New Delhi: The GST Council Thursday approved scrapping the arrest powers of GST officers and raised the threshold to launch prosecution to Rs 5 crore from Rs 1 crore. "The rate structure is settled, so the Council has turned to how the tax works day to day," the finance ministry said, adding that GST rate changes will...

Bhubaneswar: Normal life was affected in several districts of Odisha Thursday as supporters of INDIA bloc parties held demonstrations and blocked roads as part of a 12-hour bandh to protest against a new mining law, "errors" in school textbooks and the alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. Business establishments, petrol pumps, shops and many educational institutes were...

Kyiv: Thirty people were killed, and at least 18 were injured by Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine that included an attack on a public bus, authorities said Thursday, as an intensive pre-winter wave of attacks continued and power outages worsened in the capital Kyiv. Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, said public transport in Kramatorsk...

Paradip: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Thursday conducted the 12th National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX-2026) off the Odisha coast, demonstrating coordinated response capabilities for large-scale rescue operations at sea. Held for the first time off the Odisha coast under the aegis of the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board (NMSARB), the exercise was conducted with...

Stockholm: Canadian author Anne Carson won the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday "for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature." The prize was announced by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor. BREAKING NEWS The 2026...

Nuapada: A married couple was killed after an unidentified truck allegedly hit them on National Highway 353 near Tikhali Chhak in Khariar block early Thursday, following which locals blocked the highway demanding compensation for the victims' family. According to local sources, the deceased were identified as Kapurchhan Patel and his wife, Mandakini Patel, residents of Berunpadar village...

New Delhi: In a strongly worded open letter, 42 former judges, including those from the Supreme Court and High Courts, Thursday expressed grave concern over a sustained campaign to undermine the Election Commission, judiciary, and other constitutional institutions. The signatories have questioned allegations of “vote theft” without supporting evidence, warning that repeatedly branding constitutional authorities as “thieves”...

Nuapada: The Central Bureau of Investigation has caught the Principal of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Odisha's Nuapada district red-handed while accepting Rs 12,000 bribe from a worker for allegedly ‘recommending an extension of her service’. After receiving a complaint alleging that the Principal had initially demanded Rs 20,000 from the worker for recommending her name...

New Delhi: India Thursday strongly condemned the recent attacks on two airports in Saudi Arabia, asserting that targeting civilian infrastructure is completely "unacceptable". Saudi authorities said three people have been killed in attacks reportedly carried out by Houthi militants over the last two days on Abha International Airport and King Khalid Airport. "India condemns the attacks over...

New Delhi: Actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of her personality and publicity rights against the alleged unauthorised use and misuse of her identity, including through pornographic and obscene content posted across digital platforms. A single-judge Bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan issued summons in the suit and also issued...