PATNA: A man died after being hit by the incoming Patna–Howrah Vande Bharat Express at Barh railway station under the Danapur division of the East Central Railway (ECR) on Tuesday. According to Danapur RPF Commandant Uday Singh Pawar, the incident occurred around 9 am on platform number 2 when the victim reportedly went close to the edge of the platform to spit after chewing tobacco. At the same time, the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat train arrived at the station and struck him, causing him to fall onto the platform with severe head injuries, he said. Bakhtiyarpur RPF Inspector Jawhar Lall said that Barh RPF and GRP personnel immediately rushed to the spot and took the injured man to Barh Sadar Hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries during treatment, he said, adding that the identity of the deceased could not be established till the filing of this report. GRP officials at Barh have registered a case of unnatural death (UD) and initiated further investigation. Sources said the body was later sent for postmortem examination. Railway authorities of the Danapur division and RPF have urged passengers to maintain a safe distance from the platform edge, especially during the arrival and departure of semi-high-speed trains, to avoid such mishaps in future, sources added.

David Warner loses cool at PSL captains’ presser (Screengrab photo)

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 has already been in the spotlight for several off-field issues even before the tournament begins. From a fuel crisis to scheduling changes, the buildup has been far from smooth. Now, an awkward moment at the captains’ press conference has added to the drama.During the pre-tournament media interaction on Wednesday, Karachi Kings captain David Warner appeared visibly annoyed with fellow captains who were chatting and laughing while he was speaking. As he discussed his team’s chances, he suddenly paused and called them out. “What’s wrong? Sorry, gentlemen, we have got school kids here,” he said.Watch:The comment highlighted his frustration over the lack of attention and professionalism during the event.Beyond the press conference incident, the tournament itself is dealing with major challenges. Due to a fuel crisis linked to ongoing tensions in West Asia, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to hold matches with restrictions and limit travel.PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi explained the situation, saying, “The Prime Minister requested all of Pakistan to restrict their movements because of the fuel crisis. We closed schools and instituted work from home and increased the number of Eid holidays. We don’t know how long this war will last.”As a result, the PSL has been scaled down, with matches now set to be played only in Lahore and Karachi instead of multiple venues. The opening ceremony has also been cancelled.Despite all the disruptions, the tournament is scheduled to begin on March 26 and run until May 3, though uncertainties still remain around how smoothly it will be conducted.

NEW DELHI: India has tightened its digital security framework, mandating stricter compliance for telecom equipment, CCTV systems and data protection, amid heightened concerns over vulnerabilities in surveillance infrastructure and emerging espionage risks flagged by recent investigations.The move comes against the backdrop of long-standing concerns over the widespread use of imported CCTV equipment -particularly from Chinese manufacturers-in critical and public surveillance networks. These concerns have sharpened after security agencies recently stumbled upon Pakistan-linked espionage modules operating within India, raising fresh questions about potential exploitation of unsecured surveillance systems.Global precedents have also underscored the risks. Security experts have pointed to instances such as Israel’s reported targeting of Iranian leadership, where infiltration of urban surveillance networks, including traffic cameras, enabled real-time tracking of high-value targets.Against this backdrop, the govt has notified mandatory Essential Requirements (ERs) for CCTV systems in the Indian market. The rules require disclosure of the origin of critical hardware components such as system-on-chip (SoC), testing against vulnerabilities that allow unauthorised remote access, and certification through accredited labs. So far, 507 CCTV models have been certified under these norms.Govt departments have been barred from procuring CCTV equipment that does not meet these standards, with ministries advised to secure existing video surveillance networks .At a broader level, the legal backbone has been strengthened through the Telecommunication Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2022. The earlier National Security Directive on Trusted Sources (2021) mandates procurement of telecom equipment only from approved vendors. Officials said it emphasized the growing importance of securing interconnected digital infrastructures .

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Wednesday said magnitude of financial burden could not be factored in to deny just and fair compensation for land acquisition even as it limited the applicability of a liberal compensation regime – a decision that could substantially reduce National Highways Authority of India’s Rs 29,000 crore liability for land acquired since 1995.NHAI had sought review of two judgments in a case titled Tarsem Singh on the grounds that it had erroneously calculated the financial burden to be Rs 100 crore when it would amount to approximately Rs 29,000 crore.A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said, “Constitutional guarantee of just compensation cannot be rendered contingent upon the magnitude of the financial burden. Consequently, a mere escalation in projected liability, howsoever significa-nt, does not constitute, per se, a valid ground for review or modification of the judgment.”Writing the verdict, CJI Kant said the principle laid down in the earlier judgments – the fiscal implications of granting solatium and interest cannot override the substantive entitlement of land-losers – was sound in law and equity and required no modification. However, SC felt the necessity of clarifying the earlier judgments to limit the relief of solatium and interest to those landowners whose claims had remained pending and deny it to those who had already received their compensation and never appealed against it. These landowners could not get up from slumber after decades and seek enhanced compensation based on the Tarsem Singh judgments, the bench said. “All landowners whose clai-ms regarding quantum and/or components of compensation for their lands acquired under the NH Act were alive on or after March 28, 2008… shall be entitled to seek addition of ‘interest’, ‘solatium’, and ‘interest on the solatium’ to their compensation claim,” SC said.