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China is watching closely as Russia and North Korea deepen their relationship through a new defense pact, sparking concerns about potential shifts in power dynamics among the three authoritarian states.

NEET-UG and the UGC-NET tests, is «damage control», Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed on Saturday. This law was needed but it deals with question paper leaks and other irregularities after they have occurred, he claimed in a post on X. Several opposition political parties and student associations, including the Congress, have held protests across the country over alleged irregularities in medical entrance exam NEET-UG and the UGC-NET. Amid the raging row over the issue, the Centre on Friday operationalised the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations and entails provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders.

BJP) held a marathon meeting here to discuss strategy for the upcoming state assembly elections, sources said on Saturday. During the meeting held on Friday night, discussions were held for five hours on how to plan the election campaign and finalise the strategy, they said. Elections to the 288-member state assembly are likely to be held in October. In the recently-held Lok Sabha elections, the BJP's seat tally in Maharashtra dropped from 23 to nine. The ruling Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, bagged only 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, whereas the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a three-party alliance of Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) won 30 seats.

Recently, leaders from India's corporate sector advocated for reducing the income tax burden on individuals, increasing capital expenditure, and implementing measures to control food inflation during their nearly two-hour meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the Union Budget. In their pre-Budget discussions with Sitharaman, industry representatives emphasized the need for heightened focus on infrastructure development to sustain economic growth. They also highlighted the importance of bolstering the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector, which is crucial for the Indian economy and a key source of employment.

strategic partners to building a defence innovation bridge under the Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative, the US has said on the partnership's first anniversary. INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the US, was launched on June 21 last year by the US Department of Defence and the Indian Ministry of Defence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington, DC. «In its first year, INDUS-X has advanced both countries' commitment to build a defence innovation bridge under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET),» the Department of Defence said in a press release on Friday. The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the QUAD summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022.

South Korea's port city of Busan on Saturday for joint military exercises this month with the host nation and Japan, the Yonhap news agency said. The leaders of the three nations agreed at a Camp David summit in August 2023 to hold annual military training drills as they condemned China's «dangerous and aggressive behaviour» in the disputed waterway of the South China Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea this week for the first time in 24 years and signed a deal with leader Kim Jong Un that included a mutual defence pledge.

In relatively short order, Canada has become a hotbed for fast food expansion from the United States.

investment in agricultural infrastructure, easing loan terms, and implementing employee-centric production-linked incentive schemes were some of the key suggestions made by stakeholders from the agricultural sector and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as part of the pre-budget consultations with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday. The Agriculture Industry sought a new agriculture policy with focus on investment on Agriculture infrastructure, rationalisation of subsidy, increased investment in allied agri based food processing Industry and a substantial hike in allocation for agriculture research and innovation. The stakeholders asked to boost farm exports and create district hubs to support agriculture exports, sought launch of national Goat and Sheep Mission and increased the budget allocation for the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) to ₹800 crore from ₹80 crore. «All the stakeholders unanimously sought rationalisation of fertilizer subsidy and using the direct benefit transfer route to plug any leakage,» said a person aware of the meeting proceedings. They also asked the government to revise the retail price of urea, which has remained unchanged since 2018, and to incentivise the use of bio-fertilisers and foliar fertilisers.

have urged the government to reduce taxes on farm equipment and increase allocations for agricultural research and development and a flagship programme meant to support farmers.In a meeting with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday as part of consultations ahead of the annual budget for 2024-25, they also urged higher allocations to strengthen the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a government export trade promotion body.The upcoming full-year budget is expected to be presented in July.India’s agriculture sector grew at a mere 1.4% in financial year 2023-24, much below its pre-pandemic decadal average of 4.4%, due to erratic monsoons. The sector is expected to improve in the current fiscal year because of anticipated normal monsoons and a favourable base effect.Agricultural stakeholders at the meeting on Friday also urged the government to strengthen trade and exports post-harvest management, develop districts as export hubs, establish boards for each agri-commodity under the private sector, and fund global market access programmes.“We have suggested an acceleration of agriculture growth rate through a substantial increase in agricultural R&D up to ₹20,000 crore from ₹9,500 crore," said M.J.

A former Wells Fargo Clearing Services financial advisor has made the break to Ameriprise Financial in search of an expansive phase of his career.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday criticised the Centre for appointing a pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha in alleged violation of parliamentary conventions and thus not giving the role to the most senior MP in the Lok Sabha Congress's Kodikunnil Suresh. Terming the Centre's decision as objectionable, Vijayan said the union government needs to clarify why Suresh, who is most senior MP in the Lok Sabha, was not chosen for the position, as per convention. The CM, in a statement issued by his office, also questioned what is the BJP's answer to those who suspect that Suresh was not considered for the post due to the «upper caste politics» followed by the Sangh Parivar. Vijayan's remarks came a day after seven-term parliamentarian and BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab was made the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal government to take steps to ensure that people displaced due to alleged post-poll violence in the state return to their homes. It directed the police to keep a strict vigil in the areas where violence allegedly took place and ensure that such incidents do not recur. The directive was issued by a division bench presided by Justice Harish Tandon while hearing petitions regarding allegations of violence in West Bengal after the Lok Sabha elections. The bench is likely to pronounce its directions on extension of deployment of central forces in West Bengal in the written order which will be posted in the high court's website.

Flipkart's established supply chain network, with a focus on delivering electronics, groceries, and other essential items swiftly. Despite the lack of an official announcement from the company, the buzz around Flipkart Minutes signifies a renewed attempt following two prior, less successful efforts in quick commerce.Previously, Flipkart's attempt with 'Flipkart Quick,' which promised 90-minute delivery, failed to gain the expected traction.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday ruled out contesting in the Channapatna bypoll. He even wondered aloud why there would be bye-elections in Kanakapura assembly segment from where he is an MLA. Two days ago, Shivakumar said, «A significant change in my political career happened from Channapatna. I have come to Anjaneya temple in Kengal to start a new chapter in my political career.» This gave rise to speculations that he was willing to contest from Channapatna assembly segment, which fell vacant after MLA H D Kumaraswamy won the Mandya Lok Sabha election. BJP MLA and former minister S Suresh Kumar called the purported 'bypoll in Kanakapura' a 'Tughlaq like decision' and wastage of public money.

Salvadoran officials refused to connect the jet bridge to allow the roughly 300 passengers, all Indian nationals, to disembark, according to three former crew members on the flight who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Several passengers told the cabin crew they planned to travel onward to Mexico and cross the border there illegally into the U.S., one crew member said. Others said they were going on vacation to the Mexican border city of Tijuana, another crew member said.

Thousands of mostly young people have demonstrated Kenya’s capital and across the country against new tax proposals in the government’s annual budget legislation

Delhi Congress workers on Friday held a demonstration near the BJP headquarters here over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examinations. The demonstration was led by Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav. The medical entrance examination, National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG, was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part. The results were announced on June 4.

PARIS—Serge Klarsfeld is a world-renowned Nazi hunter, a historian of the Holocaust and a moral authority in France who has pushed the country to reckon with its dark history of antisemitism. That is why many in France were shocked this week when Klarsfeld defended the far-right party of Marine Le Pen, which counts among its founders a former Nazi paramilitary soldier.

Great Hill Capital Chairman and managing member Thomas Hayes on American Airlines' market performance and companies cutting prices to respond to inflation.

Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin underscored the crucial role of the United Nations in addressing urgent global challenges ahead of the July 3-4 SCO Summit. He recently highlighted the high level of interaction between Kazakhstan and the UN over 32 years of cooperation.

Union Budget 2024: Industry leaders requested a host of considerations in the upcoming full Union Budget 2024 during their pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on June 20.Expectations listed by India Inc. during the two-hour interaction include a reduction in the income tax burden for the common man, an increase in capital expenditure, and measures to control food inflation, PTI reported.Prominent industry figures, including Sanjay Aggarwal (President at PHD Chamber), Vinod Aggarwal (President at SIAM), Neeraj Akhoury (President at Cement Mfrs Association), Sanjay Kirloskar (CMD of Kirloskar Brothers), Arathi Krishna (MD of Sundram Fasteners), Shefali Misra (Vice President at Biocon), Yash Pal Sachar (Vice President at Ashok Leyland), and Samir Somaiya (President at IMC Chamber), and others, made recommendations for the Union Budget.Sanjiv Puri, President of industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), presented eight points to Sitharaman for consideration.These included relief in income tax for lower income slabs, streamlining employment-linked incentive schemes such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and promoting ease of doing business.CII also made recommendations for agriculture and rural development.Trade association, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry's (FICCI) recommendations centred around driving capital expenditure, fostering innovation, and simplifying taxes.Former FICCI President Subhrakant Panda emphasised the need to support growth momentum by energising demand, enhancing infrastructure development, controlling food inflation, supporting MSMEs, and prioritising innovation and R&D.