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Congo’s government is questioning Apple about the tech company’s knowledge of “blood minerals” from a conflict zone in the African country that could be smuggled into supply chains

NEW DELHI : Water level in India’s 150 major reservoirs fell to 30% of their total storage capacity, with eastern and southern India seeing levels depleting rapidly owing to severe heatwave. While 26 reservoirs have 50% of normal water storage capacity, the level in reservoirs of eastern and southern regions has dropped to as low as 39% and 17%, respectively, as per the bulletin released by the Central Water Commission on Thursday.

electric vehicles is scheduled to commence by the end of 2024, with the official launch slated for 2025. Kia will also debut its India-made electric vehicle in the same timeframe, the group confirmed in a recent statement. By 2030, Hyundai and Kia intend to unveil five new electric models in the Indian market.

Phase 2, elections will be held for 89 Lok Sabha seats spread across 13 states and Union Territories (UTs). The Election Commission (EC) said earlier this month that after the scrutiny of 2,633 nominations filed, 1,428 nominations were found to be valid. "In phase 2, Kerala has a maximum of 500 nominations from 20 Parliamentary Constituencies, followed by 491 nominations from 14 PCs in Karnataka.

Also read: Centre to soon bring amendments to IT rules to curb deepfakes The company said that complying with the rule would require storing vast numbers of messages for extended periods, which no other country mandates. It said the rule exceeded the scope of its parent law, the Information Technology Act, which does not mandate breaking encryption.

A technical problem caused aviation authorities in Norway to temporarily close the airspace over the south of the country, leading to significant delays at Oslo airport

Global automakers and EV startups are unveiling new models and concept cars at China’s largest auto show, with a focus on the nation’s transformation into a major market and production base for digitally connected, new-energy vehicles

Rahul Gandhi appealed to the voters to support the Congress and vote for the 'hand' symbol to form a 'government of the Indians'. In a video message shared on his official 'X' handle, Gandhi said that this election is meant to protect the Constitution and democracy while urging the citizens to «fulfil their duty towards democracy». «This election is an election to save democracy and principles. On one side, BJP and RSS are trying to destroy democracy and the constitution. And on the other side, Congress party and INDI alliance are making efforts to protect the constitution and democracy,» Rahul Gandhi said.

₹4,286 crore). People familiar with the developments said the company was looking to exit after Reliance began betting aggressively on sports, as Viacom18 isn’t keen on the category globally. “They were anyway being ousted by Reliance and, globally, have no interest in the sports segment.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, hailed the recent Rs 18,000 crore fundraise by Vodafone Idea as a significant development for the company, describing it as a «fresh lease of life.» This fundraise, achieved through a follow-on public offer, is expected to provide the much-needed financial boost to Vodafone Idea, which has been facing stiff competition from rivals in the telecom sector. Calling it as the beginning of 'Vi 2.0', Birla said the money raised will be invested in the business, which will trigger a cycle of growth. «Vi will stage a smart comeback, this moment marks the beginning of Vi 2.0,» Birla said at the listing ceremony.

Brigade Group to develop a 300-room InterContinental brand hotel in Telangana. The hotel, named InterContinental Hyderabad Neopolis, will bring together IHG's global expertise in hospitality management and Brigade Group's expertise in real estate development to create a world-class hotel that meets the needs of discerning travellers. The proposed property is first InterContinental property in Kokapet, Hyderabad and will be a part of Brigade's mixed-use development project, expected to be operational by 2029.

Sweden has officially become a member of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, amid rising tensions with Russia. This move comes as part of NATO's efforts to bolster its defences in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The addition of Sweden and Finland, which joined earlier, marks the alliance's largest expansion since the 1990s. NATO's Purpose and Membership NATO was established in 1949 to counter Soviet expansion and maintain peace in Europe. It has since grown to include 32 member countries, including the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Turkey. Following the Soviet Union's collapse, many Eastern European countries joined, and now, Sweden and Finland have joined the alliance, contributing nearly 300,000 troops.

Bangladesh's economic progress, during the conference, and said, the country that was once known as ‘East Pakistan’, and a burden on West Pakistan, has now a better economic stability than his country. The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government hopes to secure another staff-level agreement on a new long-term larger loan with the International Monetary Fund by early July, in order to reduce inflation and stabilise the economy. Pakistan and India's trade talks nosedived when India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution.

Rahul Gandhi’s re-election bid in Wayanad to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s challenge to three-term member of parliament Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram, the political landscape of Kerala is set to witness some keenly watched contests on Friday. The Congress and the Left-- both partners in opposition’s INDIA bloc-- are the main rivals in Kerala. Until now, the contest in Kerala has been bi-polar, but with the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a force to reckon with, some seats are likely to witness a triangular contest.

Also read: FSSAI to inspect samples of spices and infant food pan-India “The board convened an industry consultation and has put in systems to commence mandatory ETO testing in spice consignments destined for Singapore and Hong Kong. Spice consignments to other countries will also be strictly monitored for the presence of ETO.

Also read: Serum Institute to receive up to $30 mn from global network to make pandemic vaccines "An agreement has been signed under which Bharat Biotech will procure drug substances for manufacturing oral polio vaccines to be supplied within India and globally. This will contribute to supply security of oral polio vaccines. With this partnership, the capacity of BBIL to manufacture Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) has increased to 500 million doses every year," said a statement by the Health Ministry.

Also read: India Should Clear the Air on a Killing in Canada Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during September 2023 expressed concern over anti-India activities and Khalistan extremism in Canada in a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. A few weeks later, Trudeau told Canada's House of Commons that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and a prominent figure in the pro-Khalistan movement.

Mint’s Emerging Markets Tracker provides a summary of economic activity across 10 large emerging markets based on seven high-frequency indicators. One of the original members of the list, Russia, has been temporarily dropped from the tracker since its trade data has not been reliably available for the last two years. A country’s score on a given metric is a measure of its distance from both the best performer and the worst performer.

ITC plans to open more hotels overseas with neighbouring countries and the Middle East as primary target markets after opening of its first international property here, company Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri said on Thursday. The company's arm ITC Hotels, which had opened 22 new properties in the last 24 months, plans to add another 70 hotels in the next five years in India as part of expansion plans in the hospitality sector. Besides the hotels business, the company will look for opportunities to expand the presence of FMCG and other verticals in new overseas markets as well. «We are open to exploring opportunities that come about. I think we have strong credentials in hospitality which we can take outside India now. Very clearly at the moment the focus is on proximal markets, be it for hospitality, be it for FMCG...,» Puri said here at a press conference after the opening of the 352-room luxury property, ITC Ratnadipa here.

Nyay Patra'. In his two-page letter, he told the prime minister that he is being misinformed by his advisers about things that are not even written in the Congress' manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress' 'Nyay Patra' aims at providing «nyay (justice)» to the youngsters, women, farmers, labourers and marginalised people across all castes and communities, he said. The Congress chief said in his letter to the prime minister, «It has become your habit to seize on a few words taken out of context and create a communal divide. You are lowering the dignity of the chair by speaking in this manner.»

lithium processing, said four sources familiar with the matter, to bolster its nascent lithium mining and electric vehicle industries and avoid relying on China. India's Ministry of Mines began discussions with Australia and the United States last year, said the four sources, two from India's government and two industry participants. The Indian government and some private companies have also sought help from Bolivia, Britain, Japan, and South Korea, said the sources, who did not wish to be identified as the discussions were not public. Executives from Russia's TENEX, part of state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, approached the Indian government and have held at least two meetings with Indian officials this year, offering lithium processing technology and the possibility of collaborating with Indian companies, said one of the sources, a senior government official with direct knowledge of the plans.