India

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: CBI has significantly widened its NEET-UG-2026 paper leak probe, with investigators now focused on a potential “insider role” even as one more suspect was arrested from Pune and a retired chemistry professor detained in Latur.As the total arrests went up to seven, sources said the investigators were trying to ascertain if the breach…

NEW DELHI: While Brics foreign ministers and leaders of delegations jointly called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov got an exclusive meeting with the PM. Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi separately met NSA Ajit Doval.According to an Indian readout, Lavrov briefed Modi on the progress achieved in bilateral cooperation since…

NEW DELHI: Hours after former chief minister Mamata Banerjee appeared in an advocate’s attire before Calcutta high court on Thursday, the Bar Council of India (BCI) asked the West Bengal Bar Council to furnish details of her enrolment as an advocate, whether the licence to practise was kept suspended during her tenure as CM, and…

NEW DELHI: Questioning the appointment process for chief election commissioner/election commissioners where a panel of PM, a Cabinet minister and the leader of opposition, pick the candidate, Supreme Court on Thursday said that the present system allows the govt to appoint a person of its choice as two out of three members would favour it…

Talks for a BRICS foreign ministers’ joint statement seemed balanced on a knife-edge on the first day of the meeting, with a consensus on the West Asia situation remaining uncertain. Diplomatic sources said efforts to find common ground between the UAE and Iran were still on, even as the 2 countries held on to their…

NEW DELHI: Questioning the appointment process for chief election commissioner/election commissioners where a panel of PM, a Cabinet minister and the leader of opposition, pick the candidate, Supreme Court on Thursday said that the present system allows the govt to appoint a person of its choice as two out of three member would favour it…

NEW DELHI: After 10 days of intense consultations, lobbying and internal churning, Congress on Thursday finally ended suspense over Kerala’s chief ministerial face by picking VD Satheesan for the top post.Satheesan emerged victorious in a closely watched leadership battle against senior leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala after the Congress high command weighed alliance equations,…

Judging excellence in maternal healthcare is not like judging most things. The numbers, whether around delivery volumes, success rates, bed counts, etc., are the starting point, far from the verdict. When the jury members for the Times Future of Maternity Awards 2026 convened for final evaluation of nominees across 13 categories, the tougher questions were…

Kalyan Banerjee (Image/PTI) NEW DELHI: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday appointed Kalyan Banerjee as the new Chief whip of the Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha replacing Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. The announcement was made during an internal meeting of party MPs held at Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat as the party leadership…

NEET-UG paper leak: CBI arrests two more accused in Maharashtra; tally rises to 7 (Image credit: PTI) NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested two more accused persons and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours in connection with alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.The…