27+ min ago (386+ words) Published - December 01, 2025 09:46 am IST - Kozhikode "In 2020, many candidates were selected by faction leaders, often without local consultation," he said. "Being at the helm of the party and in the midst of the elections, I could not air my views or enforce my decisions. It was extremely embarrassing," he recalled. Emphasising the lessons learned, he added that candidate selection should not be left to the whims of individual leaders." While anti-incumbency sentiment remains significant, development-related concerns would also shape voter preferences, he said. "Non-performance, rampant corruption, financial mismanagement and arrogance of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders at all levels will play a critical role," he claimed. Alleging failure on the part of several local bodies to provide basic services, he said the State government had even denied stipulated funds. He pointed out that Congress's vision of strengthening local governance…...

28+ min ago (838+ words) Published - December 01, 2025 09:45 am IST - Wayanad A drone image of the work in progress at the model township at Kalpetta for the survivors of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala disaster. In Wayanad's Meppadi panchayat, the political aftershocks of the July 30, 2024 landslides still run deep. The disaster that wiped out the tiny tourist hamlets of Mundakkai and Chooralmala along with 298 lives continues to cast a long shadow, echoing through the current local body polls. The disaster had torn through three wards of the Meppadi panchayat: Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala. Mundakkai has become a no-go zone after the landslides. The polling booths at GLP School, Mundakkai, and at the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Vellarmala, no longer exist. In the recent delimitation, both wards were merged into a single Mundakkai-Chooralmala ward 11 with 2,241 voters. The combined rolls reveal 406 people missing, a figure that local residents say mirrors…...

30+ min ago (426+ words) Updated - December 01, 2025 09:44 am IST - Thrissur The same suspense that sweeps through the crowd during Kudamattom at Thrissur Pooram'that anticipation of what comes next'now grips the city's politics. Will there be a change of guard at the Thrissur'Corporation'in the upcoming local polls? Thrissur, long dubbed the "glamour'Corporation" of Kerala politics, is expected to witness a fierce contest among the Left Democratic Front (LDF), United Democratic Front (UDF), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ' each determined to claim control. After delimitation, the'Corporation'has expanded from 55 to 56 divisions and the Mayor post is reserved for women in the upcoming election. For the past five years, the LDF held the reins of the'Corporation'with the backing of Mayor M.K. Varghese, a Congress rebel. In the 2020 elections, the BJP clinched six of the 55 divisions, with the remaining split evenly between the LDF and the UDF with 24 seats each,…...

32+ min ago (654+ words) Published - December 01, 2025 09:41 am IST - Pune Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi on Sunday (November 30, 2025) said he still prefers to call Bangladesh a friend and hoped the situation in the neighbouring country turns around. Responding to a question, the Navy chief said he would still refrain from calling Bangladesh anything other than a friend, because this may be just a temporary and transitory phase. "We will have to wait. Elections in Bangladesh are yet to take place, so we should reserve our comments for now," the Admiral asserted. The CNS added that he remains eternally optimistic and confident that things will turn around as far as Bangladesh is concerned. He was speaking during a question-answer session after delivering Admiral JG Nadkarni Memorial Lecture on the topic "Indian Navy - Navigating Amidst Ongoing Flux of Geopolitics, Technology & Tactics, organised here by the…...

35+ min ago (192+ words) Published - December 01, 2025 09:38 am IST - Madrid Spanish airline Iberia said Saturday that hackers had accessed confidential customer information, the latest in a series of attacks on carriers, though it added that there were no signs of fraudulent use of the data. "Iberia has detected a security incident involving unauthorised access to the systems of one of our service providers, which has compromised the confidentiality of certain data," the airline said in a message to customers seen by AFP. Iberia said the compromised information included names, loyalty card membership and contact details, but no passwords nor bank card information. "As soon as we became aware, we immediately activated our security protocols and procedures, adopting all necessary technical and organisational measures to contain it, mitigate its effects, and prevent it from happening again in the future," Iberia said. In August, Air France-KLM said…...

38+ min ago (222+ words) Updated - December 01, 2025 09:37 am IST The Winter session of Parliament beginning today (December 1, 2025) will see the government push its reforms agenda with a legislation to open up the civil nuclear sector to private players, while the opposition is set to rake up the issue of revision of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union territories. Ahead of today's session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on Sunday to ensure floor coordination during the session. This session, one of the shortest, will last only 15 days, with less than 25% of the time allotted to the opposition." Follow live updates here: In a near-unanimous demand, the opposition parties have urged the government to hold a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 States. Several parties, including the Congress, also pressed…...

41+ min ago (330+ words) Published - December 01, 2025 09:32 am IST - belagavi Malaprabha and Ghataprabha Projects Command Area Development Authority (CADA) administrative officer M. Satish Kumar has urged farmers in Karnataka to ensure wiser use of water resources. Speaking at a three-day training programme on integrated water resources conservation and management for farmers of the Malaprabha and Ghataprabha command areas organised at the Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) in Dharwad, he asked them to form water users" co-operative societies and actively participate in the participatory irrigation systems. He urged farmers to make the best use of such programmes and learn skills of using modern agricultural technologies, participatory irrigation management, formation and functioning of water users" co-operative societies, water rate assessment and collection, and irrigation laws. He said the trainees will visit demonstration plots, micro-irrigation units, hydraulic, soil and water testing laboratories, a livestock unit, a vermi compost…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (1220+ words) Published - December 01, 2025 09:12 am IST - NEW YORK Major retail chains and tech companies are offering new or updated artificial intelligence tools in time for the holiday shopping season, hoping to give consumers an easier gift-buying experience and themselves an augmented share of online spending. Although AI-powered purchases are in early stages, the shopping assistants and agents rolled out by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and Google can do more than the chatbots of holidays past. The latest versions were designed to provide personalised product recommendations, track prices and to place some orders through unscripted "conversations" with customers. Those features are on top of shopping updates from AI platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Gemini. In one of the season's most talked-about launches, Google this month introduced an AI agent that can be instructed to call local stores to ask if a…...

1+ hour, 5+ min ago (202+ words) Councillors across the city have welcomed the Election Commission's decision to extend the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration period till December 11, saying the revised schedule will ensure fuller voter coverage. Some said the extension will prolong the stress on Booth-Level Officers (BLOs). With the new schedule, enumeration and polling-station rationalisation will continue till December 11, the draft roll will be published on December 16, and the final electoral roll on February 14, 2026. Deputy Mayor M. Magesh Kumaar said that although the extension of the enumeration period is welcome, issues remain for residents living in rented houses or those who have temporarily moved elsewhere. J. John, AIADMK councillor, commending this move, said in some booths, only 45% to 50% of the forms distributed have been returned with proper details by the voters. "It is true that BLOs would be stressed. But, during every election, many complain that their…...

1+ hour, 11+ min ago (257+ words) Chennai Corporation councillors have urged the civic body to revert to zone-wise roadwork tenders, saying the current system of large packages leads to delays, substandard work, and corruption. They noted that the DMK, in its 2021 Assembly election manifesto, had promised to overhaul the package system, but the commitment remains unfulfilled. "The large package system, introduced during the AIADMK government, saw many issues and gaps in road relaying for many months across the city. To curb the problems, the DMK had promised in its 2021 Assembly election manifesto to revert to a zone-wise tendering process, but this commitment has not been fulfilled," he added. Several DMK councillors from newly-added areas, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that opposition councillors can raise complaints openly, while ruling party councillors face constraints. "Zone-wise tenders would allow the fining or blacklisting of contractors in case of…...