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death toll from Myanmar's devastating earthquake climbed to 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 missing, state media said on Saturday, as the visiting U.N. aid chief praised humanitarian and community groups for leading the aid response. The leader of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, was back in the capital Naypyitaw after a rare foreign trip to attend a summit in Bangkok of South and Southeast Asian nations, where he also met separately with the leaders of Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India. Min Aung Hlaing reaffirmed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the junta's plans to hold «free and fair» elections in December, Myanmar state media said. Modi called for a post-quake ceasefire in Myanmar's civil war to be made permanent, and said the elections needed to be «inclusive and credible», an Indian foreign affairs spokesperson said on Friday. Critics have derided the planned election as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

Rockland, a town near Ottawa, prompting action by local authorities who have arrested a suspect in connection with the incident. The High Commission of India in Ottawa confirmed the death on Saturday and said it is closely working with Canadian authorities and community groups to assist the family of the deceased. In a statement issued on social media platform X, the Indian mission said, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of an Indian national in Rockland near Ottawa, due to stabbing. Police has stated a suspect has been taken into custody. We are in close contact through a local community association to provide all possible assistance to the bereaved kin."

Piyush Goyal on Friday accused Congress of misleading Indian startups by misinterpreting his message at the Startup Mahakumbh, which was taken positively by the budding entrepreneurs. He also alleged that the Congress ecosystem did not understand his message for startups, which is a reflection of their negative approach. «My message for startups has been received (positively) except by some Congress party (social media) handles who are hell-bent on manufacturing a controversy when it is none. By and large, the feedback that I have received is that the young Indians are ready to capture the world,» he told reporters here. The minister's remark came in the backdrop of the Congress and some startups criticising his statement at Startup Mahakumbh here on Thursday.

Waqf Bill in both the Houses of Parliament has given a boost to the BJP ahead of Biar elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party got 240 seats and it is dependent on its NDA allies for their support, not only to run the government but also to sail through key legislations. In August last year, the Waqf Bill was presented in Parliament and was sent to a JPC.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On a recent Friday night in Bengaluru, Green Theory, a cafe that serves plant-based food and drinks, turned into a retro-futuristic space for a silent music party. As neon lights shimmered and kitschy visuals reminiscent of 1970s movie posters played on transparent curtains, a crowd of around 100 headphones-clad youngsters moved to lo-fi disco music spun by DJ Joel Sakkari on the console.

Labor Party's Jerome Laxale won the Sydney seat of Bennelong from the Liberals at the 2022 election, votes from Chinese Australians angry about then-prime minister Scott Morrison's spat with Beijing were instrumental in his victory. Now Laxale and other politicians are using social media including Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle app also called RedNote, and other campaign strategies to appeal to Chinese communities who will again be a crucial bloc in the upcoming election. «If you want to communicate with your electorate, you need to go where your electorate are and some of them are on Xiaohongshu,» said Laxale, who has handed out 30,000 red envelopes with QR codes to his personal accounts on Xiaohongshu and another Chinese app, WeChat.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said there has been a rise in the number of instances of the Hindu temples being defaced with anti-India graffiti in the US in recent months. This information was shared by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in response to a written question in the Lok Sabha about the steps taken by the government to protect the Hindu temples in the US. «In recent months, there has been a rise in the number of instances of Hindu temples being defaced with anti-India graffiti in the United States of America,» he said. Singh said the government of India «accords highest priority to the welfare, safety and security of Indian citizens and the Indian community abroad». «All incidents of attack and vandalization of temples and places of worship are immediately taken up with the host government through diplomatic channels,» he added.

Phil Goff, New Zealand's former High Commissioner to the UK, sacked for publicly questioning US President Donald Trump's understanding of history, has defended his comments. Goff stated his comments were prompted by the US President's «disgraceful bullying» of Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky, and the «untruthful statements» made by the Trump administration about Russia’s invasion. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters moved quickly to dismiss Goff, stating his position had become “untenable.” Goff, however, maintains he has no regrets and believes his actions will be viewed favorably in the future. Goff made the first comments about Trump during a live-streamed Q&A event with Finland Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on March 4. Referring to Winston Churchill’s 1938 speech to the House of Commons following the Munich Agreement, asking Valtonen, “President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?” This question, according to Goff, arose from the “dismay” shared within the diplomatic community in London regarding Trump's stance on Ukraine. “As one untruthful statement followed another like something out of an Orwell novel, I increasingly felt that the lies needed to be called out," he had said.

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is expected to introduce the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, which aims to reserve seats for Scheduled Tribes in Goa and rescind seats in the Legislative Assembly. «The Bill for enabling reservation of seats in accordance with article 332 of the Constitution for effective democratic participation of members of Scheduled Tribes and to provide for the readjustment of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goa, in so far as such readjustment is necessitated by inclusion of certain communities in the list of the Scheduled Tribes in the State of Goa and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration,» the legislative business reads. Additionally, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy will introduce a Bill to amend the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and the Mental Healthcare (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Other key presentations include the Committee on Estimates' Sixth Report on promoting climate-resilient agriculture and the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs' Fifth Report on regional rapid transit systems.

Piyush Goyal stirred controversy while addressing the Startup Mahakumbh 2025 in New Delhi. His remarks on India’s startup ecosystem, specifically his rhetorical question, «Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? » drew mixed reactions from the entrepreneurial community. By comparing India’s startup landscape to China’s, Goyal ignited a broader debate about the country’s technological aspirations and economic growth.

Delhi Metro can test anyone’s patience, especially when standing in a jam-packed train with barely enough room to breathe. In this chaotic routine, scoring a seat often feels like striking gold. This everyday hassle became the center of a light-hearted yet imaginative conversation on Reddit, where users unleashed their funniest and wildest tricks to claim a seat during rush hour.

Rajya Sabha early Friday adopted a Statutory Resolution confirming the imposition of President's Rule in strife-torn Manipur with members across party lines supporting the decision. Even though opposition members slammed the Centre for its failure to restore law and order in the state and control violence, the government said it was making all efforts to bring normalcy in the state, asserting that its policy was not to impose President's Rule in states. Speaking at the end of the discussion on the resolution, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said a meeting between the two communities from Manipur is likely to take place in the national capital soon. Shah informed the House that two meetings between the communities had already taken place in Manipur while the House was in session. "...We are investing our efforts to bring peace back in Manipur. Thirteen meetings have happened. We brought up the subject late as meetings were going on. The next meeting is in the offing and the issue will see its resolution soon," the minister said. «The path to communication is open… We don't use this for political mileage,» Shah added.

reciprocal tariffs of the US as it could severely hurt MSME shipments to America in the short run, Federation of Indian Export Organisations President SC Ralhan said on Wednesday. He suggested that the government should come forward and support exporters to deal with these tariffs. «Reciprocal tariffs in the range of 10 per cent are manageable but beyond that will have serious implications on Indian exporting community, particularly MSMEs. The duties will have a short-term impact on India's exports to the US as both the countries are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement,» Ralhan told PTI. The US tariffs will definitely impact demand for Indian goods in the US market, he said adding buyers are already holding orders as there is an uncertainty over import duties. Goods from sectors, including agriculture, precious stones, chemicals, pharma, medical devices, electricals, and machinery, may get impacted if the US goes ahead with imposing reciprocal tariffs on Indian products. US President Donald Trump has said the tariff announcements, scheduled for early morning Thursday (India time), will amount to a 'Liberation Day' for the US.

image generator, OpenAI has revealed plans to launch a new open language model—its first since GPT-2. To shape its development, the company is seeking input from developers, researchers, and the wider AI community through a feedback form. Open-source language models (OS LLMs) are designed to understand, generate, and manipulate human language, leveraging large datasets and sophisticated algorithms to perform a variety of language-based tasks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the news, stating, “We are planning to release our first open-weight language model since GPT-2. We've been thinking about this for a long time, but other priorities took precedence. Now it feels important to do.” Altman added that before the model is released, OpenAI plans to evaluate it using its preparedness framework, the same process applied to all its models. “And we will do extra work given that we know this model will be modified post-release,” he stated in the post.

Neworld Developers, a Gurugram based realty company is targeting Rs 5,000 crore revenue over the next five years from multiple projects across Haryana and Goa, a senior executive said. With a focus on delivering integrated townships, villas, resorts, and hospitality-linked developments, the company’s first project will be in Goa and will be launched in May 2025. The project, which is near to the MOPA airport, has already received all necessary approvals under state regulations, including the NA (Non-agricultural) registration and Occupancy Certificate (OC), ensuring transparency and reliability for homebuyers.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday strongly defended the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha, and said that the legislation was necessary to ensure the proper use of Waqf properties for the benefit of the poor and disadvantaged sections of the Muslim community. Rijiju, who tabled the Bill in the Lower House, took aim at the opposition, accusing them of misleading Muslims for the last 70 years for «vote bank politics.» «How long do you want to mislead them?» Rijiju asked MPs of the Opposition bloc, particularly those affiliated with the Congress. “The Muslims are strongly supporting this Bill. They have been asking to pass it quickly,” he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When big changes happen slowly, we don’t notice them. Climate change is a glaring example.

Bharat. Mark Duey, CEO, Water For People, and Bishwadeep Ghose, Country Director, India, talk to ET Digital, explaining the role of SHGs in promoting water sustainability and a healthier water future in India. Water For People is a US-based NGO that has been working in India for the past 15 years to ensure access to safe water. Economic Times (ET): Tell us about your Jalbandhu initiative. How is it driving employment in rural communities?

Lena Dunham recently stepped out to lead a rally for trans rights just outside the US Capitol. The 38-year-old feminist advocate made a rare appearance in Washington DC on March 31. The rally was hosted by the Christopher Street Project for the Trans Day of Visibility, People magazine reported.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Local video streaming platforms focussed on regional languages and niche target audiences are increasingly getting a substantial chunk of their revenue from overseas Indian viewers, in some cases up to 40%.

Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) supported the Waqf Amendment Bill proposed by the centre, Karnataka Deputy Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Arvind Bellad affirmed that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a huge reform to the Waqf bill which has «created a huge havoc.» Speaking with ANI, Arvinde Bellad said, «Waqf Amendment is a huge reform. It (Waqf Bill) has created a huge havoc, not only among Hindus but also Muslims. So, it has draconian powers. It has power which are beyond Constitution.» Stressing the need of amendments, Bellad said that BJP is rightfully amending the law. «I think that particular law needs major amendments and rightfully so our party, our BJP Government is amending the law,» he said. Earlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also welcomed the support of (KCBC) and asserted that the proposed bill is not against any community while calling out the «propaganda» being spread around it.