Polling began for high-stakes electoral battles in two states, Assam and Keralam, as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry, on Thursday at 7 am with the Election Commission making arrangements for free, fair and smooth polling.

Voters queued outside polling stations to cast their votes in a single-phase Assembly election.

Ratna Debnath, the BJP candidate and mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim, has vowed to defeat Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections, taking a vow that she won't comb her hair till she gets justice for her daughter.

Declaring the Chief Minister as her primary adversary, Debnath stated that the Chief Minister failed to save her daughter from the horrific crime at the RG Kar Medical College and hospital.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority on Thursday said it received an India-flagged vessel carrying 15,400 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia conflict.

JNPA described the development as notable in the backdrop of the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday appealed to the people of Assam, Kerala and Puducherry to exercise their franchise in large numbers in the assembly elections in the two states and the Union Territory.

In separate messages in English, besides Assamese, Malayalam and Tamil -- the regional languages of Assam, Kerala and Puducherry respectively -- PM Modi particularly requested the youth and the women to step forward and vote in large numbers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the two-week ceasefire in the fight against Iran was "not the end of the war" but a "stop on the way", as he vowed to achieve all war objectives, including the issue of Tehran's enriched uranium.

The US and Iran earlier agreed on a conditional two-week ceasefire that included the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for shipping.

Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported.

Shippers seek clarity on Hormuz passage as Iran issues fresh warnings

Shippers on Wednesday said they needed more clarity on the terms of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire before resuming transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Five children, including two siblings, have died within five days from a mysterious illness in Rajasthan's Salumber district, officials said on Wednesday.

The children, aged between two and four years, reportedly developed symptoms such as fever and vomiting and died within 24 hours, they said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls.

Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state.

US President Donald Trump in a social media post declared the ceasefire agreement a "big day for World Peace" and that the US "will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz."

"There will be lots of positive action!" Trump predicted in his post.

After a record surge in FY25, the pace of new demat account additions moderated in FY26 as weaker market returns and rising volatility weighed on retail sentiment.

Net additions slowed to about 32 million in FY26, even as the total number of demat accounts crossed 225 million, according to data from depositories NSDL and CDSL.

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