सिंगोली भटवारी जलविद्युत परियोजना के कुंड बैराज से 26 अप्रैल को सुबह 8 बजे से दोपहर 3 बजे तक सभी गेटों से पानी छोड़ा जाएगा। परियोजना प्रबंधन के मुताबिक यहां लगे रेडियल गेट की मरम्मत और सिल्ट फ्लैशिंग के लिए यह जरूरी है.
Berhampur: A massive fire broke out inside Chilka, Asia’s largest salt water lake under the Tangi range, on Thursday night.Although the exact cause of the fire is not known, wildlife officials suspect that the accident was man-made. “Some mischievous elements might have set fire to the Nala grass inside the lagoon, which has dried up in the summer. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Chilka, Amlan Nayak said, we will investigate the matter to identify the culprit and arrest the miscreants.The fire, which started in patches of drain grass inside the lagoon – which is home to many residential and migratory birds and fishing cats – spread quickly due to high-speed winds. Forest personnel from different ranges of Chilka Wildlife Division reached the spot to extinguish the fire. However, they faced difficulty in approaching the fire in the mud as the water level in the lake had dropped significantly due to the scorching sun.Despite difficulties, forest personnel brought the fire under control by spraying water from the lagoon through pipes, said Amlan Nayak, divisional forest officer (DFO), Chilka.Boatmen generally set fire to the Nala grass to keep their boats sailing smoothly, a forest official said. “Earlier, we had conducted an awareness campaign among the people of the area not to burn drain grass in summer,” said Chitrasen Jena, Tangi wildlife range officer.Residential birds usually nest in the bushes of Nala grass.The DFO said that fishing cats, elusive animals, as well as birds might have migrated to other places after seeing the fire.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced plans to bring back the firing squad as a method of execution. Its purpose is to speed up the federal death penalty system.In a statement released Friday, the department said it would “expand protocols to include additional methods of execution such as firing squad,” restoring policies used during Donald Trump’s first administration. The move marks a sharp change from the approach taken under former US President Joe Biden, whose administration had imposed limits on federal executions.Officials said they are also reinstating the use of lethal injection protocols and streamlining internal procedures to reduce delays in carrying out executions.The department said the changes are intended to ensure that executions can continue even after prisoners have exhausted their appeals. The department described the move as necessary to deliver justice and improve public safety.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch criticized the previous administration’s handling of the death penalty, saying it failed to protect the public.He said, “The former administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to take action against and ultimately punish the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and police killers.”Blanch said: “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims.”The department also plans to reduce the time between conviction and execution by reviewing legal processes and reducing delays in the appeals process. It said further steps were being considered, including changes to the way death sentences are carried out and limiting the number of times clemency petitions can be filed.The policy change follows an executive order issued by Trump on his first day in office directing the DOJ to prioritize death penalty cases and strengthen enforcement. Since then, officials say dozens of cases have been reviewed, with new death sentences approved in many cases.Under the previous administration, federal executions were halted amid concerns about the method of lethal injection and opposition to the death penalty. The Justice Department has now formally reversed that ban.Firing squads are rare in the United States, although they are still permitted in some states under specific circumstances. In recent years, their use has been limited, with only a small number of people executed in this manner since the 1970s.
New Delhi: Sai Sudarshan’s century was not enough for Gujarat Titans to return to winning ways as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) comfortably chased 206 to beat Shubman Gill’s side by five wickets in an IPL 2026 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. Virat Kohli And Devdutt Padikkal led the chase. Chasing 206, RCB suffered an early blow when Jacob Bethel was out early. After this, Kohli and Devdutt took charge and added 115 runs for the second wicket to put the home team in a strong position.Kohli scored 81 runs while Devdutt scored 55 runs and their partnership ensured that the asking rate remained under control. RCB completed the chase in 18.5 overs and moved to second place in the points table with 10 points.Kohli got a lease of life when Washington Sundar dropped his catch at zero on the ball of Mohammad Siraj. After that, he settled down and handled Prasidh Krishna and Kagiso Rabada well.He hit two fours off Prasidh, hit a six off Rabada and hit another six off Rashid Khan over midwicket. Kohli completed his half-century in 30 balls.At the other end, Devdutt matched him stroke by stroke. He hit two sixes to Prasidh and also hit a six to Rashid. He completed his half-century 10 balls before Kohli.Rashid finally broke the stand with the ball by bowling Devdutt. Kohli, who looked in control throughout, was later dismissed by Jason Holder after pulling the ball onto his stumps.RCB then lost ground for a while as captain Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma were also out, leaving their score at 173 for five.But Krunal Pandya scored 23 runs in 12 balls and Tim David added 10 runs to give RCB the victory. This was his fourth win over Chinnaswamy in five matches this season.Earlier, with the help of Sai Sudarshan’s 100 runs, Gujarat Titans scored 205 runs for three wickets when invited to bat.Opening with captain Shubman Gill, Sudarshan made a partnership of 128 runs for the first wicket. Gill scored 32 runs in 24 balls, but Sudarshan was the main scorer and dominated the stand.The left-handed batsman scored 46 runs in the powerplay and completed his half-century in 33 balls by hitting a six off Romario Shepherd. His next half-century came in just 24 balls as he attacked the spin of Krunal and Suyyash Sharma.During the innings, Sudarshan also became the fastest batsman to score 2,000 runs in the IPL. He completed his century by taking a single off Suyyash.He was dismissed by Suyyash on his own ball on the score of 91 but he could not last long after the century. He was out on exactly 100 runs by giving a return catch to Josh Hazlewood.After his dismissal, RCB handled things well. From 174 runs for two wickets in the 17th over, Gujarat could score only 31 runs in the last four overs. Holder’s unbeaten 23 off 10 balls helped them cross 200, but it was not enough as RCB completed the chase with ease.
BJP Protested and demanded cancellation of the government order which made Urdu a compulsory subject for Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination in Jammu and Kashmir.PDP It termed it a deliberate attempt to sideline and erase Urdu from the administrative structure of the region, even as the BJP called it a “curriculum reform”, insisting that proficiency in any one of the five official languages in Jammu and Kashmir should be made a criterion to qualify for revenue services.PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Urdu has been the backbone of revenue records, land documents and official communications in the UT for generations. He said, “Weakening its role is not only culturally insensitive but also administratively wrong. Removing Urdu from revenue services will create practical challenges in handling existing records and undermine the continuity of governance.” He said the PDP sees the decision as part of a broader pattern of weakening the linguistic and cultural identity of Jammu and Kashmir.BJP general secretary Ashok Kaul said, “Urdu has not been removed. It has been removed as the only mandatory language for qualification.” He said that since there are five official languages in Jammu and Kashmir, candidates should have knowledge of any one language to qualify and land records should be made available in all official languages.The controversy started on April 10 after the Revenue Department issued a draft Jammu and Kashmir Revenue Service Recruitment Rules for Non-Gazetted Posts, Objections invited within 15 days of notification. According to the draft, the minimum qualification for direct recruitment has been kept as “Graduation from any university”. Earlier, along with graduation, knowledge of Urdu was an essential criterion for recruitment.National Conference has not commented on this issue.Urdu has an old connection with Jammu and Kashmir. In 1889, Maharaja Pratap Singh, the third ruler of the Dogra dynasty, adopted Urdu in place of Persian as the court language in the region. After 1947, the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir recognized Urdu as the contact language of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, and retained it as an official language.Over time, English gradually replaced Urdu in official communication, especially after the expansion of central services in the region in 1962. As IAS and IPS officers were deployed to Jammu and Kashmir, English rapidly became the preferred administrative language.This arrangement remained in force until September 2, 2020, when the Union Cabinet approved the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, declaring Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri and English as the official languages of the region. The bill was later passed in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote, effectively ending Urdu’s 131-year-old status as the sole official language in Jammu and Kashmir. Experts say that apart from Jammu and Kashmir, the five official languages are not in use in any other region of the country.
कानपुर समाचार: उत्तर प्रदेश के कानपुर कोर्ट परिसर में गुरुवार दोपहर एक दर्दनाक घटना ने सभी को झकझोर कर रख दिया. एक अधिवक्ता ने तीसरी मंजिल से कूदकर आत्महत्या कर ली। घटना के बाद मौके पर अफरा-तफरी मच गई और पुलिस को सूचना दी गई. कोतवाली पुलिस जांच के लिए पहुंची तो मृतक के व्हाट्सएप स्टेटस पर दो पेज का सुसाइड नोट मिला। मृतक की पहचान प्रियांशु श्रीवास्तव के रूप में हुई है. सुसाइड नोट में उन्होंने घर की परेशानियों और मानसिक तनाव का जिक्र करते हुए यह कदम उठाने की बात कही है.
सुसाइड नोट में झलका दर्द!
प्रियांशु ने सबसे पहले अपने नोट में अपनी मां के लिए अपनी भावनाएं लिखीं. उन्होंने लिखा कि मेरी मां को कोई परेशान न करे, मां, अपना ख्याल रखना…लव यू मां। उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि उनके जाने के बाद परिवार को किसी को दोष नहीं देना चाहिए और मां को परेशान नहीं करना चाहिए.
पढ़ाई और ज़िम्मेदारियों का दबाव
प्रियांशु ने 2016 में एलएलबी पूरी की, लेकिन वह लॉ की परीक्षा पास नहीं कर सके. इसके साथ ही पारिवारिक जिम्मेदारियां भी लगातार बढ़ती जा रही थीं। उनके पिता की ख़राब सेहत और घर की आर्थिक स्थिति ने उन्हें गहरे तनाव में डाल दिया था।
अपमान और मानसिक तनाव का जिक्र
सुसाइड नोट में उन्होंने बताया कि मोहल्ले के कुछ लोग उनके साथ गाली-गलौज और बेइज्जती करते थे. उन्होंने यह भी लिखा कि उनके पिता उन्हें अपमानजनक शब्द कहते थे और कई बार घर छोड़ने के लिए भी कहते थे. इन हालात में वह खुद को बेहद अकेला महसूस कर रहे थे।
मेरे शव को मत छुओ
प्रियांशु ने अपने नोट में लिखा है कि वह किसी को दोष नहीं दे रहा है, लेकिन अब वह इस दर्द के साथ नहीं जी सकता. उन्होंने कहा कि उन्होंने हमेशा परिवार की जिम्मेदारियां निभाने की कोशिश की, ट्यूशन पढ़ाया, काम किया और घर के खर्चों में मदद की. इसके बावजूद उन्हें सम्मान नहीं मिला.
समाज को संदेश
अपने आखिरी संदेश में उन्होंने सभी माता-पिता से अपील की कि वे अपने बच्चों पर उतना ही दबाव डालें जितना वे सहन कर सकें। उन्होंने यह भी लिखा कि उनके पिता को उनके शव को नहीं छूना चाहिए और वह किसी के खिलाफ कोई कार्रवाई नहीं चाहते क्योंकि इससे परिवार को नुकसान होगा।
A 75-year-old American millionaire, known for hunting wild animals across continents, has died after a sudden encounter with a herd of elephants in Central Africa. Ernie Dosio, an experienced trophy hunter and vineyard owner from California, was on an expedition in Gabon when the incident occurred. While tracking a rare antelope in a dense forest, he and his professional guide unexpectedly come across a group of elephants. Within seconds, the situation turned fatal as the animals attacked, crushing Dosio and seriously injuring his guide.
The attack reportedly occurred in dense rainforest near Lop-Okanda National Park, where visibility is low and wildlife can appear without warning. Dosio and his guide were tracking the elusive yellow-backed duiker, a rare forest antelope, when they inadvertently walked into a herd of five forest elephants. Hidden by dense vegetation, the animals were not seen until it was too late.According to people familiar with the incident, the elephant, which was a female with a calf, reacted immediately and attacked as soon as it felt threatened.The professional hunter accompanying Dosio was attacked first, thrown aside and injured during the initial attack. In the confusion, he lost his rifle in the bushes, leaving Dosio with only one shotgun.The elephants then attacked Dosio and crushed him under their combined weight. The attack was believed to have been extremely swift, with little chance of survival once the herd got close.
The African forest elephant is one of the most powerful land animals on Earth, capable of weighing several tons and moving at astonishing speeds. Although often described as peaceful creatures, these animals can become highly aggressive when they feel threatened, especially when calves are present.Gabon is home to about 60 percent of the world’s remaining forest elephants, making encounters in its dense forests more likely. Experts estimate that elephants kill 300 to 500 people globally each year, usually in sudden, defensive attacks.
The experienced hunter kept an extensive collection of animal trophies in his California home.
Dosio had spent decades traveling around the world hunting for big game, amassing an extensive collection of trophies that included species of lion, elephant, buffalo and deer. He was widely known in hunting circles in both the United States and Africa and was considered an experienced outdoorsman.At the time of his death, he was reportedly attempting to add the yellow-backed duiker, a challenging and sought-after species among hunters, to his collection.Friends and associates described him as a larger-than-life personality who was also deeply involved in charitable work, regularly supporting veterans and disadvantaged groups.Safari operator Collect Africa confirmed that a client died after encountering an elephant during a hunt, while the injured guide survived.
In a renewed effort to revive talks amid rising regional tensions, the White House on Friday said US President Donald Trump is sending senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan later this week for crucial talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said the administration is cautiously optimistic. “We hope this will be a productive conversation and hopefully get the ball rolling toward an agreement,” Levitt said in an interview on Fox News Channel.He said Vice President J.D. Vance would not travel for now but would remain “deeply involved” in the process. He said he would remain in the US with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the national security team on “standby” to go to Pakistan “if needed.”Vance is not planning to attend this round because Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf is also not attending. The White House views Ghalibaf as the head of the Iranian delegation and a counterpart to Vance, CNN reported, citing two officials.Meanwhile, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have been in talks with Iranian officials for months, working toward a possible deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.The diplomatic initiative underlines Pakistan’s growing role as a facilitator. Islamabad is actively trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to the negotiating table after talks failed to resume as expected earlier this week.Earlier in the day, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency also confirmed that Araghchi was visiting Pakistan as part of a broader diplomatic tour that also includes Oman and Russia. On social media, the Iranian foreign minister said his visit would focus on “bilateral affairs and regional development.”Pakistan’s move comes after Trump agreed to indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, a move reportedly taken at Islamabad’s request to allow more time for diplomacy.Despite these diplomatic initiatives, the situation on the ground remains volatile. The ongoing conflict has severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes during peacetime.Recent Iranian attacks on commercial ships and the continued US blockade of Iranian ports have increased tensions in the region. Trump has ordered the US military to take a tougher approach, including directing troops to “shoot and kill” small boats suspected of laying mines.Earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also reiterated Washington’s stance, saying, “Iran has an important choice, a chance to make a deal, a good deal, a wise deal.” He further said a second US aircraft carrier would join the blockade in a few days, adding to an already robust deployment that includes the USS George HW Bush, USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R Ford.According to US Central Command, the deployment now includes approximately 200 aircraft and 15,000 personnel, marking the first time since 2003 that three US carriers are operating together in the region.The talks are being seen as an important effort to revive stalled talks over Tehran’s nuclear program and ease tensions that have hit global markets. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is fluctuating between $103 and $107 a barrel, more than 50% above levels recorded before the conflict began in late February.In response to the supply shortage, the White House on Friday announced a 90-day extension of the Jones Act waiver, allowing non-US ships to more freely transport oil and natural gas to US ports.The extension, approved by Trump, builds on a 60-day waiver introduced in March to stabilize energy prices and ease shipments following disruptions caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha with Nitin Nabin and others (Image/ANI)
New Delhi: Farewell of Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha Along with six other members, he has made significant changes in the composition of the Upper House, strengthening the ruling BJP-led NDA while sharply reducing the presence of the Aam Aadmi Party.The move has also shocked the opposition camp, whose numbers have dropped from 84 to 77 following the AAP split.After the merger of the MPs who broke away from AAP, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has increased from 106 to 113, further strengthening its position in the House. The total number of members in the Upper House is 245.
In contrast, AAP’s strength has dropped from 10 to just three.The development comes after Chadha along with fellow MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal announced their decision to quit AAP and join BJP, triggering a widening split within the party. MPs including Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sawhney are also part of the group that supported the move.While announcing the decision, Chadha had sharply criticized his former party. He said, “The Aam Aadmi Party, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has now completely deviated from its principles, values and core morality. The party is no longer working in the interest of the country or national, but for personal gain.”He also said that this division had the support of most of the AAP MPs in the Upper House. “We have decided that we, two-thirds of the AAP members in the Rajya Sabha, will invoke the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP,” Chadha said.
With the addition of seven MPs, the BJP has further strengthened its position in the Rajya Sabha with 113 members.The broader National Democratic Alliance (NDA) continues to maintain a comfortable lead, with allies like the four-member Janata Dal (United) and the five-member AIADMK supporting the alliance.
For the AAP, the split has resulted in a dramatic decline in its parliamentary strength. The party now has only three MPs left: Sanjay Singh, ND Gupta and Balbir Singh Seechewal.Sanjay Singh, who remains the party’s most vocal face in Parliament, has strongly criticized the defectors, accusing them of division in the BJP. He alleged that central agencies were being used as part of a larger political strategy and termed the outgoing MPs as ‘traitors’.He said, “Operation Lotus is being carried out against the Punjab government… ED and CBI are being used to carry out this Operation Lotus… The people of Punjab will never forget these traitors.”
This change has also affected the opposition camp, of which AAP is a part. After the exit of seven MPs, the combined strength of the block in the Rajya Sabha has now come down to 77 members, which was earlier 84.The bloc is led by Congress (29 members), followed by Trinamool Congress (13) and DMK (8), along with parties like Samajwadi Party (4), CPI (M) (3), RJD (3), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (3), CPI (2), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (2), IUML (2), NCP (4) and AAP (3).
The development marks a major political turning point for the AAP, which has steadily built its presence in the Rajya Sabha in recent years. The sudden departure of two-thirds of the MPs not only affects its numerical strength but also raises questions on the internal unity within the party.For the BJP, this gain has further strengthened its position in the Upper House, giving it more space to pursue its legislative agenda with less reliance on outside support.
द्वारा प्रकाशित: अलका त्यागी
अद्यतन शुक्रवार, 24 अप्रैल 2026 10:55 अपराह्न IST
शैलेश कुमार सिन्हा
– फोटो : अमर उजाला
