Publication

US and Iran reach deal to end war, reopen Hormuz

US President donald trump said on Monday a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to end the war in the Gulf has already been signed by the United States and iran, drawing calls from his opponents to

Trade to AI: India, France set new targets

A MECHANISM to double annual bilateral trade from the existing $16 billion in five years; an india-france innovation roadmap 2030; a joint working group focussed on Ai (artificial intelligence) governance; an economic security dialogue; increased...

As Modi, Trump head to G7, face-off over death of sailors

AS PRIME minister Narendra modi and Us President Donald Trump head to the G7 summit in evian-les-bains in eastern France for a possible meeting and discussion on trade, their first in over a year after the slide in bilateral ties, india and the Us...

At crash site, families and friends sift for memories and a life that once was

SITA PATNI and Amanda donaghey sat beside each other at the foot of the burnt shells of the medical college hostel buildings on Friday, grieving for their sons. Donaghey, a British national, held a collage of her son’s photographs that read “Memories...

Trump calls off Iran strikes, claims progress in talks towards a deal

PRESIDENT DONALD trump called off plans for renewed Us military strikes on iran at the last minute on thursday, saying negotiations with tehran had advanced to the highest levels of iran's leadership and had been approved by a broad coalition of...

From Liberation to Ragtime, Tony winners take a turn towards social themes

New York, June 8 Schmigadoon! won the Tony Award for best musical on Sunday, while more socially driven works dominated other top categories, with Liberation taking best play, Ragtime best musical revival and John lithgow best leading actor for giant....

With Coward, Lukas Dhont delivers a striking new trench warfare romance

When you think of the war in the trenches during the first World War, the images that come to mind are that of mud trampled under a million boots, young soldiers hunkered down just below the enemy sightline in the cold and damp, never knowing when it...

Gujarat murder convict who did films with Big B, Aamir, Mohanlal held after 12 yrs

he WAS convicted of murder in 2008, and six years later, he jumped parole and vanished. For a decade or more, hemant nagindas purshottamdas modi hid in plain sight, seemingly not recognised by anyone — including the millions who watched him in several...

Trade, corridor, defence: Rome, Delhi upgrade ties

ELEVATING their bilateral ties to a “special strategic partnership”, india and italy Wednesday set a trade target of 20 billion euros by 2029, agreed on a defence industrial roadmap, and concluded pacts on critical minerals, countering money laundering...

Miss Pune, promising actor, MBA graduate: The Twisha Sharma story

SIX MONTHS before her death, Twisha Sharma (33) was posting photographs from office meetings, film sets and airports, a life stitched together from modelling assignments, corporate presentations and the optimism of a recent marriage. Twisha moved...

‘Bail the rule’: SC questions its own order in Umar Khalid case

CITING an earlier judgment that the stringent bail provisions under the Unlawful activities (Prevention) act (Uapa) would “melt down” in cases where prolonged incarceration and delayed trial “produce violation of article 21”, a two-judge bench of the...

As rupee stares at 100 to a $, policymakers engage with a lesson from just three years ago

AS THE West Asia crisis continues to put pressure on the capital account, internal deliberations among policymakers in delhi and Mumbai over the last few weeks have underlined the counter effects of “artificial stabilisation” of the rupee that preceded...

Day after High Court verdict, disputed Dhar complex wears ‘Hindu’ colours

less than 24 hours after more than 2,000 people gathered at the Bhojshala-kamal maula mosque complex here to offer namaz, its transformation into an exclusively hindu religious place has begun. on saturday, marigold garlands hung from the carved stone...

‘Hijab doesn’t need politics or permission… we are happy for those after us’

Once they were schoolgirls. then, they became the face of a fight they would rather not have fought. Four long years and several promises later, the Karnataka government’s withdrawal of the order that in 2022 effectively barred wearing of hijab in...

Ministry’s special fund is for top athletes, bureaucrats dip into it to upgrade their own sports facilities

l tucked inside new Moti bagh, an upscale residential complex in Lutyens’ delhi where many of India’s top bureaucrats live, children slice through the water in a temperature-controlled pool beneath a transparent canopy. nearby, a teenager drills...

NEET-UG scrapped over paper leak, govt orders fresh exam, cbi probe

In a move affecting over 22 lakh candidates, the national testing agency (nta) tuesday cancelled the neet-ug exam for admission to undergraduate medical courses, nine days after it was held on May 3, following an alleged paper leak — the first time...

Second day, PM makes austerity push, invokes Covid-era habits

With no signs of an immediate end to the conflict in West asia, Prime Minister narendra Modi Monday again urged government and private offices to revert to ‘Covid-era’ habits such as work-from-home and virtual meetings, and asked citizens to opt for...

Iran no closer to ending war as US waits for a response from Tehran

A STATE of relative calm prevailed around the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, after days of sporadic flare-ups, as the US waited for Iran’s response to its latest proposals to end more than two months of fighting and begin peace talks. US Secretary of...

US and Iran inch closer to short-term deal to end war

THE UNITED States and Iran are edging toward a temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with Tehran reviewing a proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved. Iran’s...

Suvendu’s key aide shot dead as post-poll violence rocks Bengal

the situation in West Bengal, rocked by post-poll violence following the BJP’S landslide victory that ended 15 years of tmc rule, took a serious turn Wednesday night when chandranath Rath, executive assistant to BJP leader suvendu Adhikari, was shot...

Suvendu frontrunner for Bengal cm, swearing-in likely on May 9

giant-killer suvendu adhikari, who spearheaded the BJP’S ground offensive in West Bengal that breached the tmc citadel to end Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule, has emerged as the frontrunner for the post of chief Minister. Hailing the party’s election...

BJP wave sinks Mamata, Vijay rides Tamil tide

STORMING the last Opposition citadel in the east, the BJP Monday trounced the ruling TMC in West Bengal to end Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule and returned to power in Assam with a landslide win for a third consecutive term. Banerjee was among the...

Results today, all eyes on Bengal

For Both the BJP and the opposition, the election results in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, assam, and Kerala on Monday carry the potential of causing a churn within the parties themselves as well as reshaping the contours of national politics, with the...

Rs 2 lakh to 0 to Rs 2 lakh: A demonetisation story ends on happy note after a decade

THIS IS one demonetisation story that has a happy ending — though after a decade of waiting. Girish Rameshchandra Malani of Pune, who could not convert Rs 2 lakh in old notes of Rs 500 denomination as the money was seized on a charge that was later...

Polls over, energy prices soaring due to West Asia crisis, fuel rate hike on table

WITH INTERNATIONAL oil and fuel prices persisting at supernormal levels in the international market due to the west asia crisis and polling in state elections over, a hike in prices of fuels like petrol, diesel and domestic LPG could be in the offing...

Guard EVM strong rooms, exit polls fixed, Mamata tells party

a day after polling concluded in West Bengal and most exit polls gave the opposition BJP the edge, TMC chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged party workers and people of the state to guard strong rooms where electronic Voting Machines (evms)...

The votes are in: West Bengal’s overall turnout a record 92.5%

the High-stakes battle between the ruling TMC and opposition BJP for control of West Bengal ended Wednesday with the state witnessing a record voter turnout of 91.66% in the second and final phase of polling for 142 Assembly seats in the House of...

Final round today, ec adds 1,468 names to voter list after 139 in Ph-1

JUST BEFORE the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on Wednesday, 1,468 names were added back to the electoral roll. In the case of six, the tribunals said their names cannot be included. However, there is no clarity on the overall...

Cement and cars coming in, apple baskets going out: Freight supplies hit high gear on Kashmir’s rail link

On april 22, milk became the latest commodity to be transported to anantnag over the railway link to the valley opened in July last year, arriving from linch railway Station in ahmedabad Division. Data shows that between august 2025 and march 2026,...

Close call for Trump as gunman opens fire near his event venue

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington by Secret Service agents Saturday night after a man opened fire on security personnel nearby. The man fired a...

In major setback to AAP, seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPS cross over to BJP

STUNNED BY the exit of seven of their 10 Rajya Sabha members, AAP insiders said Friday they were aware of a storm brewing for the last “week to ten days” following the party decision to remove Raghav Chadha, one of its most visible faces, as the AAP...

92.9% Bengal, 85.1% TN

Over 96% polling in Bengal seat with highest SIR deletions in Phase 1 BOTH WEST Bengal (first phase) and Tamil Nadu recorded their highest-ever voter turnouts in the Assembly elections on Thursday. In West Bengal, where 152 of the total 294 Assembly...

‘Won’t achieve goals by bullying’: Iran says US violating ceasefire

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump called off attacks on Iran with no sign of peace talks restarting. Trump maintained the US Navy blockade of Iran's trade by sea, and Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said a full ceasefire...

Battlelines drawn: Campaign draws to an end in Tamil Nadu, first phase of Bengal

ON THE final day of campaigning in Tamil Nadu, when veteran leaders were moving through familiar constituencies and party machines were settling into their closing routines, the state’s most unpredictable candidate closed as he had opened: as...

To delete voters, EC cites ‘logical discrepancy’. Why this defies logic

• SUKLA HAZRA, 55, has her name in the electoral roll of 2002, when an Intensive Revision was held by the Election Commission in West Bengal, and holds a passport valid till December 2028. • Amiran Begum Ali, 56, and daughters-in-law Arifa Begum...

Sending team to Pak for talks, take deal or face attacks: Trump to Iran

IRAN REJECTED new peace talks with the United States, its state news agency reported on Sunday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he was sending envoys for talks in Pakistan and would launch new strikes on Iran unless it accepts his...

Theatre Takes an Epic Turn

With grand sets and costumes, soaring music and spectacle, mythologies and epics have taken over the stage, commanding attention usually reserved for films

Opposition stands, women’s Bill falls

IN THE first major legislative loss for the Modi government since it came to power in 2014, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeking to advance reservation of 33% seats for women in an expanded Lok Sabha and state Assemblies and...

Govt plan: Keep south share unchanged in LS, list each state’s new count in ‘schedule’

THE GOVERNMENT will most likely bring on thursday a ‘schedule’ in Parliament to clearly specify the number of Lok Sabha seats for each state, and this will show that the percentage share of each state in the Lok Sabha’s total strength is the same as it...

Six ships turned around as part of Hormuz blockade, says US military

NO SHIPS have made it past a US naval blockade of Iran's ports and coastal areas, and six merchant ships have followed orders to turn back, the US military said on Tuesday, providing the first details on a day-old effort ordered by President Donald...

If win margin 2%, deletions 15%... what will happen: SC

CALLING THE right to vote the “biggest expression of nationality and patriotism...in a democratic government”, the Supreme Court Monday raised questions on the exclusion of voters in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and flagged...

Rs 1.5 lakh a shot, ‘magic’ cancer drug leaked from top hospitals, fakes sold to desperate patients

ONE OF the world’s fastest growing cancer populations and one of the world’s most powerful and pricey cancer drugs intersect in a story set in a modest house in Punjab. In early 2022, a 56-year-old woman near Chandigarh began treatment for liver...

A Toast to Better Times

Nashik may have given India a taste of the Napa Valley but beyond the scenic charm and weekend crowds lies another story — of Indian wineries still fighting for a place at the table

Islamabad turns into fortress for peace talks between Iran and US

PAKISTAN'S INTERIOR minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday reviewed the security arrangements in Islamabad ahead of the arrival of the Iranian and US delegations for peace talks aimed to end the conflict in West Asia. The US and Iran agreed to a two-week...

Beirut digs for survivors, counts the dead as toll from ‘deadliest’ strikes rises to 303

AMBULANCES ARRIVING at a Beirut hospital on Thursday bypassed the emergency room and drove straight to the morgue, where exhausted medics unloaded a succession of bags of body parts for relatives to identify before burial. Nearly 24 hours after...

In fabric hub Surat, labour exit adds to raw material crisis, output halved

TWO WEEKLY offs, no night shifts and community kitchens. Surat, the hub of man-made fibre industry in the country, is struggling to keep the wheels turning as the West Asia war squeezes it from both ends. While rising raw material prices have hit...

Eye on ‘third coming’, Pinarayi spends last stretch of campaign in his own seat

AT MYLULLIMOTTA village, election posters hanging from coconut trunks and plastered onto roadside walls all say one thing: “Moonnam varavu (the third coming).” The posters carry the image of the man who wants to make a third term, for both him and the...

Dhurandhar sweeps

BOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER Dhurandhar swept the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 with 14 wins at a glittering ceremony on Sunday, including Best Actor (Male) for Ranveer Singh, Best Director for Aditya Dhar and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) for Akshaye...

First time, Iran downs US jet, one of two crew rescued

A US fighter jet has been shot down over Iran and searchand-rescue efforts have so far recovered one of two crew members who ejected, a US official told Reuters Friday, in the first known incident of its kind in the nearly five-week-old war. The...

‘It’s phenomenal’: Astronauts thrilled by views of Earth

Four Astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on nasa's Artemis ii mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the boldest step yet by the us toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China....

Europe pushes back on US military Ops as concerns over Iran war rise

FRANCE AND Italy have joined Spain in pushing back on US-ISraeli military operations, sources said on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump singled out NATO allies in Europe as unhelpful in the monthlong war, highlighting divisions. The decisions came...

Turkey says NATO defences down 4th Iran missile entering airspace

A BALLISTIC missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by NATO air and missile defences deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey’s defence ministry said on Monday. The incident marked the fourth such incident since...

‘Waiting’: Iran warns US against ground ops, more Marines arrive

IRAN SAID it was ready to respond to any US ground attack, accusing Washington of preparing a land assault while seeking talks, as regional powers met in Pakistan Sunday to try to bring the two sides together. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer...

Chef Prateek Sadhu on soul cooking

Lebanon: Israel strikes key bridge, orders demolitions

ISRAEL STRUCK a main bridge linking Lebanon's south to the rest of the country on Sunday after ordering its military to destroy all crossings over Lebanon’s Litani River and to step up the demolition of homes near the southern border. The destruction...

Iran fires two long-range missiles at Diego Garcia, says its Natanz n-site hit

PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said the US was considering “winding down” its military operation against Iran, as Iran and Israel traded attacks Saturday and Iranian media said the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had been attacked. Iran fired two...

Iran strikes Gulf energy facilities, shock waves hit global economy

IRAN INTENSIFIED its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf Thursday, raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy. The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on South Pars, a key Iranian...

Israel intensifies strikes on Beirut; Iran seeks new Hormuz protocol

ISRAEL STEPPED up airstrikes on Beirut on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and destroying a 10-storey building near the city centre in the third week of its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanese authorities said. In a further escalation,...

On the table: Global media outreach proposal with IIS officers in foreign missions

AIMING TO directly engage with media across the world, project India’s growth story and counter adverse narratives, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has proposed to create a new global outreach unit within the Press Information...

Trump: Some countries not eager to help unblock Strait

PRESIDENT DONALD Trump on Monday repeated his call to nations to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, and complained that some were not very enthusiastic about providing help to Washington. Trump wants nations to help police the strait after Iran...