TRENDING VIRAL NEWS

The coming by-polls in West Bengal are expected to be bellwether for which way the political winds are blowing in Mamata Banerjee's West Bengal after the massive protests over the rape-murder of a Kolkata doctor. The protest, strongly backed by the urban middle class, has shaken the state and despite protesters' claims that it was apolitical, it had received significant support from the opposition. By-polls are due in six seats in various parts of the state - their geography and demography are expected to be strong indicators of the political trend. The seats include Naihati, the urban centre close to Kolkata, the minority dominated Haroa, Taldangra with a significant tribal population, Sitai with a chunk of minority and Rajbanshi vote, the tea garden seat of north Bengal. Madiahat and Medinipur. Many believe that the results now could throw light on whether the RG Kar protests will impact future elections. The Opposition BJP, which has been trying to dislodge Mamata Banerje...

Bhutan, considered one of the happiest countries in the world, is working on a mega project, one that has the potential to redefine not just how sustainable living can be achieved, but become a global model unlike any other in the world today. The project - a mega 'Mindfulness City' in Gelephu. Though it is called a city, it is massive - spread over 2,500 square kilometers. It is a Special Administratve Region (SAR). It will have its own government and have the independence to have its own lawmaking, as well as an independent judiciary. But what makes it special? Photo Credit: big.dk The Gelephu 'Mindfulness City' will have two protected areas - a national park and a wildlife sanctuary. It will have rivers that will have the potential to generate 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts of electricity through renewable energy. It has forests, biological corridors and is teeming with wildlife. It has its own agricultural hubs and small towns. Photo Credit: big.dk The 'Mi...

US health authorities said Wednesday that slivered onions used by McDonald's triggered an e.Coli outbreak that sickened 90 people. "Fresh, slivered onions served on Quarter Pounders and other menu items from McDonald's are the likely source of this outbreak," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. These particular onions were supplied by Taylor Farms, which issued a voluntary recall. McDonald's also pulled the onions. Restaurants in a dozen US states temporarily pulled the burgers from their menus this month amid the outbreak linked to them. The number of people sickened now stands at 90, including 27 who had to be hospitalized, and an elderly man in Colorado died. McDonald's on Sunday said it would resume selling its Quarter Pounder hamburgers after tests for e.Coli came back negative. The e.Coli bacterium causes stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting that last three to four days. Most people recover without needing treatment but some devel...

The country is celebrating the festival of lights Diwali today. On this special occasion, the who's who of Bollywood and the South film industry extended warm wishes to their fans. The celebrities posted pictures of diyas and festivities on their official Instagram handles and fans commented sharing their love. Stars from across the country wished for happiness and prosperity for all. Kareena Kapoor shared a photo of herself from vacation and wrote, “Dare to dream …Look ahead…Look after your mind and heart…Feel the light …Happy Diwali Friends #2024.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kareena Kapoor Khan (@kareenakapoorkhan) Akshay Kumar shared a small clip of lighting diya on his Instagram Stories. The text on the video read, “Shubh Deepawali”. Parineeti Chopra shared a photo of herself holding a plate of diya. The actress wore a traditional green attire for the occasion. "Wish you all a CHAMKILA diwali!,"...

Nawab Malik, now the official candidate of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, told NDTV today that the allegations now levelled at him were "irresponsible" and the verdicts in the cases would vindicate him. His response was to the remarks of senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who had called him a "terrorist". "These are irresponsible statements. Nawab Malik was never a terrorist nor was ever with any terrorist or any criminal. Nawab Malik has been in politics in this country for 50 years," Mr Malik told NDTV in an exclusive interview.  Some people think giving such comments would help increase their vote bank but it actually has the opposite effect, he said. "Now the matter is sub judice, so I can't obviously discuss it. Once the verdict comes, everything will be clear," he added. Mr Malik was arrested by central agencies in an alleged  money laundering case involving mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates Chhota...

It has been a topsy-turvy year for Indian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan . Kishan was left out of the BCCI central contracts list after taking a break from cricket during the series against South Africa. However, he showed a brilliant run of form in the Duleep Trophy as well as the Ranji Trophy to find a place in the India A squad for the tour of Australia. Ahead of his comeback, Kishan opened up about his journey and the role that Hardik Pandya played in his guiding him. "Every individual is different. I feel not everyone would think like that. I feel I am lucky enough that my thinking pattern is very practical. I am a very practical guy. I have spent a lot of time with Hardik (Pandya) and you also know that he is a very practical guy. What's needed, is needed. You don't have to cry about everything... So I have also started thinking like that," Kishan told Times of India. “At a very young age, I was picked by Mumbai Indians and I have been friends...

An Arctic seed vault on Norway's Spitsbergen island received new samples last week from the largest number of depositors since 2020, reflecting fear about the threat of conflict and climate change to food security, a custodian of the facility said recently. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, set deep inside a mountain to withstand disasters from nuclear war to global warming, was launched in 2008 as a backup for the world's gene banks that store the genetic code for thousands of plant species. Billed as a doomsday vault protected by permafrost, the deposit has received samples from across the world, and played a leading role between 2015 and 2019 in rebuilding seed collections damaged during the war in Syria. "Climate change and conflict threaten infrastructure and impact food security for over 700 million people in more than 75 countries worldwide," Executive Director Stefan Schmitz of the Crop Trust said in a statement. Among the new desposits, Bolivia's first ...

The organisers of the Ballon d'Or award insisted on Monday that "no player or club" knows who has won the award, responding to Real Madrid's decision to boycott the event because they believe that  Vinicius  would not win. "All the clubs and players are in the same boat," a Ballon d'Or source told AFP, pointing out the strict confidentiality rules laid down for this 2024 edition. Real Madrid said they will stay away from the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday as they are convinced that their striker  Vinicius , the favourite to win the men's award, has been snubbed. The club told AFP it questioned the methods behind the selection of the Ballon d'Or winner, saying that defender Dani Carvajal, another of the 30 players nominated, had also been unfairly overlooked.  "If the award criteria doesn't give it to  Vinicius  as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner," the club told AFP.  ...

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole today said that he was "friends" with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut amid reports of tension between the two allies. "I am friends with Sanjay Raut. I don't understand why people create disputes between us," said Mr Patole at NDTV Marathi's Jahirnama event. Terse remarks by Mr Patole and Mr Raut amid the delay in the seat-sharing announcement for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra triggered the rift buzz. To a veiled swipe of Sanjay Raut where he said the Congress leaders are "not capable of taking decisions", Mr Patole shot back, "If Sanjay Raut is controlling Uddhav Thackeray, that is their issue. We have the responsibility of telling the reality of our leaders and we are doing that. We do not want to speak anything on what Sanjay Raut does." Other Congress leaders, however, played down the statements insisting that talks were going smoothly. During the event, Mr Patole also a...

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday lashed out at Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi for charging the newly formed political party with bribing voters in by-elections to four assembly seats of Bihar. Mr Manjhi, who is also a former Chief Minister of Bihar, had made the allegation on Friday evening, at a rally in Imamganj which has fallen vacant upon his election to Lok Sabha and from where his daughter-in-law Deepa is trying her luck as the candidate of his Hindustani Awam Morcha. "The Jan Suraaj people are making people sign forms pledging support for the party in the by-polls. The voters have been promised cash reward of Rs one lakh each in the event of Jan Suraaj candidate's victory", Mr Manjhi had said. When asked about the charge, Prashant Kishor, who was on the campaign trail in Tarari, shot back "Does Manjhi realise what he is saying? In almost every assembly segment, there are about two lakh voters. If we are promising to give Rs one lakh to each o...

The Congress on Saturday released its second list of 23 candidates for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections, fielding a "strong" contender against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Bawankule, who is recontesting Kamthi seat in Nagpur district - which he had bagged in 2004, 2009 and 2014 till he was dropped in 2019, will lock horns with Suresh Y. Bhoyar, a former President of the Nagpur Zila Panchayat. Similarly, in Savner in Nagpur district, the Congress has fielded Anuja S. Kedar, the wife of former minister and five-term MLA Sunil C. Kedar, who was convicted in a graft case and disqualified. The daughter of the legendary cricket administrator and former Maharashtra Speaker SK Wankhede, whose name adorns the BCCI stadium in Mumbai, Kedar had filed her nomination papers as an Independent, but will now contest on a Congress ticket. The Congress' second list comes two days after the first list with 48 candidates was issued as the...

Nvidia dethroned Apple as the world's most valuable company on Friday, following a record-setting rally in the stock powered by an insatiable demand for its new supercomputing AI chips. Nvidia's stock market value briefly touched $3.53 trillion, while that of Apple was $3.52 trillion, according to data from LSEG. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world's most valuable company, before it was overtaken by Microsoft and Apple. The tech trio's market capitalizations have been neck-and-neck for several months. Microsoft's market value stood at $3.20 trillion. Nvidia's stock has risen about 18% so far in October, with a string of gains coming after OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced a funding round of $6.6 billion. Nvidia provides chips used to train so-called foundation models such as OpenAI's GPT-4. "More companies are now embracing artificial intelligence in their everyday tasks and demand remains strong for Nvidia chips," said Russ Mo...