Artistes perform during the Jayadev Samaroh at Utkal Mandap, Bhubaneswar Supporters celebrate with Dilip Ray after the Rajya Sabha election results were announced at Mayfair Lagoon, Bhubaneswar

New Delhi: Iran has asked India to release three tankers seized in February as part of talks seeking the safe passage of Indian-flagged or India-bound vessels out of the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Indian authorities seized the three Iran-linked tankers near Indian waters, alleging they had...

Tel Aviv/Dubai: Israel said Monday it has detailed plans for at least three more weeks of war as its military pounded sites across Iran overnight, while Iranian drone attacks temporarily shut Dubai airport and hit a key oil facility in the United Arab Emirates. The US-Israeli war on Iran is now entering its third week, with no...

New Delhi: India Monday categorically rejected a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that called for linking Washington's security assistance and bilateral trade to improvements in New Delhi's record in religious freedom. In its report, the USCIRF criticised India for what it called increasing cases of alleged violations of religious freedom and recommended...

Athens: Greece has no plans to participate in any military operation in the Strait of Hormuz, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said Monday, stressing that the country has no intention of becoming involved in war. Speaking at a regular briefing, Marinakis said Greece's current involvement in the European Union's Operation Shield is "geographically defined in the Red Sea...

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Monday appointed retired district judge Laxmidhar Biswal to lead the judicial inquiry into the devastating fire at SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack, in which at least 10 people died and 11 others suffered burn injuries. The panel is required to submit its report within 60 days, according to a notification issued by...

Patna: BJP president Nitin Nabin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and three other NDA candidates Monday won the Rajya Sabha elections in the state, an official said. Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), BJP leader Shivesh Kumar and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha also emerged victorious, said Khyati Singh, the Secretary of Vidhan Sabha,...

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Monday congratulated the BJP's Rajya Sabha poll nominees and the Independent candidate backed by the party for winning the election, though the official announcement in this regard is yet to be made. The BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and its sitting Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar are the official...

Beijing: China Monday called on all countries to immediately stop military operations in West Asia in response to US President Donald Trump's appeal to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open for international transport, ruling out Beijing joining any international naval force risking its close ties with Iran. The effective closure of the vital waterway by Iran...

Colombo: Sri Lanka Monday announced a four-day working week with every Wednesday a public holiday as a contingency measure for possible fuel shortages in view of the war in West Asia. Currently, the island nation follows a five-day work week. "It was decided to declare every Wednesday a public holiday with effect from March 18," Commissioner General...