Suburban Train Derails at Kalyan Station

A suburban train derailed on Friday at Kalyan station in Thane district, some 60 kilometres from here, while entering a platform, though there was no report of anyone getting injured, an official said.

The Titwala-CSMT train derailed on platform number 2 at around 9:00pm, leading to disruptions on the mainline, he said.

"There is no report of injury to anyone. The rear coach derailed when the train was at slow speed since it was about to halt at platform number 2," Central Railway chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila said.

As per a Central Railway bulletin, four long distance trains departing from CSMT have been diverted via Diwa-Panvel-Pune, instead of Kalyan-Kasara route, due to the derailment.

Nila said the derailed coach will be re-railed by midnight.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday launched Chief Minister's Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan (CMAAA) 2.0 at a function held at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati. 
According to a release, under the CMAAA 1.0, which is the State government's flagship entrepreneur support initiative, CM distributed Rs. 510 crores to 25238 budding entrepreneurs across the state. CMAAA 2.0 is an extension of the earlier mission which has been designed to further enhance the spirit of entrepreneurship in the state. 75,000 beneficiaries will be selected for the CMAAA 2.0. 

Speaking on the occasion, CM Sarma said that the State government is committed to starting a new era of entrepreneurship in Assam where the empowered youth will be given opportunities to start their entrepreneurial ventures. 

He said that under CMAAA 2.0, the selected beneficiaries will receive Rs 5 lakhs for Professional Course Category and Rs 2 lakhs for Non-professional Course Category in two trenches as entrepreneurship incentives. 

Applicants possessing four years of degree in the fields of engineering, medicine, agriculture, veterinary, and fishery will be treated as professional course category applicants. whereas, all other applicants (except the professional category) will be treated as non-professional course category. 
 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his two deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Friday.

The late-evening huddle of the top leaders of the Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra with BJP strategist Shah came at a time when seat-sharing talks among the ruling constituents in the state were at a crucial juncture.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are seeking to retain power in the November 20 state Assembly polls.

The three parties are expected to finalise the seat-sharing formula for the election during the meeting.

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP on Friday said the party's number one position in terms of vote percentage is a clear endorsement by the public of the central government's decision to abrogate Article 370.

A special core group meeting of the BJP leadership held here urged all party MLAs to remain committed to the party's goals and play an active role as a vigilant opposition in the Assembly. It asked the party MLAs to ensure that no "injustice" is done to the Jammu region by the National Conference(NC)-led government which, they alleged, is primarily focused on Kashmir.

The special core group meeting, presided over by BJP JK president Ravinder Raina, took place at the party headquarters, according to a BJP statement.

During the meeting, the core group held an in-depth discussion on the recently held elections for the UT of JK Assembly.

They extended their gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "visionary leadership" which, they claimed, led the party to an "unprecedented" victory.

The Union Public Service Commission on Friday postponed the Engineering Services Examination-2025 to give "sufficient time" to the aspirants to prepare for the recruitment test, according to an official statement.

The development came after the government decided that the recruitment to the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) would be made through both the Civil Services Examinations (for Traffic, Accounts and Personnel sub-cadres) and the ESE (for Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Signal and Telecommunication and Stores sub-cadres).

"In order to give sufficient time to the aspirants of ESE 2025 to prepare for the examination, the Commission has also decided to postpone the ESE (Preliminary) and ESE (Main) Exam, 2025.

"The ESE (Preliminary) 2025 and ESE (Main) 2025 will now be held on 8th June 2025 and 10th August 2025 respectively," said the statement issued by the UPSC.

According to the UPSC's annual programme of examination, 2025, notification for ESE 2025 was issued on September 18, 2024, with the last date of receipt of applications as October 8, 2024.

The ESE Preliminary/Stage-I test was scheduled to be held by the UPSC on February 9, 2025, in accordance with the rules published by the Ministry of Communications, Department of Telecommunications.

The railways ministry also notified the IRMS (Amendment) Rules, 2024 on October 9, the statement said.

Four students were injured after a test tube exploded during a science practical class at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Inter College here on Friday, police said.

The incident occurred when 32 students were conducting experiments in the school's chemistry lab, they said.

The explosion caused four students to lose consciousness, they said. They were rushed to a local hospital. Two of them were transferred to a district hospital.

According to witnesses, the explosion occurred after students mixed chemicals in a test tube. The resulting gas made several students uncomfortable.

The school principal, Shiv Kumar, said that the incident occurred due to an excess of hydrochloride chemicals in the test tube. He assured that all the injured students are in stable condition.

Jawaharlal Nehru University is willing to set up centres dedicated to Assamese warrior Lachit Borphukan and the Chola dynasty if the money comes its way, having already set up a Centre of Excellence in the name of Maratha leader Shivaji Maharaj, varsity Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit said on Friday.

In an interview with PTI, Pandit said JNU has received funding of Rs 10 crore from the Maharashtra government for setting up a centre dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Several meetings were held between the university and Maharashtra government officials to finalise the modalities of course that will be on offer, she said.

Shivaji, Pandit said, is a national hero, and teaching about him is necessary to set the narrative aligned with achieving the goal of a developed India by 2047.

"India for Viksit Bharat 2047 needs narratives. Nowadays when we teach strategic thought, we only teach till Kautilya. Beyond that, it is necessary to teach the practices of different kingdoms across the country," Pandit said.

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Friday said expelled Congress digital media convener P Sarin will contest as an independent Left candidate for the Palakkad assembly seat in the upcoming by-election there on November 13.

Sarin was expelled from the primary membership of the Congress after he raised a protest against the party leadership over its candidate decision for the Palakkad assembly bypoll.

The decision to field him at Palakkad was announced by CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan at a press conference held here in the evening when he also said that party leader and former MLA, U R Pradeep, would be contesting for the Chelakkara assembly seat in the bypoll there.

"We are confident we will win in both seats," he claimed.

Bypolls are being held at Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly constituencies as the MLAs from there -- Shafi Parambil and K Radhakrishnan respectively -- were elected to the Lok Sabha this year.

A Maoist, carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, was arrested by security personnel from the forest of Mushharitand in Bihar’s Jamui district, police said on Friday.

The active member of the Poorvi Bihar Purvottar Jharkhand Special Area Committee (PBPJSAC) of the CPI (Maoist) was wanted by the police for his alleged involvement in at least seven cases in Jamui, Lakhisarai, Munger and Jharkhand, including attack on security personnel, they said.

“... The district police jointly launched an operation along with personnel of the Special Task Force, CRPF and SSB and nabbed him in the forest of Mushharitand last night,” a statement said.

Former top bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar was on Friday appointed as the chief principal secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in the rank and status of a Cabinet minister with immediate effect.

His term will be co-terminus with the term of the chief minister, an order issued by Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad, said.

Saini took oath as the chief minister for the second time on Thursday after the BJP returned to power in Haryana following the October 5 Assembly polls.

Over a year ago after his retirement, the Haryana government had appointed Khullar as chief principal secretary to the then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

After Saini replaced Khattar as the CM in March, Khullar continued as chief principal secretary.

Khullar, a 1988 batch IAS officer, was the additional chief secretary and financial commissioner of the Revenue and Disaster Management, and Consolidation Departments. He retired last year.

A highlight of Khullar's career was his appointment as the executive director of the World Bank's Washington DC office in September 2020 for a term of three years.

Before the international assignment, he had served as the principal secretary to Khattar for nearly five years.

Khullar had also served as the joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance. 

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has directed MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar to clean the city ahead of Diwali and remove any kind of defacement from public property. The civic agency has increased its efforts on garbage collection, road repairs, and pollution control for the upcoming elections.

Delhi assembly polls are due in February 2025.

As winter approaches, Delhiites experienced chilly winds on Friday morning and evening, with the city's air quality remaining in the "poor" category.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of the capital was recorded at 292 at 4 pm.

Alongside the deteriorating air quality, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported a maximum temperature of 36.2 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.

Humidity levels fluctuated between 51 per cent and 91 per cent during the day.

The weather department has forecast a clear sky on Saturday.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to settle around 35 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius respectively.

The helicopter carrying Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde from his native village in Satara district to Pune had to return to the village on Friday afternoon due to rainy weather, officials said.

The chief minister and the others flying in the helicopter were safe, they said.

Shinde was flying to Pune from village Dare in Satara district when it suddenly started raining, said his officer-on-special duty Mangesh Chivate.

The village is located along the bank of the Koyna dam backwater amid the Sahyadri ranges.

Sameer Shaikh, Superintendent of Police of Satara, said the chopper took off from the helipad at Dare around 4 pm but turned back soon.

The weather was clear over Satara and Pune but after noticing rain clouds in the distance, the pilots decided to return to the helipad as a precaution, he said.

The chief minister later left for Pune by car.

Shinde was to leave for Delhi from Pune as per his original program, officials said. 

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Mairajuddin Ahmed joined the Congress party on Friday, over a month after resigning from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Ahmed said he took membership of the Congress in the presence of the party's national general secretary Avinash Pandey and state president Ajay Rai at the 'Samvidhan Bachao Sankalp Sammelan' held in Ghaziabad Friday.

"Work will be done to strengthen the Congress party in the fight to save the Constitution. I have an old relationship with the Congress party," Ahmed told PTI.

Reiterating the reason for leaving RLD, Ahmed said that the image of the Rashtriya Lok Dal that Chaudhary Ajit Singh had created, which had a campaign to take along people of all classes including farmers, Dalits and Muslims, is looking one-sided.

"In such a situation, their trust has been broken and to a large extent people have started separating from the Rashtriya Lok Dal," he added.

The RLD, led by party president Jayant Chaudhary, had joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and drifted away from the INDIA bloc, comprising Congress, Samajwadi Party, among others. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday conducted searches at 10 locations in Rajasthan in connection with an illegal sand mining case, officials said.

The premises of suspects in Jaipur, Tonk, Ajmer and Bhilwara were raided by the agency in connection with the case, they said.

The CBI took over the probe into the case, earlier registered by the Bundi police, in April on the orders of the Rajasthan High Court.

The issue surfaced when police arrested a man, Shahrukh, while he was transporting 40 MT of sand in a dumper without a valid permit.

The probe into the MUDA 'scam' allegedly involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah picked up pace on Friday with the Enforcement Directorate conducting searches in its Mysuru office in a money laundering case linked to irregularities in the allotment of sites, raising political temperature in the Congress-ruled State.

The MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations including in Bengaluru were raided by the federal probe agency officials, along with an escort of a central paramilitary force, in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case in which it has booked Siddaramaiah, his family members and others, the sources said.

No premises of the CM or his family were covered, they said.

"ED probe team has come, we will provide whatever information they ask," MUDA Secretary Prasanna Kumar told reporters in Mysuru. "They have said that they will work here today and tomorrow. Whoever from staff they may want (to meet), we will call them and provide them the information." On September 30, the ED filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of a recent Lokayukta FIR.

The CM is facing allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by the MUDA.

Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress chief D K Shivakumar said the ED action was only an exercise to gather information, collect documents related to the case and verify them.

The Election Commission on Friday issued the notification for the upcoming bye-elections to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, a senior official said.

According to the EC, the last date of making nominations is October 25, while scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on October 28.

The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is October 30.

Voting will be held on November 13, while counting of votes will take place on November 23.

The EC on Tuesday announced that bypolls to nine of the 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, except Milkipur of Ayodhya district, will be held on November 13. Bypoll to the Milkipur assembly seat was not announced as an election petition is pending in the high court against the candidate who had won the seat earlier.

Meanwhile, officials at the office of UP's Chief Electoral Officer on Friday said that they have forwarded to the Election Commission of India the letter by the BJP, asking the poll authority to postpone the bypoll dates from November 13 to November 20 in view of Kartik Purnima.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on Friday for allegedly raping and forcing a Dalit woman to convert to Islam, police said.

The 22-year-old woman lodged a complaint against Asif on Monday, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sagar Jain said.

In her complaint, she said that the accused had blackmailed, raped and recorded a video of her, Jain said.

"The accused had also allegedly forced the woman to convert her religion," the officer said.

A case was registered against Asif under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Nakud police station, he said.

 A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case, citing "delay in trial" and his "long incarceration".

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 30, 2022, on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him. He is currently in judicial custody.

"Considering the delay in trial and a long incarceration of 18 months, and the fact that the trial will take long to start, let alone conclude, accused is favourably suited for the relief," held Special Judge Vishal Gogne.

The judge, who also issued a release warrant for Jain, granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of like amount.

The moment judge pronounced the order, Jain's wife Poonam and daughter Shreya, who were present in the courtroom, broke down.

Shreya spoke to mediapersons later and said Diwali had arrived early for the family.

"We always knew this would happen and it was only a matter of time. We are happy that the court gave us justice. Diwali is approaching and we think it has come early for us this year, and we are happy and enthusiastic for him," she told the court.

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi says, “We have seen in the last ten years under the leadership of PM Modi how the country is moving. When we became independent in 1947 India was the 6th largest economy...We kept talking about poverty eradication but we became poorer. Today in the last ten years we have grown to the fifth largest, and we are the fastest-growing economy in the world...10 years back India was not a voice no one took us seriously. Today no important decision in the world can be taken without India being on the team...India is rising but at the same time, there are forces that weaken India. They want to drag India back and there are vested interests inside and outside the country...”

Five more persons were held on Friday in connection with the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, taking the total number of arrests in the sensational case to nine, a Mumbai police official said.

Based on specific information, raids were carried out by the Crime Branch in Panvel and Karjat in neighbouring Raigad district, leading to the arrest of these five persons for conspiracy related to the crime and its execution, he said.

The arrested persons were also in touch with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which is accused of gunning down Siddique, the official added.

"The total number of arrests in the case now stands at nine. Further probe is underway," he added.

Delhi Police Special Cell has busted an interstate illegal firearms syndicate by arresting its key member, namely Tegwinder Singh alias Jagga, resident of Punjab, Six fire arms including 3 semi-automatic pistols of .32 bore, 3 extra magazines and 3 single shot pistols have been recovered from the accused. The recovered firearms were meant to be supplied to criminals and arms traffickers in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi /NCR, says Delhi Police Special Cell.

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday visited the National War Memorial here to pay tributes to soldiers, including those from India, who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars.

Murmu arrived in Malawi on Thursday on the final leg of her three-nation visit to Africa.

She is the first Indian Head of State to visit the African nation.

"President Droupadi Murmu visited the National War Memorial in Lilongwe and paid floral tribute to the soldiers and civilians who laid down their lives during the First and Second World War and other military operations," her office said in a post on X.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said technology has "transformed" the conventional warfare into an unconventional one, and adoption of "unconventional ideas", not yet known to the world, is the only way to progress while navigating this change.

In his address at the 'DRDO-Industry Workshop on Defence Technology Acceleration' held at the DRDO Bhawan here, he also called upon the private sector to move forward from the state of 'participation' to 'taking lead' in the defence sector.

Today, technology has "transformed" conventional warfare into unconventional warfare, the defence minister said.

 A female guard at AIIMS-Delhi has accused its chief security officer of sexual harassment and caste discrimination, prompting the premier medical institute to initiate a probe into the allegations.

According to an office memorandum dated October 15, the probe will be conducted by Dr K K Verma, Dean Academics, who heads the institute's committee on redressal of grievances of SC/ ST/OBC; and Dr Punit Kaur, HoD Biophysics, who chairs the Internal Complaints Committee against sexual harassment.

Both the committees have been asked to file preliminary reports along with evidentiary material within seven days from the date of the issuance of the memorandum.

A local court here on Friday sent the five men arrested in connection with the murder of a youth in the Maharajganj area during a Durga idol procession to 14 days' judicial custody, police said.

Sarfaraz, Mohd Talim, Abdul Hameed, Faheem, and Mohd Afzal were produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Pratibha Chaudhary. So far, 60 people have been arrested by the police in connection with the gunning down of a youth on Sunday and subsequent arson and vandalism.

Ram Gopal Mishra, 22, part of the religious procession, died of a gunshot wound during a Hindu-Muslim confrontation. The death triggered a series of flagrant incidents in the area the next day, with angry mobs torching several houses, shops, showrooms, hospitals, and vehicles.

Due to the still tense atmosphere in the district, the hearing was held at the residence of the CJM.

 A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to AAP leader and former Delhi cabinet minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case, citing "delay in trial" and his "long incarceration".

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 30, 2022, on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him. He is currently in judicial custody.

The Election Commission on Friday issued a notification for the bypolls to seven assembly seats in Rajasthan, marking the beginning of the process of filing nomination papers, a senior official said.

The last date for filing nominations is October 25.

Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan said the Election Commission of India has issued a notification for the by-elections to seven assembly seats in Rajasthan.

With this, the process of filing nominations for Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Ramgarh, Deoli-Uniate, Khinvsar, Salumbar and Chaurasi seats has started, he said.

The last date for nomination is October 25. Nominations cannot be filed on October 20, Sunday as it is a public holiday, he said.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat is set to arrive in Parkham village of the Farah development block on Saturday to attend the National Executive meeting of the Sangh.

During his stay, the RSS chief will participate in various meetings, including the National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for October 25 and 26. He will also review the ongoing developments at the Cow Research and Training Centre.

This meeting will take place at the Deendayal Gau Vigyan Research and Training Centre in Mathura, where he will stay for 10 days.

The meeting in Parkham village near the temple town will also discuss the "organisational goals" that has to be achieved by next year when the RSS completes 100 years of its foundation, according to a statement uploaded by the organisation on its website earlier.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the government has formed a coordination committee each to identify and mitigate local sources of pollution at 13 locations in the city stifled with "very poor" air.

Rai at a press conference said that while whole of Delhi is breathing 'poor' air, it is particularly 'very poor' at 13 hotspots, where the Air Quality Index has crossed 300.

Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, and Dwarka Sector-8 have been identified as these 13 places.

Rai said the committees will be headed by the deputy commissioners of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

He added that DPCC engineers are also designated at all hotspots and they will submit daily reports to a 'Pollution War Room'.

Dust has been identified as one of the major factors at 13 hotspots for 300-plus AQI, he said, adding, 80 mobile anti-smog guns have been deployed to bring the air dust down in these areas.

 The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a plea by former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda seeking to stay his conviction in a coal scam case.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai holds an emergency meeting at the Delhi Secretariat as AQI level in the national capital deteriorates. 

A Uttar Pradesh roadways bus driver was killed and 13 passengers injured when the speeding vehicle rammed into a trailer truck on the Varanasi-Prayagraj national highway on Friday

 Police on Friday detained two youths in a road rage incident involving an Indian Coast Guard officer and his wife near Kalinga Stadium here.

The Supreme Court on Friday closed the proceedings in a habeas corpus petition filed by a man who had alleged that his two daughters were held captive inside the premises of spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation at Coimbatore

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre to set up an autonomous body to monitor and filter content and regulate videos on over-the-top (OTT) and other platforms in India, saying these are policy matters.

A major fire broke out at Sealdah ESI Hospital here on Friday morning, a fire official said.

Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control after two hours, he said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed confidence that the ruling Mahayuti coalition will win the upcoming assembly elections with a “thumping” majority, citing the BJP’s impressive performance in Haryana.

A drug smuggler having links with Pakistan-based operatives has been arrested with over one kilogram of heroin

 Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan arrived at the party HQ, in Delhi to attend the meeting of CPI(M) polit bureau

 Britain's foreign secretary has called engagement with China “pragmatic and necessary” as he makes he makes the first visit by a Cabinet minister since the Labor government took control in July.

 Police have arrested a fabricator of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that recently collapsed at a fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, triggering a huge political row, an official said on Friday.

Fabricator Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav, who was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, had used substandard material while shaping the 35-foot-tall statue of the Maratha warrior king, he said.

Ten people associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were injured after being attacked by some people during a religious programme at a temple here, police said on Friday.

A ‘jagran’ programme was underway in the temple on Thursday night on the occasion of Sharad Purnima. When prasad was being distributed among devotees, two people who live in the neighbourhood objected to holding the event late at night, they said.

After an altercation over the issue, the accused called others and attacked people with a knife, in which 10 RSS workers got injured,

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a review meeting with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Health Secretary NS Nigam at her Kalighat residence on the upgradation of healthcare infrastructure, a well-placed source said.

Banerjee, in the meeting which lasted for nearly 45 minutes on Thursday evening, enquired about security infrastructure at various state-run medical colleges and hospitals, he said.

On the hunger strike by junior doctors, Dr Aqeeb says, "Today is the 13th day (of hunger strike), it has been almost 286 hours... We don't understand what else doctors should do to change the health system. Not a single demand of ours is needless or baseless... What should doctors do now to fulfil these demands? Why is the government still silent? There seems to be a lack of empathy... If something happens then the government will be responsible for it..." 

A layer of fog engulfs Delhi as the AQI drops to 293 categorised as 'Poor'.

Security enhanced outside Bahraich District Hospital in Bahraich, where two accused of Bahraich violence case - Mohammed Sarfaraz and Mohammed Talib- have been admitted after they got injured in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Police yesterday. A total of 5 people have been arrested in connection with the case.

 President Joe Biden said Thursday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli troops is a “good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” and called it an “opportunity" to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas and end the yearlong war in Gaza.

A day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of 'One India' policy, India on Thursday said "no action" taken against anti-India elements there suggests there is a "gap" between action and words.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also told reporters that over the last several years, New Delhi has been reminding Ottawa to take actions against anti-India activities in that country.

 Intensifying its probe on the hoax bomb threats received by several domestic and international flights, Delhi Police on Thursday wrote to social media platforms seeking details of the accounts that posted threatening messages.

Delhi Police on Wednesday registered an FIR in connection with the bomb threat to Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight carrying 180 people and also launched a probe in seven other similar cases reported at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport this month. A senior police officer said a dedicated team has been formed to probe bomb threat cases. A team of cyber cell of Delhi police, Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) has also been roped in for the probe.

India’s growth rate is the shiniest part in the global economy, World Bank president Ajay Banga said on Thursday, noting that a lot of this is driven by the domestic market.

“There is no doubt that India's growth rate is among the shiniest parts in the world economy. I think being able to grow at six, seven per cent and more in this kind of environment shows you that they've done a number of things to get there,” Banga told reporters ahead of next week’s annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.