ICAC shockwave hits Liberals as Elliott urges Taylor to quit A widening NSW ICAC public inquiry into alleged illegal donations and corruption links involving Liberal figures, councils and Catholic schools has spilled into federal politics, with former NSW police minister David Elliott calling for Opposition Leader Angus Taylor to resign over his connections to a key figure in the probe (which Taylor denies). The story matters because it threatens to destabilise the Coalition’s leadership narrative and keep integrity and political fundraising front-of-mind nationally. Covered by: Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph. Big Build corruption pressure: leak probe, apology — and royal commission talk Victoria is facing a fresh integrity crisis as police investigate an alleged CFMEU-related leak to the criminal underworld, while Premier Jacinta Allan issues an apology over Big Build issues. In parallel, Labor MPs are reportedly warming to a royal commission into Big Build corr

The Tripura government has expanded support for journalists by increasing the monthly pension under the Tripura Journalist Honour Pension Scheme from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 and introducing a Rs 5,000 family pension for the eligible kin of deceased journalists. The guidelines for both schemes were revised in 2025 to improve their implementation. Five more retired journalists have recently been added to the scheme, taking the total number of beneficiaries to 13. Two additional families have also been brought under the family pension scheme, raising the total number of beneficiaries to seven. The government has also provided financial assistance for medical treatment to four journalists through the Journalist Welfare Fund. Welcoming the initiative, Agartala Press Club Vice President Chitra Roy said, "The increase in the welfare pension is a positive and helpful step. However, it should not be limited to only a few senior or well-recognised journalists. Many small and local journa

"Science and space are shaping the future, and I find it rewarding to make these subjects understandable and meaningful for everyone." For journalist Dr Anubha Jain, that philosophy has guided more than two decades of reporting across science, technology, health and space. At a time when artificial intelligence, climate change, biotechnology and space exploration are increasingly shaping everyday life, she believes journalism has a responsibility not just to report scientific breakthroughs, but to explain why they matter. In an episode of Influencing Insider, Dr Jain reflected on her career, the evolution of journalism and the growing responsibility of reporters in an era shaped by rapid technological change and misinformation. Among the defining moments of her career was covering India's landmark space missions, Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1, experiences that brought her face-to-face with the scientists behind the country's achievements. "It was a goosebumps moment," she said. "N

Chandrashekhar “Chandu” Kulkarni, one of Marathi journalism’s most respected editors and investigative reporters, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 61. Kulkarni began his career with Navshakti in 1985 before serving in editorial roles at Sakal, Maharashtra Times, Loksatta, and the Lokmat Group. He was widely known for his pioneering food column “Chatakdar”, considered among the first dedicated restaurant and food columns in Marathi journalism. He also earned acclaim for his investigative reports exposing corruption in private engineering colleges and irregularities in prisons, work that won him the Yamunabai Khadilkar Investigative Journalism Award. Beyond journalism, Kulkarni authored, translated, and edited several books, remained closely associated with science and education, and presided over the Science Literature Conference in 2017, ABPLive reported. Mourning his passing, actress Ashvini Bhave wrote: “It is hard to accept that you are no longer with us, Chand

Thursday, 2 July 2026 #1  ·  Times Nation  ·  In-depth feature 100 days on, less than 1% of Bengal SIR cases have been disposed By Debashis Konar, Srishti Lakhotia   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page 6 West Bengal's 19 Special Investigation of Rolls (SIR) tribunals have disposed of only around 30,000 of 33 lakh pending appeals in 100 days since becoming operational — less than 1%. At the current pace, clearing the backlog would take over 25 years. The report also details resignations by senior judges, the absence of online tracking infrastructure, and the cascading human consequences including a young Agniveer aspirant temporarily denied police clearance due to SIR deletions. The story combines hard data, institutional accountability, and a concrete human-impact case (the Agniveer aspirant) to illustrate systemic failure across judiciary, state administration and Election Commission — a

The Journalists' Development Union of Tripura (JDUT) has condemned remarks allegedly made by Tripura BJP IT Cell In-Charge Chandan Debnath against the state's media, after he reportedly referred to journalists as "Jan-Shatru" (enemy of the people). The remarks have triggered outrage among journalists across the state, with JDUT demanding a public apology and warning of a democratic protest if Debnath fails to comply. The controversy stems from the Tripura government's recent decision to bar senior doctors from private practice. On Tuesday, the resulting rush of patients to GBP Hospital and Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) led to overcrowding, straining the hospitals' limited infrastructure, a situation several news organisations covered. Speaking to Influencing, JDUT Secretary Raju Bhowmik said, "Following the decision to prohibit private practice by senior doctors, patients who earlier visited them at private clinics were seen flocking to government hospitals, leading to

Vashi Integrated Solutions has appointed Pitchfork Partners Strategic Consulting as its strategic communications partner.  The mandate includes corporate communications, media engagement, and brand visibility initiatives aimed at strengthening Vashi's market presence and supporting its next phase of growth. The partnership will focus on building a stronger corporate narrative around the company's scale, innovation, and long-term vision.