New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday initiated criminal contempt proceedings against former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and several other AAP leaders, holding that a “coordinated campaign” had been carried out to scandalise the judiciary in connection with proceedings related to the excise policy case. Passing a detailed order, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said the social...

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday asked the civil and police authorities to work as a team to contain organised crimes across the state, instil fear among criminals and win the confidence of people. Majhi issued the directions while reviewing the law and order situation which has been impacted in the wake of back-to-back crimes...

Bhubaneswar: An employee of the Odisha Education Department was arrested Thursday for allegedly misappropriating government funds, officials said. Discrepancies were detected in salary disbursement records between December 31, 2018, and October 16, 2021, during the course of the investigation, they said. The accused, who was posted in the accounts section of the District Education Officer (DEO), Cuttack,...

Dharamsala: Shardul Thakur returned with excellent figures of 4 for 39 but Punjab Kings still scored 200 for 8 in their IPL match against Mumbai Indians Thursday. Invited to bat, Prabhsimran Singh top-scored for Punjab with a 32-ball 57 while Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with 38 off 17 balls. Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly contributed 22 and...

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha unit of the Congress Thursday demanded strict implementation of the PESA Act and other related legislations to mitigate the displacement problems faced by the people because of industrial projects. The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, or PESA Act, empower Gram Sabhas in Fifth Schedule areas to protect the...

Jajpur:  A teenager died and her parents were critically injured after their car plunged off a bridge on National Highway-16 in Odisha's Jajpur district Thursday, police said. The accident occurred near Khanditar within Kuakhia police limits. The deceased has been identified as Srestha Mukherjee (15), a resident of Ghasipura in Keonjhar district, police said. Kuakhia police station...

Beijing: Iran has allowed dozens of Chinese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as China toughened its stance against the militarisation of the key waterway during talks between US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, following...

Kolkata: In a move loaded with symbolism, the West Bengal government has made the singing of 'Vande Mataram' mandatory in morning assemblies across all state-run and state-aided schools with immediate effect. The directive, issued by the school education department, mandates that every student participate in singing the national song before the commencement of classes, with school heads...

Thuamul Rampur: While the state government is implementing several welfare schemes to transform Odisha into a developed state, a contrasting situation has been reported from Adri gram panchayat under Thuamul Rampur block in Kalahandi district. According to reports, due to alleged negligence and arbitrary functioning of administrative officials, the public is facing severe difficulties. The panchayat office...

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two more accused in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, taking the total number of people arrested so far to seven, officials said Thursday. The two newly arrested accused have been identified as Dhananjay Lokhanda, a resident of Ahilyanagar, and Manisha Waghmare from Pune,...