campaign “Trinetra” in the first week of September to identify illegally overstaying foreign nationals suspected to be involved in drug trafficking, an official said. The campaign will focus on intelligence-based identification and verification of such persons, examining their immigration status and links to drug trafficking networks, and taking appropria…

Shillong, Aug 18 (IANS) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday reviewed the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the state and assessed preparations for the programme’s second phase, identifying 322 villages that need focused intervention to improve the reliability of household water supply. Sangma chaired the review meeting with senior officials of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and the JJM Meghalaya team, with discussions centred on the actual functio…

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Nitin Nabin on Tuesday said India’s youth are aware of both their rights and duties, and that their positive outlook, energy, and commitment to nation-building are a source of national pride. Addressing a ‘Yuva Samvad’ programme organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha with students pursuing higher education in Visakhapatnam, Nabin said the youth are the most powerful force in shaping the future of the country.During the inte…

Rajkot, Aug 18 (IANS) The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajkot City Police seized 204.9 kg of ganja, valued at Rs 1.02 crore, from a truck near Bamanbor on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway and arrested two men, police said on Tuesday. The action was carried out in connection with a drive against the sale and transportation of narcotic substances ahead of the Janmashtami festival.Acting on information that three men would be travelling in a truck with a consignment of ganja, SOG teams, with techn…

Bhopal, Aug 18 (IANS) Traders in Bhopal have opposed the municipal corporation’s intensified crackdown on commercial activities in residential buildings, warning that sealing establishments could affect the livelihoods of lakhs of people who depend on small businesses. The civic body has issued 6,589 notices across the city so far, following the Supreme Court’s strict stance on commercial use of residential properties.Bhopal Chamber of Commerce president Govind Goyal said the authorities sho…

Patna, Aug 18 (IANS) A Student Justice Satyagraha began on Tuesday at the Gardanibagh protest site in Patna, with students raising several demands related to government recruitment examinations and teacher appointments. The protest, led by student leader Dilip Kumar, focuses on the immediate release of the BPSC TRE‑4 recruitment advertisement, with protesters demanding that the recruitment process be conducted through a single‑stage examination.Dilip Kumar said students would stage a peacefu…

Amstelveen (the Netherlands), Aug 18 (IANS) The Indian women’s hockey team strengthened their position at the top of Pool D at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026 with a commanding 6-1 victory over South Africa at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen on Tuesday.The emphatic win keeps India unbeaten in the tournament, having earlier drawn 2-2 against 2024 Olympic silver medallists China, taking their tally to four points from two matches, with India currently leading the…

New York, Aug 18 (IANS) US President Donald Trump doubled down on his plan to take over the Strait of Hormuz, posting on Tuesday a map of the crucial artery for global energy supplies showing it as “New US Territory”.After posting the map on Truth Social a day after the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran imploded, he said: “The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated.”Trump, who is under domestic pressure because of the price rise attribut…

Kolkata, Aug 18 (IANS) Expelled Trinamool Congress legislator Ritabrata Banerjee will continue to be the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly for the time being, as a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday referred back the petition challenging Banerjee’s post before the single-judge bench of the same court, which in June this year, had upheld the decision of the West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose accepting Banerjee as the leader of the “rebel but majority” blo…