West Bengal and Tamil Nadu recorded the highest-ever voter turnout in state polls after a controversial voter roll revision, according to DW.

India issued a fresh advisory for its nationals, strongly cautioning against travel to Iran as limited flight operations resume between the two countries. The Indian Embassy in Tehran stated, “Indian citizens are strongly advised not to travel to Iran, whether by air or land,” citing continued regional tensions and uncertainty due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The US called India “a great country” after President Donald Trump reshared a post referring to India and China as a “hellhole.” A US Embassy spokesperson attempted to defuse tensions, saying “The President has said India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top.” India’s Ministry of External Affairs initially declined to comment but later called the remarks “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste.”

Tamil Nadu recorded a historic voter turnout of over 84% across all 234 Assembly constituencies, the highest since 1952. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) attributed the increase to changes in the electorate following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Phase 1 of the assembly polls in West Bengal concluded with a record turnout of 92.25% after mass voter deletions during a months-long SIR exercise. Over 9 million voters were removed from the rolls, with the highest deletions in Murshidabad district, which saw a turnout of 93.55%.

Delhi recorded its hottest day of the year so far and grappled with the news of the gruesome rape and murder of a government official’s daughter.

Source: www.dw.com