PATNA: A video purportedly uploaded by a Pakistan-based man, threatening Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar over the hijab row has sent Patna police into a tizzy with cops registering a case with the cyber police station and asking Meta to block the account used to upload the video.Inspector general of police (Patna) Jitendra Rana said an email was sent to Meta to block the account and an FIR registered against the profile at the Cyber police station in Patna.“Details have been sought from Meta about the profile, which shared the video content on Instagram. Further investigation is underway to identify the uploader and people who shared it,” Rana told TOI.The Instagram user identified himself as “Shahzad Bhatti”, a Pakistan-based gangster, who released the video warning the Bihar CM of dire consequences.“Everyone must have seen what happened in Bihar…. That person still has time to apologise to that girl… Don’t say later that a warning was not given,” Bhatti said in the video.Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar said authorities immediately swung into action and the case was handed over to Patna IG for a thorough probe.Patna Cyber DSP Nitish Chandra Dharia said they have identified the Instagram ID and are investigating the threatening video message. “Further action will be taken based on our investigation,” he said.A row erupted on December 15 when the CM was distributing appointment letters to newly recruited AYUSH doctors. A video emerged, showing the CM handing a letter to Dr Nusrat Parveen, and later lowering a veil covering her face for everyone to see the achiever’s face in a gesture seen by the ruling NDA coalition as “affection shown by a father towards a daughter”.However, the incident drew criticism from opposition parties like RJD and Congress and activists elsewhere in the country.The NDA stood by Nitish, with firebrand BJP minister Giriraj Singh saying that India is not an Islamic country, and showing one’s face is not objectionable. “Doesn’t one show one’s face at the passport office and at the airport?” asked the Union minister.JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha narrated how a number of welfare schemes launched by the Nitish Kumar govt for the social, economic and educational benefit of the minority class people have proved to be milestones. “Prior to 2005, the minority class was feeling neglected, but the Nitish Kumar govt has brought it into the social mainstream,” Kushwaha said.HAM(S) patron and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said Nitish pulled the veil not with bad intention but with fatherly affection. “His intention was not bad, otherwise I, too, would have protested,” Manjhi said.

European Union reaffirms commitment to human rights

America seems to be staring at another rocky relationship with the European Union. In a social media post, US officials slammed the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened to penalize European tech companies in return. The post comes from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTP). For those unaware, USTR stands for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, a US government agency within the Executive Office of the President, responsible for advising the President and developing/implementing U.S. international trade policy, negotiating trade agreements, and resolving trade disputes. In the post, US officials have complained that the EU has not walked back broader regulation of company business practices while also proceeding with investigations of major American technology companies such as Google, Twitter, Apple, Amazon and Meta. The post specifically names certain European companies that it said enjoy access to the huge American market without any restrictions whatsoever. The European companies that face America ire include: Accenture, Amadeus, Capgemini, DHL, Mistral, Publicis, SAP, Siemens and Spotify.

USTR’s complete post targetting EU

USTR’s long post blamed EU of “persisted in a continuing course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines and directives” against American companies. It singled out potential European service providers that could be targeted by name. Here’s the complete post:“The European Union and certain EU Member States have persisted in a continuing course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against U.S. service providers. U.S. services companies provide substantial free services to EU citizens and reliable enterprise services to EU companies, and they support millions of jobs and more than $100 billion in direct investment in Europe. The United States has raised concerns with the EU for years on these matters without meaningful engagement or basic acknowledgement of U.S. concerns.In stark contrast, EU service providers have been able to operate freely in the United States for decades, benefitting from access to our market and consumers on a level playing field. Some of the largest EU service providers that have hitherto enjoyed this expansive market access include, among others:— Accenture— Amadeus— Capgemini— DHL— Mistral— Publicis— SAP— Siemens— SpotifyIf the EU and EU Member States insist on continuing to restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of U.S. service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures. Should responsive measures be necessary, U. law permits the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other actions. The United States will take a similar approach to other countries that pursue an EU-style strategy in this area.”

Kristin Cabot, the former Head of HR at tech firm Astronomer, has spoken on the viral scandal that cost her a career. After months of silence she addressed the “Kiss Cam” moment, blaming the incident on a “bad decision” fueled by “a couple of High Noons.” Cabot admitted she acted inappropriately with her then-CEO, Andy Byron. The 16-second public display of affection, captured on a giant screen of a Coldplay concert and broadcast to millions online, left the 53-year-old executive a “meme” and, by her own admission, “unemployable.”In an interview published in The New York Times on Thursday, Cabot described what led to the viral movement and how she was treated after she was seen cuddling with her boss, saying it was a lapse in judgment. She admitted that she developed a “big happy crush” on Byron, particularly after learning he was in the midst of a marital split.“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,” she told the publication, adding, “And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.”“I wanted to put a cute outfit on and go out and dance and laugh and have a great night. And that’s how it was tracking,” Cabot said in the interview. Despite a “part of my brain jumping up and down” warning her to stop, Cabot says she was “on top of the world” in the moments before the camera panned to them. “I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay,” she added.

Kristin Cabot says she got death threats

Cabot also said that she was doxxed and received 500 or 600 calls a day for weeks. She said she had to face the ‘paparazzi’ who camped across the street from her house, and cars ‘parade’ in her block. She also claimed that she got death threats: “Not 900. That showed up in People magazine. I got 50 or 60,” she said.“I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them,” she added.

The parent firm of US President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, Trump Media, a fusion energy firm called TAE, has merged, and the move has seen the share price of Trump Media jump by nearly 25% following the news, though it “slumped by about 70% in the past year.” The companies have agreed to an all-stock mergertactic that will see the “combined entity” develop “the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant” beginning in 2026, and will give the “shareholders of both companies approximately 50% of the combined entity.”In a statement to news agency AFP on Monday, Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes described this move “a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations to come.” Nunes and CEO of TAE Michl Binderbauer will be “co-CEOs of the combined company” with Michael Schwab at its board helm and even including Donald Trump Jr.The deal is “expected to close by mid-2026,” though it still “requires shareholder and regulatory approval” before it can be finalised. When it is finalized, this new company will be able to pursue its aim of starting plant construction in 2026.

What is fusion power and why it can be important to meet AI energy demands

Fusion power plants would produce electricity using the same process that powers the Sun, an objective that researchers have pursued for years. However, no commercially viable facility has been built despite decades of development.This uncommon partnership emerges as the Trump administration promotes energy-intensive AI technology that will necessitate a substantial expansion of power generation capacity.AI data centres are putting growing pressure on US electrical grids, and the White House is advocating expedited approval of energy projects to meet demand.TAE Technologies, established in 1998, claims its fusion technology could provide abundant electricity to support AI infrastructure.The California-headquartered company has constructed five fusion reactors and has a workforce of more than 400 people, including 62 individuals with PhD degrees, according to a statement.The firm has managed to raise over $1.3 billion from investors such as Google, Chevron, and Goldman Sachs. It has also promised to provide a cash contribution of a maximum of $300 million to TAE. Trump Media has also launched various projects in the past few months, such as financial services based on cryptocurrency and online video streaming, though their revenue during the first half-year period of 2025 was merely $1.7 million.

In a shocking turn of events, actress Nidhhi Agerwal encountered a harrowing mobbing experience following a song launch in Hyderabad, with footage circulating online depicting her fight to navigate through the throngs of fans. This unsettling incident has ignited a firestorm of criticism across social media platforms.

Videos of actress Nidhhi Agerwal getting mobbed and manhandled by fans after she exited a song launch event of ‘The Raja Saab’ in Hyderabad went quickly viral on the internet. Netizens slammed the behavior of the crowd and called the visuals ‘disturbing’. The actress managed to reach her car somehow and looked absolutely furious after getting inside it. Now, are you one of those who wants to know more about the actress? Then you come to the right page.

About Nidhhi Agerwal

According to the reports, Nidhhi Agerwal was born into a Hindi-speaking Marwari family in Hyderabad. She was brought up in Bengaluru. The actress can speak Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi. After participating in a beauty contest (2014), she marked her debut in movies with ‘Munna Michael’ opposite Tiger Shroff in Bollywood (2017).

She entered Telugu cinema with Naga Chaitanya’s ‘Savyasachi’ in 2018. She made her Tamil debut opposite Silambarasan TR in ‘Eeswaran’ in 2021.You will be surprised to know that her fans have built a temple of her in Tamil Nadu.

More about ‘The Raja Saab’ incident

After attending the launch event of the song ‘Sahana Sahana’ from the film ‘The Raja Saab’, Nidhhi Agerwal made her exit from the venue. While leaving the Lulu mall in Hyderabad, the actress was mobbed by the crowd, and she couldn’t move towards her car. Agerwal looked frustrated, and as soon as she reached the vehicle, she let her anger out, which was visible in the videos. She or the film team has not issued any statements on the incident as of now.

Nidhhi Agerwal’s projects

Nidhhi Agerwal has worked in movies like ‘Mr. Majnu’, ‘Hero’, ‘Kalaga Thalaivan’, and ‘iSmart Shankar’. She recently featured in Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu’. It was released in theaters in July this year. Next, she will star in Prabhas‘ ‘The Raja Saab’. The cast of the movie also includes Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, and Riddhi Kumar, apart from Prabhas and Nidhhi Agerwal.Meanwhile, Zarina Wahab, Samuthirakani, Vennela Kishore, Brahmanandam, VTV Ganesh, Satya, Prabhas Sreenu, and Yogi Babu are in supporting roles.Directed by Maruthi, the film has been scheduled to hit theaters on January 9, 2025.

Image: The Globe and Mail

When Prabjot Singh Wirring was preparing to enter the legal profession in Alberta, he encountered a requirement that placed him at the centre of a constitutional and cultural debate. Like all prospective lawyers in the province, he was expected to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning monarch, now King Charles III. For Wirring, an initiated Sikh, that oath posed a serious conflict with his religious beliefs.Rather than quietly comply or abandon his legal career, Wirring chose to challenge the rule in court. His case, first filed in 2022, ultimately reached the Alberta Court of Appeal. On December 16, 2025, the court ruled in his favour, concluding that the mandatory oath violated freedom of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ordering the province to change the requirement.

Why a Sikh lawyer took Canada’s oath of allegiance to court

At the time, Alberta required all new lawyers to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch as a condition of being admitted to the bar. While similar oaths exist elsewhere in Canada, most provinces do not make them mandatory or allow alternative affirmations.Wirring argued that the requirement forced him to choose between his religious obligations and his ability to practise law. He maintained that this amounted to an infringement of his Charter right to freedom of religion.A lower court initially dismissed Wirring’s case in 2023, characterising the oath as largely symbolic and not a meaningful infringement on religious freedom. Wirring appealed that decision, taking the matter to Alberta’s highest court.In December 2025, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned the earlier ruling. The judges found that the oath was not merely symbolic and that it placed a real and substantial burden on Wirring by conditioning his professional future on violating his faith.

What the court decided

The Court of Appeal ruled that the mandatory oath violated section 2(a) of the Charter, which protects freedom of conscience and religion. The court declared the requirement to be of no force or effect and ordered the province to fix the issue within 60 days.Judges suggested several possible remedies, including abolishing the oath altogether, making it optional, or amending its wording to remove compulsory allegiance to the monarch.

Who is Prabjot Singh Wirring

Prabjot Singh Wirring is a Canadian lawyer based in Edmonton, Alberta. He earned his law degree from Dalhousie University and was completing his articling requirements when the oath issue arose. Wirring is an Amritdhari Sikh, meaning he has formally undergone Sikh initiation and follows a strict religious code of conduct.As part of his faith, Wirring believes he can swear allegiance only to Akal Purakh, the timeless divine being in Sikhism. He argued that pledging “true allegiance” to the King would contradict a prior, absolute religious oath, something his faith does not permit.

Broader reactions and debate

The decision triggered strong reactions across Canada. Civil liberties organisations welcomed the ruling as a clear affirmation that religious freedom must not be compromised by professional requirements. Supporters argued that the judgment brought Alberta into line with other provinces and reflected Canada’s pluralistic society.Critics saw the ruling as an erosion of Canada’s constitutional traditions. They argued that as a constitutional monarchy operating under the Westminster system, legal authority ultimately flows from the Crown, making the oath a meaningful civic commitment rather than a symbolic gesture.

IndiGo flight cancellations caused massive chaos at airports

NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday stated that they have taken the complaints against IndiGo under consideration after wide=spread disruptions caused earlier this month, which included cancellation of hundreds of domestic flights.“The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has taken cognizance of Information filed against IndiGo in the context of the recent flight disruptions witnessed in the aviation sector, across various routes,” said CCI in a press release.

Further confirming that they are moving forward with regards to the case it added, “Based on the initial assessment, the Commission has decided to proceed further in the matter in accordance with the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.”This comes as the airlines witnessed widespread flight cancellations and delays mainly between December 3 and 5 due to operational and system-related challenges across several airports. The airline issued multiple public advisories and apologies during the period as it worked to restore normal operations and clear backlogs.Although earlier in the day, CEO Pieter Elbers announced that the operations have normalised completely while acknowledging the issues passengers faced. “Dear Indigo colleagues, through the storm we are finding our wings again. The worst is behind us. These last two weeks have been very challenging for all of us,” he said.Elbers also thanked pilots, cabin crew, airport staff, operations, control and customer service teams for what he described as their collective dedication.Later, an IndiGo spokesperson also shared a message via a press statement claiming the operations have stabilised. “Having completely stabilised operations across the network starting 09 December 2025 with 1,800+ flights, IndiGo has been gradually and carefully adding capacity and will be operating over 2,200 flights today, in line with the revised schedule,” it said.

D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and Koneru Humpy (GCL Photo)

NEW DELHI: Former World chess champion and one of the greatest ever to grace the game of 64 squares, Bobby Fischer once said, “I like the moment when I break a man’s ego.”Few quotes capture the long-held mythology of elite chess as sharply as that one.

Chess has always been portrayed as a battlefield of egos, where confidence borders on arrogance and humility is often learned the hard way.Garry Kasparov once called chess “mental torture”, while Viktor Korchnoi warned that “a chess player’s ego is his most dangerous opponent.”For generations, fans have accepted this as the truth. Chess players don’t talk much. They guard ideas, emotions and even friendships because it is a brutally zero-sum game. If you win, someone else must lose.As Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi puts it bluntly during his recent interaction with TimesofIndia.com, “It’s very hard to be friends with your peers because chess is a zero-sum game… there’s huge competition, everybody has their guards up.”And yet, as the Global Chess League (GCL) enters its third season, chess, the ultimate individual sport, is being forced into a team setting, with players from different countries, cultures and generations sharing jerseys, coaches and dinner tables.The question is no longer just about results. It is about personalities.Do they talk enough? Do egos clash? And can a league like GCL gently nudge chess players out of their shells?Something different from the traditional settingGrandmaster Koneru Humpy, a well-respected name in Mumba Masters, admits she was sceptical when she first encountered GCL.“We are most of the time used to calm surroundings and being very focused on the sport,” she told this website ahead of the league’s third season, currently being hosted at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai.Traditional chess tournaments resemble libraries: a hushed hall, minimal movement, eyes glued to boards. GCL, by contrast, opens with music, team colours, spectators and camera crews.“Before the games, half an hour earlier, we would gather in a room dressed in polo shirts,” Humpy recalled. “There was a band entering the playing hall, spectators cheering, a lot of noise happening.”

Koneru Humpy from Mumba Masters in action (GCL Photo)

Initially, it felt distracting.“It’s not usual,” she said. But soon, they adjusted as Humpy added, “Once we sit over the board, they maintain pin-drop silence. After a couple of rounds, I got used to it. Then it’s kind of fun.”That word, fun, is telling. Fischer rarely associated chess with fun. His relationship with the game was obsessive and massively combative. GCL introduces what can be considered chess as a shared experience.“You don’t feel the same stress as in Candidates or Grand Prix events,” Humpy admitted. “You enjoy even off the board… you get a chance to interact with your teammates. We go out for dinners together.”Do chess players really talk in teams?Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri, who will be playing in the Candidates next year, smiles at the stereotype.Chess players, he agrees, are not naturally wired for team bonding.“It depends on the player, the setting, the tournament, the mood and even the stage of one’s career (if he or she wants to talk or not)… If you are playing football, you are taught team spirit from childhood,” Giri, donning SG Pipers’ colours this season in GCL, remarked. “In chess, most events are individual. You are not really taught team bonding.”In GCL teams, that reality doesn’t disappear overnight. Giri describes teammates who would leave dinners early or skip them entirely, locked into personal routines.Yet the league forces interaction. “In our team, we shared enough moments and enough fun that we became a good homogeneous team last season,” he noted.The key, he believes, lies in leadership, the team’s captain in this case.“As a captain, you sometimes have to let go. For example, you may want to call a team meeting for everyone, but if you see that certain players are not really inclined to have it that evening, then maybe it’s better not to insist on forced team spirit. Trying to enforce it can actually break things apart even more,” the Dutchman said.

Viswanathan Anand and D Gukesh in action at Global Chess League (GCL Photo)

“Sometimes you realise, okay, today is the day to just let it be. For the sake of the team, you skip one meeting, but you preserve the good spirit between the players and the coach. Our coach last season, Abhijit Kunte, was very tactful and very smart in sensing when the team was drifting a little. He would let us go apart, only to bring us back together stronger. There’s a lot of complexity there, and that’s what makes these team events in chess so interesting.”And it’s not only Giri, but Humpy also feels that leadership plays a huge role in bridging the communication gap.“It depends first on the personality of the player. In general, from what I have observed in our team over the past two seasons, even if we were not very talkative, our team captains and managers were active in making everyone interact.“They made sure that everyone gathered at the same place. Initially, maybe for a day or two, you feel that hesitation, but then it goes on well. Everyone here is grown up, so it’s not really an issue.”Is GCL competitive enough?While some may feel that the friendly nature of the tournament is the reason why many players prefer to put their guards down. Grandmaster Richard Rapport, who plays for American Gambits this season, doesn’t feel the same.“You arrive thinking it’s relaxed, a commercial event,” the Hungarian said. “Then you see how much people care. And suddenly you realise you have to take it seriously.”“You don’t want to be the one who destroyed the good atmosphere,” Rapport added.In individual events, a bad day damages your rating, but in a league, losing affects teammates who prepared just as hard.

Over the last two seasons, Rapport has played alongside legends Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen.“If I recall correctly, we spent a bit more time with Magnus. In general, it was still somewhat distant because of the generational difference (with Anand), but there was good energy. Before the games, we would see him and spend some time together, and during double rounds, there was space to talk a little,” he added.“After the games as well, we could watch the games together and discuss things. Maybe it was more important for the younger players. For me personally, I’ve known Magnus for quite a long time, so I wasn’t particularly starstruck. Still, it was nice to have those moments.”Make no mistake: GCL is not a holiday.“Everyone wants to show their superiority over the board,” Humpy added.Short formats encourage risk-taking. Pressure leads to mistakes, not because players are weaker, but because the stakes are different.“Even irrelevant online games can get very competitive after two losses,” Rapport added. Add cameras, crowd and standings to the setting, and the tension escalates quickly.Magnus Carlsen once said, “If you don’t believe you are the best, you will never become the best.”Ego, in that sense, is fuel, something that can help young chess players, as Humpy said, “It’s also a great opportunity for junior players, because they get a chance to interact with star players and some of the most experienced, world-ranked players. That really helps them grow as players.”Chess may never become football or any other team sport. Players will still retreat into silence before games, guard routines, and protect their own ideas, and there is nothing wrong with doing that.They may not always talk enough. But for a few weeks each year, leagues like GCL remind the chess world that greatness doesn’t have to be lonely. In a sport built on breaking egos, GCL is quietly teaching players how to live with them, together.ALSO READ: The rise of ‘Queen’: From ages 8 to 18, how an all-girl team is bringing free chess to rural India