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Hardworking, simple and down to earth. That is how former Union Minister and NCP founder, Sharad Pawar, describes industrialist Gautam Adani in his 2015 autobiography, Lok Majhe Sangati (People, My Companions). The Maratha strongman has never shied away from supporting Adani, even when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack following Hindenburg report allegations against the Adani group. He also opposed the Congress’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee inquiry, and instead favoured a probe by Supreme Court. He told a news channel that Adani was being targeted.

The courts are making it increasingly clear that they are not impressed with the way the central agencies are proceeding with action against their victims. Going by the sharpness in the courts’ remarks, it seems that the day may not be far when the selective manner in which the law is taking, as claimed by the ruling party politicians, or allowed to take its course, is questioned by the courts.

When the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam – a ‘whodunit’ if any – is spoken about in roadside tea stalls, it is a Sherlock Holmes narrative, especially the headline, “The Curious Case of AAP, Liquor and the Missing Money Trail” that prevails. It’s a question AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has been asking and it’s the favourite line of Delhi Education Minister Atishi Marlena as she laughs off suggestions that Kejriwal’s party is dead on its feet with the arrest of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. “Where’s the money trail?” asks Marlena, confident that it wouldn’t be found because “donation” and “bribe” sound and spell differently. Most importantly, they are two words with different meanings.

BJP chief J P Nadda's remark that his party may go to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on its own is quite encumbered and notably coincides with the opposition initiative to field Nitish Kumar as INDIA candidate from any of the constituencies in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

On Facebook Live Friday afternoon, United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain symbolically awarded roses to automakers General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford based on progress at the negotiating table, a reference to the reality show The Bachelor. The only thing missing was teary-eyed CEOs breathing a sigh of relief as the UAW agreed not to widen its strike to more factories for now.

Islamic Law is at the centre of debates about what constitutes moderate Islam and what it would take to reform Islam. Essentially, two schools of thought dominate the discussion. Islam's traditional approach simply picks and chooses which elements of Sharia it opts to ignore. That is the approach adopted by autocratic rulers like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and United Arab Emirates. President Mohamed bin Zayed.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is on a mission to rebrand the Conservative Party. Time is running out for him in his bid to reach this goal as the elections are due in January 2025 in Great Britain. But there are shadows of doubt over the Tories electoral prospects. The Conservative Party is at a crossroads. Sunak wants to project his image as a decisive decision maker. The decisions, he feels, will be the catalysts of change.

Red tapes and White caps were common sight in ministries and government departments, a colonial hangover that persisted long after independence. The white caps worn by ministers and babus, particularly by peons in the corridors of power gradually disappeared from 1970s onwards. But Red taped files remained in government offices until recently, stacked mostly in corridors giving a musty smell in all over government buildings. The files started disappearing, though not fully, after digitisation gathered momentum in the last few years as part of the swachhata campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tracing of government files itself used to be an art mastered by the peons, who alone could retrieve them and is usually done only by greasing their palms by interested private parties.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is a double whammy for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the so-called ‘Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam’ in Kerala.

New Delhi: India men reduced Pakistan to smithereens as they crushed Green shirts 64-14 while Women drubbed Nepal 61-17 to storm into the finals of the Kabaddi tournament of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Friday.