The Hindu (Kochi)
SC blames NTA for repeated NEET question paper leaks
The Supreme Court on Monday squarely blamed the National Testing Agency (NTA) for the National EligibilitycumEntrance TestUndergraduate (NEETUG), 2026, paper leak, saying the exam body sadly had not learnt its lesson even two years after the previous...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Rubio, Jaishankar stress need for ‘unimpeded’ maritime trade
The United States works with many countries at a “tactical” level, but those relations will not disturb the strategic partnership with India, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said here on Sunday. Addressing a joint press conference at the Hyderabad...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Petrol and diesel prices hiked third time in 8 days
Prices of petrol and diesel were raised for the third time in eight days on Saturday, this time by an average of 90 paise per litre across all variants. The price of compressed natural gas (CNG) in several parts of north India also rose for the third...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Maharashtra is India’s growth engine: Shinde
Maharashtra is the country’s growth engine, and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is on track to be a $1.5trillion economy, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, speaking at The Hindu Maharashtra Infrastructure Conclave on Friday. He said the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Chennithala seeks report on parole granted to Periye murder convicts
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has sought an urgent report on the circumstances in which five of the convicts in the Periye twin murder case were granted parole. Mr. Chennithala has directed Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Biswanath Sinha to look...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SC says nothing wrong in caste count, rejects plea against move
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there was nothing wrong in the government of the day ascertaining caste as part of the ongoing nationwide Census exercise. “Any government of the day must know how many people are backward and how many need welfare....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Delhi Police suggest larger SC Bench to review UAPA bail curbs
The Delhi Police on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the question of whether prolonged incarceration and delay of trial could override the statutory restrictions on bail under antiterror laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
V.D. Satheesan sworn in as Kerala CM
Congress leader V.D. Satheesan was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Kerala along with 20 Ministers at a ceremony held at a packed Central Stadium here on Monday. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
With ordinance, SC judge strength up from 33 to 37
President Droupadi Murmu has promulgated an ordinance increasing the number of judges in the Supreme Court to 37 — excluding the Chief Justice of India. The May 16 Gazette notification says “Parliament is not in session and the President is satisfied...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Manipur protest on; Kukis want President’s Rule back
Thousands of KukiZo people took to the streets in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur on Saturday, demanding the unconditional release of Kuki hostages and justice for three church leaders killed in an ambush by extremists on May 13. In a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
99.07% pass in Kerala SSLC results
As many as 99.07% of students in Kerala who sat for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations in March have qualified for higher studies. The pass percentage was 0.43 percentage points less than the 99.5% last year. General...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Uneasy truce in Beijing as Trump and Xi discuss trade, Taiwan
The United States and China appeared to come to an uneasy truce — at least for now — on trade, Taiwan, and the future of an increasingly contested relationship, as their leaders met for talks in Beijing on Thursday. Chinese President Xi Jinping told...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Vijay wins floor test with 144 votes; AIADMK divided
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay comfortably won the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday with the support of the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML, as well as that of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs and the lone AMMK MLA. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NEET-UG 2026 cancelled after question paper leak
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the National EntrancecumEligibility TestUndergraduate (NEETUG) conducted on May 3 after evidence emerged that the paper was leaked. The NTA is expected to announce the schedule for the retest...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Top Cong. leaders for Delhi to finalise CM choice
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has summoned top leaders from Kerala to New Delhi, ostensibly to finalise the party’s choice for Chief Minister. Those attending the crucial meeting with the party’s high command include former Kerala Pradesh...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Vijay sworn in as CM, promises transparent, clean governance
Ushering in a change in Tamil Nadu’s bipolar Dravidian political landscape that has been in existence since 1967, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president and actor C. Joseph Vijay, 52, was sworn in as Chief Minister at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Threehour meeting in Delhi fails to end impasse in Cong. over Kerala CM
The Congress’s bid to name a Chief Minister for Kerala remained inconclusive despite party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi holding consultations with the three main contenders, AICC general...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Uncertainty continues in T.N. over govt. formation
Uncertainty prevailed over government formation in Tamil Nadu on Friday night as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) remained undecided on backing actor C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), though the Communist Party of India and the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DMK explores backing rival AIADMK in hung T.N. House
The postelection political climate in Tamil Nadu turned upside down on Thursday after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leadership began toying with the idea of extending outside support to its archrival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
T.N. Governor asks Vijay to give proof of majority
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar is learnt to have asked Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay, who on Wednesday evening staked claim to form the next government, to produce letters demonstrating support of 118 MLAs,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Won’t resign as we did not lose, it is a forcible attempt to defeat us, says Mamata
A day after her party suffered a massive setback in the Assembly election in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday she would not resign as Chief Minister as “we did not lose the election”. “The question does not...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Change and churn in Kerala, T.N., Bengal
Voters in Kerala delivered a decisive victory to the Congressled United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 2026 Assembly election, ending 10 years of Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule. Riding an antiincumbent wave, the UDF won 102 seats after counting of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Parties brace for verdict; EC promises transparency
The Election Commission on Sunday said it would uphold the “highest standards of transparency, security and efficiency” when votes polled in the elections to the Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry and the bypolls in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SC rejects Trinamool claim of bias by Central govt. staff
The Supreme Court on Saturday called it a “fallacy” nursed by the Trinamool Congress that West Bengal Government services’ employees owe allegiance to it and Central employees were loyal to or controlled by the party ruling the Centre. They are...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran vows to safeguard its nuclear capabilities
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that the country would “safeguard” its “nuclear and missile” capabilities and lay down new rules for managing the Strait of Hormuz, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said a blockade of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Heavy polling in Bengal Phase 2
There was a record turnout of 92.6% in the second and final phase of polling for the West Bengal Assembly election on Wednesday, amidst isolated incidents of unrest and violence. This is in tune with the record turnout in the first phase, where 93.19%...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Growth in industrial output at 5-month low of 4.1% in March
Growth in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) slowed to a fivemonth low of 4.1% in March 2026, the first month of data after the West Asia crisis began, pulled down by a nearhalving in construction sector growth rates and low growth in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
India, New Zealand sign ‘historic’ free trade deal
India and New Zealand on Monday signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Prime Ministers of both the countries hailed as a “historic” step towards deepening trade, investment, and peopletopeople ties. The FTA, signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump safe after shooting in Washington; man held
man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday night, charging toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
U.S. envoys not to travel to Pakistan, says Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had ordered his envoys not to travel to Pakistan to continue talks with Iranian officials on ending the war. “I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IsraelLebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks
Israel and Lebanon have extended their fragile ceasefire by three weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday after meeting representatives from both countries in Washington. “The Meeting went very well! The U.S. is going to work with...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
T.N., Bengal see massive turnout
Tamil Nadu made electoral history on Thursday as it recorded its highest polling percentage in an Assembly election — 85.15%. According to provisional figures, over 4.85 crore people voted from 7 a.m. in all the 234 Assembly constituencies to elect the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran seizes two ships hours after Trump extends truce
Iran has seized two vessels, one of them claimed to be affiliated with Israel, in the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was extending the ceasefire with...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sabarimala gold case: SIT speeds up inquiry into Dwarapalaka sculptures’ refurbishment
The Kerala High Courtappointed special investigation team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case has reportedly expedited its preliminary inquiry into whether the controversial removal and transport of goldplated copper overlays embellishing...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Thekkady in for a bleak tourist season as Periyar Lake’s water level plummets
As the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam drops to an alarming low, the tourism sector and drinking water projects in Thekkady are facing a serious crisis. According to officials, water from the Periyar lake — part of the Mullaperiyar reservoir — is...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
23 killed in explosion at fireworks factory near Virudhunagar in T.N.
In one of the deadliest accidents at a fireworks factory in Tamil Nadu in recent times, 23 workers were killed and eight injured in an explosion at Vanaja Fireworks Unit at Kattanarpatti near Virudhunagar on Sunday. A second explosion at the unit...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NDA will remove hurdles before women’s quota: PM
Aday after the government failed to secure passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which sought to redistribute Lok Sabha seats on the basis of the 2011 Census to expedite the implementation of women’s reservation, Prime Minister Narendra...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Soaring consumption: KSEB proposes TAM option, seeks regulatory commission’s nod
With electricity consumption soaring in the State this April, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is exploring more effective power procurement options for bridging peakhour power deficits in the coming weeks. Specifically, the KSEB is looking...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
South’s seat share won’t be cut, say PM and Amit Shah
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that the Bills to amend the women’s reservation law and carry out a fresh delimitation exercise will keep current proportional representation of southern...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Centre moots inter-State redistribution of Lok Sabha seats based on 2011 Census
States that have stabilised their populations could see their share of representation in Parliament shrinking if proposals in the drafts of a Constitution Amendment Bill and a Delimitation Bill circulated by the Centre become law. The Budget Session...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SC raps EC on SIR ‘discrepancies’, says voting is a sentimental right
The Supreme Court on Monday told the Election Commission (EC) that the right to be on the electoral roll and to vote in one’s own country was not only constitutional but also sentimental. The top court was referring to lakhs of voters excluded for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran, U.S. blame each other as talks end without a deal
The United States and Iran ended facetoface talks in Pakistan on Sunday without an agreement, each side keeping the onus on the other without narrowing their differences and leaving a fragile twoweek ceasefire in the war in West Asia in doubt. U.S....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
U.S., Iran hold direct negotiations in Pakistan as fragile truce holds
The United States and Iran began facetoface negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday, days after a fragile, twoweek ceasefire was announced in the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets. The White House confirmed the direct...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SC to take up plea of Indians ‘forced’ to fight in Ukraine war
The Supreme Court on Friday decided to intervene on behalf of 26 persons “stuck” in Russia and made to fight in the Ukraine war “unwillingly”, indicating a “human trafficking” angle. A threejudge Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Record turnout in Puducherry, Assam; Kerala near all-time high
Incumbents express confidence after increased voter turnout There was record poll participation in the Assembly elections on Thursday, with the highestever voter turnout of 85.91% in Assam and 89.87% in Puducherry, crossing the previous highs of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fragile U.S.-Iran truce kicks in
The twoweek ceasefire announced by the U.S. and Iran hung in the balance on Wednesday with each side offering divergent accounts of its terms and Israel launching one of its heaviest air strikes on Lebanon since the war began, drawing swift...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Bengal electorate shrinks 12% as 27 lakh out after judicial reviews
Over 27 lakh West Bengal voters who were put under adjudication were excluded from the electoral rolls following the completion of the judicial reviews on Tuesday, with over a quarter of such deletions occurring in two Muslimdominated districts. In...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SC denies Bengal’s plea to delay locking of poll rolls
The Supreme Court on Monday declined the West Bengal government’s appeal to wait for a few more days before freezing the electoral roll so that many of the over 20 lakh voters, who could not pass the verification by judicial officers after being...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump hails airman rescue; Iran says U.S. assets blasted
AU.S. Air Force officer whose F15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down in Iran on Friday was rescued by U.S. Special Operations forces in “one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history” on Saturday night, President Donald...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Gherao of judicial officers in Bengal a challenge to SC: CJI
The Supreme Court on Thursday said a mob gherao of seven judicial officers, confining them without food or water for more than nine hours at a government office in Malda district of West Bengal, reportedly after several voters were struck off the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Commercial LPG, jet fuel rates up amid Iran crisis
Staterun oil marketing firms hiked the price of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders by more than 10% in major metro cities on Wednesday, while the price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was more than doubled for international air travel...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump blasts allies, tells them ‘go get your own oil’
U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at allies on Tuesday telling them to fend for themselves regarding oil supplies, adding to the pressure within the Western military alliance, NATO, whose members have not joined the U.S. and Israel in their war on...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
At central Travancore rally, Rahul pledges to raise rubber price to ₹250
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday took out a whirlwind tour of Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts, addressing election rallies organised by the United Democratic Front (UDF). The campaign trail, which began from Adoor in the morning, also saw...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BJP is the ‘A team’ of Kerala, says Modi at election campaign meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday intensified the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s campaign for the April 9 Kerala Assembly election with a sharp attack on both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition United Democratic Front...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
March economic data shows slowing growth
Economic indicators are beginning to show signs of slowing growth in response to the constraints created by the war in West Asia, the Ministry of Finance has said in a new report. The Monthly Economic Review for March, released on Saturday by the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Petrol, diesel excise duty cut; prices won’t change
The Union government on Thursday reduced the special additional excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 a litre each, effectively bringing down the duty on diesel to zero and on petrol to ₹3 a litre. However, the move will not translate into lower fuel...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran grants Hormuz passage to India and 4 other nations
India and four other “friendly nations” were allowed to move their ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, adding that Tehran has established its “sovereignty” over the waterway connecting the Persian Gulf...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran dismisses U.S. bid to end conflict, sets its own terms
Iran on Wednesday dismissed a U.S. proposal to end the war and set out its own terms for peace, even as it continued trading fire with Israel. The U.S. proposal offered a ceasefire and sanctions relief in return for the Islamic Republic abandoning its...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SC status only for Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs: top court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held in a judgment that a person professing any religion other than Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism should not be considered a member of a Schedule Caste community. The court concluded that conversion to any other religion...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump pauses strikes on Iran, says deal is possible
U.S. President Donald Trump, who issued a 48hour ultimatum to Iran on Saturday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power infrastructure, said on Monday that he would postpone the attacks for five days after “very good and productive”...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Will completely close Hormuz Strait: Iran after Trump’s threat
The Iranian military on Sunday threatened to completely shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz and attack U.S. infrastructure, including energy facilities in the Gulf, if U.S. President Donald Trump acts on threats to target the country’s power...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump mulls ending war; U.S. eases curbs on Iran oil
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he is considering “winding down” the war on Iran, adding that securing the Strait of Hormuz — now under Iran’s control — is the responsibility of other nations, even as Washington temporarily eased...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran steps up attacks on Israel, Gulf energy sites
Iran defiantly insisted on Friday that it would deny its enemies their security and that it was still building missiles nearly three weeks into U.S.Israeli strikes that have killed a slew of Tehran’s top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
K. Sudhakaran puts an end to his rebellion, to abide by Cong. decisions
After 48 hours of uncertainty that left the Congress party in Kerala on the edge ahead of a crucial Assembly election, senior Congress leader K. Sudhakaran, MP, on Thursday night put an end to a rebellion that he initiated after the All India Congress...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
22 India-bound ships on Hormuz evacuation list
Twentytwo Indiabound vessels in the Persian Gulf region have been identified for evacuation for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz by the Indian government. Of these, 20 vessels have been assessed as critical to India’s energy security,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Afghanistan says Pakistani attack in Kabul killed 400
Rescuers recovered more bodies from the rubble of a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul on Tuesday after officials said an overnight airstrike killed more than 400 people, in a dramatic escalation of a conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan that...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
India to sign U.S. deal only after clarity on tariff rates
India will sign a trade deal with the U.S. only after the country settles its “tariff architecture” and clarifies country-wise tariff rate, sources in the government have said. “Any deal that we finalise and sign has to be seen against the tariff...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Assembly polls begin on April 9; West Bengal to vote in two phases
Polling will be held in Assam, Puducherry, and Kerala on April 9 and in Tamil Nadu on April 23, while West Bengal will vote on April 23 and 29; poll panel announces byelections to eight Assembly seats in various States; counting of votes on May 4 The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
U.S. bombs Iran’s Kharg Island; Tehran hits back
Amissile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad of Iraq and debris from an intercepted Iranian drone hit an oil facility in the UAE on Saturday while U.S. President Donald Trump claimed military sites on an island vital to Iran’s...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Centre sets aside ₹57,381 cr. to offset ‘global headwinds’
Amid the $100perbarrel oil shock and fears of energy shortage and supply chain disruptions arising out of the West Asia conflict, the Centre has allocated ₹57,381 crore for an Economic Stabilisation Fund that would provide it fiscal space to address...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Crude supply secure, no shortage of fuel: Minister
There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation turbine fuel in the country, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday, adding that India’s crude oil supply has been secured amid the conflict in West...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran targets commercial ships; global energy concerns mount
Iran attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf and targeted Dubai International Airport in the UAE on Wednesday, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oilrich region as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Gas from new sources will end shortage, say officials
The current crunch in India’s natural gas supply is likely to be short-lived as the prevailing higher prices make imports from distant sources economically viable, according to government sources. However, such shipments typically take longer to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Conversations with Iran to continue: Jaishankar
The Indian government tried reaching out to the Iranian leadership after the U.S.Israel attack on February 28 killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but could not establish contact because of the ongoing conflict, External Affairs Minister...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
India routs New Zealand, defends T20 World Cup
India kept its date with cricketing history as Suryakumar Yadav’s men claimed the ICC T20 World Cup with a stirring display at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday. In a onesided summit clash against New Zealand, India’s batting might allied with...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran vows not to attack neighbours
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Tehran would no longer target its neighbouring countries in West Asia unless attacks originated from their territory. However, he vowed that Iran would not surrender in its war against the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)