Happening Now
Court shields comedy from criminal trial
Bombay High Court has quashed a 2010 FIR against actor Shekhar Suman and comedian Bharati Singh, holding that a comic line built around the words “Ya Allah! Rasgulla! Dahi Bhalla!” did not amount to an insult to religion without deliberate and malicious intent. Justice Amit Borkar allowed separate criminal...
Dhaka protests Assam pushback remarks
Bangladesh has summoned New Delhi’s acting High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pawan Badhe, after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s remarks on relations with Bangladesh and the alleged pushback of undocumented migrants triggered a formal diplomatic protest. Badhe was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Thursday...
Bengal turnout reshapes poll battlefield
West Bengal has delivered one of its highest electoral participation rates, with polling across the 2026 Assembly election touching 92.9% after two phases marked by an intense dispute over voter-roll deletions, strong women’s participation and an unusual surge in Kolkata’s traditionally low-turnout constituencies. The second and final phase on...
Putin offers Iran plan in Trump call
Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump held a phone conversation lasting more than 90 minutes, placing Iran’s nuclear programme and the war in Ukraine at the centre of a renewed high-level diplomatic exchange between Moscow and Washington. The call on Wednesday underscored the widening role...
Bhabanipur face-off sharpens Bengal contest
High tension marked polling in Bhabanipur as Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari turned the prestige seat into the focal point of the final phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, trading allegations of intimidation, interference and political pressure while voting continued under heavy security across 142 constituencies. Banerjee, contesting...
Rafale talks test technology sovereignty
New Delhi’s planned purchase of 114 additional Rafale fighter jets from France has run into a critical negotiation hurdle over software control, raising fresh questions about how far foreign suppliers are willing to go in sharing the digital architecture of advanced combat aircraft. The proposed acquisition, valued at about...
Jamia protest tests campus boundaries
Students at Jamia Millia Islamia staged a protest on Tuesday against an RSS-linked programme on the university campus, prompting tighter security at key entry points and sharpening a wider argument over political events inside public universities. Scores of students gathered near the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, where the...
Tehran raises stakes at sea
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned the United States that any new military action against the country would trigger direct retaliation against American naval assets and could draw the wider Iran-aligned “Resistance Front” into a broader regional confrontation. A senior IRGC Navy official’s warning marks a sharper phase...
Gehlot backs Pilot amid defection tremors
Ashok Gehlot has moved to close ranks around Sachin Pilot, saying he hopes his former deputy will never leave the Congress and has learnt from the turmoil that once brought Rajasthan’s party unit close to collapse. The former Rajasthan Chief Minister’s remarks came after BJP Rajasthan in-charge Radha Mohan...
Court push sharpens Bengal voter fight
Supreme Court of India has directed appellate tribunals to give urgent hearings to appeals filed by voters whose names were deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision, adding judicial pressure to a contested process unfolding during the state Assembly election. A bench of Chief Justice...
Court weighs relief for UK doctor
UK-based doctor and YouTuber Dr Sangram Patil has told the Bombay High Court that he will cooperate with Mumbai Police and return to the country whenever required, seeking permission to travel back to the United Kingdom after being restrained from leaving over a case linked to his social media...
Court shields Asaram ashram land for now
Supreme Court protection has halted immediate state action against land and buildings held by Sant Shri Asharam Ashram in Ahmedabad, after judges found that the show-cause notice forming the basis of proposed eviction and forfeiture appeared deficient in key details. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta...
Punjab security row deepens after Harbhajan exit
Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party government has withdrawn the state security cover of former cricketer and Rajya Sabha member Harbhajan Singh, intensifying a political confrontation triggered by his exit from the party and reported move to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Police personnel posted outside Singh’s residence in Jalandhar’s Chhotti Baradari...
Air India dress code row widens
Air India has been drawn into a growing social media backlash over workplace dress codes after screenshots described as excerpts from an older cabin crew handbook circulated online, showing restrictions on visible religious and cultural symbols including sindoor, tilak, kalawa, black thread, nose pins, anklets and mangalsutra. The airline...
ED raids sharpen Bengal poll tensions
Enforcement Directorate teams searched properties in Kolkata’s Anandapur and Alipore areas on Sunday morning, widening a money-laundering probe linked to fugitive accused Biswajit Podder, better known as “Sona Pappu”, just three days before West Bengal votes in the second phase of Assembly polling. The searches covered the residences and...
Bhabanipur noise row sharpens Bengal contest
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked off a campaign stage in Bhabanipur after accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of using loud music from a nearby meeting to disrupt her speech, turning a local constituency event into a flashpoint in the closing stretch of the Assembly election campaign. Banerjee...
Dhaka opens party channel with BJP
Bangladesh Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman has moved to open a structured political channel with the Bharatiya Janata Party, signalling a fresh attempt by Dhaka to stabilise relations with New Delhi beyond formal government-to-government diplomacy. Rahman’s message to BJP president Nitin Nabin was conveyed through...
Mamata sharpens poll pitch after turnout surge
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the Trinamool Congress has crossed the 100-seat mark after the first phase of Assembly polling, projecting the record turnout as a sign of voter confidence in her party as the campaign moves towards the next round. Speaking on Saturday, Banerjee...
