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Amit Shah on Monday recalled the “blunder" committed in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, while praising PM Narendra Modi for correcting it during his tenure. Amit Shah said Jawaharlal Nehru made an error when he implemented Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, which was abrogated by PM Modi who also raised an Indian flag in the Union Territory.

Baltimore last week is «healthy», according to a nonprofit organisation that has been in touch with the personnel. The 2.6km-long, four-lane bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore, came crashing down after Dali, a 984-foot cargo ship bound for Sri Lanka, collided against it in the early hours of March 26. The 21 crew members of Dali, of which 20 are Indians, are still onboard the crippled cargo ship nearly a week after the collision.

NEW DELHI : An uninhabited island has sparked a political controversy in the election season. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reignited a longstanding debate in Indian politics by criticizing the Congress party for relinquishing control of the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974, under Indira Gandhi's leadership. This move has elicited responses from opposition parties, bringing the island's status back into the spotlight.

Katchatheevu island issue, opposition leaders on Monday cited a 2015 RTI reply, which stated that the agreements in 1974 and 1976 did not involve either acquiring or ceding of territory belonging to India, and asked whether the «change» in Modi government's stance was for «election politics». The opposition's response came after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday claimed that prime ministers from the Congress displayed indifference about Katchatheevu island and gave away Indian fishermen's rights despite legal views to the contrary. Jaishankar's remarks at a press conference were made a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited a media report to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress «callously» gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram hit out at the government over the issue.

Katchatheevu Island row, saying the ruling alliance parties of Tamil Nadu have done nothing to safeguard the state’s interests. The Prime Minister’s charge on the opposition escalates the controversy in the run-up to the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. “Rhetoric aside, DMK has done nothing to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests.

Katchatheevu island was neither acquired nor ceded and lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line. The 2015 response by MEA assumes significance considering the ongoing political flash point over RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said that former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi had ceded the Island to Sri Lanka.

S Jaishankar on Monday said that India's national security interests are involved in its investigation into the alleged involvement of a government official in the assassination plot aimed at Khalistani extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. As reported by PTI, Jaishankar while replying to a question about US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti's statement that the involvement of a government official in an assassination bid on the citizen of another country is an “unacceptable red line", said, “It is something we are investigating as we believe our own national security interests are involved in that investigation." Also Read: Katchatheevu row: Jaishankar says ‘6,184 fishermen, 1,175 vessels detained by Sri Lanka in 20 years’ Jaishankar further noted that the US ambassador will say what he feels is the thinking or position of his government.

Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is a jarring visual: Chunks of steel jut above the water like metallic icebergs. Twisted gray beams protrude in crooked positions. From a park near Fort McHenry, visitors can see the giant cargo ship that struck the bridge and remains lodged in the wreckage. Less visible, however, are the 22 crew members from India who have remained on the ship, named the Dali, since the disaster Tuesday.

'important piece of Bharat' has caused troubles for Tamil Nadu's "fishermen brothers and sisters". In a video posted on Sunday, he trained guns on the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for "colluding in the ceding of Katchatheevu by Sri Lanka". Several BJP leaders, including top leadership such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmatharaman reacted to the report, slamming the Congress.

BJP on Sunday hit back at Rahul Gandhi over his «match-fixing» accusation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the Congress government in the past handed over Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka clinching a «deal» with the neighbouring country to benefit the party's first family. The BJP's reaction came after Gandhi accused Prime Minister Modi of trying to do «match-fixing» in the Lok Sabha polls and asserted that if the BJP succeeds in its endeavours, the country's Constitution will be changed and people's rights taken away. Addressing a press conference here, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also slammed the Congress over Gandhi's claim that the entire country will be on fire if the saffron party returns to power and the Constitution is changed, saying that divisive politics is in the «DNA» of the main opposition. The Congress did not hesitate to even allow the country's partition on the lines of religion in 1947 leaving a portion of Jammu and Kashmir under Pakistan's occupation, he charged.

Narendra Modi over his charge that Indira Gandhi gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday asked why he did not take steps to get it back during his 10-year rule and alleged that raising the «sensitive» issue ahead of elections shows his «desperation». The opposition leader also questioned why the prime minister gave a «clean chit» to China after 20 bravehearts made supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. Kharge said that Katchatheevu island was given to Sri Lanka as part of a friendly agreement in 1974 and reminded the Modi government that it too had undertaken a similar «friendly gesture» towards Bangladesh on exchange of border enclaves. «Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ji, You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable,» he said in a post on X.

Mallikarjun Kharge jibbed “elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable". Citing “misdeeds" of PM Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge urged the PM to stop “obsessing" over Congress.

'PM Modi aims to transcend divisive politics of caste, religion': FM Sitharaman PM Modi on Sunday cited a report in Times of India that said, 'RTI reply shows how Indira Gandhi ceded the island to Sri Lanka'. The PM on the X platfrom wrote, "Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu". PM Narendra Modi added, "Weakening India’s unity, integrity, and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting".

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai has shed light on India's wavering approach to the Katchatheevu island dispute with Sri Lanka. The decision to cede Katchatheevu has been a source of contention in Tamil Nadu, particularly for fishermen who continue to face arrest by Sri Lankan authorities. As the Lok Sabha elections near, the documents are likely to reignite the debate surrounding the island's ownership and the impact on Indian fishermen. According to a TOI report, the documents show that Sri Lanka is making up for its small size by pursuing the 1.9 square kilometer of territory around 20 km from the Indian beach with tenacity. This is based on claims that New Delhi disputed for decades before finally giving in to. Soon after independence, Ceylon, then known as Sri Lanka, asserted that the Indian Navy, then known as the Royal Indian Navy, could not hold exercises on the island without its consent. The island hosted an exercise by the Ceylon Air Force in October of 1955.

Here’s what to know about the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse and leaving six construction workers presumed dead

Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Kia Seltos and Mahindra XUV700 from customers in Australia, Latin America and Southeast Asia. According to industry estimates, Indian carmakers are set to ship more than 675,000 vehicles in the fiscal year that ends March 31, recovering from a low of 404,000 reported in the aftermath of the pandemic in FY21. Around 663,000 cars were exported from the country in the last financial year. Vehicle exports were dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, which together accounted for two-thirds of all cars shipped out of the country.

BALTIMORE—The crew of workers from Mexico and Central America were well into their graveyard shift, pouring concrete to fix the potholes that dotted the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The job could be dangerous in the daytime, let alone at night. The bridge, suspended up to 185 feet above the Patapsco River, would sway with passing tractor-trailers.

THE VIDEO footage of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was shocking. At around 1.30am on March 26th, when a container ship rammed into it, the central section of the 1.6-mile (2.6km) structure collapsed into the Patapsco river below, sending people and vehicles into the water. Workers repairing potholes were on the bridge at the time.

Baltimore bridge collapse: US says ‘path to normalcy will not be easy’ There was no indication of terrorism, police said. The metal truss-style bridge has a suspended deck, a design that contributed to its collapse, engineers say. The ship appeared to hit a main concrete pier, which rests on soil underwater and is part of the foundation.

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) said it has acquired New Zealand Cricket (NZC) media rights for the Indian market. The deal is pegged at $90-$100 million (Rs 749-Rs 833 crore), according to industry executives. SPNI, which has been on an acquisition spree in the sports media market and owns media rights to the England and Sri Lanka cricket boards, will broadcast NZC matches on both TV and digital platforms from May 2024 to April 2031. The rights deal includes two India tours to New Zealand, comprising 24 matches across test matches, one-day internationals (ODIs) and T20 internationals. SPNI's head of sports business Rajesh Kaul said the addition of NZC rights will bolster the network's sports portfolio since New Zealand is one of the most respected cricket teams in the world. «Apart from the three cricket boards that we currently have, we are also evaluating a couple of other cricket rights that will become available. We will be prudent while bidding for cricket properties,» Kaul told ET.

By Lisa Shumaker