A senior Bihar-cadre IAS officer is at the centre of a political controversy. The Opposition in Bihar questioned how a civil servant flew his family on a chartered flight. However, a debate that should have centred around accountability and use of public money sank into the swamp of caste politics. The Opposition—the RJD and the...

Iran has temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, as tensions with the United States escalate. Iranian state and semi-official media reported live-fire naval drills in the narrow waterway, with missiles launched from inside Iran and along its coast reportedly striking targets in the strait.The closure,...

India focused on practical applications of AI to solve population-scale challenges: Vaishnaw IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) said India is focused on practical applications of AI, including enterprise productivity, and solutions for population-scale challenges such as healthcare, agriculture, and climate change. Speaking at a research symposium at the AI Impact Summit,...

1 min readFeb 18, 2026 09:27 AM IST YouTube said on Tuesday it has resolved an issue that briefly affected access to the video-sharing platform, after outage-tracking ⁠website Downdetector ​reported widespread global disruptions. YouTube said that an issue with its recommendation system had prevented ​videos ​from appearing across ⁠YouTube surfaces. “The issue with our recommendations...

India placed co-design, co-development and co-production of advanced defence platforms at the centre of its upgraded strategic partnership with France, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pressing for higher indigenous content in Rafale fighter jet manufacturing during high-level talks. During defence minister–level discussions, Singh urged the French side to increase Indian participation in the production ecosystem...

Sourav Ganguly and Imran Khan (Agency Image) Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has called for former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan to be treated with dignity and proper care, amid growing concern over the latter’s health in prison.Ganguly’s remarks follow a joint appeal by 14 former international captains from five Test-playing nations urging the Pakistan government...

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. File. Photo Credits: AICC via PTI Photo Seeking to increase pressure on the Narendra Modi Government regarding the interim Indo-U.S. trade agreement, the Congress has planned a meeting of leaders from five States and a Union Territory with party president Mallikarjun...

2 min readNew DelhiFeb 18, 2026 05:14 AM IST The Supreme Court has asked the Director of National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, Justice Aniruddha Bose, to constitute a “committee of experts” to prepare a comprehensive report on developing “guidelines to inculcate sensitivity and compassion into judges and judicial processes in the context of sexual offences and...

A fresh controversy has erupted in Maharashtra over administrative decisions taken on January 28, the same day news of senior leader Ajit Pawar’s plane incident emerged, triggering widespread political and bureaucratic activity in the state. According to sources, the Maharashtra Minority Department cleared as many as 75 files related to minority schools on January 28....

NEW DELHI: Tina Ambani, the wife of Anil Ambani of Reliance group, skipped her second date with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday. She did not appear at the agency’s headquarters here on a summons issued in connection with a money laundering probe. Tina was earlier summoned on Feb 9. Her husband has been summoned...