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In a few hours counting of votes for the Telangana Assembly elections will decide the fate of candidates from the ruling BRS, BJP and Congress in a three-cornered contest in the country’s youngest state. Counting of votes for the Telangana Assembly elections will begin on Sunday to decide whether the “founding father” of the state Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s K Chandrasekhar Rao will retain power for a third consecutive term or the reigns of the state will be wrested by the BJP or the Congress. With the BRS banking on its social welfare programmes to retain power, the Congress is looking at repeating its electoral success in neighbouring Karnataka. The BJP, on the other hand, is hoping to make inroads into the state to expand its reach in South India. In the 119-seat Telangana Assembly, the three parties will need to reach the magic number of 60 to form a government. In a pre-poll seat-sharing agreement, the BJP and Jana Sena contested on 111 and 8 seats, respectively while the Congress

With barely a few hours left before the counting of votes begins for four states, Congress candidate from Nagda Khachrod constituency, Dilip Gurjar, was at the divine door on Sunday morning, offering earnest prayers to the Almighty at the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple in the Ujjain district. A visual from his temple run showed the Congress candidate praying with his eyes closed and hands folded as he sat facing Mahakal (Lord Shiva). Likewise, leaders from across four states also headed to the nearest shrines as their fates lay locked in strong rooms. In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited several religious sites in the run-up to the results. On the eve of counting day, Chouhan, on Saturday, took out time to water some plants in Bhopal. BJP leader Vasundhara Raje on Saturday visited the Moti Doongri temple in Jaipur and the Mehandipur Balaji temple in Dausa, as has been her tradition ahead of important days. All eyes are on the outcome of the fiercely cont

05:59 (IST) Madhya Pradesh Election 2023 Results LIVE Which direction did Madhya Pradesh take in 2018? The Congress emerged as the largest party in Madhya Pradesh following a close race with the incumbent BJP, capturing 114 seats in the 230-member House. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the incumbent three-time chief minister, admitted defeat and resigned after the BJP won only 109 seats. Chouhan, however, returned to power in March 2020, following the fall of the Kamal Nath government due to a mutiny led by then-Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. 05:57 (IST) Chhattisgarh Election 2023 Results LIVE In 2018, how did Chhattisgarh voters vote? In Chhattisgarh, the Congress surged to power with an absolute majority after 15 years, gaining 68 of 90 seats and defeating the BJP, which was reduced to 15. Then-Chief Minister Raman Singh resigned, accepting moral responsibility for the BJP's defeat. 05:56 (IST) Rajasthan Elections 2023 Results LIVE Who last won the Rajastha

Tremors were felt in various parts of West Bengal as an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hit neighbouring Bangladesh on Saturday morning. According to the National Center for Seismology, the earthquake took place in south-eastern Bangladesh at a depth of 55 km at 9.05 am. “Earthquake of Magnitude: 5.6, Occurred on 02-12-2023, 09:05:31 IST, Lat: 23.15 & Long: 90.89, Depth: 55 Km, Location: Bangladesh, India,” the NCS said on X. Earthquake of Magnitude:5.6, Occurred on 02-12-2023, 09:05:31 IST, Lat: 23.15 & Long: 90.89, Depth: 55 Km ,Location: Bangladesh, India for more information Download the BhooKamp App https://t.co/Sv8aV8laX2 @Indiametdept @Dr_Mishra1966 @KirenRijiju @ndmaindia @Ravi_MoES pic.twitter.com/GuwGe69u3x — National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) December 2, 2023 The West Bengal Disaster Management Department said that as of now, no damage has been reported from anywhere in the state. “We are yet to get the final report. As of now, there is no re

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning as Cyclone Michaung gains strength over the Bay of Bengal and the South Andaman Sea. With the potential to intensify, the tropical cyclone is expected to make landfall in and around Tamil Nadu on December 4, prompting concerns and precautionary measures across southern India. IMD Alert An ‘Orange’ alert has been sounded for Tamil Nadu and coastal and interior Andhra Pradesh, indicating the likelihood of moderate to heavy rainfall as the cyclone intensifies. Weather Forecast IMD’s forecast suggests isolated heavy rainfall over north coastal Tamil Nadu between December 2 and December 4. The persisting extreme weather has led to incidents of waterlogging in Chennai and damage to public property. #WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: MD, Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre, Sunanda says, “The low-pressure area has now after observation intensified into a depression near southeast and adjoining areas neighbourhood. So in the next 24

The Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment payload onboard India’s Aditya-L1 satellite has commenced its operations and is performing normally, ISRO said on Saturday. Aditya-L1 Mission: The Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS), the second instrument in the Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) payload is operational. The histogram illustrates the energy variations in proton and alpha particle counts captured by SWIS over 2-days.… pic.twitter.com/I5BRBgeYY5 — ISRO (@isro) December 2, 2023 Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space-based observatory to study the Sun from a halo orbit around the first Sun-earth Lagrangian point (L1), which is located roughly 1.5 million km from Earth. In a statement, ISRO said the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) comprises two cutting-edge instruments ‘the Solar Wind Ion Spe

The Biden administration “has bent backwards to avoid a public spat with Delhi,” according to Ashley Tellis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, but U.S. officials would be troubled by the issues of sovereignty involved in an attack on a citizen of the United States. “I think the bilateral relationship will survive this fiasco,” he stated. “But it will reinforce the qualms of many who believe that the claims about shared values between the U.S. and India are simply mythology.” By a vote of 6:4, the report was approved. The report was supported by Preneet Kaur, the wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who is currently with the BJP, according to panel chairman Vinod Sonkar. In a letter, Dubey had accused Speaker Om Birla of the Lok Sabha of pressuring Moitra to attack the Adani Group at the request of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, he said, had given him evidence of purported b

On a Friday morning, there was massive chaos at the premises of at least 15 schools in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. More than 5,000 students and staff were hurriedly evacuated when the administrative staff received a bomb threat via email. There was panic among students, parents and school authorities who immediately informed the police. At the time of filing this report, anti-sabotage and bomb squads of Bengaluru police were conducting checks in these schools. Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda said, many anti-sabotage teams were scanning the school premises and they found no suspicious objects. “As of now, it looks like a hoax-message. We will complete the search operation soon. However, we request parents not to panic,” the senior cop said. Looking into all aspects: Karnataka govt Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said, “At present, we have received information about 15 schools where threatening e-mails have been received, last year also such threats were received. We

YouTube, the video streaming giant owned by Google, is set to combat the spread of fake news and disinformation in the lead-up to India’s general elections. A senior official from the company revealed plans to remove misleading content and provide users with access to high-quality news by collaborating with reputable news publishers and independent journalists. During a recent interaction with the press YouTube India Director Ishan Chatterjee emphasized the platform’s commitment to addressing misinformation. He explained that their policies dictate action against content that has been technologically manipulated to deceive users and poses a real-world harm risk. However, Chatterjee stressed that this is only one facet of their strategy. The second part of YouTube’s strategy focuses on ensuring users have access to reliable and high-quality news content produced by news organizations and independent journalists. Despite news not being a distinct category on YouTube, it remains a signi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome at the Dubai airport as soon as he landed there to attend the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) Summit. The Prime Minister will be participating in the World Climate Action Summit of COP28 which is scheduled on 1 December. PM Modi was received by UAE’s Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahayan at the airport. https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WhatsApp-Video-2023-12-01-at-9.00.00-AM.mp4 PM Modi gets rousing welcome in Dubai The Indian diaspora, waiting outside a hotel in Dubai, were all excited upon PM Modi’s arrival in UAE. They sang ‘Saare Jahan Se Achha’ and chanted slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Modi, Modi’, ‘Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar’. #WATCH | Members of the Indian Diaspora raise ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarkar’ slogans as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dubai pic.twitter.com/LY2SsyqvBS — ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2023 https://

November 30, 2023, marked 365 days since India assumed the G20 Presidency. Talking about the feat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “I am delighted that during our Presidency, India achieved the extraordinary.” PM Modi said, under its G20 Presidency, India “revitalised multilateralism, amplified the voice of the Global South, championed development, and fought for the empowerment of women everywhere.” India sought to offer the world an alternative to the status quo The Prime Minister said as India assumed G20 Presidency in 2022, the global landscape grappled with a host of challenges including recovery from COVID-19, looming climate threats, financial instability, the debt distress in developing nations – all amid declining multilateralism. “Assuming the G20 chair, India sought to offer the world an alternative to the status quo, a shift from a GDP-centric to human-centric progress,” PM Modi said. “India aimed to remind the world of what unites us, rather than what divides us. F

Hours before the dramatic rescue of the 41 trapped workers from the collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel, a 70-year-old Jharkhand man “died of anxiety” for his son who was among those rescued later that day. Baset alias Barsa Murmu was anxious for his son, 28-year-old Bhaktu, since he heard about the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand on November 12, his family members said on Wednesday. A resident of Bahda village in East Singhbhum district, Murmu, died at around 8 am on Tuesday when he was sitting on his cot, around 12 hours before Baktu was rescued. Local government officials said they are yet to confirm the reason behind the death though it is suspected that he died of heart attack. Since Tuesday, Bhaktu’s mother Piti Murmu has stopped speaking and has been disoriented. Murmu’s son-in-law Thakar Hansda who was there when the septuagenarian breathed his last said he was anxious about the well-being of his son and suddenly fell from the cot and died. The f

Low-lying areas across Tamil Nadu have been submerged in water after heavy showers on Wednesday. Schools and colleges in Chennai, Chengalpattu, Ranipet and Kanchipuram districts have declared holiday for the day as IMD has forecast intense rain along with thunderstorms and lightning on Thursday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange alert for Chennai and its neighbouring districts on 2 and 3 December, predicting the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall. The weather office further informed that a well-marked low pressure area persists over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining south Andaman Sea, which is expected to move west-northwards and turn into a depression over the Bay of Bengal on Thursday. Thereafter, on 2 December, it is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm, IMD said. #WATCH | Heavy rain in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai as a result of a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal pic.twitter.com/gro95BI0qE — ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2023

Amid speculation about a strong anti-incumbency wave against Telangana chief minister and BRS supremo KCR and with both the Congress as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party hoping to wrest a southern state, polling began at 7.00 am on Thursday morning in Telangana to elect 119 members to the state legislative assembly. Voting is underway in 35,655 polling stations across the state, officials said. Polling would be held till 5 pm in 106 constituencies, while it will conclude at about 4 pm in 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected seats. There are 3.26 crore eligible voters, including 1,63,13,268 male voters and 1,63,02,261 female electors, in the state. A total of 2,290 contestants are in the fray for the upcoming elections, including Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son KT Rama Rao, state Congress president A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind. The model code of conduct came into force in the state after the Election Commission ann

Soon after the Centre’s directive to review preparedness in view of a surge in respiratory illnesses among children in China, five states have put their health infrastructure on alert mode. The state governments of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu have asked hospitals and healthcare staff to ensure that they are adequately prepared to tackle patients complaining of respiratory ailments. The Karnataka health department has also asked people to be aware of the seasonal flu. Listing the symptoms and risk factors of seasonal flu, the advisory also mentions dos and don’ts. These include covering the mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing, frequent washing of hands, avoiding touching the face, and using masks in crowded spots. Rajasthan health department’s advisory indicated that the situation is “not worrisome at present” but the medical staff should keep watch and prevent spread of infectious diseases. It added that adequate arrangements should be made in paed

08:17 (IST) Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates Families extend gratitude to govt following successful rescue of 41 workers from Silkyara tunnel After 17 days of nervous waiting, joy and gladness flooded the faces of the family members of the 41 trapped workers on Tuesday evening as they learned of their successful rescue from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi. The dramatic scene emerged as the finale of the nation's attention-grabbing rescue attempts. After experiencing extended despair, the families celebrated the rescue and praised the authorities sincerely for bringing their loved ones back. They celebrated by breaking crackers and handing out candy. Some family members used video conferencing to check on the workers' well-being. Many families who had arrived at the scene a few days after the disaster and had been sleeping there since were reunited with their loved ones. 08:13 (IST) Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates How the rescue of 41

After a protracted 17-day rescue mission, workers in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel were extracted, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with them late on Tuesday. Officials told India Today that the Prime Minister called the rescued construction workers to check on their well-being. After a day-long rat-mining operation, which was started because large and sophisticated drilling machines were unable to remove the debris from the Silkyara tunnel that was still under construction, all 41 workers were successfully evacuated by rescue crews. The Prime Minister praised the weeks-long efforts of the rescue forces to successfully and safely extract the workers on X (previously known as Twitter) shortly after they were removed. He claimed that all of the mission’s participants had produced a wonderful illustration of humanity and cooperation. “The success of the rescue operation of our brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in

According to a survey released on Tuesday, almost 18% of the candidates running in the Assembly polls in five states have criminal cases filed against them, and 29% are “crorepatis.” The self-sworn affidavits of 8,051 of the 8,054 candidates running in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana were reviewed by the think tank Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). 2,117 candidates from national parties, 537 from state parties, 2,051 from registered unrecognised parties, and 3,346 independent candidates make up the 8,051 candidates that were examined. As per the research, 959 candidates (12%) have major criminal cases against them, while 1,452 candidates have criminal cases against them. A total of twenty-two candidates have disclosed cases pertaining to self-mutilation, eighty-two have disclosed cases involving attempted murder, and 107 have disclosed cases concerning crimes against women. “The directions of the Supreme Court have had no effect on the politi

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been summoned by a MP/MLA court on December 16 in connection with a 2018 case for making derogatory comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a Bengaluru event. The complaint was lodged by then BJP district vice-president, Vijay Mishra. “I was the vice president of BJP when this incident happened. Rahul Gandhi had accused Amit Shah in Bengaluru and called him a murderer. When I heard these allegations, I felt very pained because I am a 33-year-old worker of the party. I filed a complaint regarding this through my lawyer and this continued for almost 5 years. Today a decision has been taken by the court,” Vijay Mishra told news agency ANI. Santosh Kumar Pandey, the lawyer appearing for Vijay Mishra said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi can be given a maximum punishment of 2 years if sufficient evidence is found against him. “Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in Bengaluru. About 5 years ago, Amit Shah who is currently the

Authorities have launched multi-pronged operations to rescue the 41 trapped workers from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. Both manual and vertical drilling works are being carried out at similar paces from inside the tunnel and atop the hill respectively. Pipes have been inserted up to 52 metres through the rubble at Silkyara tunnel, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday as efforts to rescue the 41 workers trapped there continued for the 17th day. Over 12 rat hole mining experts have been employed in the horizontal excavation efforts who have been working their way through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand’s Char Dham route since Monday. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Visuals from the Silkyara tunnel where the operation to rescue 41 workers is ongoing. Manual drilling is going on inside the rescue tunnel and auger machine is being used for pushing the pi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed unwavering determination on Monday to overcome the challenges posed by nature in the ongoing evacuation of 41 workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand. Despite facing obstacles, the government is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety of the workers, said PM Modi during a ‘Koti Deepotsavam’, a religious event of lighting lamps during the Hindu Kartika month. Addressing the situation, PM Modi conveyed his prayers for the workers’ safe evacuation, highlighting the government’s continuous efforts to rescue them promptly. Emphasising the need for a vigilant relief and rescue operation, he acknowledged the persistent challenges posed by nature but reassured the public of the government’s resolute stance. PM Modi underscored the round-the-clock efforts being made by the government and various agencies, leaving no stone unturned to bring the trapped workers to safety. During the religious event, PM Modi urged the nation to pray for

Rain battered the nation’s capital on Monday, causing sixteen planes scheduled to depart for Delhi between 6 and 8 p.m. to be rerouted. Ten of the sixteen aircraft had their routes changed; three went to Lucknow, one to Ahmedabad, and two to Amritsar. Furthermore, according to the airline’s social media handle, severe weather and air traffic congestion at Delhi airport caused a Vistara aircraft from Guwahati to Delhi to be rerouted to Jaipur. On Monday Evening, there was some light rain in Delhi and the National Capital Region, which dropped the temperature a few degrees. Delhi’s air quality, meanwhile, continued to be classified as “very poor”. Northern India temperatures are expected to decrease by a further two to three degrees, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Additionally, starting on November 28, the weather service has forecast an increase in fog in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi-NCR. According to RK Jenamani, Senior Scientist at IMD, Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday visited the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala and offered prayers for the good health, well-being and prosperity of all Indians. The prime minister visited the temple at around 8am. “At the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, prayed for the good health, well-being and prosperity of 140 crore Indians,” said Modi in a post on ‘X’. At the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, prayed for the good health, well-being and prosperity of 140 crore Indians. pic.twitter.com/lk68adpgwD — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 27, 2023 The temple priests showered Vedic blessings on Modi. The prime minister arrived at Tirumala on Sunday night. #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh pic.twitter.com/qBISN2Ib9g — ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2023 Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy received Modi at t

Google is placing some major bets on Indian startup CoRover, and believes it to be India’s answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. That is why, the tech giant is set to invest about $4 million in CoRover. CoRover is the Indian AI studio behind BharatGPT, an LLM-based AI solution that has proven to be much more capable than ChatGPT, and supports a number of Indic languages. Earlier this year, CoRover unveiled BharatGPT, a significant addition to a body of large language models or LLMs. This innovative language model supports more than 12 Indian languages and over 120 foreign languages, surpassing the language range of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is limited to 95 languages and primarily operates in English. What sets BharatGPT apart is its versatility, as it can process diverse data formats, including images, audio, video, and maps, unlike ChatGPT, which predominantly handles text. CoRover emphasizes that BharatGPT boasts an impressive accuracy level of 90 per cent. Leveraging a vast repository of

In a significant move, Tata Electronics, a part of the Tata Group, is set to amplify its iPhone-casing facility in Hosur, with intentions to double its current size, according to a report by the Economic Times, quoting sources familiar with the matter. The company, which recently acquired Wistron’s iPhone assembly plant in Karnataka, is strategically positioning itself to enhance its contract manufacturing capabilities for premium electronic devices and accessories. The existing Hosur unit, established with a substantial investment of Rs 5,000 crore, is spread across 500 acres and accommodates over 15,000 employees. The proposed expansion, anticipated to conclude within 12-18 months, could result in a workforce surge to approximately 25,000-28,000 individuals at the consolidated site. The report quotes a senior government official saying, “The company is looking to expand the unit to 1.5-2 times the current size and capacity.” While speculations suggest the new facility may primaril

The 18th edition of the India-Iran Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) took place in Tehran on Sunday. Leading the Indian delegation was Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, while the Iranian side was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri. In a statement on ‘X’, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi mentioned that the co-chairs, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Deputy FM Ali Bagheri, engaged in discussions covering a spectrum of topics, including political, trade and economic, cultural, people-to-people ties, connectivity projects such as the Chabahar port, agriculture cooperation, and capacity building. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Deputy FM for Political Affairs of Iran @Bagheri_Kani co-chaired the 18th 🇮🇳-🇮🇷 FOC in Tehran today. The two sides took stock of a range of bilateral matters, including political, trade & economic, cultural, people-to-people ties, connectivity… pic.twitter.com/xrqiT7P0Vp — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) November 26,