The central government announced an extra instalment of taxes totalling Rs 1,39,750 crore for June 2024, as a goodwill gesture due to robust cash flows and solid revenue receipts. This brings the total amount devolved to states in the current financial year to nearly Rs 2.8 lakh crore, aiming to accelerate development and capital spending.
Pratibha Patil and Manmohan Singh were in office during the UPA government, while HD Devegowda served as prime minister during the United Front government, with Congress support. Devegowda's party, Janata Dal (Secular), is part of the current NDA coalition. His son, HD Kumaraswamy, is a minister in PM Modi's new cabinet.
RIYADH: Officials from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce have inspected 24,880 shops in Makkah and Madinah to ensure they comply with the country’s business regulations. The shops were in the central areas of the two holy mosques, the Haramain train stations, commercial centers, gold and jewelry markets, and petrol stations. There were 1,259 violations recorded, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. Inspections will continue throughout the Hajj period, the ministry has indicated.
MAKKAH: Four people selling fake Hajj permits and bracelets and promoting bogus Hajj campaigns were arrested by security patrols in Makkah, Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday. Cash, seals, mobile phones and computers being used in the scams were seized and the four residents, from Pakistan and Myanmar, referred to the Public Prosecution. Earlier, two Egyptian residents were arrested for fraudulent social media adverts that fraudulently offered accommodation, transport and the securing of a sacrifice to pilgrims.
RIYADH: Director General of Passports Lt. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Yahya on Sunday inspected Taif International Airport and points of entrance into Makkah. Al-Yahya assessed the work of passport officers and administrative committees responsible for Hajj regulations, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The passports chief said these communities should operate 24/7 during Hajj season to identify and penalize individuals transporting unauthorized pilgrims.
RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s efforts to help vulnerable individuals and families continue in Yemen and Syria with the distribution of basic food necessities. In Yemen, 2,251 families comprising 15,757 individuals from the districts of Khanfir, Al-Wadea, and Zinjibar in Abyan Governorate and Al-Dhale and Al-Shuayb districts of Al-Dhale Governorate received 2,251 food parcels as part of a life-saving project for underprivileged households.
Riyadh: The Kingdom excelled at the 24th Asian Physics Olympiad 2024 in Kampar, Malaysia, from June 3 to 10, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday. Backed by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, or Mawhiba, and the Ministry of Education, the Saudi Arabia team competed against 208 students from 27 countries. The eight-member team won one bronze medal and received four certificates of appreciation, the SPA reported.
The BJP secured a decisive victory in the national capital, winning all seven Lok Sabha seats for the third consecutive time. This victory is notable as the BJP won despite a strong alliance between the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress. The result is a significant setback for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose party had hoped his arrest and interim bail would boost their fortunes amid corruption charges against their leaders.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expressed concern over the prolonged unrest in Manipur, emphasizing the need for urgent attention to bring peace to the state. He highlighted the violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities, with fresh incidents reported from Jiribam. «Manipur is waiting for peace for the last one year. There was peace in Manipur 10 years ago. It felt like gun culture had finished there. But the state has suddenly seen violence,» he said.
«School has started» - That's the declaration from Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop as she warned the media to observe court rules in covering a hearing on whether entertainer Vybz Kartel and three other men should be retried for murder.
Homme de lettres, écrivain et enseignant, Hallnaut Engouang a une énième fois, couché noir sur blanc pour offrir aux amoureux de l'univers page à page, un contenu romanesque. La Nuit, c'est le titre de son nouveau roman. Une leçon de moral qui invite à lire. Lorsque l'on recherche le pouvoir financier par tous les moyens, il y a un prix à payer. C'est cette leçon de morale que nous donne Hallnaut Engouang dans son roman «La Nuit» où il relate l'histoire d'un jeune homme, Chérubin (...) - ARTS & CULTURE / SUJET_ECRIT_MAISON
The weather will be the best in South and West Iceland today and tomorrow. Generally, it’s expected to be fine weather in many parts of the country in the coming days, and it will warm considerably this week, leaving the unusual cold front last week.
Gullible Trump Supporters Waste Their Time and Treasure on an Obvious Controlled Opposition Puppet.
If we accept the fundamental truth that Ukraine is nothing more than a proxy battleground between Russia and the west, then you might say WWIII has already begun. The powers-that-be have been content to keep the situation contained primarily to Ukraine so far, but a recent event suggests things are about to change. There’s something very strange happening on the nuclear front between NATO and Russia and I believe it might be time to consider the possibility that a false flag threat is in the works.
Congressman Thomas Massie reveals to Tucker Carlson that his Republican colleagues have an “AIPAC babysitter” to ensure they vote in the interests of Israel at all times.
If you want a glimpse of the next stage of America’s transformation into a police state, look no further than how Israel—a long-time recipient of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid from the U.S.—uses its high-tech military tactics, surveillance and weaponry to advance its authoritarian agenda.
Rural whites see the with race-based resentment and harbor attitudes dangerous to democracy, argue the authors of a new book, White Rural Rage. Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman claim rural whites are “uniquely hostile,” with heightened fears of immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and urbanites. Where 54% of city people support Black Lives Matter (BLM), just 30% of rural residents do, they note. These racist rural whites have too much political power and are enabling Donald Trump’s existential threat to our democracy.
President William Ruto has called on leaders in the Kenya Kwanza government to tone down on attacks that have characterised his administration recently.
Kismayo (HOL) - Somali army forces, backed by local clan militias, recaptured Bulo Haji, a strategic area located approximately 80 kilometers south of Kismayo, the capital of the Lower Jubba region on Monday.
India participated in the Brics foreign ministers' meeting in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod, marking PM Modi's third term. Russian FM Lavrov led the session, discussing the expanded group's role in a multipolar world. Lavrov criticized Western dominance and advocated for a more equitable international order.
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will begin his series of introductory visits to South-east Asian capitals with a two-day trip to Brunei and Malaysia, starting on June 11. In Brunei, PM Wong will have an audience with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his wife, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, who will host him to lunch. In Bandar Seri Begawan, he will also meet Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Al-Muhtadee Billah and his wife, Princess Pengiran Anak Sarah. PM Wong will then leave for Malaysia in the evening, said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement. In Kuala Lumpur, he will meet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as well as other Malaysian leaders. This is PM Wong’s first overseas trip since he was sworn in as prime minister on May 15, continuing a custom established by the Republic’s earlier leaders. Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, when he took over as prime minister in August 2004, had also started his introductory visits to South-east Asian capitals with Brunei and Malaysia. Singapore enjoys longstanding and close relations with both neighbours.
Canada's leading research universities warn that a proposed foreign influence transparency registry could have an unintended «chilling effect» on international partnerships, meaning Canada misses out on cutting-edge opportunities.
Bourlaye Fofana started with 814 different genetic lines, hoping to find ways to make potatoes better through breeding. Disease resistance and a more attractive appearance used to rank on top -- before climate change made drought resistance a key quality for growers.
No decision has been made on whether to build a road over the lava that crossed over Grindavíkurvegur Road on Saturday.
In 2023, the Russian government approved the comprehensive development plan for the Arkhangelsk transport hub
Georgy Zinovyev emphasized that the military maneuvers of the United States and South Korea are quite provocative, they are «aimed at working out the issue of decapitation of the top military and political leadership of North Korea»
According to the State Department, the US and Poland have also signed a memorandum of understanding on combating foreign disinformation
The Arctic plays a huge role in the global economy: mineral resources - fertilizers, nickel, cobalt, platinum, copper; hydrocarbons - oil, gas, pulp and paper production and products of the timber industry, diamonds and shipbuilding, Alexey Chekunkov noted
Igor Kimakovsky noted that the enemy had started using drones supplied by the West on the massive scale
President Droupadi Murmu met with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Murmu emphasized Nepal's importance under India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and discussed enhancing bilateral ties. She also welcomed President Muizzu and expressed hope for strengthened India-Maldives relations.
Authorities in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, thwarted a family's attempt to marry off a 15 year old girl to a 27 year old man from Ahmedabad. The Women and Child Development department's flying squad intervened following a tip-off, stopping the ceremony. The family admitted to the planned wedding, citing threats of elopement as their reason.
In Una, Himachal Pradesh, four armed men attempted a bank robbery, assaulting staff and a customer. The branch's security siren thwarted their efforts, causing them to flee with employees' mobiles. Police are investigating using CCTV footage and aim to apprehend the suspects soon.