Kolkata, Aug 13 (IANS) A 30-year-old man possessing a firearm was apprehended near the Sealdah railway station on Wednesday, an official said. A home guard and a traffic sergeant saw the man moving around suspiciously and caught him. However, they had to chase the man — identified as Pankaj Biswas — a long way to catch him. Upon searching, a firearm was recovered which was kept inside his shirt.Later, officers from Entally Police Station reached the spot and arrested the young man. However, qu…

Chennai, Aug 13 (IANS) A 17-year-old Class 11 student collapsed and died inside a private school in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram on Wednesday, sending shockwaves across the district and sparking intense public attention after video footage of the incident surfaced online.The student, identified as Mohan Raj of Mel Theru in Villupuram, had arrived at school as usual and taken his seat in the classroom when the tragedy occurred. Eyewitnesses said he suddenly fainted and fell to the floor without warnin…

Aizawl, Aug 13 (IANS) Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on Wednesday that the state lies within close proximity to the Golden Triangle, a notorious region for drug trafficking. Flagging off the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (Drugs Free India Campaign) in Aizawl, the Chief Minister said that this geographical location has led to the frequent inflow of drugs into the state. Noting that drugs bring no benefit to society and must be eradicated completely, he also urged communities to be vigilant and…

Mumbai, Aug 13 (IANS) Amid raging controversy over the announcement by several civic bodies that slaughterhouses and meat shops within city limits would remain closed on August 15 on the occasion of Independence Day and Janmashtami, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday clarified that the state government has not banned the sale of meat. He told reporters that “The government resolution (GR) in this regard was issued in 1988. I was not aware that many municipalities have made decisions…

Surat, Aug 13 (IANS) Under the “Tapi ke Taare” project, 28 tribal students from 15 government schools in Gujarat’s Tapi district took their first-ever flight and travelled to Chennai to visit ISRO’s renowned Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, an experience that has left a lasting mark on their aspirations. The students returned to Surat airport on Wednesday, where they were welcomed by the Gujarat Tribal Development as well as Education Minister Kuber Dindor, Forest and Environment Minis…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) The overall gross exports of gems & jewellery registered a robust increase of 15.98 per cent to $2.18 billion (Rs 18,756.28 crore) during July this year, as compared to $1.88 billion (Rs 15,700 crore) for the same month of the previous year, according to data released by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Wednesday.On the other hand, the overall gross imports of gems & jewellery witnessed a growth of 26.55 per cent to $1.8 billion (Rs 15,5…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) At a recent seminar on challenges to regional peace and security in South Asia in Kathmandu, Sunil Bahadur Thapa, Principal Political Advisor to the President of Nepal, said that Pakistan-based UN-designated terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish pose a risk to India. He also said that these groups could potentially use Nepal as a transit point for their nefarious objectives.Nepal, being used as a transit point, is nothing new for Pakistan’s ISI. There are…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has decided to officially make a bid for the upcoming Commonwealth Games of 2030, hoping to bring back the mega event to the country after 20 years.The IOA approved the bid to host CWG 2030 during its Special General Meeting (SGM) in New Delhi on Wednesday.”The proposal to approve the bid was moved by the President and was okayed by all the members present with a unanimous voice vote,” said a senior IOA official on condition of anonym…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Former India wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel, who is the mentor of Outer Delhi Warriors franchise, has urged the team to keep faith in their abilities and remain optimistic after a narrow 12-run defeat to Central Delhi Kings in the Delhi Premier League 2025.Chasing a modest target of 162 runs, Outer Delhi Warriors suffered early setbacks, losing four wickets in the powerplay. Despite a resilient knock from middle-order batter Keshav Dabas, who scored a fighting 64 of…

Mumbai, Aug 13 (IANS) Actress Vidya Balan, whose debut film ‘Parineeta’ is gearing up for a re-release, has shared the title of the first song that she heard from the album. The actress shared that she was shooting a music video with the late filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar when he asked her to listen to a song that he and his team had recorded. This was the first song from the film which the actress heard.Talking about the same, she said, “There is something about Piyu Bole that just has my hear…