The top US diplomat for East Asia arrived in Seoul on Wednesday as part of his first Asia trip since taking over in September, with North Korea, the bilateral alliance and economic cooperation likely to top the agenda in discussions with Seoul officials. Daniel Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, arrived at the Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after wrapping up a four-day trip to Japan, the first leg of his six-day regional swing.

Amid talks of cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan, former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday met General Secretary Organisation K.C. Venugopal. This comes ahead of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot meeting Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Both the camps are tight-lipped about the political developments in the state. The much-awaited cabinet rejig and appointments had been pending ever since the Covid pandemic broke out. The Assembly bypolls have also been delayed.

Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said that the public has given its mandate against the ruling BJP government at the Centre during recent bypolls which makes it clear that people want a change now after getting tormented by the BJP government. Speaking to media in Ajmer, Pilot said, "The three farm laws, increasing price of petrol and diesel, unavailability of fertilisers and rising inflation has affected the masses and left people anguished.

The counting of votes for the Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) bypolls, which were held on October 30, will start on Tuesday morning from 8 a.m. The Election Commission of India has issued necessary guidelines to the District Election Officers along with the guidelines related to the coronavirus.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday promised that Goa would not be turned into a coal hub, even as he said that the assurances given by the party in its manifesto for the state's 2022 Assembly polls should be treated as a guarantee of delivery of electoral promises. Speaking to a group of fisherfolk in the South Goa beach village of Velsao, Gandhi also said that the coastal state should be preserved, not just for local residents, but also visitors who travel to Goa to enjoy the beaches and environment. "We are very clear that we do not want Goa to be a coal hub, when it does not benefit Goa to be a coal hub. That goes for a lot of the environmental destruction that is taking place here.

An estimated 45 per cent of the 26,50,004 eligible voters cast their ballots till 1 p.m. in the by-polls to three Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, the Election Commission said. As per the official report, the highest voting so far was recorded at 54 per cent in Prithvipur, followed by Raigon with 44 per cent while Jobat registered 41 per cent. In Khandwa (Lok Sabha seat), over 41 per cent voters turned up to cast their ballots. Meanwhile, people in three different areas in Khandwa district boycotted elections and put up banners at the entry gate of villages prohibiting the entry of political leaders. They refused to exercise their franchise with the slogan 'No work, No Vote'.

A leader of NTK, the political outfit floated by actor-director, Seeman, was arrested for his remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in a public function at Kanniyakumari district, police said. NTK leader 'Sattai' Duraimurugan, while addressing party workers at Thucklay in Kanniyakumari on Friday, spoke against Stalin and the DMK government while criticising mining of sand and stones in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts use in Kerala's Vizhinjam port.

Today SFI along with other students organisations organised a protest in Panjab University, Chandigarh in support of Bharat Bandh call by SMK. They blocked gate number 2 of PU Campus and closed the market of PU and gathered along to show solidarity to farmers and to fight against the farm bills. We should unite 

`To mark the 400th Prakash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday virtually laid the foundation stone of the Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur State University of Law in Tarn Taran town, and directed the Finance Department to ensure sufficient funds for timely operationalisation of the institution.On the occasion, he also launched commemorative gold and silver coins to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.Making it clear that shortage of finances would not be allowed to hold up education projects in the state, the Chief Minister termed it the most important focus area to enable the youth of Punjab to compete with the world.He lauded the department concerned for enabling the state to become number one in education in the country.Citing education as a priority sector, the Chief Minister said after achieving top position in school education, his next aim is to make Punjab number one in higher education and technical education also.In line with his government's thrust on education, Amarinder Singh said he will inaugurate 18 new fully functional degree colleges and 25 ITIs on October 2.

Expressing solidarity with the protesting sugarcane farmers in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday demanded that the Congress government should increase the state assured price (SAP) of sugarcane to a minimum of Rs 380 per quintal, besides calling for the immediate release of all pending payments due to the sugarcane growers. He also announced that in case the state government did not do justice to the sugarcane growers, the next SAD-BSP alliance government would raise the SAP to a minimum of Rs 380 per quintal. "We will include this commitment in our election manifesto as well," he added.In a statement issued here, the SAD President said that it is shocking that after refusing to increase the SAP for sugarcane for four

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had brought in the anti-defection law to stop public representatives from moving from one party to another, but the present ruling party has been trying to nullify the law by making them resign to switch parties. The practice has been witnessed in many states, leading to change in elected governments, he said in a virtual programme organised on Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary. The present government sitting at the Centre cannot face criticism and those criticising the government are being called traitors, he added. Praising Rajiv Gandhi for introducing a "golden era" for the nation, Gehlot said that had he been there still, the history of the nation would have been.....

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Wednesday claimed that the Independence Day announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) has been increased by 1.5 times is incorrect and the announced MSP is not being realised by all farmers despite his commitment in the Parliament. "Farmers of the country have realised fully that they cannot depend on the Prime Minister's hyped claims, false promises and spin-narratives, or his 'jumlas'. The hollow claims around remunerative Minimum Support Prices (MSP) stands exposed fully, in addition to the jumla on 'doubling farmers' incomes'," a release from the Morcha said. "The undependable statements of the Prime Minister lie exposed when we look at the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) reality, more than a year after the pompous announcement. AIF is a 13-year scheme with disbursements till 2023-24. As on August 6, 2021

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday called for a snap election which will take place on September 20.

Puducherry Congress President A.V. Subramanian has said that the BJP-led government at the Centre had spied on the mobile phones of ministers, judicial officers, journalists, senior opposition leaders, lawyers, activists and former heads of Indian security forces through Israeli surveillance software 'Pegasus'.

Citing the heightened cross-border threat and increased drone and other terrorist activities by ISI-backed groups, including plans by Khalistani oufits to target certain farmer leaders, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resume dialogue with the agitating farmers and make concerted efforts to resolve their issues.

The President of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC), Govind Singh Dotasra, on Wednesday demanded the arrest of senior RSS leader Nimbaram -- who is allegedly involved in a graft case for demanding Rs 20 crore as 'commission' from a firm appointed for door-to-door garbage collection here. Hitting back at Dotasra, the BJP said that targeting the RSS will cost the state government dearly, and warned the Congress government to stop working outside the purview of law to please its 'masters' sitting in Delhi as 'governments' keep changing. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had on Tuesday arrested suspended Jaipur Greater Municipality (JGM) Mayor and BJP leader Somya Gurjar's husband Rajaram Gurjar and a representative of the BVG Company on corruption charges. The case was registered after an investigation was carried out on the basis of a video clip that went viral on social media, in which Rajaram Gurjar and the company representative were allegedly seen engaged in a conversation related to the Rs 20 crore 'commission' from the firm for getting its payment released from the JGM. In the purported video, RSS' regional pracharak Nimbaram can also be seen sitting with them.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said the farm economy of Punjab has been "endangered" by the Congress government, with massive power cuts and insufficient canal water threatening to devastate the paddy crop.Talking to the media in Kharar town near here, Badal said even as the top Congress leadership was engaged in an internal feud with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the farmers of the state had been left to their fate. He alleged that farmers were barely getting four to five hours of power and that too in gaps instead of the promised eight hour uninterrupted power supply. He said for the first time ever, even canal supply had been disrupted which threatened to result in the destruction of paddy crops over vast swathes in the Malwa region. Badal said even as farmers were suffering, the Chief Minister was busy in keeping the Gandhi family happy and had accepted the directive of Rahul Gandhi to implicate the top SAD leadership in false cases.

Facing massive statewide agitation by farmers over power outages, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday issued directions to ensure eight-hour uninterrupted power supply and to purchase deficient power from outside the state at any cost to prevent any supply disruption in the ongoing sowing season. Chairing a high-level meeting to review the power supply to the farmers during the ongoing kharif season, he directed the Finance Department to release Rs 500 crore to the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) to tide over the financial crunch faced amid the pandemic. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who was present at the meeting, assured that his department would release these funds without delay.The PSPCL earlier informed the meeting that it was facing a severe financial crunch as a result of slowdown in consumption and revenue collection in the last one year due to the pandemic.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of Emergency, the Congress said on Friday that a "PM who has trampled democracy shouldn't preach others". Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said, "The #DarkDaysOfEmergency can never be forgotten. The period from 1975 to 1977 witnessed a systematic destruction of institutions. "Let us pledge to do everything possible to strengthen India's democratic spirit, and live up to the values enshrined in our Constitution." In another tweet, Modi said, "This is how Congress trampled over our democratic ethos. We remember all those greats who resisted the Emergency and protected Indian democracy..." Reacting to the Prime Minister's comments, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala Tweeted: "Says a PM, who is synonymous

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for giving a clean chit to an Agra hospital where 22 patients died after oxygen supply was allegedly cut during a drill. She said that the government has closed all the doors of justice. Priyanka, who is also the in-charge of UP Congress, tweeted: "What an irony. According to reports a hospital in Agra conducted mock drill by allegedly cutting the oxygen supply and the BJP government gave clean chit to the hospital doing mock drill of the inquiry. The paths of government and the hospital have been cleared. By not listening to the complaints of the patients families, the government has shut all hope of justice."

The Cabinet Minister and Senior Congress leader S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has termed the SAD-BSP alliance as a rank opportunistic one which is more of a marriage of convenience based on votebank politics sans any ideological foundations.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday once again took a pot shot at the Central government over the deficit in the data of the people who died due to Covid during the second wave of the pandemic.

In a huge jolt to Amravati Lok Sabha MP and ex-filmstar Navneet Kaur Rana, the Bombay High Court's Nagpur Bench on Tuesday struck down the caste certificate issued to her on grounds that it was obtained fraudulently using fabricated documents.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira today joined the Congress party along with two others. Those joining the Congress include Pirmal Singh Khalsa (MLA from Bhadaur, AAP) and Jagdev Singh Kamalu (MLA from Maur). Before leaving for Delhi, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder

The difficult task of winning the elections over, will Pinarayi Vijayan now have it easy or tough, as starting Thursday he begins talks for the composition of Version-2 Pinarayi cabinet.

US House Democrats are set to introduce an article of impeachment against outgoing President Donald Trump on Monday over the deadly January 6 Capitol unrest.

Hundreds of protesting farmers indulged in vandalism and violence at a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' event near here on Sunday, just ahead of the arrival of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, forcing authorities to cancel the event.

After Supreme court's nod to the Central Vista project, the Congress on Tuesday said the case was not about the legal aspects, but it was an issue of misplaced priorities during the time of pandemic and economic recession.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee convened an emergency meeting with senior Trinamool Congress leaders and her cabinet colleagues at her South Kolkata residence here this evening after reportedly accepting the resignation of Transport and Irrigation minister Subhendu Adhikasti setting off huge political shockwave in the state.

The problems of Samajwadi Party MP and former Minister of UP Govt Mohd Azam Khan are increasing day by day. Now he is found guilty in Jal Nigam recruitment scam. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of UP Police has sent a warrant to the Sitapur jail where Azam is lodged with his wife and son.

Generating more doubts and speculations about his future plans besides setting off some sort of a political earthquake in West Bengal, state Transport and Irrigation minister Subhendu Adhikari resigned from both the ministries this afternoon and sent his letter in this regard to Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and an e-mail to Governor Jagdeep Dhankar . 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the 17th Lok Sabha that started in 2019 has taken vital and some historic decisions including in the field of infrastructure development. He expressed confidence that the next (18th) Lok Sabha will also play a very important role in taking the country forward into the new decade.