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The Supreme Court is scheduled on Thursday to hear a joint petition by Opposition leaders, led by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, challenging the Election Commission's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The petitioners are seeking full disclosure of the "files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections" recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in connection with the exercise, which has so far deleted around 13 crore voters across India. The hearing lands at the peak of a political confrontation over the revision. Demonstrations against the SIR and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered their fifth straight day in Delhi on Wednesday, with hundreds...

New Delhi: A Delhi court has issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in an eight-year-old criminal defamation case filed by Vikas Pandey over a video titled 'BJP IT Cell Part 2', with the influencer now physically served at his residence in Gurugram. The order and the case Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket District Court passed the order on October 12. In it, the court acknowledged prolonged attempts to serve summons on Rathee, who ordinarily resides in Austria, and permitted fresh summons through dasti service, allowing the complainant to accompany the process server. The matter will next be heard on October 17. The case relates to the complainant's allegation that the 2018 video was defamatory. Proceedings against...

New Delhi: Around 267 Indian nationals have joined the Russian armed forces, of whom 51 have reportedly died and 139 have been discharged, according to a status report submitted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The report, filed on October 12, says the Indian government and the Indian Ambassador in Moscow are following up with Russian authorities to establish the whereabouts of 77 Indian nationals, seven of whom have been confirmed missing by Russian authorities, according to a report by Live Law cited by News18. Voluntary enlistment for monetary benefits flagged The government has also flagged instances of Indians willingly seeking military recruitment for monetary benefits, in the belief that they could later secure their...

Ukraine on Wednesday accused the United States of helping Russia by withholding advance warning of incoming missile strikes and hobbling Kyiv's battlefield communications, as heavy overnight Russian strikes killed at least six people and cut power across large parts of the capital. The strikes on multiple regions came hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had received no advance warning from Western allies before a Russian strike on a Kyiv power plant. Six dead, power cut across Kyiv Ukrainian authorities said at least six people were killed in the overnight strikes. A strike on a multi-storey building in Kyiv's Desnianskyi district killed two people, while another in Golosiivsky killed one, the state emergency...

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹53,428 crore outlay for the continuation of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The decision, taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Department of Rural Development's proposal, is expected to benefit 3.20 crore people across all 36 States and Union Territories. The programme will be renamed the 'Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana', with its pension and family benefit components renamed as well, according to the official statement. Disability pension overhauled The sharpest change is to the disability pension. The benchmark disability required to qualify has been cut from 80 per cent to 40 per cent, and the...

New Delhi: Delhi Police detained the parents of Ankita Bhandari around 4 am on Thursday, October 15, 2026, during their overnight sit-in protest at India Gate, and released them around 5 am, according to police sources cited by The Hindu and The Indian Express. The parents have been holding the sit-in to demand that the appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim be put on hold pending the completion of the CBI investigation into the alleged VIP angle in Ankita's murder case. Gautam, a former Uttarakhand BJP in-charge, was appointed Sikkim Governor on Monday, October 12, 2026. The family's demand is that the appointment be kept in abeyance or revoked until the CBI probe is complete. Allegations raised by the...

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh School Education Department has released a short notification announcing 2,721 tentative teacher vacancies under the AP Teacher Recruitment Test (APTRT) 2026, conducted through the District Selection Committee (DSC) process. The detailed notification, carrying eligibility rules, application dates and the exam schedule, is expected on or before November 3, 2026. The short notification was issued on October 13, 2026, formally starting the recruitment cycle for teaching and related posts across the state's school system. As in previous cycles, the selection process will be an objective-type computer-based test, with applications accepted online through the official portal tet2dsc.apcfss.in. Post-wise vacancy...

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission to conduct elections to the state's Panchayati Raj institutions within three months, setting a hard deadline for grassroots polls in India's most populous state. A division bench of Justices Ajit Kumar and Garima Prashad passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Dashrath Yadav and others. The verdict was delivered in open court on Wednesday evening after a hearing that ran for three hours. Outgoing pradhans remain as administrators The court declined to interfere with the state government's order of May 25, 2026, issued under Section 12(3-A), which appointed outgoing gram pradhans as administrators until the new elections...

North Korea has test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles in the sea off its east coast, state media reported on Thursday, as Pyongyang pushes ahead with efforts to build a sea-based leg of its weapons programme. What state media said The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the country's Missile Administration conducted the launches on Wednesday, October 14, into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. Senior military officers observed the tests alongside naval engineers specialising in underwater weapons systems. KCNA said the launches were aimed at checking the operational readiness of underwater combat systems and demonstrating the reliability of the country's war deterrents, adding that the...

Punjab is observing a bandh on Thursday, October 15, called by anti-narcotic activists to protest the killing of activist Parminder Singh Jhota, who was shot dead in Mansa earlier this week. With crowds converging on Mansa and police erecting barricades across the town, the shutdown is expected to hit intercity travel, bus services and daily activity hardest in the region. Why the bandh was called Activists called for people to gather in Mansa to condemn Jhota's killing and demand action against his killers, who remain at large. Congress state president Pargat Singh visited Mansa on Wednesday to offer condolences to the bereaved family, and political and anti-narcotic activists have been arriving in the town in large numbers. Police...

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has called on supporters to gather with the national tricolour at Central Park in Delhi's Connaught Place on Friday, October 16, escalating the party's ongoing agitation over the arrest of its two co-convenors. In a post on X on Wednesday, Dipke urged "patriots" to reach Central Park at 5 pm on October 16 with the national flag, using the slogan "Lehra do Tiranga". Those unable to reach Delhi, he said, should take out tricolour marches in their own cities in the evening. He added that he feared he too could be jailed after the demonstration. Custody of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka The call came the same day a Special Executive Magistrate sent CJP co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that "massive" oil, gas and mineral exploration is set to begin in Greenland, reviving the controversy around the Arctic island that has strained relations with Denmark and NATO allies. Trump's claim "Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Citing unnamed experts, he claimed the amount of easily available oil there is greater than in almost any land in the world. He framed the island's strategic value as "second to none," writing that any future attack on the United States would have to come across Greenland, where US defences would "routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form...

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the central government to respond to a public interest plea challenging the decision to make biometric Aadhaar authentication compulsory for domestic LPG consumers who want refills at the regulated retail price with the applicable subsidy from October 1. Court issues notice, gives two weeks for reply A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma issued notices to the central government, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board and public sector oil marketing companies, giving them two weeks to file their responses. The court listed the matter for the next hearing on November 18. The PIL has been filed by Pulkit Luthra, a practising lawyer with 75 per cent...

Netflix is cutting about 6% of its workforce, or roughly 1,000 jobs, in its largest round of layoffs since 2022, as the streaming giant grapples with intensifying competition for viewers and advertising dollars. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the cuts were communicated through an internal email sent to employees. The move marks the company's most significant workforce reduction since 2022, when it cut hundreds of jobs amid slowing growth and subscriber losses. A tougher streaming battlefield Netflix employed about 16,000 full-time workers at the end of last year. The layoffs reflect the pressure building across the media industry, where legacy entertainment companies are consolidating and YouTube is steadily...

The Supreme Court has directed Indian Railways to extend travel insurance coverage to every ticket sold at station counters across the country, with the order taking effect from October 27, 2026. The directive brings offline ticket buyers on a par with passengers who book online and already receive insurance on payment of a nominal additional amount. What the court ordered A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan passed the order on October 6 while hearing a case concerning passenger safety. The bench said that within two weeks — by October 27 — all tickets sold over the counter at all railway stations must be covered by insurance in the same manner as tickets purchased online. The court made it explicit that the...

The Enforcement Directorate has seized India-based assets worth Rs 2,032.81 crore belonging to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power Limited, escalating a long-running foreign-exchange investigation into one of the country's most closely watched corporate probes. The central agency said on Wednesday that the seized assets include the company's bank balances and its shareholding in Sasan Power Limited. The value of the assets, it said, is equivalent to foreign exchange allegedly held outside India in contravention of Section 4 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The seizure order, issued on October 12, was passed under Section 37A of FEMA. How the probe began The investigation started on information received from the Securities and...

A Sri Lankan worker who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a Facebook comment has had the sentence overturned by the kingdom's highest court, bringing a major reprieve in a case that drew international concern and weeks of diplomatic effort. Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra announced on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court had set aside the death penalty imposed on 27-year-old Anojan Sivarasa, crediting sustained diplomatic and legal work by the Sri Lankan government and thanking Saudi authorities for their cooperation. From jail term to death row Sivarasa's ordeal began late in June, when footage circulated online of a young Muslim man kicking a dog near Hindu pilgrims in Sri Lanka. The video set...

An Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur on Wednesday morning after the pilot transmitted the internationally recognised hijack-alert transponder code, triggering an emergency response and a probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Flight AI-2030, operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, landed safely at Jaipur International Airport at around 9:35 am and was moved to a designated isolation bay for security checks. According to DGCA sources cited by local media, the aircraft was squawking code 7500 — the transponder signal used to indicate hijacking or unlawful interference — which was picked up by Ahmedabad air traffic control while the plane was in the Mumbai flight information region. Delhi...

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a productivity-linked bonus equivalent to 78 days' wages for 11,40,770 non-gazetted railway employees, involving a total payout of Rs 2,009.61 crore. The decision, taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, means eligible staff will receive the bonus ahead of the Durga Puja and Dussehra holidays, continuing the annual festive-season practice. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the bonus recognises the contribution of railway staff to the national transporter's operational performance and is intended to motivate employees to keep improving efficiency. The maximum amount payable to each eligible employee will be Rs 17,951 for the 78-day period. Who is eligible...

Kyiv: Russian ballistic missiles struck energy facilities in Kyiv overnight and into Wednesday morning, killing at least one person and injuring another, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said — a fresh wave of attacks on Ukraine's power grid that came days after US President Donald Trump announced what he described as an "energy ceasefire". The attack was still ongoing during the morning hours, Klitschko said. Reuters witnesses heard multiple explosions across the Ukrainian capital as air defences repelled the overnight attacks. The fresh strikes follow a sustained Russian campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure as temperatures begin to cool ahead of the heating season. A weekend truce claim, then strikes The attacks follow a...