Atlanta: Wildfires burning across the southeastern US were intensifying Wednesday after destroying nearly 50 homes in southeastern Georgia and forcing evacuations in some communities. Some of the biggest fires were popping up between and around Jacksonville, Florida, and along Georgia's coast. A long drought, low humidity and strong winds are fuelling the blazes, and Florida is facing...

New Delhi: The Congress Wednesday alleged that the Election Commission's stern notice to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge for his terrorist remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is evidence that it is functioning as an attached office of the Union Home Ministry, and its behaviour is an assault on the Constitution. Congress general secretary in charge of communications,...

London: The Indian Embassy in Italy Wednesday refuted claims of denying access to certain individuals to its premises in Rome, while rejecting as false and fabricated the allegations made by them in a video posted on social media. We have seen a video made by a certain Indian national. Claims being made by him are false and...

Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police have arrested four cybercriminals from Hyderabad, Telangana, and Jamtara, Jharkhand, in connection with a cyber fraud case, Police Commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh informed Wednesday. Singh also informed that the accused persons are linked to a cyber network based in Jamtara, known as a hub of cyber fraud and phishing scams across the...

Berhampur: The police Wednesday recovered the decomposed body of a real estate businessman who was allegedly kidnapped about a week ago for ransom, an officer said. The deceased was identified as Sudhir Patra (47) of Satyanarayanpur near Gopalpur. He was allegedly abducted by a group of unknown miscreants at about 6.30 pm April 15 from Dura, near...

Bhawanipatna: An under-trial prisoner escaped from Odisha's Kalahandi district jail by scaling a 20-foot wall, prison officials said Wednesday. The prisoner has been identified as Jagannath Sabar of Themra village under Bhawanipatna Sadar police station and was in the Bhawanipatna jail for the past two months. He was accused of three theft cases. Jail superintendent Saroj Kumar...

New Delhi: India Wednesday denied making any payments - either in cash or cryptocurrency - to Iran to secure safe passage for its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions in the region. The clarification came after two Indian vessels had to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian forces fired upon them...

New Delhi: One of three commercial vessels fired upon by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday may have been headed for Gujarat, according to initial shipping data. Iran's Revolutionary Guards opened fire on the vessels as they transited the strategic waterway, with two ships later seized and at least one sustaining damage, though no casualties...

Kesinga: Kalahandi MP Malvika Devi Wednesday met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi and submitted a 20-point memorandum, demanding a direct train service from Kesinga to Bhubaneswar and the establishment of a locomotive repair factory at Narla. She also sought stoppages of several trains at Narla Road station, including Visakhapatnam–Hazrat Nizamuddin Samata Express and Bilaspur–Tirupati Express,...

New Delhi: India will bring into force a comprehensive set of rules to regulate the fast-growing online gaming sector from May 1, the government said Wednesday. The new framework, notified under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, 2025, reflects the Centre’s dual objective of protecting users -- especially children and vulnerable groups -- from...