India

Kolkata, Mar 23 (PTI) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to revise its rules for polling agents, allowing a party to nominate a polling agent for any booth within the assembly segment where the person is an electorate, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Earlier, a polling agent had to be a voter of the booth where he was to be a polling agent.

Lucknow, Mar 23 (PTI) Three IPS officers have been prematurely retired in Uttar Pradesh, including the one who has been at loggerheads with the state government.

An officer of the 1992 batch, Inspector General Amitabh Thakur, on Tuesday disclosed his retirement on Twitter, attaching a copy of the orders issued by the Union government. He was currently posted as the Joint Director (Civil Defence).

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) India is believed to have challenged in a court in The Hague an arbitration tribunal verdict that overturned its demand for Rs 10,247 crore in back taxes from Cairn Energy Plc -- the second time in three months that it has refused to accept an international award against retrospective tax.

The appeal was filed on Monday, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

The Finance Ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to an e-mail sent for comments.

Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) A day after Kangana Ranaut won her fourth National Film Award, the actor said though she takes interest in matters of national importance, she has "no connection with politics at all".

Ranaut, who is known for her provocative statements, recently made headlines for her Twitter spat with actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh over the ongoing farmers protests and locking horns with the Maharashtra government after her office was demolished by the BMC.

Jhansi/Kochi, Mar 23 (PTI) Four nuns were taken off an express train and detained for questioning by railway police in UP's Jhansi recently, with the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) expressing concern over the matter.

KCBC on Tuesday alleged two nuns belonging to Kerala- based Sacred Heart congregation and two postulants were harassed during the March 19 incident, even as Congress and BJP took up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, respectively.

Lucknow, Mar 23 (PTI) A Lucknow court has discharged nine foreigners belonging to Tablighi jamaat from the cases lodged against them during the Covid outbreak in the country.

The nine had been booked for allegedly committing various penal offences and breaching provisions of the Foreigners Act and Epidemic Act.

While discharging the nine, Chief Judicial Magistrate Sushil Kumari, however, stipulated that their bail bonds and personal bonds would be discharged only after the appropriate action by the Central government.

Jammu, Mar 23 (PTI) Congress leaders need to stand up to the challenges being faced by the country and look into the problems of the people instead of "staying at their homes", National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) function here, he also said that the Congress has become "weak".

Kanpur: "Yes, I have been promoted to the next class," said one 12-year-old student of a posh school in the tannery town of Jajmau. His face was conveying the joy of passing through offline final examinations.

He reacted it remained good that I got success. The mental pressure that pervaded was over with the results.

For a student like me, promotion to the next class is a matter of relief not only for me but all those who do not like to study the same books again. The preparations are done properly to clear the class.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) In the first reduction in rates in over a year, petrol price on Wednesday was cut by 18 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre as international oil prices tumbled to the lowest since early February.

Petrol price was cut to Rs 90.99 a litre in Delhi from Rs 91.17 per litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

Diesel now comes for Rs 81.30 a litre in the national capital, down from Rs 81.47 previously.

Banda (UP), Mar 24 (PTI) A man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly holding a woman hostage and raping her for four days in a village here, police said.

According to police, the accused Mobin (30) took the woman to his place for some work and sexually abused her.

"The 25-year-old woman along with her husband filed a complaint and an FIR was registered against the accused on Tuesday," Jaishyam Shukla, SHO, City police station said.