People protest in Karachi over forced marriages, conversions of minor Christian girls

IANS | April 1, 2026 3:23 PM

Islamabad, April 1 (IANS) Christian groups and rights activists staged a protest in Pakistan's Karachi, expressing deep concern over what they described as a rising wave of forced marriages and religious conversions involving minor girls from their community across the country, a leading minority rights group said on Wednesday.

BJP's Chakraborty accuses Trinamool of 'divisive politics', lauds SIR, flags issue of 'dead voters' (IANS Exclusive)

IANS | April 1, 2026 3:19 PM

Kolkata, April 1 (IANS) BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty on Wednesday hit out at the Trinamool Congress over what he described as "divisive politics" in West Bengal, while also lauding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and raising concerns over reports of "dead voters." The actor-turned-politician questioned alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and suggested that such issues needed closer scrutiny to ensure transparency in the voting process in the upcoming Assembly polls.

Abhishek, Kishan retain top two spots, SA’s Esterhuizen makes major gain

IANS | April 1, 2026 3:06 PM

Dubai, April 1 (IANS) India's Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan stay in the top two positions, while South African batter Connor Esterhuizen has continued his upward momentum with significant progress in the latest ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings update after his recent performances against New Zealand.