Representative image (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted the Calcutta HC chief justice to requisition judicial officers from neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha to help such officers in West Bengal in expeditiously scrutinising and determining validity of claims of voters falling under ‘logical discrepancy’ or ‘unmapped’ categories of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll process. These voters in WB have been put under the categories because of, what Election Commission (EC) considers, illogical inconsistencies in their details, documents and family tree. The order came from a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi after the Calcutta HC CJ informed that though 294 serving and retired district judges and additional district judges have been assigned SIR work, they would take at least 80 days to scrutinise documents of 50 lakh voters in these two categories even if each judicial officer decided 250 cases a day.The bench allowed the Calcutta HC CJ to draft judicial officers in the state with three years’ experience for SIR work and said if more additional hands are required to complete the task expeditiously, then he could requisition similarly experienced judicial officers from neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha. Significantly, the bench said EC will be publishing the final voter list on Feb 28 containing the names of all those who have been verified. However, as the process of verifying the 50 lakh voters’ documents along with claims would take some time, EC would be publishing supplementary voter lists after Feb 28.SC said the 11 documents notified by EC for SIR work as well as with Class X examination admit card along with marksheet would be considered as valid documents to claim inclusion in the voter list, while making clear yet again that Aadhaar would be used only for identification purposes.“There is no question of Aadhaar card being used to claim citizenship,” the bench said, adding that only cases of voters who have submitted their documents by Feb 14 will be verified by the judicial officers while determining their claim for inclusion in the voter list.Invoking its powers under Article 142, the bench said the supplementary voter lists would be deemed to be part of the final list published on Feb 28. Laying importance on completion of SIR of WB’s voter list, the bench said the Calcutta HC CJ would request his counterparts in Jharkhand and Orissa HCs for additional hands – civil judges with three-year experience – to help in verification of documents and claims of voters bracketed in ‘logical discrepancy’ and ‘unmapped’ categories. SC asked EC to bear the expenses towards travel, lodging and honorarium of the judicial officers who would be coming to WB from Jharkhand and Odisha. Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay told the court that most illegal migrants across India have Aadhaar cards which have been made in WB. He said the SC could give a direction to control and curb these fake Aadhaar cards.CJI said this may require a deeper probe, but this is not the time to do so. “Let the right atmosphere be there for such an exercise,” CJI Kant said. Justice Bagchi said the best way forward is for Upadhyay to make a representation to solicitor general Tushar Mehta who could in turn forward it to the Union govt for appropriate action and amend the Representation of the People Act.Justice Bagchi said, “If Aadhaar is procured fraudulently on an industrial scale as you are alleging, then it requires to be statutorily regulated. Because the RP Act was amended and Aadhaar was brought in as a document which will prove identity. We must acknowledge that.” “We have already clarified that Aadhaar is for identity purposes. So, there is no question of citizenship being canvassed through Aadhaar,” he said.

No question of Aadhaar being used to claim citizenship: Supreme Court

The order came from a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi after the Calcutta HC CJ informed SC that though 294 serving and retired district judges and additional district judges have been assigned SIR work, they would take at least 80 days to scrutinise documents of 50 lakh voters even if each judicial officer decided 250 cases a day.The bench allowed the Calcutta HC CJ to draft judicial officers in the state with three years’ experience for SIR work and said that if more additional hands are required to complete the task expeditiously, he could requisition similarly experienced judicial officers from neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha.Significantly, SC said EC will publish final voter list on Feb 28 containing the names of all those who have been verified. However, as the process of verifying the 50 lakh voters’ documents along with claims would take some time, EC would publish supplementary voter lists after Feb 28.SC said the 11 documents notified by EC, as well as Class X exam admit card along with the marksheet, would be considered valid to claim inclusion in the voter list, while making clear yet again that Aadhaar would be used only for identification purposes.“There is no question of Aadhaar being used to claim citizenship,” SC said, adding that only cases of voters who have submitted their documents by Feb 14 will be verified by the judicial officers while determining their claim for inclusion in the voter list.Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142, the CJI-led bench said that the supplementary voter lists would be deemed to be part of the final list published on Feb 28.SC asked EC to bear the expenses towards lodging and honorarium of the judicial officers who would be coming from Jharkhand and Odisha.Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay told SC that most illegal migrants have Aadhaar cards that have been made in WB. He said the SC could give a direction to control and curb these fake Aadhaar cards.The CJI said this may require a deeper probe, but this is not the time to do so. Justice Bagchi said the best way forward is for Upadhyay to make a representation to SG Tushar Mehta, who could in turn forward it to the Union govt for appropriate action.

Judges on SIR work get bomb threats

Hoax emails threatening suicide bomb attacks and RDX blasts were sent Tuesday to district judges supervising SIR verification work in Kolkata, West Burdwan, Hooghly and Murshidabad, prompting drills in at least six courts. Searches found nothing. Bengal Chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty termed the threat a hoax.

Bhojpuri superstar Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, has once again grabbed headlines — this time for his candid remarks about his personal life. The actor, who has been married to Mansha Devi since 2000 and is a father to two sons, opened up about his marriage and his views on love during a recent interaction, sparking conversations across social media and entertainment circles.In an interview with Digital Commentary, Nirahua reflected on his early marriage and admitted that he still carries regret. He also revealed that he has advised his sons to choose their life partners independently.He said, “I told my sons that you should get married by your own choice. My parents forced me into marriage. I kept saying, please let me do something first. Let me become something. I do regret that. Your life partner should be someone you love. That did not happen in my case.”The actor acknowledged that while he has fulfilled his responsibilities, emotionally, he feels something was missing.

‘I have told my wife I never loved her’

Nirahua went a step further and shared that he has been honest about his feelings with both his children and his wife.He said, “I told my children that I was never able to love their mother. I have also told my wife that I never loved her. Yes, it is my duty that since my parents got us married, I am fulfilling that responsibility. I do feel guilty about it. That is why I will not do the same with my children. I will never tell them that they have to do things a certain way. I will not force them.”He explained that although he continues to stand by his marriage out of responsibility towards his parents’ decision, he feels guilty about the lack of emotional connection. That guilt, he said, is precisely why he refuses to impose similar decisions on his children.

‘I will not impose anything on them’

Speaking about his family, Nirahua shared that his elder son is pursuing direction, while his younger son wants to become an actor. He made it clear that just as in matters of marriage, he does not believe in forcing career choices either.He said, “I first asked my children which field they wanted to go into, because I will not impose anything on them. My elder son said he wanted to pursue direction, so he went into direction. My younger one said he wanted to become an actor, so he entered this field. I told them to take proper training. I know that if you do something you truly like, you will do it well.” By allowing his sons to follow their own paths — both in love and career — the Bhojpuri star says he wants to ensure they have the freedom he feels he did not have in his own life.

Toronto Raptors vs Oklahoma City Thunder (Image via Getty)

The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Toronto Raptors on February 24, 2026. Oklahoma City leads the Western Conference with a 44-14 record. Toronto is 33-23 and holding a playoff spot in the East.Both teams are dealing with injuries. Oklahoma City is missing key starters, while Toronto has several players listed as questionable. Even so, both sides still have enough depth to keep the game close.

Oklahoma City Thunder injury report and expected rotation changes vs Toronto Raptors (February 24, 2026)

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is out with an abdominal strain. Jalen Williams is also out with a hamstring injury. Ajay Mitchell remains sidelined with abdominal and ankle issues.Chet Holmgren is questionable with back spasms. Alex Caruso (left ankle) and Aaron Wiggins (right hip) are also listed as questionable. Thomas Sorber is out with a torn ACL.

Oklahoma City Thunder Key Players

The roster remains mostly unchanged from last season, with the team continuing to rely on its young core.

Toronto Raptors injury report and available options vs Oklahoma City Thunder (February 24, 2026)

Jakob Poeltl is out with a lower back strain. Chucky Hepburn is also out with a knee issue and is currently on a G League assignment.Immanuel Quickley (ankle), Ja’Kobe Walter (hip), and Collin Murray-Boyles (thumb) are all questionable. That leaves Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett as the main available options.

Toronto Raptors Key Players

Toronto continues to build around Barnes, with added scoring support from younger players like Gradey Dick and Jonathan Mogbo.

Oklahoma City Thunders vs Toronto Raptors Team stats comparison

Oklahoma City has been one of the most efficient teams this season. The team scores 119.5 points per game and allows 107.7. It also ranks among the top teams in steals and blocks.Toronto averages 113.7 points per game. The team relies more on ball movement and rebounding, with 29.2 assists per game.

Oklahoma City has a slight edge in rebounding. Toronto ranks higher in assists.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Raptors injury Head-to-head and recent results

Recent meetings have gone in Oklahoma City’s favor. The team has stayed consistent with its lineup and performance.This game will be played at Scotiabank Arena.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Raptors Game outlook (February 24, 2026)

Oklahoma City will need to adjust without Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. Holmgren’s availability could affect their defense inside. Caruso could take on a larger role if he plays.Toronto will look to use Barnes and Barrett to carry the offense. If Quickley is available, it will help with ball handling and playmaking.The game may come down to execution. Oklahoma City’s defense has been steady all season. Toronto will try to control the game through passing and rebounding.

IBM or International Business Machines Corp had its worst day on stock market in more than 25 years on Monday, February 23. The 100-year-old IT giant saw its market value plunge by billions on fears that a new tool from Anthropic could up-end its dominance of corporate IT. The carnage started after AI startup Anthropic said in a blog post that its Claude Code tool can help modernize COBOL, a dated programming language that’s run on IBM computers. The stock plunged 13% — its biggest single-day percentage loss since October 2000. IBM defended the company’s prospects saying its core mainframe computer business offers a platform that provides the same quality of performance and security for various programming languages and not just COBOL. “The value IBM mainframe delivers has nothing to do with Cobol,” IBM Senior Vice President Rob Thomas wrote in a blog post. “Whether the application is written in COBOL, Java, or any other language, the platform provides the same guarantees. The language is not the source of that value. The platform is.” IBM told Yahoo Finance on the stock market rout, “IBM has been investing in code modernization for years – both through skilling initiatives and through our own generative AI capabilities. More than two years ago, we launched Watsonx Code Assistant for Z (IBM’s mainframe) because we understand the benefit of AI in modernizing code. New AI tools emerge every week, including our own. What they do not change is the fundamental engineering challenge of running mission-critical workloads at scale. Translating COBOL is the easy part. The real work is data architecture redesign, runtime replacement, transaction processing integrity, and hardware-accelerated performance built over decades of tight software and hardware coupling. That is the problem IBM has spent decades learning to solve, and AI is the most powerful tool we have ever had to do it.”In a blog post titled, ‘Lost in Translation: What the AI code debate keeps getting wrong’, IBM VP Thomas gave five reasons to stress what the entire AI debate gets wrong about AI coding and the America’s oldest technology company IBM.

Here’s Rob Thomas’ blog post for almost everyone saying a big chunk of IBM business is over as well as that software industry is dead

AI has sparked a new round of conversation about COBOL, with tools emerging that claim to translate legacy code and, with it, solve the modernization challenge. It is worth being precise about what that means and what it does not. Translating code is one thing. Modernizing a platform is something else entirely. The two are not the same, and the gap between them is where most enterprises run into trouble. But the value IBM mainframe delivers has nothing to do with COBOL. It has to do with what the platform is: a purpose-built architecture from silicon through the operating system for unmatched transactional resilience, security, performance, and efficiency at scale that no other distributed environment has been able to deliver. Whether the application is written in COBOL, Java, or any other language, the platform provides the same guarantees. The language is not the source of that value. The platform is. Here is where the translation argument falls short, and why it matters:Translation captures almost none of the actual complexity. The modernization challenge is not a COBOL language problem. It is everything the application runs on and integrates with. Enterprise COBOL on IBM Z sits inside a vertically integrated stack: z/OS, CICS, IMS, Db2, RACF, MQ, Parallel Sysplex, and Cybervault with DS8K Storage. That stack is what enables 25 billion encrypted transactions per day on a single system, 450 billion AI inferences per day at 1ms response time, up to eight nines of availability, quantum-safe encryption, and sustained 100 percent utilization without impacting SLAs. Translating COBOL does not move any of that. The real work is data architecture redesign, runtime replacement, transaction processing integrity, and non-functional requirements baked into the platform itself. That is system-level engineering, not language conversion. Decades of hardware-software integration cannot be replicated by moving code. COBOL on IBM Z is code optimized over decades of tight coupling between software and hardware. An analogy is the iOS and iPhone: someone could build an alternative, but it is unlikely to displace a billion iPhones. The performance derives from tight coupling of software and hardware, processor-level acceleration, I/O subsystem optimization, and decades of performance tuning. AI strengthens the mainframe case, it does not weaken it. Code refactoring, DevOps modernization, knowledge preservation, and quality-of-service improvements are all on-platform opportunities that AI accelerates. It compresses timelines and addresses the skills gap as experienced COBOL developers retire. Each of these is an argument for doing more on IBM Z, not less. SaaS-only solution does not hold up under scrutiny. Given the depth of on-premises dependencies, it is difficult to see how a SaaS-only solution can replace the COBOL applications on the mainframe, meeting the demands of the enterprise. And given everything happening around digital sovereignty and data residency, would an organization make its most critical transactions dependent on a provider operating in a jurisdiction it does not control? Some of this conversation is not about the mainframe. Roughly 40 percent of COBOL runs on Windows, Linux, and other distributed platforms. A large portion of the AI-and-COBOL story is a distributed systems problem that has been folded into a mainframe headline. The two challenges require different approaches and conflating them leads to the wrong solution. The tools that translate COBOL are solving a real problem. Just not the one that matters the most for enterprises running IBM Z. Most of the headlines are about the code, but the engineers doing this work know the code is the starting point, not the destination. What the application runs on, how it scales, how it recovers, how it is encrypted, and how it integrates with everything around it – that is the real modernization work. Understanding that difference is where the work actually starts. This isn’t theoretical. Clients are already proving these points: Royal Bank of Canada – Utilized watsonx Code Assistant for Z to proactively identify dependencies, data flows, structure and organization of existing applications, creating an in-depth blueprint for the modernization and management of changes to core system applications. Learn more. National Organization for Social Insurance – NOSI observed up to a 94% reduction in time to analyze and locate superfluous COBOL code and programmatic routines, reducing the identification time from approximately 8 hours to nearer to 30 minutes using watsonx Code Assistant for Z. Learn more. ANZ Bank – uses modern DevOps tools to reduce manual operations by 60% and accelerate application modernization. Learn more. In summary, the AI debate is real and AI for code will drive substantial value creation, but neither should be lost in translation.

Team Pakistan (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals took a hit after their loss to England, but they are still not completely out of the race.England chased down Pakistan’s 164-run target thanks to a brilliant century from captain Harry Brook, who scored 100 off 51 balls, helping his team qualify for the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Pakistan had earlier posted 164/9, with Sahibzada Farhan top-scoring with 63, while Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman added 25 each. England’s bowlers kept things tight, but Brook’s knock proved too strong. For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets, but it wasn’t enough to stop England. With this result, England are through to the semis. Pakistan, however, have one point from two matches (one loss and one washed-out game) and still have a slim chance to qualify, depending on other teams’ results.

Super 8 Group 2 points table

For Pakistan to reach the semi-finals, a few things must go their way. First, Pakistan must beat Sri Lanka in their final Super 8 match. Then, they need New Zealand to lose both of their remaining matches. If that happens, Pakistan will move ahead on points and qualify. If New Zealand win one match and lose one, then qualification will come down to net run rate (NRR), meaning Pakistan will need to have a better scoring and bowling record than New Zealand. Any other combination of results will knock Pakistan out of the tournament. In short, Pakistan must win their last match and hope for favourable results from New Zealand’s games to stay alive in the World Cup.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Photo credit- PTI)

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have formally launched negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after signing a joint statement aimed at deepening trade and investment ties between the two sides, a government statement said.The joint statement was signed by Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and GCC secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi in New Delhi, marking the formal start of negotiations for a “comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement”.Goyal said the joint statement, along with the Terms of Reference (ToR) signed earlier, marks “a significant milestone in the relationship between India and GCC countries”. He added that ties rooted in shared history and cultural linkages would receive fresh momentum through a broad-based FTA.He underlined that “amidst global uncertainties, it is most opportune that discussions are starting on negotiating a robust trading arrangement which would harness mutual synergies and complementarities,” according to the cabinet statement.Albudaiwi said the proposed agreement would serve as “an important tool to further strengthen trade and investment ties between India and GCC countries by infusing predictability and certainty for businesses”.The GCC remains India’s largest trading partner bloc, with bilateral trade reaching $178.56 billion in FY 2024-25, including exports worth $56.87 billion and imports of $121.68 billion, accounting for 15.42% of India’s global trade. Trade between the two sides has grown at an average annual rate of 15.3% over the past five years.India’s key exports to GCC countries include engineering goods, rice, textiles, machinery, and gems and jewellery, while imports are dominated by crude oil, LNG, petrochemicals and precious metals such as gold.Collectively, GCC economies represent a market of about 61.5 million people and a combined GDP of $2.3 trillion at current prices, ranking ninth globally. The region is also a major source of foreign investment for India, with cumulative FDI exceeding $31.14 billion as of September 2025.Nearly 10 million Indian nationals live across GCC countries, forming what officials described as a “living bridge” strengthening economic and people-to-people ties, alongside the strong presence of Indian companies across the region.

NEW DELHI: In a sweeping crackdown on air pollution, the Maharashtra government has issued stop-work notices to more than 1,000 construction sites across Mumbai, with nearly 88 per cent of active projects facing action for violating environmental norms, Environment Minister Pankaja Munde informed the state legislative assembly on Tuesday.Presenting data from October 2025 to January 2026 under the ongoing “clean air” initiative, Munde said 1,047 stop-work notices and 1,981 show-cause notices were served to errant sites as authorities tightened enforcement against dust and pollution violations.Of the 2,224 active construction projects in the city, 1,952 — about 88 per cent — have installed low-cost air quality sensors, while the remaining faced strict penalties.On January 16 alone, 678 projects were ordered to halt operations for failing to comply with mandatory sensor installation norms, underscoring the government’s push for technology-driven monitoring of pollution sources.“We are following a strict escalation matrix for violators. Construction projects failing to adhere to dust-mitigation guidelines are first given a formal intimation, followed by a show-cause notice, and then a stop-work order if they remain non-compliant,” Munde said in a written reply on AQI levels.The minister asserted that Mumbai’s air quality has largely remained within the ‘satisfactory’ (51–100) and ‘moderate’ (101–200) categories. Refuting allegations of a public health crisis, she cited reports from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), which recorded no adverse health impacts among vulnerable groups such as children and senior citizens during the fluctuation in air quality.As part of intensified enforcement, the BMC’s 25 ward-level flying squads have been targeting illegal debris transport, collecting over Rs 1.21 lakh in fines during the four months.To tackle the city’s persistent dust problem, authorities have also deployed 126 water tankers and 25 misting machines, washing over 14,408 kilometres of roads.

At least five police officers were killed in two coordinated attacks on police vehicles in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, officials said, highlighting a renewed spike in militant violence in the region.The first attack took place in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where gunmen ambushed a police vehicle and shot dead one officer. Within minutes, as additional personnel rushed to the scene, the assailants struck again, killing four more officers, local police official Kamran Khan told news agency AP.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, which appeared to be carefully timed to target responding officers.The violence came just a day after another deadly episode in nearby Karak. On Monday, attackers used an explosives-laden drone to hit a paramilitary post, injuring several personnel. As the wounded were being transported for treatment, the assailants ambushed two ambulances. Three officers were killed in the attack, and their bodies were set on fire before the attackers fled. Despite suffering burn injuries, the driver of the second ambulance managed to evacuate other wounded officers to safety. Authorities later recovered the remains of the slain personnel.While no group has formally claimed responsibility for this week’s attacks, suspicion is likely to fall on Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban. The group is distinct from but maintains close ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the TTP of operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, an allegation both the group and the Taliban administration in Kabul deny.The latest bloodshed follows a major military operation along the Afghan border on Sunday, in which Pakistan’s armed forces said they killed at least 70 militants in strikes on suspected hideouts. The military said those targeted were linked to recent attacks inside the country.The back-to-back assaults highlight mounting security challenges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where militant attacks have intensified in recent months.