Los Angeles, Aug 8 (IANS) Evacuations were ordered for communities near a fast-moving wildfire in a canyon area in Southern California amid a major heat wave.The wildfire, dubbed the Canyon fire, broke out around 1:25 p.m. local time (2025 GMT) near Piru, a small historic town located in eastern Ventura County and around 77 km northwest of Los Angeles. The blaze grew rapidly to over 1,000 acres (around 4.05 square km) in hours with no containment, the California Department of Forestry and Fire P…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The BJP on Friday strongly rebutted the allegations made by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who, on Thursday accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to create over one lakh fake votes in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly segment.Several BJP leaders have now come out, questioning the basis and intent of LoP Gandhi’s claims, calling them “vague,” “baseless,” and “politically-motivated.”Speaking to IANS, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash said, …

Bengaluru, Aug 8 (IANS) The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) provide the electronic voters’ list for the past 10 years along with video recordings. He warned that failure to do so would amount to the ECI concealing electoral fraud and a crime.Addressing a massive gathering during the ‘Our Vote, Our Right, Our Fight’ rally against alleged election fraud, LoP Gandhi said that if the ECI is withholding dat…

Ahmedabad, Aug 8 (IANS) As the monsoon rains lash Ahmedabad, the city is witnessing a parallel surge in complaints related to stray dogs, mirroring the seasonal spike in stray cattle sightings on roads. In the last four months, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has received 3,891 complaints about stray dog attacks.July alone accounted for 1,395 cases, marking a steep rise in incidents. Citizens commuting on relatively empty roads at night have reported frequent encounters with aggressive…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The total investment made by companies under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles reached Rs 7,343 crore with total turnover at Rs 4,648 crore, including export of Rs 538 crore (till March 31, 2025), the Parliament was informed on Friday.An incentive worth Rs 54.50 crore has been disbursed under the scheme in FY 2024-25, Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.The projected investment …

Patna, Aug 8 (IANS) The spiritual and cultural landscape of Bihar is set to witness a historic moment as Union Home Minister Amit Shah will lay the foundation stone for the Maa Sita Temple at Punaura Dham in Sitamarhi. Political leaders across party lines, including the BJP and JD(U) on Friday hailed the move as the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream of every Bihari and a proud milestone for the state. Located in Punaura Dham, believed to be the mythological birthplace of goddess Sita, the tem…

Ahmedabad, Aug 8 (IANS) The Gujarat Legislative Assembly will convene for its Monsoon Session on September 8, 9, and 10, as announced on Friday. Governor Acharya Devrat has called for the seventh session of the current Assembly. The official notification regarding the session was issued by the Assembly Secretariat.Speaker Shankar Chaudhary shared details of the upcoming session, stating that MLAs can submit starred questions till August 20.The short, three-day session is expected to cover key le…

Guwahati, Aug 8 (IANS) Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the Assam Police busted an interstate drug peddling attempt and recovered a significant cache of narcotic substances.The operation was carried out in the Cachar district, and two persons were arrested on the charges of drug peddling.The police recovered 50 bags of cannabis from the possession of the drug peddlers.Taking to X, CM Sarma wrote, “Stride against drugs continues. In an intel backed operation, @cacharpolice i…

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) The country’s largest lender State Bank of India on Friday reported a 12.5 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 19,160 crore for the April-June quarter of the current financial year, compared to the corresponding figure of Rs 17,035 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.SBI’s operating profit for Q1 FY26 grew by a robust 15.49 per cent year-on-year to Rs 30,544 crore.Net Interest Income (NII), which reflects the difference between the interest earned on loans…

Jaipur, Aug 8 (IANS) The film ‘Udaipur Files’, based on the Kanhaiyalal murder case, was released on Friday in 4,500 screens across the country, including three in Udaipur — Celebration Mall, Urban Square, and Lake City Mall. Each venue will host only one show, and police have been deployed in and around the malls to ensure security.Kanhaiyalal’s sons — Yash and Tarun Teli — attended the screening while holding their father’s picture in their hands. Yash stated that the movie portrays the b…