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Left and democratic forces" against both the TMC and the BJP, party leader Prakash Karat has said. He added that no discussions had been held on whether the Left Front and the Congress would contest the assembly polls, due in 2026, in an alliance. In an interview with PTI, the CPI(M) interim coordinator stressed that the party losing ground in West Bengal was a major reason behind its declining electoral strength. The CPI(M) is focusing on working among the rural poor to regain its traditional support base, Karat said. Asked about the party's standing in West Bengal, which the CPI(M)-led Left Front governed for 34 years between 1977 and 2011 before losing to the TMC, the veteran leader highlighted the recent mobilisations of youngsters, including during the protests against the RG Kar rape and murder incident. «I am not talking only about our party but all Left and progressive forces (that) came out in large numbers, mobilising the youth also in a big way,» Karat told PTI.

Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday alleged that SFI is mainly responsible for the widespread drug distribution and consumption in colleges and hostels in Kerala and CM Vijayan is «encouraging» them. He also demanded the disbanding of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student organisation of ruling CPI(M). The Congress's sharp reaction came in the wake of police seizing two kilograms of ganja from the men's hostel of a Government Polytechnic College in Kalamassery in Kochi on Thursday night and arresting two students. CPI(M) strongly rejected the charges saying that there is an agenda to eliminate SFI. The incident triggered a blame game among student outfit leaders, including those from the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and the SFI, over the alleged involvement of their activists in the crime. The Congress leadership has been alleging that SFI leaders were involved in the ganja seizure case and the left outfit is playing a key role in the spread of drugs across campuses.

Emmanuel Macron on Friday (local time) called on Russia to accept the US-brokered proposal for an interim 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, emphasizing that «atrocities must stop.» Macron criticized Russia for its «delaying statements» on the proposed deal following his discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer. «I spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then with Prime Minister Kier Starmer following the progress made during the meeting between the United States and Ukraine in Jeddah on Tuesday. Russia must now accept the U.S.-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. The Russian aggression in Ukraine must end. The atrocities must stop. So must the delaying statements,» Macron wrote in a post on X. Macron assured France's unwavering support to Ukraine to achieve peace and informed that all partners will hold a video conference today to discuss the issue.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s biggest telecom operators—Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel Ltd—turning marketing agents for Elon Musk’s satellite broadband project, Starlink, is a welcome development. The government must explicitly assist in this with funds from the Universal Service Obligation Fund, now dubbed the Digital Bharat Nidhi, to make satellite broadband connection affordable even for low-income communities in rural areas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of manipulating the ceasefire proposal, stating that Moscow is crowding the idea with preconditions designed to delay or derail progress. In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, «Right now, we have all heard from Russia Putin's highly predictable and manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire on the front lines--at this moment he is, in fact, preparing to reject it.» He argued that while Ukraine has accepted the US-backed proposal for an unconditional ceasefire on land, at sea, and in the air, Russia continues to create obstacles to avoid a resolution. Zelenskyy asserted that Putin is reluctant to admit his desire to continue the war and is instead using tactics to complicate negotiations. «Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians.

Digital lenders, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and banks have collectively disbursed an impressive Rs 74,500 crore through the Account Aggregator (AA) framework in the first half of the current fiscal year, according to a report by Sahamati, the industry alliance supporting the AA ecosystem. Among these, the top eight lending institutions, which account for 62% of the consents, reported a total disbursement of Rs 46,200 crore. Since its inception in September 2021, the AA framework has enabled total disbursements of Rs 1.3 lakh crore, with the top lending institutions contributing Rs 88,700 crore of this amount, the report showed. In the first half of fiscal year 2025, lenders utilized the Account Aggregator framework to facilitate 5.47 million loans, bringing the total to 9.70 million loans since the launch of the ecosystem.

Indian FMCG companies are grappling with a shortage of salesmen. Companies selling daily essentials are finding recruiting the famed ‘feet on the street’ difficult in the face of intimidating sales targets amid a slowdown and more attractive gig workforce opportunities, executives said. This comes at a time when companies are looking to hire incremental sales force and direct distribution roles to penetrate newer tier-2 and tier-3 markets and the hinterland in expectation of demand recovery in the new fiscal. “It is progressively getting harder to find salesmen across FMCG. These are hard jobs, you’ve to pound the pavement and get the sales, when eight months of the year it's extremely hot or the weather is harsh,” said Dinkar Ayilavarapu, head of Flipkart Wholesale, the B2B marketplace owned by the Flipkart Group.

MAGA movement on his podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, bridging unlikely political divides. Their hour-long discussion avoided culture wars, focusing instead on economic populism, revealing unexpected alignments like shared skepticism of tax breaks for corporations and Elon Musk’s influence. Bannon pitched his vision of curbing corporate power, praising progressive Democrats like Rep.

Tamil Nadu's progressive social policies, robust infrastructure facilities, and large skilled labour force enabled the state to place itself on an elevated economic development trajectory, making the state contribute 9.21 per cent to national GDP in 2023-24, Tamil Nadu's first economic survey 2024-25 said on Thursday. The survey brought out by the State Planning Commission and handed over to Chief Minister M K Stalin, said the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices reached Rs 27.22 lakh crore in 2023-24, posting a nominal growth rate of 13.71 per cent and a real growth rate of 8.33 per cent. «Tamil Nadu economy in 2024-25 faced global headwinds with its innate economic strength. The pandemic, coupled with geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events, disrupted global supply chains and triggered crises in the energy and food sectors,» it said. The global economy posted a real growth rate of 3.33 percent in 2023. India's economy recorded 7.61 percent growth in 2022-23, 9.19 per cent in 2023-24, and 6.48 per cent in 2024-25. «Building on a strong foundation of inclusive policies, Tamil Nadu has demonstrated remarkable economic resilience, consistently achieving growth rates of 8 per cent or more since 2021-22, and the state is expected to maintain a growth rate above 8 per cent in 2024-25,» it said. In 2022-23, Tamil Nadu's per capita income was Rs 2.78 lakh, 1.6 times the national average of Rs 1.69 lakh. The state consistently outpaced the national average over the years and is the fourth-largest state in per capita income.

state business summits. The sheer volume of these events, particularly in January and February, underscores their perceived importance in attracting investment. Yet, the question lingered: how many of these inked commitments truly translate into tangible economic development? India's economic landscape is punctuated by a surge in state-led investment summits.

William Lai Ching-te said Thursday tougher measures are needed to counter stepped-up Chinese infiltration, spying and other efforts to weaken the island's defences. Lai cited a range of recent incidents involving China that fall into a «gray area» of psychological warfare short of open armed conflict. Beijing's efforts to «subvert, obtain secrets, lure members of the armed forces and influence public opinion to lose confidence in our national defence require that we step up our legal safeguards to prevent and detect such incidents,» Lai said at a news conference. Lai's Democratic Progressive Party favours the island's continued de-facto independence from Beijing. China has refused almost all official contact with the DPP since Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, was elected eight years ago. China regularly sends ships and planes into airspace and waters near the island in an effort to intimidate its 23 million people and wear down its armed forces and morale. Taiwan's government recently expelled the Chinese wife of a Taiwanese citizen after the woman repeatedly posted short clips on Chinese social media saying China would conquer Taiwan in half an hour and praising the Chinese leadership.

Birthdays are generally one of the most awaited times of the year, as one celebrates another year around the sun. After all, it marks that you are growing up, in terms of ageing. However, a self-made man of Rs 5,000 crore, Dr A Velumani, founder of Thyrocare, wants us to wonder, if we are just ageing or if we are also growing as a person? On X, he shared an insightful tweet about how when a birthday comes, about 90% of people just age another year without making real progress, while just 10% actually grow in terms of personal development. He further believes that out of 100 who have not progressed, only 10% realise this and out of 100 who have realised it, only 10% feel bad about the lack of growth. He encourages focusing, learning, growing and enjoying life rather than growing without any meaningful progress. His tweet read, “When a birthday comes. 10% only have made a progress. 90% have just become one year old. In 100 who have made no progress only 10 aware of it. In 100 who are aware of it, only 10 feel bad about it. Punch: To grow big a lot of efforts needed. To grow old, zero efforts needed. Focus. Learn. Grow and Enjoy. please do not change the order.

Donald Trump has warned his Russian counterpart of «doing things» if the nation refuses for a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. He suggested that financial measures could be used to pressure Moscow but emphasised his priority was achieving peace. While responding to the question about pressuring Russia, Trump said, «I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace.» He has said that a ceasefire in Ukraine would benefit Russia but warned of potential downsides, without providing further details. According to Reuters, Trump confirmed that US officials were set to visit Russia to discuss a proposed 30-day halt in hostilities and the possibility of peace talks. After extensive discussions in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire, leaving the next move to Russia. «Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had received positive signals but remained cautious about the situation. The Kremlin, meanwhile, stated that it was awaiting details from Washington before responding to the proposal.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, which include ending poverty and achieving gender equality, a study has found. However, when grouped according to geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors, different countries appear to be making progress on different goals, according to the findings published in the journal PLOS One. Researchers, including those from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, found that, for instance, African and Asian countries-which have the lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — have made low progress on goals such as eradicating poverty, achieving gender equality, and ensuring good health and well-being. However, these countries have made the best progress on climate action and responsible consumption and production, the team said.

Jaffar Express hijack has taken a dire turn, with authorities dispatching over 200 coffins to Quetta railway station, indicating expectations of heavy casualties. Human rights activist Amjad Ayub Mirza believes the Pakistarmy has decided not to negotiate, putting the lives of military personnel at risk. Mirza said in a statement, «More than 200 wooden coffins have been brought at the Quetta Railway Station. This means that the Pakistani army has decided not to do negotiations, thus has decided to get its military personnel killed.» He added that the bodies of 30-40 military personnel had already been brought to Quetta, and an emergency had been declared in nearby hospitals. A tense standoff is unfolding in Pakistan, where the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has hijacked the Jaffar Express train, holding over 200 hostages, mostly Pakistani security personnel.

Oil prices eased on Thursday after surging the day before as worries about the impact of intensifying tariff wars on global economic growth and energy demand outweighed the positive sentiment from a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. gasoline stocks. Brent futures fell 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $70.88 a barrel by 0107 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures shed 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.57 a barrel.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Global private equity firms Blackstone Inc., General Atlantic and TPG Capital are moving in to acquire revenue cycle management firm AGS Health for around $1 billion, said two people with knowledge of the deal. The deal process, launched earlier this year, is likely to conclude next quarter, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Inflation receded in February on the back of easing price pressures for consumer staples like gasoline, groceries and housing, amid worries that President Donald Trump's tariff policies could stall progress.

Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani predicts that India will have one million startups by 2035. He said that there are 150,000 startups today growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20%. He also noted that among 2000 funded startups, 100 unicorns have been created. He was speaking at venture capital firm Arkam Ventures Annual Meet 2025 on Wednesday here where he outlined a strategic roadmap for India to achieve an 8% annual growth rate and become an $8 trillion economy by 2035.

The pair had both consulted in parallel with industry on proposed rules and expectations that sought to improve D&I at firms that fall under their remits.  The FCA said: «In light of the broad range of feedback received, expected legislative developments and to avoid additional burdens on firms at this time, the FCA and PRA have no plans to take the work further.» FCA drops plan to name and shame firms under investigation Imogen Makin, counsel at the international law firm WilmerHale, said the regulator's recognition that the existing rules cause a burden on firms is «welcome».  ...