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Steps being taken to provide Hormuz passage to Indian ships: Iran envoy india news

Steps being taken to provide Hormuz passage to Indian ships: Iran envoy

New Delhi: As conflict in West Asia disrupts narratives and navigation, Iran’s Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali on Saturday told TOI that the war against his country was an illegal attack built on “illusion”. Significantly, he indicated Tehran’s continued cooperation with New Delhi, including safe passage for Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Appreciating India’s position, he said it was a “reflection of its understanding of regional complexities”.The envoy said: “At present, the strait is closed only to countries that are at war with Iran. It is natural that during the war, we will not allow our enemies to pass through our internal waters.” The fact is that other ships are not sailing in the area due to insecurity and extremely high insurance costs.”He said special measures have been implemented to ensure safe movement of ships of friendly countries, including India. These are handled operationally and on a case-by-case basis, based on real-time conditions. At the same time, he clarified that access is restricted for countries “directly or indirectly involved in aggression” against Iran.The Iranian ambassador said Tehran is “committed to freedom of navigation and maritime security”, but added: “Freedom of navigation is not possible without proper respect for the coastal state”. On the disruption, insecurity and increased risks, he said, “responsibility lies squarely with the US and Israeli regimes”, and placed their actions in “direct contradiction to the UN Charter”.

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‘I only revealed what the DMK leader said’: Palaniswami on Karunanidhi ‘house arrest’ controversy; Stalin hit back. india news

'I only revealed what the DMK leader said': Palaniswami on Karunanidhi 'house arrest' controversy; Stalin hit back

New Delhi: AIADMK General secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday announced that if the party comes to power after the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on April 23, his government will investigate the viral video in which senior DMK Leader A Raja reportedly claimed that Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin had kept his late father M Karunanidhi under “house arrest” during the last days of the DMK stalwart. Palaniswami insisted that Stalin should vent his anger on the King, not on him. The former Tamil Nadu chief minister told supporters at an election rally at Arani in Tiruvannamalai district, “Mr Stalin, don’t take your anger out on me. Take it out on your deputy general secretary and former Union minister A Raja, who released the audio which went viral. I was only reporting what Raja had said in his message. Why be angry? Show your anger on Raja, and he will tell the truth. There is no point taking it out on me.” He further claimed that Stalin’s elder brother and former Union minister MK Alagiri had earlier said that “my father is being kept as a prisoner.” Palaniswami said, “I reiterated what Raja had said. Is it appropriate to confine your own father, who made you the DMK working president, to his house in his last days? Your elder brother Alagiri had said that his father was being kept as a prisoner.” Recalling Stalin’s announcement ahead of the 2021 assembly elections to order a probe into the 2016 death of AIADMK veteran and former chief minister J Jayalalitha and her 75-day hospitalization, Palaniswami remarked, “You had said you will probe the demise of the former chief minister. Karunanidhi was also a former chief minister. The AIADMK will launch a state-led probe into Raja’s audio and take appropriate legal action. Responding to the allegations, Stalin dismissed them as “baseless and offensive” and cautioned Palaniswami to focus his criticism on the Chief Minister’s performance. He emphasized that Karunanidhi was taking rest due to age-related ailments and accused Palaniswami of “crossing all red lines”. Counting of votes for all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu is to be held on May 4.

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15 year old girl dies a day after being stabbed in Seemapuri. india news

15 year old girl dies a day after being stabbed in Seemapuri

New Delhi: A 15-year-old girl, who was stabbed in Northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri on Friday, died at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital on Saturday morning. The accused, a 24-year-old man, died in a gas cylinder explosion at his nearby residence on Friday evening, soon after the incident. The girl was declared dead in the hospital at around 6 am. Outside her house, family members recalled that she had stepped out to buy medicines from a nearby shop when she was attacked. Crying her grandmother repeated: “Just left after saying 5 minutes, haven’t returned yet.”His uncle further told TOI that he was bleeding for more than 20 minutes before help arrived. “The anger and brutality with which she was stabbed is unbelievable. She was stabbed more than a dozen times,” he said. The teenager had recently appeared for the Class 10 board exams and was waiting for her results.“We were all waiting for his results. We were very optimistic about his future,” he said. He said residents now fear for their safety after the murder. Friends and family remembered him as a man who was loved for his kindness. His aunt said, “We don’t know why someone would want to hurt him. We haven’t been told about any clear motive yet.” The girl’s family consists of her grandmother, mother, father and her younger sister. At the man’s residence, about 2 km away, relatives claimed he blew himself up to die by suicide. He described him as an introvert. The person worked as a delivery executive in an e-commerce company. His mother said, “He never mentioned anything about a girl or any mental health problems, including depression or anger. He mostly kept to himself.”

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It is believed that the man was home alone when the explosion occurred. His mother was at work. His father had died 11 months ago.Relatives expressed disbelief at the turn of events. His aunt said, “Even if he were alive and went to jail, he would still be alive for his mother. He has no one else.” While both the families denied knowing each other, a senior police officer said, “Both knew each other and were acquaintances. Both families were aware.” However, the exact motive is being investigated. The two reportedly had a telephone conversation before the incident.Another officer said, ‘They knew each other since the man’s aunt was a neighbor near the girl’s house two years ago.’ He confirmed that the man was believed to have carried out the blast himself. While the girl’s uncle alleged that several people, allegedly drunk, were involved in stabbing her multiple times, the officer refuted the claim and said only one person was visible in the CCTV footage at the spot.

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3 engineering students ‘killed’ drunk driver for car. india news

3 engineering students 'killed' drunk driver for car

Nagpur: A gesture of “goodwill” on the roadside turned into murder. Three engineering students, who had earlier offered to help a drunk driver, allegedly killed him hours later to grab his red Alto car and phone. Police said on Saturday that the trio found Suchit Bhojpure, a 44-year-old spare parts supplier, slipping on the steering wheel of his car on a flyover in Vardhaman Nagar in East Nagpur area late on Thursday night. They offered to park his vehicle safely.Bhojpure, who was heavily intoxicated, allegedly asked the trio – 22-year-old Aryan Shende, 20-year-old Rishabh Kamble and 19-year-old Anuj Ramesh – to drive him. What started as aid turned into a long journey — first a delivery run to Bhiwapur, a city southeast of Nagpur, and then to his home near Baba Trimurti Nagar in Wadi, on the city’s western outskirts.A phone call to his wife changed the course of the night, police said. She first asked them to bring her home, then reacted angrily when told they had reached a locked house, and questioned why they brought her “drunken husband” back. Investigators said this exchange led students to believe the man was “obnoxious.”Greed took over. The trio allegedly decided to kill Bhojapure and keep his car for themselves, planning to change its number plate and colour, police said. They allegedly went to an isolated place near a crematorium on Khadgaon Road in Wadi, dragged him outside and broke his skull with stones. Her body was stripped and thrown into the bushes to hinder identification. Police said the students fled with the car and two expensive mobile phones.Bhojapure’s father Upasrao had filed a missing complaint. The body was found on Friday morning. Crime branch teams led by senior inspector Dnyaneshwar Bhedodkar along with senior officers Vasant Pardeshi, Rahul Maknikar and Abhijeet Patil solved the case within 12 hours. CCTV footage, technical surveillance and call records pointed towards Aryan, who had contacted Bhojapure’s wife. Aryan, who was picked up from a college campus in Nandanvan in East Nagpur, reportedly confessed to his crime. Police said blood stains on the shoes undermined initial denials. The rest were soon arrested.All three have been charged with murder and have been sent to police custody.

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Raghav Chadha warns AAP that ‘all lies will be exposed’, party’s Punjab unit criticizes him for not raising important public issues | india news

Raghav Chadha warns AAP that 'all lies will be exposed', party's Punjab unit criticizes him for not raising important public issues

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha He has issued a strong denial of the allegations leveled against him by his party colleagues and hit back with the warning, “Because I am injured, therefore I am dangerous”, a famous dialogue used in the Bollywood film Dhurandhar.“I go to Parliament to create influence, not to create ruckus,” Chadha said. He rejected his party leaders’ allegation that he was afraid to speak against PM Narendra Modi BJP And failing to raise issues that were relevant to his party’s stance, Chadha claimed that the “false” allegations leveled against him were part of a “scripted campaign” and a “coordinated attack”.AAP leaders reacted sharply and said Punjab Chadha was criticized in the Parliament for ignoring the core issues of Punjab. The controversy started when AAP on Thursday removed Chadha from the post of deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha. On Friday, Chadha announced through a video message that he would not be intimidated by efforts to silence him, prompting a sharp reaction from his colleagues.“To those who are accusing me today, I want to tell them that every lie will be exposed and every question will be answered,” Chadha said in a video message on Saturday.“To those who are accusing me today, I want to tell them that every lie will be exposed and every question will be answered – because I am injured I am dangerous,” Chadha warned.“A written campaign is being carried out against me since yesterday. Same language, same words and same allegations. This is no coincidence but a coordinated attack,” Chadha said.The MP rejected the allegation as “blatant falsehood” that he does not join opposition walkouts on issues and challenged his accusers to cite even a single such instance, which he said could be verified through CCTV footage of House proceedings.Denying the allegation that he had refused to sign the notice demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Chadha said no party leader had asked him to sign it “formally or informally”. He said that about 6 or 7 out of 10 AAP MPs did not sign it, then why are they being singled out and why are they being held guilty. Chadha also highlighted that signatures of at least 50 members are required to submit a notice and this number was achieved by the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and hence he wondered why AAP was making so much noise about not signing their notice. On AAP’s charge that he was raising unimportant issues because he was scared, Chadha said, “I want to make it clear that I have not gone to Parliament to shout, create ruckus, break mics or abuse others. I have gone there to raise the concerns of the common man.” He listed the issues raised by him GSTFrom income tax, water issues in Punjab, air quality in Delhi to unemployment and price rise.Meanwhile, hitting out at Chadha, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP Punjab president Aman Arora and AAP Punjab chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal alleged that despite repeated communications, important matters including GST deficit were not addressed. Terming Chadha’s silence a betrayal of the people and mandate of Punjab, the leaders said his failure to raise the concerns of farmers and the plight of flood victims reflects a complete disconnect from the ground reality.

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Parliamentary panel wants accurate count of all disabilities in census. india news

Parliamentary panel wants accurate count of all disabilities in census

New Delhi: Highlighting the need for a robust and reliable database of persons with disabilities (PWDs) that is in line with the 2016 law that recognizes 21 categories of disability, a parliamentary panel has recommended that the government emphasize to the Registrar General of India (RGI) the need to ensure accurate and comprehensive enumeration of all categories of disability in Census 2027, especially those that may not be visible or may not have physical symptoms.In a report tabled in Parliament in March, the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment said the currently available estimate of PwD in the country is based on the 2011 census, which recorded the number at 2.68 crore. While the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 was then in force, it mentioned only seven disabilities.The committee, headed by BJP Lok Sabha MP PC Mohan, also took note of the submission made by representatives of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPWD) that around 1.35 crore Unique Disability Identification (UDID) cards have been issued so far, the department requested the RGI to take into account all the 21 categories of disability recognized under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, during Census 2027 Is. DEPWD officials also told the committee that they had requested the RGI to consult the department on this issue so that the census data could be reliable.In the report on ‘Demands for Grants for the year 2026-27’ relating to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (DEPWD), the Committee emphasized that “a robust and reliable database, complemented by the UDID framework, will significantly assist in evidence-based policy making and more effective targeting of welfare schemes for persons with disabilities.”These recommendations assume significance as Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases, starting on April 1, with the Houselisting Operation (HLO) being conducted from April 1 to September 30 this year. After this, population census will be conducted in February 2027, in which disabled people will also be included. It is expected that the questionnaires for enumeration of persons with disabilities will be finalized by the end of the first phase of the census in September.

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The risk of heart disease in men starts earlier than you think. india news

Heart risk in men starts earlier than you think

New Delhi: Most men in their thirties do not see heart disease as a real threat. New research suggests this may be exactly when it starts.A large, long-term study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that by the mid-30s, men’s risk of heart disease begins to increase faster than women’s — years before any warning signs appear. After tracking more than 5,000 adults over three decades, researchers found a clear divergence around age 35, after which the risk rises sharply in men and remains higher through midlife.Heart disease rates in men reached 5% about seven years earlier than women. The difference was even wider for coronary heart disease, where the risk appeared more than a decade earlier, pointing to early damage in the blood vessels. Notably, the difference persisted even after taking into account factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity and physical activity.Experts say this reflects growing concern in India. Dr Ambuj Roy, professor of cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said heart disease can no longer be seen as a middle-age condition. “Risk factors now start appearing as early as the age of 30 and since Indians develop cardiovascular diseases earlier, screening for diabetes, hypertension and abnormal lipids should start early,” he said.Experts also caution that findings based on Western countries may underestimate the risks in the Indian population. Dr. Mohit Gupta of Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research said that cardiovascular risk is often detected earlier in South Asian people. While men develop coronary disease early, in women the risk increases rapidly after menopause and often goes undetected. “The main message is not about men versus women, but about missed prevention,” he said, calling for screening and risk awareness to begin in the thirties or earlier.Current screening guidelines generally focus on people age 40 and older.For women, the pattern is different – ​​the risk is lower in early adulthood followed by a sharp increase after menopause, with the difference diminishing over time.

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Prime Minister: Must ensure women’s quota bill is passed unopposed. india news

Prime Minister: Must ensure women's quota bill is passed unopposed

New Delhi: PM Modi on Saturday made his first comments on the government’s move to implement the women’s reservation law from the next Lok Sabha elections, as he asked to put pressure on the opposition to get the women-related bills passed unopposed in Parliament, while dismissing as false the allegation that southern states will lose in delimitation due to their success in controlling population.Addressing an election rally in Thiruvalla, Kerala, he said the budget session of Parliament will be reconvened for three days from April 16 so that the 33% quota for women in the Lok Sabha and assemblies can be implemented by his government from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Modi also confirmed the delimitation exercise to increase the number of legislature seats by the same number that will be set aside for women.PM Modi said, “People are spreading lies that where the population is decreasing, seats will be reduced. We want Parliament’s seal of approval on a law that will ensure that Lok Sabha seats are not reduced in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa or Telangana.The PM appreciated their good work in population control.The government proposes to increase the number of seats in legislatures by about 50% – the number of Lok Sabha constituencies will be increased to 816 from the current 543 – so that the additional number is allocated exclusively for women, Modi said, but without specifying the exact number.“You should tell the Congress and LDF members that these laws should be passed unopposed… Women should put pressure on all political parties,” she told voters in CPM-led LDF-ruled Kerala. He said, “I also appeal to them that this right of our mothers and sisters has been pending for 40 years. This should not continue in the 2029 elections.”Modi said his government had called Congress for a meeting on the issue and had talked to the parties of the Indian opposition faction. While some opposition parties attended the meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress, TMC and Left parties stayed away from it.Congress and the Left have called for an all-party meeting, with Parliament unlikely to meet in the middle of the month, a week before assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.Voting is going to be held in Kerala on 9 April BJP It believes its move to implement the women’s quota will help it strengthen its hold among women voters in the three states that have been strongholds of opposition parties.

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Election Commission officials ‘caught on camera’ with BJP material. india news

Election Commission officials caught on camera with BJP material

Kolkata: A controversy erupted on Saturday after a viral video purportedly showed an Election Commission official from Panihati constituency on the outskirts of Kolkata preparing BJP’s campaign material, prompting the TMC to demand his removal and legal action ahead of the elections.Trinamool filed a complaint with the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) against sector officer Atanu Chakraborty, accusing him of violating norms and compromising the neutrality required of election staff. The complaint cites a video circulated on social media purportedly showing Chakraborty arranging BJP flags and leaflets.In a letter to the CEO, TMC MP Derek O’Brien alleged that the officials were engaged in BJP-linked activities, violating the model code of conduct and other provisions governing the conduct of election personnel. Seeking immediate intervention, party officials urged that Chakraborty be removed from all election duties and face strict legal proceedings, as “his conduct poses a serious threat to free and fair elections”.

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Fate of 23 lakh removed voters hangs in balance as tribunals yet to begin work India News

Fate of 23 lakh removed voters hangs in balance as tribunal has not yet started work

Kolkata: The fate of over 23 lakh voters, who were excluded from electoral rolls after SIR in Bengal, hangs in balance as tribunals to adjudicate appeals remained non-functional till Saturday. Monday is the last day for voters to take their decision in 152 constituencies where the first phase of voting took place. The tribunals are the last hope for these voters after their first appeal was rejected during the judicial review process.The first phase of elections is scheduled for April 23, with the deadline for submitting nominations ending at 3 pm on April 6. Under Election Commission rules, the voter list can be published till the last date for filing nominations. Therefore, the voter list of constituencies which will go to polls on April 23 will be frozen till 3 pm on Monday.According to a senior Election Commission official, as of Thursday, about 52 lakh of the more than 60 lakh cases marked as ‘pending’ had been disposed of. “More than 700 judicial officers have been appointed to dispose of 60,06,475 doubtful and pending cases marked ‘undertrial’ in the voter list. They began work on February 24 and around 52 lakh cases have been disposed of by April 2. 55% of the cases processed so far have been cleared, and those names have been added to the voter list. 45% of the rejected cases have been delisted, and they can appeal online or offline to the appellate tribunal within 15 days against the orders passed by judicial authorities,” an EC official said.Considering the rejection rate of 45%, so far 23.4 lakh persons have lost their voting rights in the adjudication process and are eligible to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. However, the necessary infrastructure for retired judges – who are expected to preside over tribunal proceedings – has not yet been established. This has raised doubts over whether the decision process can begin within the stipulated time frame, raising concerns over the fate of 23.4 lakh voters.Although there is uncertainty over whether tribunals will be functional by Monday, the rush to government offices to file appeals continued on Saturday. However, many were turned away and asked to return with the documents already submitted during the enumeration phase of the SIR.On Friday, officials had cited “government holiday” and “other election-related duties” for not accepting the appeal. On Saturday, voters were reportedly told that their requests could not be processed as they had not brought supporting documents with the formal application.This comes after senior Election Commission officials had said last month that no additional documents would be required for those submitting offline appeals.Meanwhile, in a release on Saturday, the CEO office said that around 8,000 appeals under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act were submitted to it, which were forwarded to the concerned district magistrates for necessary action.

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