R Vaishali vs Divya Deshmukh (Photo by Niki Riga) NEW DELHI: In the zero-sum world of elite chess, the camaraderie between compatriots often has to be set aside at the board. This was evident on Wednesday at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort as India’s two sensations, R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh, faced off…
By- Kaushik.Pradhan@timesofindia.comKOLKATA: A high-level election review meeting on Wednesday turned volatile when a senior election observer openly challenged CEC Gyanesh Kumar, later leading to the observer’s removal.During the virtual meeting convened by the full bench of the EC, Cooch Behar South general observer Anurag Yadav objected to remarks made by the CEC. The situation escalated…
Representative image (PTI) HYDERABAD: Several residents of Hyderabad’s old city Tuesday contacted a booth-level officer (BLO) of the Election Commission to help them identify their names on the 2002 electoral rolls as part of the pre-SIR mapping exercise. To their shock, instead of someone who knew the rulebook, they were approached by a sanitation worker…
KOLKATA: BJP has not fielded a single Muslim candidate in the Bengal elections, even from seats it had nominated members of the minority community in previous state polls, despite having about two lakh Muslim members in its ranks in the state. It had fielded eight Muslim candidates in 2021 and three in the 2016 polls.The…
NEW DELHI: In a bid to provide reprieve to airlines affected by the US-Iran war, the aviation ministry has directed all 34 major airports to reduce landing and parking charges for domestic flights by 25% for three months. Accordingly, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority on Tuesday issued an order directing the operators of airports in Delhi,…
The Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire – after 6 weeks of a brutal war in the West Asia region – was welcomed by India in an official statement in which the government also expressed hope that the truce will lead to a lasting peace in the region. Stressing that the conflict had already caused immense suffering to…
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Donald Trump is sending Vice President JD Vance and other senior negotiators to Pakistan for mediated talks with Iran this weekend aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire.Press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a press briefing that the talks will begin in Islamabad on Saturday morning local time,…
China on Wednesday said it had made its “own efforts” to push for a ceasefire between the United States and Iran. This come as US President Donald Trump also suggested that Beijing played an important role in bringing Tehran to the negotiating table.Addressing a regular briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning outlined Beijing’s diplomatic…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first briefing since the two-week ceasefire with US-Iran ceasefire, signalled that the truce remains fragile, asserting that it is “not the end” and that Israel retains the option to resume military action if its objectives are not met. Emphasising a cautious stance, Netanyahu said Israel has its “finger…
For decades, the US and its allies poured billions into cyberattacks, assassinations of scientists, economy-destroying sanctions and grueling diplomacy to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions.Yet after a brutal month-long war with joint US-Israeli forces, Tehran may have gained something deadlier than any atomic bomb from President Donald Trump: Dominance over the Strait of Hormuz.Follow US-Israel-Iran war…