Breaking News, May 10

US President Joe Biden believes that America’s relationship with India is important and needs to be built, his spokesperson said, noting that the administration continues to engage with senior Indian officials on human rights issues. “This is a president who has had decades of experience in leader-to-leader relationships. This is an important relationship as we speak about the Indo-Pacific, as we talk about how to move forward in that region,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden headed to New York. “And so, the president believes this is an important relationship that we need to continue and build on. As it relates to human rights, as I just laid out, this is a conversation that we have with other nations around the world. The president never shies away to have that conversation with leaders,” Jean-Pierre said.

The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday night brought back 24 students from the state who were stuck in violence-hit Manipur, a senior official said. While 23 students were flown to Indore via Kolkata by a regular flight, another student reached Nagpur from where he will travel to his home in Chhindwara in MP, said Rajesh Rajora, Additional Chief Secretary (Home). He said the rest 23 students would leave for their homes in different districts.

Haryana's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Department has busted an international racket selling spurious injections for cancer, Home Minister Anil Vij said on Wednesday. Four accused, including a foreign national, have been arrested in this case so far by a drug control officer, Vij said in a statement. According to the minister, on April 11, 2023, the World Health Organisation raised an alert that "spurious injection 'Defitelio 80 mg/ml, Batch no. 19G19A, Exp. 06/2023' having the manufacturer's label as 'Genium Sri, Piazza XX, Septiembre 2, Villa Guardia, 22079, Italy' is being marketed internationally".

'The Kerala Story' has been made tax-free in Haryana, tweets CM Manohar Lal Khattar.

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 154 fresh coronavirus cases, while one more patient succumbed to the infection in the state, which saw nearly 300 recoveries, the health department said. With these additions, the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 81,67,947 and the toll increased to 1,48,541, the department said in a bulletin. Mumbai detected 47 patients in the last 24 hours. The state recorded 179 cases and two coronavirus-linked fatalities on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday embarked on an official two-day visit to Niigata, Japan, to attend a G7 meeting. India is an invitee to G 7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting. "During her visit, FM Smt.@nsitharaman will also have multilateral and bilateral engagements with her counterparts, besides a roundtable meeting with business leaders and investors," a finance ministry tweet said.

A 51-year-old man was arrested for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl and her sister, police said on Wednesday. The matter was reported by the minor girl on Tuesday. The accused has been identified as Ajay, police said. In her complaint, she alleged that accused Ajay, who lived in their neighbourhood had molested her and her sister, who is also a minor, on two-three occasions in the last one-and-a-half month. The incident came to light through the community policing scheme "Nirbheek".

The provost of Delhi University's PG men's hostel on Wednesday sent a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his "sudden" visit to the facility last week, saying "such a conduct from a leader of a National Party who has Z-plus security is beyond dignity". The two-page note sent to Gandhi by provost K P Singh said the incident amounts to trespass and irresponsible behaviour, and asked the Congress leader to "cease and desist" from taking any such step in the future. The provost said Gandhi's "unexpected entry" into the premises along with three vehicles violated the prescribed rules of the hostel. In the notice, the provost mentioned rule 15.13 of the Handbook of Information and Rules of the Hostel that states: "No resident shall indulge in any activity in the Hostel premises other than academic and residents council activities."

The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on Thursday on a clutch of cross-petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the Shiv Sena pertaining to the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will deliver its verdict on pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the three-party MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray following a revolt by Shinde. As per the cause list published on the Supreme Court's website, a single judgement will be pronounced by Justice Chandrachud. On March 16, the top court had reserved its verdict on the pleas at the conclusion of lengthy arguments from both sides that went on for nine days starting February 21.

A court here on Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years imprisonment for raping a minor girl. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict. Rajendra alias Chotu (24) was convicted by the court and sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping the eight-year-old girl in December 2019, government counsel Ramesh Chandra Tripathi said. An FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was lodged against Rajendra on the complaint of the father of girl, he said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav called on Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren here on Wednesday. Kumar along with Yadav reached Soren's residence in Ranchi around 5 pm, an official said. The meeting is seen as part of Kumar's efforts to bring all non-NDA parties together to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "The meeting among the leaders is on," a JD(U) leader said here. Ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha spokesperson Vinod Kumar Pandey said two CMs and Yadav would "discuss various matters, including political issues".

"The Kerala Story" will be released in 37 countries on May 12, the movie's lead star Adah Sharma said on Wednesday. The film on conversion that has polarised the political discourse in the country, leading to bans in some states and a tax-free status in others, has earned Rs 56 crore at the box office since its release last Friday. Sharma took to Twitter to thank the audience for supporting the film. "Thank you to all the crores of you who are going to watch our film, thank you for making it trend, thank you for loving my performance. This weekend the 12th #TheKeralaStory releases internationally in 37 countries (or more) #adahsharma," the actor wrote in the post. Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Shah, the film depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS).

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday attached the properties of three persons for their alleged involvement in militancy-related activities in the Kashmir Valley, officials said. The central agency has stepped up its vigil against terrorist outfits, their affiliates, agents and over-ground workers (OGWs) by conducting raids on properties of terror suspects and accused across locations in Kashmir, they said The NIA attached the immovable properties of three accused in two different cases of terror activities involving members or cadres of proscribed terrorist organisations like Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), among others.

Whoever wins in the urban local body polls from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh will create a history of sorts by becoming the first mayor ever of this municipal corporation. Shahjahanpur became a municipal corporation in 2018, a year after the last ULB polls were held in the state. And this time, it has been reserved for a female candidate from the Other Backward Classes. The BJP has fielded Archana Verma as its mayoral candidate and its main rival the Samajwadi Party has given ticket to Mala Rathore. The SP initially declared Verma as its candidate but she joined the BJP later.

Amidst allegations by the Samajwadi Party that police were preventing voters from casting votes in some booths, the Suar seat recorded over 33 per cent polling while Chhanbey recorded 32.64 per cent till 3 pm for the assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. Voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. In a tweet on its official Twitter handle, the SP charged, "In Khempur, Rasoolpur, Faridpur, Samodia in the Suar seat of Rampur, police are preventing voters from voting. Voters are returned from polling booths. Election Commission should take cognisance and ensure fair elections".

Police on Wednesday rescued a family of nomads along with over 100 cattle trapped after snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said. Police received a distress call that some nomads along with their livestock, one driver and one motorcyclist were stuck in the Naribal area of Margon top due to heavy snowfall, they said. Acting swiftly, Kishtwar SSP Khalil Poswal constituted a special team for conducting a rescue operation, the officials said. A nomad family along with their livestock of more than 100 sheep were rescued and shifted to a safer place, they said. The driver and the motorcyclist too were rescued, they added.

As part of a bureaucratic reshuffle ahead of year-end assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, the state government on Wednesday posted Manish Singh as commissioner of public relations and managing director of Madhyam. Manish Singh will replace Raghvendra Singh, who has been transferred as the principal secretary of the mining resources department. The public relations department and Madhyam are responsible for the promotion of policies and image of the government.

Gold prices declined by Rs 265 to Rs 61,585 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday amid a fall in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities. The yellow metal had ended at Rs 61,850 per 10 grams in the previous trade. Silver, however, rose by Rs 120 to Rs 77,800 per kilogramme. "Spot gold prices in Delhi traded at Rs 61,585 per 10 grams, down Rs 265 per 10 grams," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities at HDFC Securities, said. In the overseas market, gold was trading lower at USD 2,033 per ounce and silver was up at USD 25.88 per ounce. Gold price traded lower in Asian trading hours on Wednesday.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday stayed the trial court proceedings against BJP MP Manoj Tiwari in a defamation case filed by former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma ordered no further steps be taken against Tiwari in the matter and listed it for hearing in October. The high court also issued notice to the jailed AAP leader and sought his response to Tiwari’s petition challenging the trial court's November 28, 2019 order summoning him and others as accused in the case. Sisodia had filed a defamation complaint against six people for allegedly levelling corruption charges against him.

The North East MPs Forum (NEMPF), an organisation of parliamentarians from the region, on Wednesday appealed to everyone in Manipur to abstain from the use of force or any kind of violence and said it was committed to working towards the restoration of peace and order in the affected areas. In a statement, chairman of NEMPF Kiren Rijiju also urged all members of the society to come together during these difficult times and work towards restoring peace and harmony in the society. "It is with great sorrow that on behalf of the North East Member of Parliament Forum, we extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incidents that occurred in Manipur recently. "The pain caused by the loss of lives and properties is irreplaceable, and our hearts go out to those who have been affected by these tragic events," the NEMPF said.

Three Indian-origin members of a criminal gang who were found guilty of smuggling drugs into the UK from Canada have been sentenced to a total of nearly 15 years imprisonment by a UK court. Kuran Gill, 32, Jag Singh, 32, and Govind Bahia, 30, were members of an organised crime group and were caught along with accomplice Gregory Blacklock, 32, when UK Border Force officers discovered two pallet loads or large boxes of cannabis within a shipment of computer casing at Heathrow Airport in February.