LIVE: Israel launches new wave of strikes on Iran

Every devotee allowed to visit Yamunotri Dham without asking religion, caste: Management committee

The management committee of Yamunotri Dham, one of the Char Dhams located in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand, has decided that every person coming to the temple with devotion will be allowed to visit irrespective of their religion or caste.

Yamunotri Temple Committee spokesperson Purushottam Uniyal said, "Every person coming on the Char Dham Yatra is a Sanatani and we have decided that whoever comes with devotion on the Yamunotri Dham Yatra will be welcomed in the tradition of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (Guest is god)." No devotee will be asked about his religion or caste at Yamunotri, and he will be given darshan of Goddess Yamuna, he added.

Earlier, conditional entry for non-followers of 'Sanatan Dharma' was allowed in Badrinath Dham, Kedarnath Dham and Gangotri Dham.

Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Hemant Dwivedi said that if any non-Hindu gives an affidavit of his faith in Sanatan Dharma, he will be allowed to visit the temples.

At the same time, the Gangotri Temple Committee has announced that non-Sanatanists will be allowed entry into the temple only after consuming Panchagavya (a prasad made by mixing cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd and ghee).

This year, the Char Dham Yatra will begin on April 19, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, with the opening of the doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines in the Uttarkashi district.

The doors of the Badrinath shrine will open on April 23, and those of the Kedarnath shrine will open on April 22.

Online registration for Char Dham Yatra began on March 6 and till 5 pm on Thursday, over 9.32 lakh devotees have registered.

Apart from this, more than 4,000 devotees have also registered for the Hemkund Sahib Yatra starting from May 23.

Israel launches new wave of strikes on Iran with no sign of diplomatic breakthrough

Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran early Friday ahead of a planned UN Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure, while Iran and the United States appeared at a diplomatic impasse, setting the stage for more potential escalation as the first month of the Middle East war neared its end.

Israel's attack Friday on targets “in the heart of Tehran” came after the country said it would be “intensifying” its strikes on Iranian weapons production facilities, but there was no immediate information on what was hit.

Smoke also rose over Beirut, although Israel did not immediately report hitting the Lebanese capital, while air raid sirens sounded in Israel as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles. Iran kept up its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbours, with incoming drones and missiles reported in both Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The US has been pushing Iran to start talks on a 15-point proposal for a ceasefire, but at the same time has ordered thousands more troops to the region, possibly in preparation for a military attempt to wrest the Strait of Hormuz from Iran's tight grip.

Iran bans sports teams from travelling to 'hostile' countries

Iran has banned its sports teams from travelling to countries it considers “hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled football game in Saudi Arabia.

The ban announced by Iran's Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite.

“The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice,” it said.

Five killed, four injured as speeding SUV hits autorickshaw in Gwalior; one held

Five members of a family died and four others, including two children, sustained injuries after an SUV chased by police for rash driving crashed into an autorickshaw in Gwalior early on Friday, police said.

The driver of the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), which was trying to escape after being involved in another incident, has been arrested, they said.

The accident occurred around 2.50 am at Parshuram Chauraha when the victims were returning in an auto from the Sheetla Mata temple on the occasion of Ram Navami, Gwalior Zone Inspector General of Police Arvind Saxena told PTI over the phone.

The impact pushed the autorickshaw against a neem tree, leaving it severely damaged, locals said. After being alerted, police took the victims to a hospital, where four persons were declared dead, officials said, adding that one more victim succumbed later.

According to IG Saxena, the SUV was being chased by police after it hit an e-rickshaw earlier near a bus stand.

The deceased were identified as Indrajeet Shakya (55), his wife Leela (52), Shubham Kashyap (30), his wife Shagun (25), all local residents, and their relative Pinky Kashyap (60), who hailed from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. All belong to one family, they said.

The injured were identified as Preeti (20), Priyansh (5), Aarav (6) and the auto driver Rajesh Kumar (28), police said.

Saxena said police have arrested Aman Sharma (26), who was driving the SUV.

On Thursday evening, ten persons were killed and 31 were injured in a collision between a bus and a pick-up vehicle in the Chhindwara district, police had said.

Excise cuts won't charge fuel price, relief only in narrative: Congress

The Congress on Friday claimed that the government's excise cuts will not change prices for dealers and consumers, and that the relief exists only in the narrative, not in reality.

The government has slashed excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 per litre and exempted diesel fully from the duty.

The Congress said the government should focus on delivering actual relief to consumers, instead of "manufacturing headlines and fooling people." The party's media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said, "If you saw the headlines about petrol and diesel prices 'coming down' and thought the government had offered relief to your pocket, you'd be mistaken." As of now, prices remain the same for dealers and for consumers, he claimed.

"What has actually been reduced is the 'special additional excise duty' — a levy paid by Oil Marketing Companies to the government. The words 'special' and 'additional' reveal how unnecessary this tax is," Khera said on X.

He pointed out that these companies have been absorbing losses since the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia.

"The government has now merely agreed to share a small part of that burden but reducing the 'special additional' levy - that too almost a month later," the Congress leader said.

"Relief exists but only in the narrative -- not in reality. Instead of manufacturing headlines and fooling people, the government should focus on delivering actual relief to consumers," Khera said.

Rupee hits record low of 94.56 against US dollar

The rupee breached the 94.50-mark for the first time against the US dollar during intra-day trade on Friday and hit a record low of 94.56, weighed down by elevated oil prices and a stronger greenback amid no breakthrough in the West Asia conflict.

A sharp decline in the domestic equity markets and sustained FII outflows put further pressure on the local unit, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 94.18 and kept sliding to hit 94.56 against the US dollar during intra-day trade, down 60 paise from its previous close.

ICRA lowers Indian aviation sector outlook to negative

Trump praises Modi

The US Embassy in India shared on X, remarks by American President Donald Trump. "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that get things done, something that cannot be said for most," said Trump.

Delhi records minimum temperature at 20.6 degrees C, AQI in 'moderate' category

Delhi woke up to a warmer morning than usual as the minimum temperature stood at 20.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, 2.5 degrees above the season's normal, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded in the "moderate" category with a reading of 148 at 9 am.

The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 34.8 degrees Celsius, with a forecast of mainly clear skies.

Station-wise data showed that Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 19.6 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees above normal. Lodhi Road recorded 19.2 degrees Celsius, 3.2 degrees above normal, while Ridge logged 19.9 degrees Celsius, 0.3 degrees above normal.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app, 43 stations were in the "moderate" category, while two stations were in the "poor" category.

According to the CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor" and 401 to 500 "severe".

Rupee crashes to all-time low of 94.24 against US dollar

Rupee crashes 28 paise to all-time low of 94.24 against the US dollar in early trade.