New Delhi: The campaigning for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections came to a close Thursday as leaders from the prominent political parties heightened their efforts with rallies till the last minute. Polling is scheduled to take place June 1 in 57 parliamentary constituencies spanning seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to...

New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh Thursday accused him of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving "hateful speeches" during the poll campaign. In an appeal to voters of Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok...

New Delhi: The government Thursday appointed senior IAS officer Saurabh Garg as Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. An order issued by the Ministry of Personnel said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Garg, a 1991-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, currently serving as Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. Garg...

Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently ruled that a marriage between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman is not valid under Muslim personal law, even if registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. This decision came while the court dismissed a plea for police protection to register their inter-faith marriage. Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia...

Rourkela: As many as 10 persons died in Rourkela reportedly due to intense heatwave conditions Thursday. Speaking to media, Sudharani Pradhan director in-charge (DIC) of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) said, “The deaths occurred within a span of six hours, beginning at around 2pm.” According to the DIC, eight persons had died by the time they reached the...

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined nearly 1 per cent Thursday, continuing their falling streak for the fifth day running due to profit booking amid monthly expiry in the derivatives segment. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged by 617.30 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 73,885.60. The barometer hit the day's low of 73,668.73...

Bhubaneswar: Heatwave conditions will prevail in the interior and western districts of Odisha till June 10 despite the onset of the south-west monsoon, according to Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC). A CEC release Thursday said the models indicate that the onset of monsoon over Odisha and nearby regions might not happen before June 10 even as...

Bhubaneswar: The high-decibel campaign for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha came to an end Thursday after two months of intense electioneering. The fourth and final phase of the twin elections in six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 Assembly segments will be held June 1. The six parliamentary seats are Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara...

Bhubaneswar: Senior IPS officer Ashish Kumar Singh Thursday underwent a medical examination at the AIIMS here, as per directions of the Election Commission. The poll panel had ordered a detailed examination of Singh, IG (CM Security) by a “special medical board” constituted by the director of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar. The medical report of Singh, who has been on medical...

Bhoi servitors of Puri Jagannath temple carry a log for Rath Yatra chariot construction   Divers search for bodies at Puri Narendra Pushkarini a day after violent firecracker explosions killed, injured scores   Puri firecracker explosion: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visits injured men at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar   Puri firecracker explosion: BJP leader Sambit Patra...