Latest from Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
No new excise policy for Delhi, current one to continue till March '26
With no clarity on a new excise policy that has been under preparation for over 33 months, the Delhi government on Friday announced the extension of the existing liquor policy till March 2026 — one of the longest such extension since the scrapping of the 2021-22 excise regime in September 2022 following allegations of irregularities. The last implemented excise policy (2021-22) was withdrawn following allegations of irregularities in September 2022.(Representational) The extension means the city will continue to operate under the 2020-21 policy — which has already been extended five times. The move, officials said, was necessary to ensure uninterrupted liquor supply as the current extension was set to expire on June 30. The last implemented excise policy (2021-22) was withdrawn following allegations of irregularities in September 2022. 'The competent authority has granted approval for continuation of the excise duty-based regime… for the excise year 2025-26 (July 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026),' said a June 27 order issued by the excise department. It confirmed that wholesale licenses (L-1, L-1F), retail (L-2), hotel, club, and restaurant licenses would be renewed on existing terms upon payment of the applicable fees. An excise official said licensees across all categories will need to renew their permits to continue operations, including Delhi government-run liquor vends. The rollout of a new policy has now been stalled for nearly two years. Initially expected in late 2022, its drafting was delayed first due to ongoing probes into alleged corruption in the 2021-22 excise policy and later by the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, and assembly elections in early 2025. Following a CBI inquiry and the arrests of several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the government reverted to the 2020-21 regime in September 2022. The continued extensions have created supply issues, with many popular Indian and international liquor brands — especially premium whiskies, vodkas, and wines — frequently out of stock. Industry observers and consumers have urged the government to revamp the policy to match the more liberal excise regimes in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where private retail players are allowed and customer experience is more robust. Currently, only government-run liquor outlets operate in Delhi. While the current policy technically allows for private participation, no decision has been taken on whether to allow private players until the new policy is implemented. The newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Delhi has said it is drafting a new excise regime that will focus on 'transparency, quality, and accountability,' with improved consumer experience and safeguards for public health. A high-level committee headed by chief secretary Dharmendra is reviewing practices from other states and consulting stakeholders. Chief minister Rekha Gupta recently told HT that the new policy aims to reduce business flight to neighbouring Gurugram and Noida. 'It will enhance consumer experience while ensuring regulatory checks,' she said. However, this policy appears to have been delayed for now. A separate circular issued Friday added that all existing licenses, including L-6 (government retail), L-6FG (supermarkets), and L-10 (hotels/clubs/restaurants), would be renewed for the nine-month period starting July 2025, subject to compliance with the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, and Delhi Excise Rules, 2010. Vinod Giri, director general of the Brewers Association of India, the extension of the policy should have been extended in entirety. 'Old policy had provision for private retail which is essential for ensuring a consumer friendly and market driven product availability and retailing experience in the city. So we urge the government to ensure that private vends is introduced using existing provisions in the policy as soon as possible which is in the interest of consumers, industry and also the government,' he said.
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
US funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decaying bodies jailed for 20 years
A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sent grieving families fake ashes received the maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison on Friday, for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. Crystina Page, right, hugs Beth Mosley after a Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decomposing bodies was sentenced to 20 years prison on federal fraud charges.(AP) Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year. Separately, Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court and will be sentenced in August. At Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence and Hallford's attorney asked for 10 years. Judge Nina Wang said that although the case focused on a single fraud charge, the circumstances and scale of Hallford's crime and the emotional damage to families warranted the longer sentence. 'This is not an ordinary fraud case,' she said. In court before the sentencing, Hallford told the judge that he opened Return to Nature to make a positive impact in people's lives, 'then everything got completely out of control, especially me.' 'I am so deeply sorry for my actions,' he said. 'I still hate myself for what I've done.' Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, were accused of storing the bodies between 2019 and 2023 and sending families fake ashes. Investigators described finding the bodies in 2023 stacked atop each other throughout a squat, bug-infested building in Penrose, a small town about a two-hour drive south of Denver. The morbid discovery revealed to many families that their loved ones weren't cremated and that the ashes they had spread or cherished were fake. In two cases, the wrong body was buried, according to court documents. Many families said it undid their grieving processes. Some relatives had nightmares, others have struggled with guilt, and at least one wondered about their loved one's soul. Among the victims who spoke during Friday's sentencing was a boy named Colton Sperry. With his head poking just above the lectern, he told the judge about his grandmother, who Sperry said was a second mother to him and died in 2019. Her body languished inside the Return to Nature building for four years until the discovery, which plunged Sperry into depression. He said he told his parents at the time, 'If I die too, I could meet my grandma in heaven and talk to her again.' His parents brought him to the hospital for a mental health check, which led to therapy and an emotional support dog. 'I miss my grandma so much,' he told the judge through tears. Federal prosecutors accused both Hallfords of pandemic aid fraud, siphoning the money and spending it and customer's payments on a GMC Yukon and Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, along with $31,000 in cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and even laser body sculpting. Derrick Johnson told the judge that he traveled 3,000 miles (4,830 kilometers) to testify over how his mother was 'thrown into a festering sea of death.' 'I lie awake wondering, was she naked? Was she stacked on top of others like lumber?" said Johnson. 'While the bodies rotted in secret, (the Hallfords) lived, they laughed and they dined,' he added. 'My mom's cremation money likely helped pay for a cocktail, a day at the spa, a first class flight.' Jon Hallford's attorney, Laura H. Suelau, asked for a lower sentence of 10 years in the hearing Friday, saying that Hallford 'knows he was wrong, he admitted he was wrong' and hasn't offered an excuse. His sentencing in the state case is scheduled in August. Asking for a 15 year sentence for Hallford, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff described the scene inside the building. Investigators couldn't move into some rooms because the bodies were piled so high and in various states of decay. FBI agents had to put boards down so they could walk above the fluid, which was later pumped out. Carie Hallford is scheduled to go to trial in the federal case in September, the same month as her next hearing in the state case in which she's also charged with 191 counts of corpse abuse.
Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Meta seeks $29 billion from private capital firms for AI data centers: Report
Meta Platforms is seeking to raise $29 billion from private capital firms to build artificial intelligence data centers in the U.S., the Financial Times reported on Friday. Meta was working with its advisers at Morgan Stanley to arrange the financing, said the report.(File/REUTERS) The Facebook-parent has advanced discussions with private credit investors including Apollo Global Management, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle and PIMCO, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Meta is looking to raise $3 billion in equity and $26 billion in debt, the report said, adding that the company is debating how to structure the debt raising and may also seek to raise more capital. Such a fundraising comes at a time when Meta has doubled down its commitment to artificial intelligence, including a $14.8 billion investment in startup Scale AI. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said in January the company would spend as much as $65 billion this year to expand its AI infrastructure, seeking to strengthen its position against competitors OpenAI and Google in the race to lead the AI technology landscape. Meta and Carlyle declined to comment, while Apollo Global, KKR, Brookfield and PIMCO did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Meta was working with its advisers at Morgan Stanley to arrange the financing, and it was considering ways that could make the debt more easily tradeable once it was issued, the FT report said. Major tech companies are investing heavily to secure the vast computing power needed to run AI models, fueling demand for specialized data centers that link thousands of chips into high-performance clusters. Microsoft has planned a capital expenditure of $80 billion in fiscal 2025, with most of it aimed at expanding data centers to ease capacity bottlenecks for AI services. Bloomberg News reported in February that Apollo Global Management is in talks to lead a roughly $35 billion financing package for Meta to help develop data centers in the United States.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Who is Thomas Pham LeGro and what did Washington Post editor do? Details on pornography charges
Thomas Pham LeGro, an award-winning journalist with The Washington Post, was charged Friday with possession of child pornography, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Washington Post editor Thomas Pham LeGro is facing child pornography charges(X) The 48-year-old journalist was the subject of an FBI investigation, which led to the execution of a search warrant at his home on June 26. During the search, federal agents seized several electronic devices. 'A review of LeGro's work laptop revealed a folder that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material,' the press release stated. 'During the execution of the search warrant agents observed what appeared to be fractured pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where LeGro's work laptop was found.' Read More: Donald Trump says terminating trade talks with Canada over digital services tax, warns of new tariff 'This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking,' it added. Who is Thomas Pham LeGro? According to Fox5DC,Thomas Pham LeGro joined The Washington Post in 2013 as a video editor on the breaking news desk. By 2015, he had been promoted to senior producer, overseeing the International, Style, and Technology teams. In 2017, LeGro was part of the Post team that received a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Senate candidacy of Roy Moore. In 2021, he was named executive producer, leading the outlet's Politics, National, International, and Technology video teams. His accolades include a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2018 (as part of a team) and an Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative journalism.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Aquarius Horoscope for 28 June 2025: Celestial guidance for monetary gains
Jun 28, 2025 04:10 AM IST Aquarius (Jan 22-Feb 19) Daily Horoscope Prediction says, skip gossips today The love affair will be good and there will be instances to prove the professional mettle at the workplace. Wealth permits investments but health is a concern. Aquarius Horoscope Today: Wealth will come in and you will also clear all pending dues.(Freepik) There can be friction in your relationship which you must settle before the day ends Focus on the job and skip everything behind to be professionally successful. No major monetary issue exists. However, health demands attention. Stay happy in your love life. You need to be a patient listener and ensure spending more time together. It is crucial to provide the personal space to the partner today. Some single natives will fall in love and those who recently had a breakup will also find a new person walking into their life. Married females should be careful about the interference of a third person in married life. A vacation together is a great way to know each other. Aquarius Career Horoscope Today Your superiors will be supportive today and ensure you show punctuality and discipline at the workplace. New tasks will demand you to be attentive about the details and those who handle financial, management, banking, and machine-related profiles will have a tough time settling issues. Those who plan to study or work abroad will have new opportunities opened up. Job seekers will have positive results. Businessmen and traders may face the ire of authorities over different policies and it is important to settle this issue without delay. Aquarius Money Horoscope Today Wealth will come in and you will also clear all pending dues. Those who are keen to try their luck in stock and trade can confidently go ahead with the plan. Property is also a good option. Some natives will also purchase a vehicle or a house as this would also be an investment. You may pick the second part of the day to resolve a financial crisis with a friend. Aquarius Health Horoscope Today Minor ailments including sore throat, cough, viral fever, and pain in joints will be common today. You may also have trouble related to breathing and pregnant female natives need to be careful with the baby bump as the chances of pregnancy-related issues are high. Oral health will also be a concern today. Those who are traveling should be careful about their diet and must carry a medical kit. Aquarius Sign Attributes Strength: Tolerant, Ideal, Friendly, Charitable, Independent, Logical Weakness: Disobedient, Liberalistic, Rebel Symbol: Water carrier Element: Air Body Part: Ankles & Legs Sign Ruler: Uranus Lucky Day: Saturday Lucky Color: Navy Blue Lucky Number: 22 Lucky Stone: Blue Sapphire Aquarius Sign Compatibility Chart Natural affinity: Aries, Gemini, Libra, Sagittarius Good compatibility: Leo, Aquarius Fair compatibility: Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, Pisces Less compatibility: Taurus, Scorpio By: Dr. J. N. Pandey Vedic Astrology & Vastu Expert Website: E-mail: djnpandey@ Phone: 91-9811107060 (WhatsApp Only)
