This election is different. It is no longer simply about governance or welfare. It is about identity, fear, and who belongs. The BJP has successfully shifted the terms of the debate from what the government has delivered to who the real Bengali is and who is an outsider, points out Ramesh Menon.
Authorities in Mumbai are investigating an email threatening bomb attacks on key buildings, including the Vidhan Bhavan and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Security has been heightened, and officials are working to trace the origin of the threat.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
India's bid for a permanent seat in a reformed United Nations Security Council has received a strong support from many UN member states, including the UK and France, who emphasised that the the world body's top organ must reflect the emergence of new global powers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to continue targeting Iranian leaders, claiming recent successes in eliminating key figures. He asserted that Israel, with US support, aims to undermine the Iranian regime and empower the Iranian people.
China and Bhutan held the 15th Expert Group Meeting to discuss boundary alignment, focusing on areas where there are no disputes, and agreed to maintain the momentum of negotiations.
The Mumbai Police have requested the custody of gangster Anmol Bishnoi, younger brother of Lawrence Bishnoi, who was arrested by the NIA after being deported from the US. He is wanted in connection with several major crimes in Mumbai, including the killing of an NCP leader and a firing incident outside actor Salman Khan's residence.
The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the member states' names. According to the information released by the office of the UN spokesperson, India will assume the rotating presidency of the Council for the month of August next year.
Russia and China on Saturday condemned the United States airstrikes on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
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.
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning in January 2014.
'Nearly 80 of 85 JD-U MLAs are not in favour of a CM from the BJP.'
India's World Cup-winning captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, alongside International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, walked out at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, with the T20 World Cup trophy on Sunday.
'Pakistan's is the only military-controlled nuclear weapons programme in the world.' 'As people get radicalised, the risk of a brigadier or pilot taking matters into their own hands is a real concern.'
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
Delhi Police have arrested a Delhi University graduate and seized over 5,000 pirated NCERT textbooks from a godown in outer Delhi, dismantling a syndicate involved in the distribution of counterfeit educational material.
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Lin Jian, said on Wednesday that China supports Iran in maintaining its stability, adding that Beijing has always opposed the interference in other countries' internal affairs and the use of force in international relations.
President Donald Trump announced the US will strengthen the United Nations, ensure its viability, and provide financial assistance, while also asserting that his Board of Peace will oversee the global organization's operations.
West Indies players are leaving India on commercial flights in batches after their departure was delayed due to international airspace closures amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Caribbean side's governing body CWI said on Tuesday.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
'The White House lunch that Trump hosted for Munir last year came just after Munir returned from a visit to Iran, at a moment when Israel and Iran were at war.' 'Trump said after that lunch that the Pakistanis know Iran very well. He likely views Munir as a useful interlocutor that can give helpful insights on Iran.'
The Indian Defence Ministry has approved the procurement of weapons and military hardware worth Rs 2.38 crore, including S-400 missiles and medium transport aircraft, to bolster the Indian Air Force's capabilities.
An RLD MLC and four others have been booked for allegedly forging documents and attempting to grab land and extort money from a company in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
'We will make our case for India's candidature as permanent member of the UN Security Council, which is gaining increasing international support,' Dr Manmohan Singh.
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is facing logistical and contractual challenges as several overseas players withdraw to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which offers more lucrative contracts. The PCB is considering actions against players breaching contracts but fears deterring future talent.
India and Russia have called for an uncompromising global fight against terrorism without hidden agendas and double standards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the menace is a direct attack on the values of humanity.
The Maharashtra government has revoked provisional licences issued to motorbike aggregators like Rapido, Ola, and Uber due to non-compliance with the Maharashtra E-bike Taxi Rules 2024, including the mandatory use of electric vehicles and submission of required documents.
To be sure, Trump is furious, as the trajectory of the war is in a state of Zugzwang, as chess players call it. Trump and Netanyahu stare at two choices -- retreat in humiliation and concede Tehran's demands -- recognition of its rights, reparations, and binding security guarantees -- or perish in a quagmire, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Maharashtra government has announced a flexible work time initiative for women state government employees working in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The 'Come Early, Go Early' initiative will allow women employees flexible reporting times and earlier departure times.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is developing alternate flight plans for players and officials returning from the T20 World Cup following US strikes on Iran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is actively working to de-escalate the escalating crisis in the Gulf, engaging with regional leaders following Iran's retaliatory strikes on US facilities after joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
The IRGC said the barrage targeted several US military facilities in the region, including bases at Sheikh Isa in Bahrain, Juffair in Bahrain, Ali al-Salem in Kuwait and Al Azraq in Jordan.
The threat of wars hovers over the negotiations in Oman, but the good part is that Trump called the talks to be 'very good' and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian responded that they 'constitute a step forward', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticizes Pakistan's attempts to protect a terror group at the UN Security Council, highlighting the need for urgent reforms within the global body.
India on Wednesday said that mere "cosmetic changes" to the United Nations Security Council will not improve its effectiveness, asking its five permanent members to realise that the reform of the powerful body, including its expansion, is necessary to reflect contemporary realities.
Pakistan and China have submitted a joint bid at the UN Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide wing - Majeed Brigade - as a terrorist entity under the Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
