Evening news
- Maharashtra recorded over 58 percent voter turnout in single-phase assembly elections; Around 68 per cent voting has been registered in the second phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections.
- By-elections were also held for the Nanded parliamentary seat in Maharashtra and 15 assembly seats spread across four states; Saturday count.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with President of Guyana Dr. Mohammad Irfan Ali at Georgetown.
- Defense Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Laos.
- The 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India kicked off in Goa with a grand opening ceremony; Prasar Bharti has launched its OTT platform Waves.
- In hockey, India won the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy by defeating China in the final at Rajgir.
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The second and final phase of assembly elections in Jharkhand and single-phase polling in Maharashtra ended peacefully. The Election Commission said Maharashtra recorded over 58 per cent voter turnout and Jharkhand recorded around 68 per cent voter turnout when the last report came in.
In Jharkhand, polling was held in 38 constituencies in 12 districts of the state. According to our correspondent, the political fate of 528 candidates, including 55 women, has been sealed in EVMs after today’s polling.
” This phase will play an important role in the formation of the next government in Jharkhand. In the crucial phase of Jharkhand assembly elections, 38 constituencies were initially polled in the Santal and Koylanchal regions. The Santal region witnessed intense competition between political parties in the Jharkhand Durg Mukti Morcha, Koylanchal region, chief minister. Hemant Soren, Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi, AJSU party chief The electoral fate of several political heavyweights including Sudesh Mahto, Chief Minister’s wife Kalpana Soren and Chief Minister’s brother Vasant Soren were sealed.The 2019 assembly results saw a neck-and-neck battle between women candidates in these 38 seats, with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha winning 13 seats, BJP 12, Congress won 8 seats and CPI(ML) 1 seats in this phase political battle between NDA and Bharat Bloc Will decide the political fate of Jharkhand.. Bhupendra Singh, Akashvani News, Ranchi.”
In Maharashtra, elections were held for all 288 seats in the state in a single phase.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were closely monitoring every aspect of the polling process, including measures to increase voter participation.
By-elections were also held for Nanded parliamentary seat in Maharashtra and 15 assembly seats spread across four states. 53.78 percent voters exercised their franchise in Nanded Lok Sabha by-election till 5 pm. In Uttar Pradesh, over 49 per cent polling was recorded in all the nine assembly constituencies where by-elections were held today.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held delegation-level talks with the President of Guyana Dr. Mohammad Irfan Ali at Georgetown some time ago. Five agreements were signed after the talks between the two leaders. These include regulation of medical products, bilateral cooperation in hydrocarbon sector, agriculture and allied sectors and cooperation in UPI facility.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Guyana this morning on a three-day visit. In an unprecedented gesture, President Dr Mohammad Irfan Ali, Prime Minister Mark Anthony Phillips and more than a dozen cabinet ministers welcomed him at the airport. Our correspondent reports that this is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Guyana in 56 years.
” India has a long-standing developmental partnership with Guyana in the areas of health, connectivity, renewable energy and water. The total trade between the two countries in 2023-24 was about USD 106 million. During his visit, Prime Minister Modi will attend the second CARICOM-India Summit in Georgetown, a CARICOM member. To further enhance India’s long-standing friendship with the countries, the Prime Minister will also address prominent cricketers from Guyana and the Caribbean Saikia, Aakashvani News Delhi.”
Prime Minister Modi said his welcome to Guyana will remain etched in his memory. In a social media post, Mr Modi said he was delighted to meet the President of Guyana Dr Mohammad Irfan Ali, Prime Minister of Grenada Deacon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amr Motley and Cabinet Ministers of Guyana. Mr Modi said he was also humbled to receive a key to the city of Georgetown from the Mayor of Georgetown. He said India is interested in deepening cooperation with CARICOM in various fields.
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Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Laos. Mr. Singh is on a three-day visit to Laos to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). During the meeting, he will address the forum on regional and international security issues.
The ADMM is ASEAN’s highest defense consultative and cooperative mechanism.
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Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnab today said that India’s creative economy has emerged as a $30 billion industry, contributing about 2.5 per cent of the GDP and providing livelihood to eight per cent of the workforce. In an article in English and Hindi dailies, Mr. Vaishnav highlighted that the industry is a dynamic force, a dominant marketing sector worth more than three thousand crore rupees and more than two lakh full-time content creators.
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The 55th edition of IFFI, the International Film Festival of India, kicked off with a grand opening ceremony in Goa.
A star-studded event at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium inaugurated the festival which will continue till 28th of this month. The event witnessed stunning performances by Bollywood stars and also included a nostalgic ’90s rewind. Timeless Souls,” a tribute to legends like Raj Kapoor and Mohammad Rafi through visuals, poetry and music was also one of the highlights of the day.
Waves Prasar Bharti’s OTT platform was launched today at the opening ceremony of the 55th International Film Festival of India. The platform will offer a variety of channels in multiple languages, including news, entertainment, movies, TV shows and games. Veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur praised Prasar Bharti’s initiative.
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Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar said that education is the greatest medium to bring about change and equality in the society. Addressing the students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Kajrat in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district today, Shri Dhankhar emphasized the importance of discipline, culture and human development.
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The Delhi government has decided to implement work from home for 50 percent of its employees amid poor air quality in Delhi-NCR. City Environment Minister Gopal Rai has called a meeting this afternoon to implement this system.
Air quality in Delhi-NCR remains in the severe category with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 430 at 1 pm today. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, some parts of the city have breached the AQI level of 450.
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In hockey, India won the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar today. The Indian women’s hockey team won their 2nd consecutive title by defeating China 1-0 in the final match. With this victory, India equaled South Korea with three titles.
Despite China’s strong efforts, the first half ended goalless. However, the defending champions returned to a more aggressive approach in the second half and secured the breakthrough in the third quarter.
Earlier in the day, Japan beat Malaysia 4-1 in the bronze medal match to take third place.
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In badminton, Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, Malvika Bansod and Lakshya Sen advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the China Masters 2024 tournament in Shenzhen, China today.
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HEADLINES AGAIN:
- Maharashtra recorded over 58 percent voter turnout in single-phase assembly elections; Around 68 per cent voting has been registered in the second phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections.
- By-elections were also held for the Nanded parliamentary seat in Maharashtra and 15 assembly seats spread across four states; Saturday count.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with President of Guyana Dr. Mohammad Irfan Ali at Georgetown.
- Defense Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Laos.
- The 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India kicked off in Goa with a grand opening ceremony; Prasar Bharti has launched its OTT platform Waves.
- In hockey, India won the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy by defeating China in the final at Rajgir.