Author: Md Nasimuddin
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US embassies worldwide to stop scheduling interviews for student visas as the Trump administration weighs stricter vetting of applicants’ social-media profiles.
The directive, laid out in a cable sent to diplomats worldwide on Tuesday, marks the latest effort by the administration to restrict foreign students’ entry to American schools over claims that they might threaten US national security or promote antisemitism.
Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday afternoon took a chopper from Imphal airport to reach the Raj Bhawan, a distance of 6km, owing to the ongoing protest seeking his apology for the removal of the state’s name from a bus carrying journalists to Ukhrul on May 20.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced Gogoi’s appointment in a press statement issued by party general secretary K.C. Venugopal.
The appointment was along expected lines since Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, won the Jorhat seat by defeating the sitting BJP MP by a comfortable margin.
The absence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog in New Delhi on Saturday (May 24, 2025) drew sharp criticism from Opposition parties, particularly in light of pending central funds to the State under key schemes.
The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was attended by several Chief Ministers, including M.K. Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Hemant Soren (Jharkhand). The theme of the session was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047, and marked the first such interaction since Operation Sindoor and the subsequent conflict with Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 25, 2025) said the caste enumeration announced as part of the decennial census was a step towards his government’s model of bringing the marginalised and those left behind in every field into the mainstream of development
Addressing a conclave of Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers belonging to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Mr. Modi said the success of Operation Sindoor was a reaffirmation of the achievements the country had made in its push towards self-reliance, underscoring the accuracy and precision of indigenous defence technology.
The Supreme Court on Thursday (May 22, 2025) said a requirement to mandatorily register waqfs dated back to 1923, and did not start with the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2025.
Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, heading a Bench comprising Justice A.G. Masih, asked why waqfs across the country, including waqfs by user, had not bothered to register themselves all these years.
A political row has erupted over the decision to shift the venue of final match of the Indian Premier League 2025, as well as the second qualifier, from Kolkata to Ahmedebad. West Bengal Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare Aroop Biswas alleged on Thursday that politics was behind the cricketing move.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday informed a Delhi court that a ‘prima facie’ case of money laundering has been established against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with others, in the ongoing National Herald case.
This submission was made before Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts during the preliminary arguments on whether the court should take cognisance of the matter.
Sikkim is readying for the start of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which is resuming after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Union ministry of external affairs has decided to allow the journey to take place this year through two routes — the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand and the Nathu-la pass in Sikkim.
“The Sikkim government has put up the required infrastructure in place for the pilgrimage,” said a source.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Monday (May 19, 2025) dared Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to constitute two SITs — one to enquire into his, Mr. Gogoi’s, conduct and another to reveal the “past” and “assets” of the CM extant.