Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

India announces Padma award winners

Political stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi and Sharad Pawar, former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma, cricketer Virat Kohli and Carnatic musician KJ Yesudas are among the 89 people chosen for this year’s Padma awards.

Joshi, Pawar, Sangma and Yesudas are among seven to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan, country’s second highest civilian award. The Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, will not be conferred on anybody this year.


The other awardees in this category are Prof Udipi Ramachandra Rao, former chairman of space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation); spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who has millions of following across the world; and Sunder Lal Patwa, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and a BJP veteran.

Sangma and Patwa have been conferred the award posthumously.

The 89 awardees this year include 19 women, five from the category of foreigners, NRIs and PIOs and six posthumous receipients. The seven Padma Vibhushan winners are joined by a similar number of Padma Bhushan awardees, and for the first time, the Padma list does not include a Bollywood star.

The seven Padma Bhushan winners are yoga guru Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati; Dr Tehemton Erach Udwadia, the father of laparoscopic surgery in India; Grammy awardee and Hindustani classical instrumentalist Vishwa Mohan Bhat, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhron; Sanskrit scholar Devi Prasad Dwivedi; Jain spiritual leader Ratna Sundar Maharaj; and political satirist and journalist Cho Ramaswamy, on whom the award will be conferred posthumously.

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli; Sakshi Malik, the first woman wrestler from the country to win an Olympic medal; former Lok Sabha secretary-general TK Vishwanathan; chef Sanjeev Kapoor; former diplomat Kanwal Sibal; endocrinologist MM Godbole; film critic Bhawana Somaaya; Farsi writer KN Pandita; French historian Michel Danino; and singer Kailash Kher are among 75 people chosen for this year’s Padma Shri awards.

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less