Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Friday announced the regularisation of contractual schematic junior teachers, granting them full employee status. The decision will take effect from their date of joining, with retrospective implementation from Jan. 1, 2026. Teachers appointed during the 2023–24 academic year will be covered under the move. The government said the decision is expected...

New Delhi: India Friday delivered a 2.5-tonne consignment of emergency medicines, medical disposables, kits and equipment to Afghanistan to support the medical treatment of those injured in Pakistan's recent attack on hospital in Kabul. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India will continue to provide humanitarian support to Afghanistan in this difficult time....

New Delhi: An Air India flight that took off from Delhi for Canada's Vancouver returned to the national capital after 9 hours, as the B777 Boeing version that was deployed on the route did not have clearance from Canada’s aviation regulator to fly into the country. Sources said Air India flight with the call sign AI185 took...

Kolkata: In a big blow to Kolkata Knight Riders, pacer Harshit Rana was Friday ruled out of the entire IPL 2026 owing to the ligament injury that he sustained during a warm-up match ahead of the recent T20 World Cup. The fast bowler suffered a ligament strain in his right knee during India's T20 World Cup warm-up...

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong held a telephonic conversation on Friday, discussing the ongoing conflict in West Asia and Indo-Pacific issues. Following the conversation, EAM Jaishankar taking to his X handle wrote, "Very pleased to speak with my Australian counterpart Penny Wong. Shared our assessments of the ongoing West...

Berhampur: A village in Odisha's Ganjam district has been converted into a solar-powered settlement under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, with nearly half of its households installing rooftop panels, officials said. Matikhala village now has around 200 of its 450 households equipped with rooftop solar systems under the Utility-Led Aggregation (ULA) model, aimed at...

Ranchi: Captain Rakesh Ranjan died on board a merchant vessel carrying oil near the Strait of Hormuz, his family said Friday, urging the Centre and the Jharkhand government to help bring back his body. Ranchi-based Ranjan (43) had joined the vessel, 'ASP Avana- RPSL-MUM-172', owned by a private company, February 2. According to his family, Ranjan died...

Riyadh: India Friday confirmed the death of an Indian national March 18 in Riyadh due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia stated that it remains in touch with the family and local authorities and assured all possible assistance. "The Embassy of India expresses its deepest condolences on the tragic demise of...

Cape Canaveral: For the second time this year, NASA moved its moon rocket from the hangar out toward the pad Friday in hopes of launching four astronauts on a lunar fly-around next month. If the latest repairs work and everything else goes NASA's way, the Space Launch System could blast off as early as April 1 from...

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has filed his nomination for the post of JD(U) president as he prepares to return to national politics with his election to the Rajya Sabha. JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha submitted Kumar's nomination at the party's central office here Thursday. Jha is one of the proposers for Kumar....