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Maharashtra has decided that both attempts of the 2027 state Common Entrance Test for engineering and pharmacy courses will be held after the Class 12 board examinations, scrapping the earlier plan to conduct the first attempt in December 2026. What changed The state's higher and technical education department said the decision followed consultations with parents, students, admission counsellors and educationists, who raised concerns that the first attempt, likely in December, was too close to the Class 12 board examinations. A CET Cell official said representations pointed out that candidates would struggle to manage preparation for both exams together. Under the original plan, the first attempt was scheduled for December 2026 and...

Nepal's president has issued an ordinance shortening the waiting period to legally declare missing disaster victims dead from 12 years to about 45 days, as more than 5,000 people remain unaccounted for after the Himalayan country's devastating August 26 flood. The catastrophic flood, triggered by a mountain and glacier collapse on the China-Nepal border, sent tsunami-like floodwaters through several districts, destroying roads, bridges and hydropower dams and killing more than 1,400 people. Over a month after the disaster, more than 5,000 people are still missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals. Why the law had to change Under prior Nepalese law, a person had to be missing for 12 years before they could be legally declared...

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will lay the foundation stone of the Indian Council of Medical Research's first dedicated centre for high-altitude medicine and public health research at Keylong in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district on Monday, according to an official statement released on Sunday. The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research, called ICMR-CHAMP, will be the first facility of its kind under the Department of Health Research, the government said. It is designed to strengthen multidisciplinary research, biomedical innovation and capacity building for India's high-altitude and climate-sensitive Himalayan regions. Why the mountains need their own research centre The government's...

Malicious use of artificial intelligence, including bioweapons, and nuclear conflict followed by nuclear famine carry risks of extinction within the next 75 years, a new global risk assessment published in The Lancet has warned — though the experts behind it stress that the likelihood of such scenarios remains low. 17 threats, one interconnected list The Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Threats to Health, a panel of 35 leaders spanning health, economics, security, governance and technology, identified 17 major threats to human health over the coming 75 years. AI misuse and nuclear conflict top the list for existential risk; the other 15 include air pollution, antimicrobial resistance, childhood malnutrition, the climate crisis...

Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has said the United States has made no official offer to sell F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets to India, clarifying the distinction between speculation and a formal proposal while sharing the stage with a top American commander at the closing of the multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti-2026 in Jodhpur on Saturday. The remark that drew laughter Asked whether Washington had formally offered the stealth jet, the Indian Air Force chief quipped: "Your people don't even let us go near the aircraft, and you are talking about selling it to us." He was sharing the dais with General Kevin Schneider, Commander of the US Pacific Air Forces. Singh later said the remark was a joke and should not be taken seriously...

Tension gripped three hill districts of Manipur on Sunday as the death toll in a fresh round of clashes between Naga and Kuki communities rose to nine, including a woman, officials said. Toll triples since Friday The deaths, reported on Friday and Saturday, included six Nagas, two Kukis and a Gorkha farmer — making the latest outbreak one of the deadliest episodes of violence in Manipur this year, according to officials cited by IANS. No fresh incidents were reported on Sunday in the three affected districts: Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi. The violence erupted after a 42-year-old woman, identified by police as Domkhonei Touthang, a mother of five, was killed in Chassad village in Kamjong district on Friday night. She sustained a...

Laboratory testing of groundwater at Ambad in Maharashtra's Nashik has found acute toxic contamination, with levels of the cancer-linked toxin hexavalent chromium more than 1,000 times higher than safety limits — raising alarm ahead of the Kumbh Mela, which will draw millions of pilgrims to the city. Bright yellow borewell water The findings come from the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), which said in a press note released on October 8 that residential borewell water in Ambad had turned bright yellow. The accredited laboratory analysis found hexavalent chromium at 50.3 mg/L against the Bureau of Indian Standards' drinking water limit of 0.05 mg/L — over a thousand times the permissible level. Hexavalent...

Islamabad: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday declared a state of emergency in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and suspended its provincial government, the last administration in the country run by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party. The dramatic move places the province under federal oversight and strips the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of its final governing foothold in the country. How the emergency was imposed Earlier on Sunday, the federal cabinet held a special meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and recommended emergency rule, accusing the provincial government of a "deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism." Zardari then issued the proclamation under...

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday turned down a request from Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for a meeting on Monday, October 12, dealing a setback to the INDIA bloc's plan to hand him a memorandum on the Election Commission row. The CJI's office confirmed to The Hindu that the request for a meeting had been "declined with reasons" and said a response had been sent to Gandhi's official email. Why the meeting was declined Sources told The Hindu the meeting was declined because the issues the Opposition intended to raise were already sub judice before the Supreme Court. In addition, the court cannot intervene in matters of governance and the functioning of the state on its administrative side. According to...

A US fighter jet disabled a commercial cargo ship attempting to breach Washington's naval blockade of Iran, while a tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being struck by an unknown projectile — a volatile Sunday of fresh incidents in the vital Gulf waterway. US strike on the Ocean Molika The US Central Command said on Sunday that one of its fighter jets struck the stern of the Panama-flagged Ocean Molika, also known as the Arika Sun, with a precision munition on Saturday. According to CENTCOM, the vessel's crew ignored repeated warnings and the ship had previously departed an Iranian port. The strike disabled the ship's propulsion, and no crew members were harmed. Washington resumed its blockade of vessels entering or...

New Delhi — The Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board has invited online applications for 641 vacancies across Delhi government departments, offering openings for candidates with Class 10, graduate, and typing or shorthand qualifications. Applications opened on October 6 and will close on November 4, 2026. The posts on offer include Senior Personal Assistant, Personal Assistant, Junior Judicial Assistant, Process Server, and Peon, Orderly and Dak Peon positions in various departments. Vacancy breakup The notification lists 206 vacancies for Personal Assistant, 174 for Junior Judicial Assistant, 142 for Peon, Orderly and Dak Peon, 92 for Process Server and 27 for Senior Personal Assistant, totalling 641 posts. Eligibility and...

US President Donald Trump said the United States could end its military involvement in Iran immediately but would not do so without guarantees that Tehran would never acquire nuclear weapons, even as he suggested the seven-month conflict could soon come to an end. Trump made the remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Saturday night after returning from a campaign rally in Tennessee, according to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). 'We have to guarantee that' Asked why he would not declare victory after claiming that American military operations had prevented Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Trump said the United States needed to ensure the threat did not re-emerge. "Because I have to keep it that way. I don't want to do...

An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Chennai was diverted to Hyderabad on Sunday after smoke was detected coming from a passenger's personal electronic device, the airline said. The aircraft landed safely and the crew brought the situation under control without any evacuation. IndiGo flight 6E 6115, operating the Delhi–Chennai sector on October 11, 2026, was rerouted after smoke was noticed onboard, the airline said in a statement. The cabin crew acted promptly and the flight touched down at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, where IndiGo said arrangements were being made for an alternate aircraft to carry passengers onward to Chennai. In its statement, the airline said it regretted the inconvenience caused to its customers by...

US President Donald Trump on Sunday morning announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an "energy ceasefire," posting: "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE… Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" The claim, however, has yet to be confirmed by either side. CNN reported that the announcement appeared to be news to Kyiv: a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the announcement was news to them, though Ukraine would agree if Russia does. Another Ukrainian official said: "We just read it as you did." CNN said it has reached out to the White House and the Kremlin on how the deal was reached. A sudden turn The announcement comes days after Trump's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin...

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced on Sunday that he and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will meet Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday, October 12, to raise concerns over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission and the crackdown on protesters in Delhi. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge said both leaders had formally written to the Chief Justice and been given an appointment between 4 pm and 5 pm on Monday. He stressed that they would present their concerns as a request, not a demand. "We cannot demand anything before him. We will request him with folded hands to keep these issues in mind," he said. Allegations of "undeclared Emergency" Kharge launched a sharp attack on...

The traditional Mohanthal prasad offered at Gujarat's revered Ambaji temple has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, granting statutory recognition and legal protection to the centuries-old sweet. A formal certificate handover ceremony is scheduled at the Ambaji Devasthan on October 11, coinciding with the first day of Navratri. GI registration details The GI Registry catalogued Ambaji Mohanthal under Class 30 for foodstuffs, following an application filed by the Shree Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devsthan Trust on October 1. Reports differ on whether the certificate was issued on October 1 or October 8; the official handover to the trust takes place on October 11. Prof. Dr. Unnat P. Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs and...

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi told students in Chennai on Saturday that they should stand up for their beliefs without fear, even as Delhi witnessed mass detentions and heavy security during protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The Congress leader was in the city for a student outreach event and also held a private meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. Private meeting with Vijay Gandhi arrived at Chennai airport around 12.30 pm on Saturday and drove to Vijay's residence at Neelankarai, where the two leaders held a private meeting lasting more than an hour. The leaders later left together in the same car for a restaurant in Palavakkam, where they had a meal...

Pope Leo announced on Sunday that he will undergo surgery this week after doctors found a "localized nodule" on his lung during a recent medical appointment. During his weekly Sunday prayer in St Peter's Square, the American-born pontiff said the growth was "well-contained." The operation is already scheduled, he said, thanking the faithful for their prayers. Recovery expected in about a week Papal spokesperson Matteo Bruni said "the operation is scheduled for the first days of this week and the estimated post-operative recovery time will be about one week," according to Vatican News. The small growth marks the first major health issue the 71-year-old has publicly faced in his one-and-a-half-year tenure. Elected in May 2025, Leo is...

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a superintendent of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) in Bhopal for allegedly demanding a monthly bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a scrap trader in exchange for not intercepting his vehicles, officials said on Sunday. Rajesh Kumar, posted in the Preventive Branch (Headquarters) of the CGST in Bhopal, was arrested on Saturday in a trap operation laid by the federal agency, according to a CBI statement. Trap laid after complaint The CBI said the case was registered on Saturday following a complaint from the proprietor of a Bhopal-based firm dealing in scrap material. The accused had allegedly sought Rs 2 lakh per month in exchange for not intercepting vehicles carrying scrap and not...

The student-led protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continued in Delhi on Sunday, with AISA president Neha Bora detained by police as demonstrators attempted to regroup — even as arrested CJP leaders secured release from custody. According to The Quint, Bora was detained on Sunday during the continuing protests demanding the CEC's resignation. The demonstrations began at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, drawing thousands, and were met with a massive police deployment. Late on Saturday, Bora had vowed the agitation would continue, telling supporters: "Let a hundred Jantar Mantars bloom." On Sunday, Jantar Mantar remained sealed and more than 40,000 personnel were deployed across the capital, with barricades and traffic...