The Hindu

29/10/2025

Sensing the growing discomfort among farmers of the Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu about reports of damage to paddy at many places, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government, on October 19, requested the Union government to relax the permissible moisture content for paddy procurement from 17% to 22%. Subsequently, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has formed three teams to assess the situation.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/watch-challenges-faced-by-paddy-farmers-in-tamil-nadu/article70214118.ece

29/10/2025

| The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the grand alliance (Mahagathbandhan) are gearing up to face each other at the Bihar Assembly elections. Voting is scheduled on November 6 and 11 and the results will be announced on November 14. An indicator-based analysis of the State shows that it features somewhere at the bottom on most economic and social measures.

An indicator-based analysis of Bihar shows that it features somewhere at the bottom on most economic and social measures.

29/10/2025

A 28-year-old woman, whose husband was among the 41 persons killed in last month’s stampede at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur, has returned the ₹20-lakh compensation extended by actor and party chief Vijay. Shankavi Perumal said she was upset as Mr. Vijay did not visit her in Karur to offer his condolences. Instead, he had invited the families to a private resort in Mamallapuram on Monday (October 27, 2025) and shared his grief with them.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/karur-stampede-victims-wife-returns-20-lakh-compensation-given-by-vijay/article70211734.ece

29/10/2025

Back in the mid-1960s, Tamil Nadu had faced a spell of acute shortage of rice. Politically, the rice problem of the 1960s had cost the Congress dearly as the party was thrown out of power during the 1967 Assembly election. Since then, the party has not been able to get back to power. The then CM M. Bakthavatsalam is still blamed for the way his regime had handled the crisis.

Back in the mid-1960s, Tamil Nadu had faced a spell of acute shortage of rice. Politically, the rice problem of the 1960s had cost the Congress dearly as the party was thrown out of power during the 1967 Assembly election.

29/10/2025

Cyclone Montha made landfall near Kakinada on Tuesday morning, bringing with it torrential rain and wind speeds touching 100–110 km/h. Cyclone Montha has left a trail of damage across Andhra’s coastal belt, disrupting power, transportation, and communication networks. The state government has issued advisories urging residents to stay indoors and avoid venturing near the shore until conditions stabilize.

29/10/2025

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi kicked off the election campaign of his party for the Bihar assembly elections, questioning why the eastern state cannot have a Muslim CM despite the minority community comprising 17 per cent of the state's population.

Owaisi questions Bihar's lack of a Muslim CM, criticizing both ruling and opposition parties for neglecting the Muslim community.

29/10/2025

Hurricane Melissa ripped a path of destruction through Jamaica after making landfall as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record Tuesday (October 28, 2025), lashing the island nation with brutal winds and torrential rain before heading towards Cuba.

Hurricane Melissa, a catastrophic Category 5 storm, makes landfall in Jamaica, threatening severe damage and widespread evacuations.

29/10/2025

| Cyclone Montha, which made landfall on Tuesday (October 28, 2025) night, crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanan coasts between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, to the south of Kakinada, the India Meteorological Department said. The severe cyclonic storm had begun its landfall near Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Live updates:

Cyclone Montha updates: Follow The Hindu's updates on the first cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal as it crosses the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28, 2025.

28/10/2025

After a gap of 53 years, Delhi conducted cloud seeding trials on Tuesday to induce artificial rain in the national capital amid surging pollution levels, even as the weather department did not record any traces of rainfall in the city.

The Delhi government, in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, conducted the trials in parts of Delhi, including Burari, north Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar, and Badli, with more such exercises planned over the next few days, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

📹PTI

28/10/2025

In Focus Podcast | In today’s episode, we turn our attention to Manipur, a state in India’s Northeast that has been experiencing conflict on ethnic lines. In 2023, the violence between the valley-dwelling Meitei community and hill-based Kuki-Zo tribes erupted in full force: homes burned, villages razed, thousands displaced, and lives forever changed.

Guest: Siam Thangsing, an independent researcher who has published work on Gender and Health during the conflict; and Greeshma Kuthar, a reporter and lawyer who has been in Manipur’s conflict zones.
Host: Nitika Francis
Edited by Jude Weston

In today’s episode we turn our attention to Manipur; a state in India’s Northeast that has been experiencing conflict on ethnic lines. In 2023, the violence ...

28/10/2025

After Bihar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has now embarked on a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 States and Union Territories. Its stated goal is unambiguous — to update the rolls which have been affected by frequent migration, dead voters and other inaccuracies, which have been pointed out by political parties, the Congress in particular.

Yet, the experience in Bihar suggests that the process, as envisaged, could risk the disenfranchisement of a significant number of people. It was conducted on a short timeline — roughly a month for enumeration and a month for claims and objections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwAG4Z6Ivg0

28/10/2025

“Music romba nalla irukku (music is really good),” said AR Rahman to Ajaneesh Loknath in their recent virtual interaction. For the music composer who grew up listening to the legendary composer’s chartbusters, the words of praise for his work in Kantara: Chapter 1 meant a lot.

Calling ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ his toughest project yet, music composer Ajaneesh Loknath opens up on creating a rich soundtrack for the hit prequel and explains how Rishab Shetty’s passion for music enhances storytelling