Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Mumbai court stops arrest of Nikita Jacob, associate of Disha Ravi, in 'tool-kit' case

Mumbai court stops arrest of Nikita Jacob, associate of Disha Ravi, in 'tool-kit' case

A Mumbai court on Wednesday(17) granted bail to an associate of a 22-year-old climate activist whose arrest for promoting an action plan for farmers' protests has caused outrage across the country.

Police had sought the arrest of Nikita Jacob, a Mumbai-based lawyer, for allegedly working together with activist Disha Ravi on a "tool-kit" or a document that it said was used to foment violence during a mass protest by farmers in Delhi last month.


Nikita Nikita Jacob

Ravi, an activist linked to Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, was arrested over the weekend on charges of sedition and remains in police custody.

But Jacob petitioned a court in Mumbai to stop the police from carrying out her own arrest warrant.

"The court has granted her three weeks interim relief," Sanjukta Dey, Jacob's lawyer, told reporters outside the court.

"There is nothing in the tool kit about violence, it is only for creating awareness about farm laws, it's not for creating violence."

Dey said that Jacob had already been questioned by police on the document and she was ready to cooperate with them in their investigations into the events of January 26, when farmers stormed the historic Red Fort in the old quarter of Delhi while the country was marking the Republic Day.

Thunberg tweeted a link to the "tool-kit" in early February, drawing international attention to the farmers' campaign against the Indian government's move to deregulate agriculture produce markets and open them to private players. She later deleted that post.

Politicians, students and activists have held protests against the arrest of Ravi, a founding member of the local arm of Thunberg's Fridays for Future climate change movement. On Wednesday, the student wing of the main opposition Congress party staged a protest in Delhi demanding her release.

A lawyer for Ravi has declined to comment. Her arrest comes at a time when prime minister Narendra Modi’s government faces allegations it is suppressing dissent.

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less