Highlights: PM Modi to inaugurate new Parliament building on May 28, confirms Om Birla

Indian Army Patrol operating along foothills of Imphal East Manipur recovered explosives and remote initiation mechanism for IEDs in village Bungbal Khullen on Wednesday, ANI reported.

3 Kg TNT, 15 Electric Detonators, 4 Circuits and Remote Firing Device recovered. Major threat averted by prompt action: Spear Corps, Indian Army

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly constructed Parliament building on May 28, ANI reported citing to Lok Sabha Secretariat's statement.

The report further said that Om Birla met PM Modi on Thursday and invited him to inaugurate the New Parliament Building.

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has issued an order for the dismissal of an MCD official who is currently under investigation for corruption charges, ANI reported.

The Mayor has further called for a thorough investigation into the allegations. According to a statement released on Thursday, Mayor Oberoi has instructed the MCD Commissioner to relieve the officer, Kunal Kashyap, of all duties and replace him with an individual of unquestionable integrity.

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said that government is working to set up an NCE for Olympic Sports in Hamirpur on the lines of the country's top NCE (National Center of Excellence), ANI reported. 

“So that there can be NCE for 18-20 games & we can prepare future Olympians from there. Its foundation stone will be laid in the next 2 months,” Thakur said at Hamirpur Students Union Program, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

After Supreme Court's stay on Bengal government's ban on “The Kerala Story” film, Producer Vipul Shah said, “With folded hands, I would like to tell Mamata Didi to watch this film with us and discuss with us if she finds anything as such. We would like to listen to all her valid criticisms and present our point of view.” (ANI)

A 76-year-old man in Kerala's Thrissur district escaped unhurt on Thursday after his mobile phone, kept in his shirt pocket, exploded and spontaneously caught fire, PTI reported citing police. The occurrence marks the third incident of its kind within the state in less than a month.

National Investigation Agency along with Punjab Police and Haryana Police conducted a massive multi-state joint crackdown codenamed “Operation Dhvast” in terrorist-gangster-drugs nexus case.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said that the cleaning of Mithi River is beginning today. “Officers who do good work will be respected and those who do negligence will be acted upon,” ANI quoted Shinde as saying in Mumbai.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Thursday while addressing media said, that the Quad Summit scheduled for Sydney, is likely to be changed to  Hiroshima, ANI reported.

"The agenda on which the Leaders had agreed upon in the last Quad Summit will be discussed in Hiroshima if the Quad Summit can be held here on time. There is a change of venue but the background of cooperation and specific aspects won't change," Vinay Kwatra said.

Reacting to the Supreme Court's order upholding West Bengal government's order to ban “The Kerala Story” film,  state minister Shashi Panja said, "...Supreme Court has given its observation. Following this, what action CM will take is something which she will say. But her intent was that no community should be hurt and in case any community feels hurt and reacts and if there is any law and order situation disturbance - for this she took the call." (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a stay on the West Bengal government's order to ban the film “The Kerala Story”. Additionally, the court issued a directive to the Tamil Nadu government, urging them to provide adequate security measures at the theaters where the movie is currently being screened.

Railway main line between Ludhiana to Jalandhar and Amritsar Jalandhar-Jammu in Punjab were blocked as farmers protest on railway tracks in Jalandhar, ANI reported.

They have been protesting the incident wherein a policeman was seen slapping an elderly woman protester in Gurdaspur during protest over land acquisition on Delhi-Katra national highway.

Two people died in an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing factory at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district, ANI reported.

Further details awaited.

Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the Patna High Court order which had put on hold the caste-based survey in Bihar. The state government has been asked to argue on July 3 before the High Court where the matter is still pending.

State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, on Thursday reported a more than 83% jump in fourth-quarter profit, led by a sharp drop in provisions on bad loans and healthy credit growth.

Net profit was 166.95 billion rupees ($2.04 billion)for the quarter ended March 31, compared with 91.14 billion rupees a year earlier, the lender said in an exchange filing.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Thursday visited Veer Savarkar's residence in Mumbai.

BJP national president is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra from May 17 to May 18, as assembly elections and civic polls nearing in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, State's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to hold an executive committee meeting in Pune today. Nearly 1,200 delegates, including the party's district-level office-bearers, will attend the high-level meeting.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Group is looking to free up cash and raise funds, possibly via a loan, as its $500 million junk-rated bond matures at the end of this month.

The board of Vedanta Ltd. will consider paying out a first dividend for the current business year at an upcoming meeting, according to a statement. The Indian mining conglomerate is also in talks with banks to raise at least $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

China opened its doors on Thursday to Australian timber imports for the first time in more than two years, in another sign that the tattered bilateral relationship is being repaired.

Timber was on a list of Australian exports subjected to official and unofficial Chinese trade barriers imposed in 2020 after Australia called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The list that included coal, wine, barley, beef, seafood, cotton and copper was estimated to cost Australian exporters $14 billion a year.

A Supreme Court constitution bench on Thursday affirmed the state laws allowing cultural events involving animals, including the bull taming sport Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu and bullock or buffalo races in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Read more

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged the central government to appoint Praveen Kumar Gupta, 1989 batch IAS officer of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories (AGMUT) Cadre, as the new chief secretary of Delhi, a Delhi government official aware of the development said. If the central government accepts the plea of the Delhi chief minister, Gupta will replace Naresh Kumar of the 1987 batch, serving as the chief secretary of Delhi since April 2022.

Arjun Ram Meghwal replaces Rijiju to become new Law Minister

A cyber criminal was arrested in Assam's Morigaon district who had allegedly taken loans of around ₹22 lakh from two private financial companies in the name of different persons, informed officials.

The arrested criminal was identified as Inamul Hoque.

The Assam Police seized 169 SIM cards, 11 PAN cards and other incriminating documents in his possession from him.

China urged Australia on Thursday to send more aircraft, ships and personnel to find a fishing vessel that capsized in the Indian Ocean with 39 people aboard.

Chinese vessel the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 overturned in the early hours of Tuesday with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board.

"We wish that they could send more aircraft, more ships and more staff to that area," said Xiao Qian, China's ambassador to Australia, requesting that the Australian government coordinate with other nations closer to the capsized ship.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said he is likely to meet his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma next week in Guwahati for the second round of border talks.

Speaking to reporters, Sangma Wednesday said the logistics were being worked out for the meeting, which is likely to be held on May 24.

This would be the first meeting for the second round of border talks between the two states, aimed at resolving the remaining six areas of differences, he said.

Ukraine's army reported several explosions in Kyiv and other parts of the country early Thursday morning, urging people to stay in bomb shelters.

"According to preliminary information, the fall of debris was recorded in the Darnytskyi district of the capital. Data on victims and destruction are currently being verified," Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv's civil and military administration, wrote on Telegram.