Chennai: Chief Minister MK Stalin has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to secure the release of 29 Indian fishermen and their 79 fishing vessels. In his letter, a copy of which was released to the media here, Stalin said, ‘In this latest instance of high handedness, the Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 11 Indian fishermen who set sail for fishing on 7.2.2022 in the three boats and were taken to Mayilatti Naval Base, Sri Lanka.’ ‘The numerous instances of arrests of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy, especially in the recent past, warrants a strong and…
Author: Karthikeyan Halan
Chennai: Tamilnadu Governor R N Ravi, who had returned the NEET exemption Bill to the Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly Speaker, said it was not in the interest of the students of the State, while terming Justice A K Rajan Committee’s report reflected its ‘jaundiced view’. The Governor had on 3 February announced that the Bill, passed in the State Assembly in September last year, was returned to the Government on 1 February for its reconsideration, following which the ruling DMK today convened a special sitting of the House to adopt yet another resolution seeking permanent exemption from NEET and forward the…
New Delhi: Campaigning for the first phase of assembly polls in western Uttar Pradesh ended on Tuesday evening, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) releasing their manifestos. Covering the Jat-dominant belt of western UP, the first phase will see a total of 58 constituencies across 11 districts going to polls on 10 February. The districts where the elections will be held are Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. Tight security is in place in these districts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed one last virtual…
Chennai: A bishop and five priests from Kerala were arrested by the Tamilnadu crime branch CID (CB-CID) in Tirunelveli in connection with an illegal sand mining case. They were later produced before a local court in connection with illegal sand mining from Tamirabarani river. The case had been earlier transferred to the CB-CID for probe by the Madras High Court and already one person has been arrested in this connection. Bishop Samuel Mar Irenios and priests George Samuel, Shaji Thomas, Jijo James, Jose Chamakala and Jose Kalaviyal of the Syro-Malankara diocese of Pathanamthitta have been arrested and remanded in judicial…
Kabul: The Taliban has surrounded the Parandeh valley in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province and arrested local residents, as per local sources. This armed clash between residents and the Taliban in Panjshir province broke out after a Taliban vehicle was hit by a mine explosion. According to the sources, the armed clash has been going on in the area as of February 7 in the province. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban took control of Kabul last year in mid-August. This new conflict comes at a time when a combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the…
Washington: The number of cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) registered globally since the start of the pandemic has surpassed 400 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. The global case tally stands at 400,487,672. The death toll amounts to 5,762,582, the university said. Meanwhile, Iran’s Health Ministry reported 39,819 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 6,619,085. The pandemic has claimed 104 lives in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll from the virus to 132,934, according to the ministry. A total of 6,171,587 people have recovered from the disease…
Australian political leaders apologised to staffers who have endured decades of bullying, harassment and sexual assault inside Parliamentary House and other government offices. The presiding officers of the House of Representatives and Senate delivered the apology Tuesday on behalf of a cross-section of parties as part of a statement acknowledging a toxic workplace culture. That culture was exposed by Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ investigation. The investigation was triggered by former government staffer Brittany Higgins, who went public a year ago with her allegation that she had been raped by a more senior colleague in a minister’s Parliament House…
Thiruvananthapuram: A trekker who was trapped in a niche on a hill in Malampuzha in Palakkad district of Kerala was rescued by the Army today. The Army team reached him and began carrying him up. He was immediately given food and water. However, the uphill journey was difficult and the man, R Babu, had to rest often on the way. Post rescue, the man, Babu, dressed in T-shirt and shorts, was seen pictured with smiling helmeted Army personnel. ‘Very thanks, Indian Army,’ said Babu sitting among army men. He then kissed the army personnel as a gesture of thanks and…
Chennai: The Madras High Court has ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team by the Tamilnadu police to probe into the murder of KN Ramajayam, brother of Minister and DMK veteran KN Nehru. On recording the submissions by the petitioner KN Ravichandran, brother of the deceased, the court transferred the matter from the CBI to the State police to proceed with the SIT probe. However, the SIT will comprise police officers from TN police and CBI. While CB-CID DGP Shakeel Akthar will monitor the probe, Thoothukudi SP S Jayakumar will lead the SIT. The SIT has to submit a…