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India, Sept 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - India's Russian-built MiG-21s flew for the final time Friday, marking the end of an era for the country's first supersonic fighter jet -- lauded for its valour but tarnished by a legacy of some 400 crashes. Crowds cheered as officials staged a grand farewell for the final two MiG-21 squadrons, totalling around 36 aircraft, at an air force base in the northern city of Chandigarh. The send-off came a day after New Delhi signed a $7-billion deal to acquire 97 dome ...Read More >
India signed a 623.70 billion rupee ($7 billion; €6 billion) contract with national aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) on Thursday to modernize its armed forces. The deal involves the acquisition of 97 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets that would be made in India. "This contract reflects the trust and confidence of the government and the armed forces in the indigenously developed aircraft Tejas, which will be the mainstay of the [Indian Air Force] in the years to come," wrote India's Def ...Read More >
AFP | New Delhi Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com India yesterday signed a $7 billion order for 97 domestically designed and built Tejas fighter jets as its air force retires its outgoing Russian MiG-21 jets after decades of use. The first Tejas jets -- meaning "brilliance" in Hindi -- were commissioned into the airforce in 2016, with the latest commission for the fourth-generation version of the fighter, Mk-1A. India has made the modernisation of its forces a top priority, and made repeated ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: EC on Thursday revised the rules relating to counting of postal ballots, making it mandatory for all postal ballot papers to be counted before the penultimate round of EVM/VVPATs counting is taken up.The new practice will be first implemented in Bihar where assembly polls are due in Nov.This restores the arrangement prior to May 2019, when EC had changed the guidelines to allow EVM counting to proceed regardless of postal ballot counting stage. The 2019 change did not rule out chances ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, Sept 25: India on Thursday signed a $7 billion order for 97 domestically designed and built Tejas fighter jets as its air force retires its outgoing Russian MiG-21 jets after decades of use. The first Tejas jets -- meaning "brilliance" in Hindi -- were commissioned into the airforce in 2016, with the latest commission for the fourth-generation version of the fighter, Mk-1A. India, one of the world's largest arms importers, has made the modernisation of its forces a top priority, and ...Read More >
Indian security forces shot dead a top Maoist commander and nine other guerrillas in a gun battle, an official told AFP on Friday, as they ramp up efforts to crush the long-running conflict. India is waging an all-out offensive against the last vestiges of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Indian security forces killed a top Maoist commander and two other rebels in a gun battle on Monday, officials said, as the government intensifies efforts to crush the decades-long conflict. India is waging an all-out offensive against the last remaining traces of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago. More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have been killed ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited troubled Manipur state on Saturday for the first time since ethnic clashes killed more than 250 people there two years ago. Modi's three-day tour also includes Assam, which borders Bangladesh, and Bihar, India's third-most populous state with at least 130 million people. Bihar represents a key electoral battleground ahead of polls slated for October or November as the only state in India's northern Hindi-speaking heartland where Modi's Bha ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: India and China are discussing resuming border trade five years after it was halted, foreign ministry officials on both sides have said, as US tariffs disrupt the global trade order. Past trade between the neighbours across the icy and high-altitude Himalayan border passes was usually small in volume, but any resumption is significant for its symbolism. The two major economic powers have long competed for strategic influence across South Asia. However, the two countries, caught in ...Read More >
SRINAGAR: Flash floods triggered by intense monsoon rains have killed at least 34 people in a remote Himalayan village in Indian-administered Kashmir. District Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma confirmed the toll, stating 35 injured individuals were rescued from the disaster-hit Kishtwar district. Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the situation as grim, attributing the devastation to a sudden cloudburst. Local resident Sushil Kumar reported seeing at least 15 bodies brought to a n ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: India and China are discussing resuming border trade five years after it was halted, foreign ministry officials on both sides have said, as US tariffs disrupt the global trade order. Past trade across the icy and high-altitude Himalayan border passes between the neighbours was usually small in volume, but any resumption is significant for its symbolism. The two major economic powers have long competed for strategic influence across South Asia. But caught in global trade and geopoli ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Indian army intensified search operations on Wednesday for scores of people missing after deadly flash floods in the Himalayan region. Sniffer dogs, drones, and heavy earth-moving equipment were deployed to locate survivors in the devastated town of Dharali, Uttarakhand. At least four people were confirmed dead, while more than 50 remain unaccounted for after the disaster struck. Torrential monsoon rains continued to hinder rescue efforts, with communication lines severely dama ...Read More >
MANILA, Philippines -- Indian Navy warships have begun patrolling areas of the West Philippine Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time, Manila's military said Monday. The two-day sail includes three Indian vessels and started Sunday, a day ahead of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s scheduled trip to New Delhi for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Philippines has heightened defense cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that India's first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will commence operations "very soon," and it will reduce travel time between the two cities to just 2 hours and 7 minutes. Talking to reporters at the Bhavnagar terminus in Gujarat, after virtually flagging off three trains: the Ayodhya Express, Rewa-Pune Express, and Jabalpur-Raipur Express, Vaishnaw stated that the bullet train project is moving quick ...Read More >
SRINAGAR, India, Aug 3, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - More than 400,000 Hindus took part in a month-long pilgrimage in contested Indian-run Kashmir, authorities said, shrugging off security worries weeks after conflict with Pakistan. The pilgrimage began on July 3 and closes officially on August 9, but organisers said that lashing rains had damaged narrow paths forcing a premature end. Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had taken part. Many of the faithful ...Read More >
Patna, Aug 1 (PTI) Healthcare services were affected at AIIMS-Patna on Friday as resident doctors went on an "indefinite strike" in protest against the alleged high-handedness of Sheohar MLA Chetan Anand. According to a press statement issued by the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA), AIIMS-Patna, on Friday, "The RDA expresses deep disappointment and anguish over the lack of action by the administration following the violent and traumatic incident that occurred on Wednesday, when MLA Chetan An ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, AUG 1: Former India player Khalid Jamil was on Friday appointed coach of the struggling national men's football team, a month after Spain's Manolo Marquez stepped down following poor results. Jamil, 48, was preferred over England's Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic of Slovakia, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in a statement. AIFF committee members, including president Kalyan Chaubey, said they believed that Indian coaches "need to be given a fair chance to prove ...Read More >
The Philippine Navy and Indian Navy are set to conduct its first joint maritime cooperative activity in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday. In a statement, the AFP said "the joint activity will be the first of its kind in the West Philippine Sea -- a region increasingly central to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific." Indian naval tanker INS Shakti made a port call at Pier 15 in Port Area, Manila on Thursday. "This is more than ...Read More >
New Delhi -- At least 33 people were killed and dozens injured by lightning strikes in the eastern Indian state of Bihar this week, officials said Friday. The deaths occurred as powerful storms and monsoon rains battered the state. Most of the deaths were reported on Wednesday and Thursday, when intense storms hit at least 10 districts in Bihar. Most of the victims were agricultural workers, including an elderly man killed by a lightning strike in the Nalanda district while he was out with graz ...Read More >
CHENNAI: AT only 16 years of age, Tayin Arun is at the forefront of a new generation of talented surfers, part of a brand-new movement of Indian surfing. Enjoying an almost meteoric rise in the junior divisions, the surfer broke through to the national surfing team last year, and is now looking to prove his worth with the rest of his teammates at the upcoming ASF Asian Surfing Championships in Mahabalipuram to be held from August 3 to 12. Hailing from Akkarai, Tayin is no stranger to sports. Hi ...Read More >
PATNA, India (AFP) -- Lightning strikes during monsoon storms in eastern India this week killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, officials said Friday. The deaths in Bihar occurred during fierce storms between Wednesday and Thursday, a state disaster management department statement said, with the victims mostly farmers and laborers working in the open. More heavy rain and lightning are forecast for parts of the state. Bihar state's disaster management minister, Vijay Kumar Mandal, told ...Read More >
Ara (Bihar): Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor on Friday was seen writhing in pain at the venue of a rally in Bihar's Bhojpur district. Kishor was accompanied, among others, by Bhojpuri singer Ritesh Pandey, who had joined the party earlier in the day. As Kishor sat in his chair, his face contorted in pain, Pandey took the mike and said, "Prashant Kishor Ji is not well. He has received a minor injury. He needs to leave." According to a leader of the Jan Suraaj party, Kishor drove back t ...Read More >
PATNA, India -- Lightning strikes during monsoon storms in eastern India this week killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, officials said on Friday. The deaths in Bihar state occurred during fierce storms between Wednesday and Thursday, a state disaster management department statement said, with the victims mostly farmers and laborers working in the open. More heavy rain and lightning are forecast for parts of the state. VERY, VERY FRIGHTENING Lightning strikes from gray skies during mo ...Read More >
BENGALURU, India, July 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - State authorities blamed the management of India's Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team for last month's deadly stampede during celebrations for their first IPL title. Eleven fans were crushed to death and more than 50 wounded in a stampede near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after hundreds of thousands packed the streets in the southern city of Bengaluru on June 4, to welcome home their hero Virat Kohli and his RCB cricket team. Karnataka state auth ...Read More >
BENGALURU: State authorities have placed blame on the management of India's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricket team for last month's deadly stampede during celebrations for their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title. Eleven fans died, and over 50 were injured when crowds surged near M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4. A Karnataka state report released Thursday accused RCB, its partners, and the state cricket association of mismanaging the event. Authorities stated organisers failed to s ...Read More >
MUMBAI - Air India's inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of its existing Boeing 787 aircraft found no issues, an internal communication circulated within the airline said. The switches have come under scrutiny following the June 12 crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people, after a preliminary probe by Indian investigators found they flipped from the run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. India's aviation regulator ordered the country's airlines this ...Read More >
MUMBAI -- Air India's inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of its existing Boeing 787 aircraft found no issues, an internal communication circulated within the airline said. The switches have come under scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet that killed 260 people after a preliminary probe by Indian investigators found that they had flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. India's aviation regulator earlier this week ordered the co ...Read More >
MUMBAI - An Air India inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of its Boeing 787 aircraft found no issues, an internal communication circulated within the airline said. The switches have come under heavy scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet that killed 260 people after a preliminary probe by Indian investigators found that they had flipped from the run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. The country's aviation regulator earlier this week ordered ...Read More >
NEW DELHI -- India and Singapore ordered their airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models with South Korea set to do the same after the devices came under scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet killed 260 people. Singapore said it detected no problems with switches on its airlines' Boeing aircraft in the wake of a preliminary Indian-issued report found the devices flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. The report did not offer any conclusi ...Read More >
Chennai: Madras high court has clarified that private self-financing medical colleges are required to pay only a stipend, and not a full salary, to in-service govt doctors pursuing postgraduate or super-specialty courses under the govt quota.A division bench of Justice R Subramanian and Justice K Surender passed the order while partly allowing a batch of appeals moved by Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College and others. They challenged a single judge's order that directed private colleges to pay sala ...Read More >
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