Srinagar: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist was killed Wednesday in an anti-terror operation by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said. Security forces had launched the search operation in a dense orchard in the Meemandar area, which comprises seven villages, in the south Kashmir district July 3. "You Can Run But You Can't Hide !...

New Delhi: Enrolment in government schools fell by nearly 86 lakh between 2023-24 and 2025-26 while private unaided recognised schools added more than 88 lakh students during the same period, according to the UDISE 2025-26 report released by the Ministry of Education. UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) is the Centre's official digital database for...

By Manoj Kumar Jena, OP Bhubaneswar: Sometimes, obsession can drive people to extremes. Whether it is wealth, career, appearance or material possessions, an obsession with any one thing can either help someone achieve wonders or, when taken too far, become a drawback. But for 19-year-old cyclist Deepak Kumar Gouda, his obsession gave him a unique identity as...

Kolkata: One of the key accused in the alleged rape and murder of a girl was killed in an encounter early Wednesday after he tried to "escape from police custody" during a crime scene reconstruction exercise, a senior officer said. The accused was taken to Suryapur in Baruipur Tuesday night for reconstruction of the crime, he said....

Dubai: US military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, part of an American effort that also revoked the Islamic Republic's ability to openly sell crude oil in the world market. Iran apparently retaliated with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait. Iran immediately warned Washington it would "take whatever...

Washington: US has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster imprisoned in India, and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in November 2023. According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar, mentioned as 'H.S.N.' in court documents,...

New Delhi/Rayagada: Experts have written an open letter to various authorities raising concerns regarding the proposed Sijimali bauxite mining project by Vedanta in Odisha, saying it will have irreversible impacts on forests, biodiversity, wildlife habitats, water systems, and forest-dependent communities. The project, which involves mining high-grade bauxite reserves of 311 million tonnes, will spread over 1,549 hectares...

By Arindam Ganguly, OP Bhubaneswar: Odisha has retained its ‘Prachesta-2’ grade in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for 2025–26, released by the Union Ministry of Education, reflecting steady performance in school education while underscoring the need to improve learning outcomes. The state scored 651.5 out of 1,000, marginally lower than 655.2 in the previous assessment. The...

Thuamul Rampur: Hundreds of residents from mining-affected villages staged a protest and laid siege to the Thuamul Rampur Block Office in Kalahandi district, accusing Utkal Alumina of failing to fulfil its corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments and earlier agreements. People from Maligaon, Gopinathpur and Odri gram panchayats Tuesday marched in a rally before surrounding the block office,...

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Local Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a protest outside the office of the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), demanding the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond over alleged irregularities in the preparation and distribution of new government school textbooks. The party also reiterated its demand for the resignation...