West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Agarwal, has refuted allegations of potential malpractices at counting centres, assuring that robust security measures are in place. This comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised concerns about possible tampering with EVMs.
TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest alleging irregular activities inside a strongroom housing EVMs in West Bengal, following concerns raised by Mamata Banerjee regarding EVM security.
Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, the Indian government has established a control room to provide crucial support and assistance to the nearly one crore Indian citizens residing in the region.
Due to airspace restrictions resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, Indian domestic carriers have cancelled 278 international flights. Some airlines are operating limited services and special flights to assist stranded passengers.
A 21-year-old woman was found dead in her room in New Ashok Nagar, Delhi. Police suspect suicide and are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.
A fire at the underground T2 Airport Metro Station in Mumbai caused a brief disruption to metro services and the evacuation of passengers. No injuries were reported, and normal operations have resumed.
Occasionally, the silence of the night shift would be shattered by an ear-splitting alarm: 'ALERT, ALERT... This is a security warning.' We were drilled to move away from the windows and avoid the lifts, recalls Krishna Kumar NP, a veteran Dubai-based journalist.
Delhi Police have registered a case of abetment to suicide and criminal conspiracy in connection with the death of a Delhi Judicial Services officer at his residence. The deceased, Aman Kumar Sharma, was found dead at his Safdarjung residence, with preliminary inquiry indicating death by hanging.
US President Donald Trump is inclined to reject Iran's latest diplomatic proposal, which suggests restoring maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz while deferring nuclear programme concerns, according to CNN. Concerns remain over Iran's nuclear enrichment and internal government fractures.
A Delhi Judicial Services officer, Aman Kumar Sharma, was found dead at his residence in Safdarjung. Family members have alleged harassment and raised questions about the circumstances surrounding his death. Police are investigating the case, with preliminary inquiries suggesting a possible suicide.
US President Donald Trump has renewed his call for a high-security ballroom at the White House, citing security concerns after a shooting incident near a journalists' dinner he attended.
28 Indian vessels carrying 778 seafarers are stranded in the Persian Gulf, prompting government monitoring and coordination to ensure their safety and security.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the Rajya Sabha on India's position regarding the escalating conflict in West Asia, emphasising the need for peace, dialogue, and the safety of civilians, while also prioritising India's energy security and trade interests.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran of potential escalation despite a recent ceasefire agreement, stating that US forces will remain in the region until a 'real agreement' is reached.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) released footage of a maritime operation where Marines boarded an Iranian-flagged vessel, the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman, leading to heightened tensions and threats of retaliation from Iran.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are actively pushing Trump to take the war to its bitter finish and 'erase' Iran's presence in the geopolitics of the region. Simply put, the two most powerful Sunni Arab oligarchies are on the same page as Israel. Such interference increases the risk of a breakdown in dialogue between the US and Iran, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US blockade on Iranian ports is aimed to curb Iranian energy exports, thereby crippling its economy to force Iran back to the negotiating table, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Tensions escalate between Iran and the US following an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman, with both sides trading accusations over maritime security and ceasefire violations.
A 34-year-old labourer died after a drunken scuffle with co-workers at the Ghazipur poultry market in east Delhi. Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the case.
The question is whether the clocks allow enough time for two deeply mistrustful sides to get there, and whether the surface calm holds long enough for the paddling to produce something before the ceasefire ends on April 22, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the number of Indians exiting Iran through Armenia and Azerbaijan has increased since the previous update.
A poor monsoon could drag overall economic growth and compound the impact of the West Asia conflict on the Indian economy.
Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely navigated the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring continued cooking gas supply to India amidst regional conflict. These tankers are expected to reach Indian shores soon, following the successful transit of previous vessels.
US President Donald Trump welcomed Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team to the White House on Thursday as he boasted about the United States' ongoing operation in Iran.
Delhi Police have arrested a 24-year-old Delhi University student for allegedly strangling a woman to death in a hotel room in Old Delhi after she pressured him to marry her.
A fire broke out at a five-storey guest house in Gurugram, India, trapping several residents. Emergency services and locals successfully rescued all those trapped, averting a major tragedy.
A Mumbai court acquitted five Haryana police personnel and two others in the alleged fake encounter of gangster Sandeep Gadoli in 2016, citing the prosecution's failure to prove murder and other charges.
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Gurugram police have dismantled a cyber-fraud racket with links to the Philippines and Cambodia, arresting five individuals involved in the use and distribution of illegal SIM boxes.
America's population and its media and its democratic structures seem fine with this, which is why Trump continues as he does, asserts Aakar Patel.
Two Indian ships carrying liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from the Gulf countries crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday morning, raising the number of Indian vessels safely passing through the war-hit, narrow shipping lane to three.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
An Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, Jag Laadki, safely sailed from the UAE's Fujairah port despite an attack on the terminal and is scheduled to reach India. The Indian government is working to ensure the safe passage of remaining Indian-flagged vessels in the region.
The clock on the ceasefire is running out. But everyone's already whispering about round two, possibly as soon as this weekend.
A Thai cargo vessel was struck by missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, leaving three crew members missing and prompting a rescue operation by the Royal Navy of Oman.
'Nitish Kumar may be marginalised as an office-holder, but that is not the same thing as the disappearance of Nitish Kumar's politics.'
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
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