Top news of the day: Telegram app restricted in India at NTA request prior to NEET-UG 2026 re-examination; G7 leaders open summit talks; and more

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Image used for representational purposes. File | Photo Credit: Reuters At the National Testing Agency (NTA)’s request, the Union Government is blocking the messaging app Telegram in India for a week until Monday (June 22, 2026), following what the NTA described as a “response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined world leaders at the Group of Seven summit of major industrialised nations on Tuesday (June 16) for talks on ending the war in Ukraine after more than four years of conflict sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion. Mr. Zelenskyy was welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a morning working session with G7 leaders to discuss the war. The Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) directed the Tripura State Election Commission (SEC) to hold the long-overdue elections to the village committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in a single phase on September 27, making it clear that no further extension of the poll schedule would be granted. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expansion in recent years, without a corresponding restructuring of its organisational set-up, has been weighing heavily on the party leadership. With a new national team as well as a Cabinet reshuffle said to be in the offing, discussions on organisational restructuring have taken centre stage. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) accused the BJP government of having completely failed the test of accountability by not asking Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign following several exam irregularities. He also criticised the government for putting curbs on the Telegram messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-exam on June 21. The Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) sought responses from the Centre and States on a plea alleging misuse of Aadhaar cards issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as proof of citizenship, domicile and residence. The petition claimed that “infiltrators and illegal immigrants” are able to obtain Aadhaar cards and project themselves as “lawful residents”, thereby availing benefits to which they are not legally entitled. Amid a petition by the Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar-led faction of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs to merge with the Nationalist Citizen Party of India (NCPI), Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday (June 15, 2026) invited the group of TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee to “present their case”. The Speaker’s office was responding to TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s letter of June 10. Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) said the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) has agreed to accept the joining of all the dissident Lok Sabha members of her party, whose numbers are likely to go up to 22 from the present 20. The United States has “no obligation” to invest in Iran even after its deal with the Islamic Republic to end the Middle East war, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 16, 2026). “We are not investing any money” in Iran, Mr. Trump said at the G7 summit in France after talks with the emir of Qatar, adding that the main focus of the deal was that Iran would not acquire a nuclear weapon and that “all hell” would “rain down” on the country if it did. The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has not yet reached its peak, the Red Cross said Tuesday (June 16, 2026), warning it could take a year to halt the spread. Since the outbreak was declared in the DRC on May 15, 2026, 808 cases have been confirmed in the country, including 192 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrat

Top news of the day: Telegram app restricted in India at NTA request prior to NEET-UG 2026 re-examination; G7 leaders open summit talks; and more

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