An air alert was sounded in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Samajwadi Party tweeted a video to back the claims of "manipulation of voting machines" ahead of the election results in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar cabinet has approved changes to the state’s liquor prohibition law and other top news in this bulletin. An air alert was sounded on Wednesday in and around Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and residents were urged to reach shelters on an urgent basis. Taking to social media platform Telegram, regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba said there was a threat of a missile attack. “Kyiv region – air alert. Threat of a missile attack. Everyone immediately to shelters,” he wrote. The development came amid reports of Russia breaching agreements for safe evacuation of citizens for the third time. The city of Mariupol, which sits on the Azov Sea, has been surrounded by Russian soldiers for days and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the encircled city of 4,30,000. Meanwhile, a humanitarian corridor out of the besieged city of Sumy would continue for the day, said regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said. He separately said the city’s residential area had been bombed overnight, with at least one bomb killing 22 civilians. Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party on Wednesday tweeted a video to back the claims of “manipulation of voting machines” ahead of the election results in Uttar Pradesh. In the video, an official is heard admitting a protocol lapse. “There was a lapse in the protocol in the movement of electronic voting machines. But I can assure you that taking away voting machines is impossible. There is a three-level security. There is only one entry point (where machines are kept) where CCTV cameras have been put. If the representatives of political parties want, they too can maintain vigil,” Varanasi commissioner Deepak Agarwal is heard saying in the video. Reports of “fiddling with the EVMs have come across from several parts,” the Samajwadi Party alleged on Twitter: “At whose behest is all this happening? Are the officials working under the pressure of the CMO. The Election commission should please clarify.” The allegations come just hours ahead of the counting in the critical state of Uttar Pradesh where the BJP is eyeing a second term and Akhilesh Yadav is the key challenger. Exit polls, however, have predicted a win in majority of seats for the BJP. On Tuesday, the Samajwadi Party chief accused the BJP of trying to “steal the votes”. “The Samajwadi Party is winning Ayodhya, that is why BJP is scared. Election Commission officials are tampering with the EVMs,” he said. Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan deal early Wednesday providing $13.6 billion to help Ukraine and European allies plus billions more to battle the pandemic as part of an overdue $1.5 trillion measure financing federal agencies for the rest of this year. Though a tiny portion of the massive bill, the money responding to the Russian blitzkrieg that’s devastated parts of Ukraine and prompted Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II ensured robust bipartisan support for the legislation. President Joe Biden had requested $10 billion for military, humanitarian and economic aid last week, and Democratic and Republican backing was so staunch that the figure grew to $12 billion Monday and $13.6 billion just a day later. “We’re going to support them against tyranny, oppression, violent acts of subjugation,” Biden said at the White House. Party leaders hoped to whip the 2,741-page measure through the House on Wednesday and the Senate by week’s end, though that chamber’s exact timing was unclear. Lawmakers were spurred by the urgency of helping Ukraine before Russia’s military might makes it too late. The Bihar Cabinet has approved changes to the state’s liquor prohibition law to make it less stringent for the first-time offenders and those caught carrying liquor in lesser quantities in smaller non-commercial vehicles, officials aware of the matter said. The modified sections will come into force after the state assembly approves them. The law was enforced in April 2016, banning the manufacturing, sale, and consumption of liquor. It provides for up to life imprisonment for serious offences and confiscation of houses, vehicles, and other properties from where liquor is seized. The Bihar government has drawn flak over the poor implementation of the prohibition law, which has been blamed for hooch tragedies that have claimed dozens of lives. Chief minister Nitish Kumar has faced criticism even from his alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the hooch tragedies. Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party, which is a part of the government, has demanded a repeal of the law. The Supreme Court too has criticised the law saying it was impacting the functioning of the judiciary with 14-15 Patna high court judges only hearing the bail pleas relating to arrests made under it. On Tuesday, the state government told the Supreme Court the law would be modified. The court said the Bihar government brought the law without any legislative impact study. It said almost every bench in the Supreme Court is dealing with petitions arising out of the prohibition. As a first major step towards “Atmanirbharta” vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Defence Ministry has approached the Union Cabinet to green light the setting up of an independent nodal umbrella body to meet the wide-ranging testing and certification requirements of weapon systems developed and manufactured by the Indian private sector. While the independent testing and certification body was envisaged in the Union Budget this year, the move is a huge step towards decoupling the Indian private defence sector industry from the clutches of the humongous veto exercising military bureaucracy on the Raisina Hill. By painting the private players as mere profiteers, the Indian military industrial complex has been at the mercy of these mandarins who are fantastic in promise but very low on delivery. The new independent authority will ensure that private sector is not at the mercy of government’s laboratories and testing ranges for getting their equipment approved for both domestic sales and exports. With 68 per cent of defence capital procurement budget earmarked for domestic industry this financial year, it is time that the private defence sector took advantage of this move and started towards manufacturing high end products likes armed drones, autonomous combat vehicles, aircraft engines and submarines by setting up SPVs with western defence majors who are willing to set up shop in India. That’s all from us for now. We will be back with the morning news bulletin.
Canadian PM, family moved to secret location amid protests, India is likely to step up spending on infrastructure, health services and social programmes, Mamata Banerjee blocked Go ... Read more
Canadian PM, family moved to secret location amid protests, India is likely to step up spending on infrastructure, health services and social programmes, Mamata Banerjee blocked Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar from her Twitter account & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Ram Nath Kovind addressed the joint sitting of parliament ahead of the budget session, India's GDP is expected to grow at 8% to 8.5% for the next fiscal year, Former Australia capt ... Read more
Ram Nath Kovind addressed the joint sitting of parliament ahead of the budget session, India's GDP is expected to grow at 8% to 8.5% for the next fiscal year, Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has backed Rohit Sharma for leading the Indian men's team in Test cricket. & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
More than 75% of India’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, The Budget Session of Parliament will begin from Monday with President's address to both the houses, Tejasswi P ... Read more
More than 75% of India’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, The Budget Session of Parliament will begin from Monday with President's address to both the houses, Tejasswi Prakash lifts the Bigg Boss 15 trophy & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Amit Shah addressed a gathering of BJP supporters in UP's Muzaffarnagar today, India continued a downward trajectory on the Covid-19 graph on Saturday, A thousand drones will dazzl ... Read more
Amit Shah addressed a gathering of BJP supporters in UP's Muzaffarnagar today, India continued a downward trajectory on the Covid-19 graph on Saturday, A thousand drones will dazzle the sky above Delhi during the Beating Retreat ceremony & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
NARC is ready to acquire stressed assets worth 82000 crore rupees, India and the Philippines signed a deal worth $375 million, The trajectory of India’s 3rd wave of Covid-19 appea ... Read more
NARC is ready to acquire stressed assets worth 82000 crore rupees, India and the Philippines signed a deal worth $375 million, The trajectory of India’s 3rd wave of Covid-19 appears to have started reducing & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
The Supreme Court set aside the Maharashtra Assembly's decision to suspend 12 legislators of BJP for a one-year period, Protesters blocked roads and burned tyres in Patna over alle ... Read more
The Supreme Court set aside the Maharashtra Assembly's decision to suspend 12 legislators of BJP for a one-year period, Protesters blocked roads and burned tyres in Patna over alleged discrepancies in railway recruitment examinations, Trinamool Congress national vice-president Luizinho Faleiro withdrew his candidature from Goa’s Fatorda assembly constituency & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
China has said it will work “closely” with India to properly handle the ongoing border tension, Yogi Adityanath says he does politics of development, Joe Biden has said he will nom ... Read more
China has said it will work “closely” with India to properly handle the ongoing border tension, Yogi Adityanath says he does politics of development, Joe Biden has said he will nominate a Black woman to the US Supreme Court for the first time in history & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Supreme Court asked the Punjab government to not arrest Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia till Mon, Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to lift weekend curfe ... Read more
Supreme Court asked the Punjab government to not arrest Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia till Mon, Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to lift weekend curfew and odd-even restrictions, China's People's Liberation Army handed over the missing teen from Arunachal Pradesh to the Indian Army & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Amit Shah met Jat leaders and exhorted them to back the BJP in UP polls, The Delhi government has been pushing to reopen the schools, South Korea defeated India in the Asia Cup wom ... Read more
Amit Shah met Jat leaders and exhorted them to back the BJP in UP polls, The Delhi government has been pushing to reopen the schools, South Korea defeated India in the Asia Cup women’s hockey semi-final & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
There will be no “At Home” ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, The Andhra Pradesh government has revised the number of districts in the state, Virat - The elite horse of President's bo ... Read more
There will be no “At Home” ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, The Andhra Pradesh government has revised the number of districts in the state, Virat - The elite horse of President's bodyguard, retires & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
The Website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. If you continue browsing you will be providing your consent to our use of these.