General Election 2019 Phase 6 | 59 seats in six States and Delhi go to polls

The sixth and penultimate phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held in 59 constituencies in six States and Delhi on Sunday. Elections will be held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 seats in Haryana, eight constituencies each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, seven seats in Delhi and four in Jharkhand. Over 10.17 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to choose among the 979 candidates in fray. The Election Commission has set up over 1.13 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

Special | Held as ‘Bangladeshi’, Assam villager returns as ‘Indian’ after 3 years

Moments before he left the Goalpara Central Jail in western Assam on May 7, Rehat Ali had promised the jail superintendent he would not say anything bad about his “home” of more than three years.  “How can I forget the number of days I was deemed a Bangladeshi? They killed the Indian in me every day for 1,197 days before I walked to freedom,” he said.

2 militants killed in Shopian encounter in Kashmir

Two militants are believed killed in an ongoing encounter between security forces and a group of militants in south Kashmir's Shopian on Sunday. An official said encounter broke out during a predawn operation of security forces at Hend Satioora village. "Militants opened fire when security forces zeroed in on their hiding place. Two to three militants were hiding in the area. We believe two militants were killed but the bodies are yet to be recovered," said the official.

BJP’s U.P. strategy focuses on isolating Yadavs

Bhojpuri film personality Dinesh Lal Yadav aka Nirahua is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate against Samjawadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav in this seat that votes on Sunday. The contest here illustrates the BJP’s core strategy for Uttar Pradesh: assimilate or isolate the Yadav community, which has become the fulcrum of a social compact challenging its pre-eminence in Uttar Pradesh under the SP’s alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Cyclone Fani: Initial estimate pegs crop damage at ₹150 crore

The initial estimate of Cyclone Fani’s damage to standing crops in Odisha has been pegged at ₹150 crore, but the State Agriculture Department warns that the destruction of storage facilities and harvested crops stored in the open could further spike those losses. Low insurance penetration could also exacerbate farmers’ losses, especially in the poultry sector.

Science | ‘Rain-loving’ snake discovered in Mizoram

The new genus and species of the natricine — predominantly aquatic — that took a seven-member team of herpetologists 12 years to document, has been named Smithophis atemporalis after eminent British herpetologist Malcolm Arthur Smith for his immense contribution to Indian herpetology.

Technology | How is India driving to electric mobility?

Ola Electric is undertaking several pilot programmes including charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying two-and three-wheeler electric vehicles. Will Ola Electric’s initiative provide the spark to meet India’s ambitious goal of having 30% electric vehicles by 2030?

India, Australia to adopt classified communications: official

Although the Australian Navy is, at present, “hanging off” COMCASA — India’s secure communications agreement with the U.S. — Australia and India are “moving forward” toward a classified-level communications environment, a senior Australian Navy spokesperson said.

Interview | Give Pakistan time and space to act on terror, says U.K. Under Secretary Simon McDonald

"This kind of issue, terrorism issue takes time… India may judge that action is not being taken quickly enough, but the journey has been started. There are a series of actions the Pakistanis need to take. They know they need to take them, and we are talking to them about the detail. But here I would urge that they be given some space. The fact that it doesn’t happen on the turn of a dime is not a surprise, but what this government is saying, is worth working with."

IPL 2019 final: MI vs CSK | It could be a fight to the finish in the Clash of the Titans

Both teams know how to finish at the right end of a result. In fact, they are serial winners in the IPL. Yet, one of them has to lose the big final here on Sunday. Their record glitters. Both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have triumphed in three IPL editions each. The title clash here will put one team in front with four.