Author: Indmedia

CWG 2026 closing ceremony NEW DELHI: The 2026 Commonwealth Games came to a spectacular close in Glasgow on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on 11 days of sporting excellence and signalling the beginning of a new chapter for India. In a symbolic and emotional handover ceremony, Scotland formally passed the Commonwealth Games flag and ceremonial baton to India, with Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha receiving them on behalf of the nation as the countdown to the centenary 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad officially began.The glittering closing ceremony at the OVO Hydro celebrated Scotland’s…

Kolkata: Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Sunday opposed the ban on Bangladesh’s Awami League, describing the decision as “a move against democracy” and asserting that political parties should not be outlawed.Addressing a press conference here, Nasreen also expressed uncertainty over the return of Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister and Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina to her country.Hasina, 78, has been living in India after she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government in August 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation.The 63-year-old writer expressed concerns over the alleged atrocities against minorities in the neighbouring country and demanded…

New Delhi: Even as exclusive breastfeeding rates have improved globally over the past decade, India continues to lag behind, with the proportion of infants exclusively breastfed for the first six months declining from 63.7% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 55.8% in NFHS-6 (2023-24).Ahead of World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF called for stronger support systems for mothers, saying global exclusive breastfeeding has increased from about 37% in 2012 to over 47% today, driven by sustained investments in health systems, community counselling and maternity protection. However, the agencies said progress remains uneven and many countries continue…

‘I stand by what I said’: Mohanlal’s daughter Vismaya responds to criticism over student protest remarks Vismaya Mohanlal, daughter of actor Mohanlal, has opened up about the criticism she received after expressing support for students protesting over the alleged NEET paper leak issue.Addressing the controversy for the first time, Vismaya said she continues to stand by the views she had expressed.Vismaya Mohanlal says she has no regretsDuring an interview with FTQ with Rekha Menon, Vismaya reaffirmed her position. She said people in a democracy should have the freedom to raise questions and express their opinions.According to her, dialogue should always…

A former Liberal party candidate, the animator behind Pauline Hanson’s anti-woke film and a local councillor who says he worked on former premier Daniel Andrews’ personal protection team have been unveiled as One Nation candidates for the Victorian election.Pauline Hanson held a press conference on Monday to announce the eight candidates who will lead One Nation’s upper house tickets at the November state election.Reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of the press conference. Asked whether all media should have access to a press conference in a democracy, particularly given…

NEW DELHI: India’s crude oil imports from Russia climbed to a record 2.8 million barrels per day (mbd) in July accounting for more than half of the country’s purchases, even as refiners stepped up sourcing from West Asian suppliers with oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalised, reports Atul Mathur.India’s LPG imports remained heavily skewed towards US, which supplied over 9 lakh tonne, or about 73%, of the over 1.2 million tonne imported in July. July purchases were the highest since India began importing large volumes of discounted Russian crude following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022.According…

In Maharashtra, the practice of conducting premarital background checks is rapidly gaining traction after the Lohagarh murder case MUMBAI: Around the time ‘Siya Point’ at Lohagad Fort—where a Pune woman allegedly pushed her fiancé Ketan Agarwal to his death in June—began drawing curious visitors, detective agencies in Mumbai said they noticed a rise in enquiries for premarital background checks from families across Maharashtra.There are no hard numbers to measure this growing trend, but various private detective agencies TOI spoke to said premarital investigations are becoming common.Families are no longer content with meeting relatives, checking jobs and matching horoscopes. Increasingly, they…

Arvind Kejriwal backs girl facing FIR over remarks against PM Modi NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to “intimidate” young people, after an FIR was filed against a teenage girl over allegedly objectionable remarks about the PM in a viral video.In a post on X, Kejriwal expressed support for the girl, Ruchika Singh, saying he would stand by her if she needed help.”What Modi ji did to Ruchika Singh is a cowardly act. By doing this to Ruchika, you want to instill fear in the youth. But the fear…

Bengaluru: A rowdy created panic last week by roaming around Oil Mill Road with a long machete, threatening passersby and demanding money. When police rushed to the spot to catch him, he threatened to kill them too. He also warned that he would falsely implicate police by attempting suicide, consuming blade and glass pieces, before pushing the officers aside and escaping.The incident took place Thursday night. According to the complaint filed by head constable Mahadev Darur, he and another head constable, Harish Kumar, were on patrol duty on July 30 when around 9pm, they received information that a rowdy —…

Hyderabad: Mancherial and Adilabad recorded the highest number of degree colleges with zero admissions in the state this year, Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE) 2026-27 data showed. The districts had six private unaided colleges failing to secure a single student.They were followed by Khammam (5), Nirmal (4), Ranga Reddy (4) and Kamareddy (4). Across the state, 56 private unaided degree colleges drew no admissions at all, with a combined approved intake of 16,460 seats sitting entirely vacant.The problem is concentrated outside major urban centres. Bhadradri Kothagudem, Nizamabad and Siddipet had three such colleges each.University-wise, Kakatiya University accounted for 34…