TODAY NEWS ON 22 MAY 2022

News Headlines

Centre slashes fuel taxes, sets ₹200 subsidy on LPG cylinders

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a slew of measures to rein in runaway inflation on Saturday evening, including duty cuts on petroleum products, a ₹200 subsidy on LPG cylinders for the poor and a rejig of import duties on plastic and steel products.

Sunday Special | Govt. in no mood to relent on secretive nature of look-out circulars

Wary of embarrassment he might face if stopped at the airport by immigration officials, a politician from Jammu and Kashmir has written to the authorities seeking to know if his name is on the “no-fly” list that bars him from travelling abroad. Worried over his ailing sister in the U.K., the politician, who does not want to be identified, wanted to check all safety boxes before he takes the journey to Delhi to board the onward international flight.

25 dead in floods, landslides across Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya

Floods and landslides have claimed 25 lives across three north-eastern States so far, with Assam being the worst hit. According to data provided by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) late on Friday, four people, including two children, drowned. The toll due to the disaster has now gone up to nine. Five others had died in a series of landslides since May 14.

J&K tunnel collapse toll hits 10

The bodies of all 10 people trapped in an under-construction tunnel at Ramban in Jammu and Kashmir have been recovered. The rescue operation is complete, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam said on Saturday

West Bengal recruitment scam: CBI registers FIR against five officials

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a fresh FIR against five officials of the West Bengal Education Department in connection with the appointment of “undeserving and unlisted candidates” as Group C staff in various schools.

Indian Foreign Service is not arrogant but confident: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Saturday defended the Indian Foreign Service which was described by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as “arrogant”. Mr Gandhi had made the observation about the Indian diplomats during an interaction in London on Saturday.

Justice L. Nageswara Rao — a star in real and reel

Supreme Court judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao has represented the law in both real and reel lives. In Kanoon Apna Apna, a 1989 action-drama, a heavily mustachioed, dapper-looking cop is requested by the district collector to summon the leader of a group of agitators to his office.

New species of venomous snake registered from Northeast

Meghalaya, the land of the mythical evil spirit that takes the form of a giant serpent called U Thlen, has yielded a new-to-science, venomous green snake. Recorded simultaneously in Mizoram, the snake has been named Maya’s Pit Viper after the deceased mother of an Army officer, one of seven authors of a study on it. The name of the pit viper, recognised as  Trimeresurus mayaae, is also believed to allude to  maya, meaning the supernatural powers, or the illusion related to local legends.

Women TV presenters defy Taliban order to cover faces on air

Women presenters on Afghanistan’s leading TV channels went on air Saturday without covering their faces, defying a Taliban order that they conceal their appearance to comply with the group’s austere brand of Islam.