Akshita Kapoor

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean that generally favour good monsoon rains in India have ended, the US govt agencies declared late Thursday, with the world’s largest ocean likely to stay in ‘neutral’ phase till winter. This could be good news for India’s monsoon, as it reduces the probability of drought or excess rainfall in the season, but it’s also likely to make monsoon forecasts trickier, experts said.Adding to the difficulty of forecasters, conditions in the Indian Ocean too are likely to be ‘neutral’ till at least Aug, as per the latest Australian weather bureau update. Along with the Pacific, surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean play a major role in India’s monsoon, with the ocean’s ‘positive’ phase — when waters in western Indian Ocean are warmer than those in the east — generally boosting rains.For […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has said that the court should refrain from ordering CBI inquiry in a routine manner and it should direct probe by the central agency only when it comes to a prima facie conclusion that investigation cannot be done properly and fairly by state police.It further said that the court should exercise the extraordinary power to order CBI probe sparingly, cautiously and in exceptional situations where it becomes necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in investigations.While quashing Punjab and Haryana HC order directing CBI probe in a cheating and forgery case, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran said, "HCs should direct for CBI investigation only in cases where material prima facie discloses something calling for an investigation by CBI and it should not be done in a routine manner or on […]

[ad_1] US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran’s vulnerabilities—after months of domestic unrest, international sanctions, and military setbacks—could make it more open to discussions. He says diplomacy is his preferred path, though he warned Iran would face "great danger" if talks fail. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said he wants Iran to be “a wonderful, great, happy country” but repeated that the Islamic Republic must never obtain a nuclear weapon. Talks are set to begin in Oman’s capital, Muscat, where Trump’s middle east envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi will be present. It remains unclear whether the discussions will be face-to-face or indirect, as Iran has insisted that only mediated talks are on the table.Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One | Tariff | China | Florida | Trade | Iran The talks […]

[ad_1] After a challenging Super Bowl loss and a whirlwind of public scrutiny, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce is locking in for what could be the final chapter of his NFL career. As he enters his 13th season, Kelce appears more determined than ever—and that means removing anything that could possibly derail his focus. One surprising element reportedly taking a back seat? His high-profile relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift.Why Travis Kelce’s 2025 mindset means no room for distractions—even from Taylor SwiftTravis Kelce has made it clear through sources close to the situation that 2025 is all about football. According to an insider, Kelce intends to “keep his head down, play better, train harder, and not allow any unnecessary drama to ruin anything along the way.” That kind of intense mindset suggests that Kelce is looking to […]

[ad_1] Will bring in four elements of trust, transparency, technology and teamwork under triple mandate of investment protection, development of markets and regulation of markets: Tuhin Kanta PandeySebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey is a little over a month into his job and has undertaken several measures to ensure more trust in the stock market regulator. In an interview to TOI’s Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha, Pandey talks about a range of issues and assures investors that the Indian markets are safe against the backdrop of volatility triggered by global events. Excerpts...What are your priority areas?We have got three mandates, which are investment protection, development of markets and regulation of markets. Four elements that we will bring in are trust, transparency, technology and teamwork. On trust, it will be people’s trust in Sebi and Sebi’s trust of its ecosystem, both need to […]

[ad_1] Image credits: Getty Images NEW DELHI: At a time when India is in talks with US for a trade deal, govt said it will not compromise on the country's interests because of deadline pressure to clinch FTAs."We do not negotiate at gunpoint... until we are able to protect the interests of the country and people, it is never good to be hasty," commerce minister Piyush Goyal said. The comments came amid confirmation that US Vice-President J D Vance and wife Usha, and NSA Mike Waltz would visit Delhi, likely April 21. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that there was a lot of interest among trading partners to step up bilateral trade ties. The comments came amid confirmation that key members of Trump team - Vice-President J D Vance and national security adviser Mike Waltz - would visit […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Tahawwur Rana (64), one of the main plotters of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, is being kept on "suicide watch" in a highly secure cell within National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters here after a special court granted his 18-day custody to the anti-terror agency.The Pakistani-Canadian, who was brought here on Thursday evening following his extradition from the US, is under 24/7 human and CCTV surveillance. The NIA HQ on Lodhi Road has been blanketed in multi-layered security. "Rana has been kept in a 14x14 cell on the ground floor. He will be allowed only a soft-tip pen to write so that he can't harm himself," a source said.On Friday, NIA began questioning Rana to unravel the larger conspiracy behind the terror strike. The interrogation is likely to focus on, besides his connection with ISI, involvement with sleeper cells […]

[ad_1] CHENNAI: Home minister Amit Shah on Friday announced BJP and AIADMK have decided to renew their alliance for the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. Shah, who was in Chennai, said AIADMK will lead the alliance, and he was confident of a landslide win.The announcement came at a press conference where Shah shared the stage with AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.Hailing the alliance, PM Modi said it "will take TN to new heights of progress".Significantly, K Annamalai, who was removed as BJP state chief later on Friday and was seen as the crucial factor in the break-up of the alliance in 2024, was present during announcement of the party yet again joining hands with AIADMK. These renewed ties mark a breakthrough for BJP's attempts to expand NDA alliance by enlisting new allies, and a calculated respect for AIADMK.The […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: India is geared up for a very high degree of urgency in finalising trade deals with the US and others, said EAM S Jaishankar Friday, as he stressed how the US under Donald Trump has fundamentally changed its approach to dealing with the world and the consequences this will have across all domains.India is negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US to settle the contentious tariff issue. Speaking at Global Technology Summit, the minister said Trump administration had lost no time in responding to the proposal for a trade pact with India. Jaishankar spoke about the looming tariff war between US and China, and need for India to protect its own interests. "Nothing is just about trade anymore. Nothing is purely business. Everything has become personal," he said. "This time, we are certainly geared up […]

[ad_1] HYDERABAD: The rapidly escalating trade tensions between the US and China propelled gold past the $3,200/ounce mark for the first time on Friday. This in turn also pushed the price of the yellow metal in the domestic market a step closer to the psychologically important Rs 1 lakh/10-gram mark, to Rs 96,000 by Friday evening, a new all-time peak. The recent surge in the yellow metal in the global and local markets came on the back of a sharp drop after the US president Donald Trump escalated the tariff war with most of the country's trading partners, raising chances of a recession in the US. In the domestic market gold prices had fallen to Rs 88,200 on Tuesday while in the international market it had dipped below the $3,000 mark.In Friday's mid-session on Comex in the US, gold prices […]