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A Manipur Police team that went to destroy illegal opium cultivation in the hills of Kangpokpi district were stopped by "80-90 armed miscreants" and forced to return without clearing the illegal farms, a police officer said in a first information report (FIR). The police team had a mix of 25 personnel, and volunteers from the Liangmai Naga tribe and five drivers. The team carried only three assault rifles as it is a physically demanding and difficult task to destroy poppy farms with farm tools while also carrying AK-type guns, a source who has first-hand information about the incident told NDTV. "You can't hold a weapon and also destroy poppy efficiently in such a sensitive area. The authorities should have deployed other forces along with the police," the source said, requesting anonymity. The small police team had no choice but to turn back when the armed miscreants tried to snatch the few guns the team had, the source said. The area was remote and reinfo

US President-elect Donald Trump's top security advisor called on Sunday for an end to the escalation of the war between Ukraine and Russia, and for both parties to come to the negotiating table. "We need to bring this to a responsible end. We need to restore deterrence, restore peace, and get ahead of this escalation ladder, rather than responding to it," said Mike Waltz, Trump's pick for the influential role of US national security advisor (NSA). In recent days, Washington has authorised Kyiv to use US-supplied missiles to strike targets in Russian territory and agreed to supply it with landmines, prompting Moscow to respond with the use of an experimental medium-range ballistic missile. Waltz, a noted foreign policy hawk and former US special forces officer, has been critical of Russia but has, like Trump, opposed increasing aid to Ukraine. "President Trump has been very clear about the need to end this conflict," he told US media outlet Fox News on Su

Bengaluru, known as India's major technology hub, often grabs headlines for its unique corporate culture, booming tech jobs, and quirky stories involving landlords. Adding to the ongoing engineers-landlord buzz, a new social media post has surfaced and is now going viral. In a recent post on X, social media user Vetri Venthan, an IIM Ahmedabad graduate and fintech entrepreneur, shared a unique experience. According to his bio on LinkedIn, Vetri is building a fintech startup. In his post, he revealed that his landlord has taken on the role of his tech adviser, jokingly adding that such things can happen only in Bengaluru. Also Read | "High Rents, No Real Friends": BITS Pilani Alumnus Says Bengaluru Techies Are Lonely "Bengaluru is the only city where your landlord also becomes a tech advisor for your startup. My landlord (Solutions Architect at Intel) loved our product & is giving us intros to corporations/advising us on our architecture while meeting us at caf

Robin Sharma, the campaign strategist of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, told NDTV today that the Lok Sabha election results had spurred them to spruce up their act and get governance and the message about it shipshape before the assembly election was announced.  "The fear of loss motivated us to work hard, make course correction and do whatever was needed to bring the alliance back on track," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. It left no room for complacency also ensured that the ruling alliance had dealt with the tough questions when the MVA was bickering over seat share and the all-important question of who would be the Chief Minister. Consequently, "We were ahead in comparison to the MVA in terms of planning, preparedness, candidates, campaign strategy," he said.  He attributed the victory to the role played by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying it was "all about his hard work. He rolled out campaigns that really benefited people. He als

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Thursday it had launched a joint investigation with its French counterparts into "suspected bribery and corruption" at the France-based multinational defence giant Thales. "Investigators from the SFO and French authority Parquet National Financier (PNF) have informed the company of the investigation," it said, noting the two agencies were probing "in their respective jurisdictions". Thales has its headquarters in Paris. Thales UK is a subsidiary and one of the British government's key defence contractors, employing over 7,000 staff at 16 sites across the country. It built hundreds of lightweight missiles which the UK sent to Ukraine in September. A Thales spokesperson confirmed that the SFO and the PNF had "commenced an investigation in relation to four of its entities in France and the UK". "Thales is co-operating with the PNF in France and the SFO in the UK. The group complies with all

K Sanjay Murthy, former higher education secretary, on Thursday took charge as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He belongs to Indian Administrative Service of Himachal Pradesh cadre (1989 batch). Mr Murthy succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu, who demitted office on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Mr Murthy was sworn in as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India by President Droupadi Murmu at a function in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prior to this, Mr Murthy was Secretary, Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and CEO, National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Mr Murthy was named the new CAG by the Centre on Monday. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, among others, were present at the oath

UK claimants on Wednesday announced legal action against US pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson, alleging that women diagnosed with cancers were exposed to asbestos in the company's talcum powder. J&J risks UK court action for the first time over the allegations, having faced a series of similar lawsuits in North America. KP law, the firm representing about 2,000 claimants, said "women who have been diagnosed with life-changing and life-limiting cancers were exposed to asbestos contained within the company's talcum powder". In response Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, said "Johnson & Johnson takes the issue of talc safety incredibly seriously and always has". Haas added that J&J's own analysis found an absence of asbestos contamination in its products and said "independent science makes clear that talc is not associated with the risk of ovarian cancer nor mesothelioma". J&