India

New Delhi, Jul 6: India has "secured" the release of its national Regi Joseph who was abducted in March this year in Libya, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today. "Indian Embassy in Libya has secured the release of Regi Joseph - an Indian national from Kerala. He was abducted in March this year". "This has been possible with the efforts of Azar A H Khan our Ambassador in Libya,"

Srinagar, Jul 1: Six persons including a senior police officer were injured in clashes between protesters and security personnel that broke out today after Eid prayers in the Kashmir Valley. Additional Superintendent of Police Mubashir Bukhari was injured in the stomach during stonepelting at Janglat Mandi in Anantnag district, a police official said. A constable was injured during clashes with

New Delhi, Jul 6: In a major overhaul of his Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday not just inducted 19 new faces into his ministry, but also changed the portfolios of some his top ministers. One of the most prominent changes involved Smriti Irani, who was shifted from the key Human Resources Development Ministry to the relatively lower profile Textiles Ministry. Smriti Irani's two-year

New Delhi, Jul 6: Two years can be a long time in politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised many, both within BJP and outside, when he appointed Smriti Zubin Irani his Human Resources Development minister. It was seen as more than recognition of the spunk the former TV star showed as BJP spokesperson when she would gamely take on detractors of the then Gujarat chief minister or the scare

Mumbai, Jul 5: The Shiv Sena-BJP rift is set to intensify with the ally failing to get any berth in today's expansion of the Union Council of Ministers, prompting it to issue a veiled threat to the senior partner that it will keep it in mind during the Mumbai city corporation and other local body polls across Maharashtra. Grumbling that BJP "took it for granted", Sena said it felt "hurt" by the

New Delhi, Jul 5: 17 new faces including BJP leaders S S Ahluwalia, and M J Akbar and allies Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal and Ramdas Athawale of RPI were today inducted along with two old hands Vijay Goel and Faggan Kulaste into the Modi government in expansion and reshuffle in which five were dropped and Environment Minister Prakash Javedekar was elevated to the Cabinet. The second exercise by

Jhangar (LoC), Jul 4: Over 200 heavily armed militants were waiting across the Line of Control (LoC) to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, a senior army officer today said but asserted that troops are fully geared to thwart their nefarious designs. "Exact details of the infiltrators cannot be said with surety but with our experience, having known their modus operandi and from inputs of various

New Delhi, Jul 4: In a major development ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, Apna Dalhas been merged with BJP. Political experts see this development as a big boost for BJP in UP polls as Apna Dal has a huge support base mainly among the OBC communities of the Varanasi-Mirzapur area. Also, the merger may boost the winning prospects of BJP in UP elections as it is likely to attract Kurmi

New Delhi, Jul 4: An expansion and reshuffle of the Modi government will take place tomorrow with a dalit tilt in the exercise possibly eyeing the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh next year. Prominent among the names doing the rounds for induction include Anupriya Patel, an OBC Lok Sabha member belonging to ally Apna Dal, and a number of BJP leaders, who met party chief Amit Shah today. The BJP

New Delhi, Jul 4: With an eye on the politically crucial assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh scheduled next year, the much-awaited expansion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet will take place on Tuesday. In what can be seen as an attempt to woo the alliance partners, the ruling BJP at the Centre is likely to induct several new faces from smaller and local parties. Leaders from the Apna Dal