Editors Pick
In a major revision to military recruitment rules, the Union Cabinet has lengthened the service period of Agniveers from four to six years, offering the 75% cohort previously slated for civilian discharge an additional two-year engagement and a subsequent route to regular military enrollment. Announced by CDS General N.S. Raja Subramani just ahead of the first batch’s retirement dates, the overhaul also reverses recruitment stages by putting written tests ahead of physical trials.
Celebrated British actor Sir Patrick Stewart has passed away at the age of 86. Rising from a childhood marked by domestic hardship and going completely bald by age 19, Stewart built a formidable career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before capturing global stardom as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor X in the X-Men franchise. Knighted in 2010, the Yorkshire-born legend proved that classical discipline and character can redefine modern popular culture.
Septuagenarian CPI(M) whole-timer Bipul Dasgupta has emerged as the face of peaceful resistance in West Bengal after standing ground with folded hands against a mob attempting to tear down a Left book stall in Nagerbazar during Durga Puja. The incident, set against a broader ideological row over the festival’s nomenclature, drew widespread condemnation from civil society as well as senior saffron figures including State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta and the RSS, prompting a large solidarity march from Kolkata’s College Street on October 29.
Virat Kohli’s 108-ball 124 went in vain as New Zealand completed a 2-1 series victory against India with a 41-run win in the third and final ODI here on Sunday.
Amid escalating unrest in Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi spoke with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to discuss the evolving security situation. Jaishankar confirmed the conversation in a post on X, saying the two leaders reviewed developments in and around Iran.
On Monday, the West Bengal government said that two cases of Nipah virus have been detected in the state. Both the affected individuals are medical staffers of a private hospital in Barasat in the North 24 Parganas district and are admitted there.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a plea before the Supreme Court accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and State officials of interfering with the central agency’s investigation and search operations at the Kolkata offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC and its co-founder, Pratik Jain.
The political battle between the BJP and the Trinamul Congress (TMC) in West Bengal escalated sharply on Thursday after the Enforcement Directorate raided two premises linked to the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), the political consultancy working with the ruling party, in connection with a coal smuggling-linked money laundering probe. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee responded by personally intervening at the raid sites, leading to a dramatic confrontation with the central agency.
The first phase of the Population Census 2027, also known as the houselisting operations (HLO) phase, will be conducted from April 1 to September 30 this year across all States and Union Territories, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) said in a notification on Wednesday (January 7, 2026).
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