New Delhi/Kyiv: At least 13 Indian seafarers are among the 15 crew members stranded aboard a cargo vessel at Ukraine's Chornomorsk port as drone and missile attacks continue in the vicinity of the strategic Black Sea harbour, according to the Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI). The sailors' union has warned that the crew is caught in...

United Nations: India described the escalation of hostilities in West Asia as "deeply concerning" and strongly condemned recent attacks on several maritime vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, calling for restoration of unimpeded navigation and trade through international waterways in the region. Terming West Asia as a region of "immense importance" to India, Permanent Representative of India...

Ranchi: Top Maoist Misir Besra, who was carrying a bounty of over Rs 1 crore, was arrested from Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, police said. Besra was wanted in various cases related to red rebels' activities in several states, including Jharkhand and Odisha, a police officer said. Besra, a resident of Harladih in Giridih district, was arrested from Maniadih...

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stepped up action against the misuse of residential buildings for commercial purposes, serving notices to 133 property owners and identifying 35 buildings for sealing in line with Supreme Court directives. Officials said notices have been issued to 133 of the 153 identified violators, while notices for the remaining 20 are...

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has launched a massive evacuation drive from low-lying areas as over 1 lakh people remained affected by floods, officials said. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, after reviewing the situation Tuesday evening, said the next 24 hours remained crucial for the three north Odisha districts of Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Jajpur due to a...

By Arindam Ganguly, OP Baripada: On International Tiger Day, Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) stands as one of India’s most remarkable wildlife conservation success stories. Once facing a critically low tiger population, the reserve has now emerged as the state’s strongest tiger landscape, demonstrating that protecting the big cat requires much more than increasing numbers—it demands safeguarding entire...

Baripada: Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district is set to restore 500 hectares of degraded grassland as part of a major habitat improvement initiative aimed at increasing the population of herbivores and, in turn, supporting the growth of its tiger population. Forest officials said the restoration programme will focus on reviving grazing areas overrun by invasive vegetation...

Pottangi: Deputy Secretary Jitendra Kumar Patra, who was deputed from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha, reviewed the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-2026 exercise in Kotia panchayat under Pottangi block of Koraput district Monday. Patra visited the border panchayat as part of his district tour and inspected several polling stations where the revision exercise is...

Kendrapada: In an effort to strengthen access to justice at the grassroots level, Dinabandhu Sahu Law College in Kendrapada district has launched a free primary legal aid and counselling centre at Guhalisingh Gram Panchayat in Derabish block, which has been adopted by the institution. Vice-Chancellor of Madhusudan Law University, Prof Shibaram Tripathy inaugurated the centre by unveiling...

Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to undertake a three-day visit to Odisha from August 3 and attend several programmes, besides a train journey from Bhubaneswar to Brahmapur, officials said. The President's programme was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Anu Garg in which she reviewed the state's preparedness for Murmu's visit to Kataka,...