Gold Coast (Aus): Australia granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women's soccer team who were visiting the country for a tournament when the Iran war began, a government minister said Tuesday. The announcement followed days of urging by Iranian groups in Australia and by US President Donald Trump for the Australian government to help the...

New Delhi: There is no shortage of lower-denomination currency notes of Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 in circulation in the country, the government told the Parliament Tuesday. Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said that, as per the RBI, lower-denomination banknotes have not been...

Bhubaneswar: Concerned over the shortage in supply of commercial gas cylinders, the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) Tuesday sought Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's intervention for smooth provisions of LPG to hotels and restaurants. In its memorandum submitted to Puri, the association said the disruptions in the supply of commercial LPG cylinders are creating serious...

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will host its annual awards ceremony March 15 in New Delhi, where five Indian teams that won ICC trophies over the past year will be honoured, said secretary Devajit Saikia. The BCCI awards ceremony titled 'NAMAN' will celebrate India’s recent success in ICC events across formats...

New Delhi: The government Tuesday sought Lok Sabha approval for gross additional expenditure of over Rs 2.81 lakh crore in current fiscal year. The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "Approval of Parliament is sought to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 2,81,289.26 crore. Of...

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Tuesday took up an Opposition resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla from office for his alleged bias towards the ruling party, amid a heated debate on who will preside over the House while the motion is taken up. Congress legislator Mohammad Jawed read out the notice seeking to move the...

United Nations: India has condemned Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghanistan as a flagrant violation of international law, saying it is hypocritical to invoke Islamic solidarity while carrying out attacks that have killed civilians during Ramzan. Addressing a Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan Monday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, reiterated New Delhi's...

New Delhi: The government Tuesday eased norms for foreign direct investment from all countries, including China, that share land borders with India, sources said. They said press note 3 of 2020 has been amended in this regard. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under this press...

Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik Tuesday targeted the Odisha government, accusing it of showing no urgency in rescuing Odia people stranded in West Asian countries amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war. Expressing concern over the stranded Odia people, Naveen Patnaik wrote on his X handle that he could feel the...

Puri: Allegations of delayed commencement of annual examinations surfaced Tuesday at several primary and upper primary schools in Gop block of Puri district. The annual examinations in the block began March 9 and are scheduled to conclude March 13. However, question papers reportedly reached several schools late, forcing students to wait for a long time before the...