National

Maharashtra is set for massive civic polls across 29 municipal corporations, including the prestigious Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with stakes high for the Thackeray brothers as also BJP-Shiv Sena after the ruling Mahayuti alliance's stupendous victory in the assembly polls last year.

Speaking on the occasion, Salem Central District Secretary Thamizhian Parthiban said that TVK's Pongal celebrations were not ritualistic but rooted in the idea of samathuvam (equality). "People from all religions and communities have come together here. This is true Samathuva Pongal," he said, interacting with the public during the event.

"FAIMA strongly condemns this decision taken by MCC/NBE and urges the Government of India to immediately withdraw this notification and restore a reasonable, merit-based cut-off in the larger interest of patients, medical education, and public trust. Failing timely corrective action, FAIMA will be compelled to initiate nationwide protests in consultation with resident doctors and medical associations across the country," the letter read.

Last week, the Supreme Court of India reserved judgment on Justice Varma's writ petition challenging the legality of the parliamentary committee constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.

Uttar Pradesh Police arrested the stepmother and father for allegedly beating a young girl to death, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Priyashree Pal said on Wednesday.

Dismissing concerns over China's reported deployment of humanoid robots along its borders, Lieutenant General Sukriti Singh Dahiya, Chief of Staff, Army Training Command (ARTRAC), on Wednesday said such machines do not pose a significant challenge to India, asserting that wars are ultimately decided by the quality of soldiers, not technology alone.