Supreme court agrees to hear plea on NEET PG 2025 exam format

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a petition challenging the National Board of Examinations' (NBE) decision to conduct the NEET PG 2025 exam in two separate shifts.The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate courses is scheduled for June 15 and will be held in two computer-based shifts across centres in the country. The results are expected by July 15.advertisementA bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice B R Gavai, and Justice Augustine George Masih said the matter would be listed for hearing soon. The lawyer representing the petitioners reminded the court that the matter was supposed to be listed last week, as assured on May 23, but wasn't.
'This is urgent. The admit cards will be issued on June 2,' the lawyer submitted. The Chief Justice responded, 'It will be listed in a day or two.'The petitioners, including one Aditi and others, have argued that holding the exam in two shifts could lead to an unequal playing field due to possible differences in difficulty levels between the two sets of question papers. The plea has asked the court to direct the NBE to hold the exam in a single shift, ensuring fairness and equal opportunity for all candidates.advertisementEarlier, on May 5, the Supreme Court had issued notices seeking responses from the NBE, the National Medical Council, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the issue.In a related matter, the top court recently passed a verdict aimed at reforming NEET PG counselling. It ordered authorities to stop seat-blocking practices and directed that raw scores, answer keys, and the formula used for normalisation be made public for greater transparency.The current petition raises fresh concerns about fairness in the NEET PG exam process, adding pressure on the authorities ahead of the exam date.The outcome of the plea could impact lakhs of medical aspirants preparing to appear for the NEET PG 2025.

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Indian Express

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• Indian Express

Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israel amid ongoing conflict: Reports

Iran executed a man on Sunday convicted of working with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, as per Iranian Tasnim news agency. The executed individual, Majid Mosayebi, was accused of attempting to pass on 'sensitive information' to Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. AFP cited the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online news platform, reporting that Mosayebi was hanged after completing all legal proceedings, including a final ruling by Iran's Supreme Court. The judiciary said: 'Majid Mosayebi… was hanged this morning after going through the full process of criminal procedure and after his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court.' The details of Mosayebi's arrest, including when he was taken into custody, have not been disclosed. Since June 13—the date Israel launched its campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure—authorities in Iran have announced a flurry of arrests allegedly linked to Israeli intelligence operations. On Saturday, police in Iran's Qom province said they had arrested 22 individuals with suspected ties to Israeli spy networks, reported AFP. The semi-official Fars news agency quoted a police intelligence official as saying: 'Twenty-two people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime's spy services, disturbing public opinion, and supporting the criminal regime.' Further arrests were made Sunday in Kermanshah, a western province of Iran. Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir confirmed that three individuals were detained for alleged espionage. Notably, one of the detainees is believed to hold citizenship from a European country. Jahangir said, as quoted by Mizan: 'These arrests were made possible thanks to the rapid presence of the population and their assistance to the intelligence services, law enforcement agencies, and judicial officers.' In response to the growing number of espionage-related cases, Jahangir also announced that special judicial branches would be set up within provincial prosecutors' offices and courts to handle such cases under 'extraordinary' procedures. Iran frequently announces arrests of individuals it claims are spies working for Israel or other foreign powers, reported AFP, although it rarely provides supporting evidence. The country has executed numerous individuals over the years for alleged collaboration with Mossad. According to human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Iran is the world's second-highest executor of capital punishment after China. (With inputs from Reuters, AFP)

Mint

an hour ago

• Mint

A toy maker sued Trump over tariffs and won. Its operations are still in tatters.

On paper, things are looking up for Rick Woldenberg and his Illinois-based educational-toy business. Tariffs on Chinese imports are down from stratospheric levels. Federal courts have ruled the duties were invalid in the first place. And trade deals could further ease import duties. But on the ground, it is a different story. Crucial equipment has been disassembled, packed and trucked hundreds of miles on mountain roads only to be trucked back on short notice. Staff members are constantly re-evaluating a catalog of more than 2,000 toys and games, deciding which to keep producing and which to put on ice indefinitely. And the business recently had to raise prices. 'We're moving at the speed of light here—flying the plane while fixing it," said Woldenberg, who runs the family business. Founded by his grandfather in 1916, it now comprises two companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind. For weeks, Woldenberg and his roughly 500 employees—most at a suburban Chicago headquarters—have hastened to halt shipments, reroute cargo, raise prices and freeze expansion plans. The companies sued President Trump and other administration officials in federal court, winning a reprieve that is now under appeal and on hold. On Wednesday, the companies asked the Supreme Court to intervene in their favor. Through it all, the most pressing questions are how to move toy production out of China, where to move it—and how to get tons of manufacturing equipment there in time to meet deadlines for end-of-the-year holidays. 'It's almost like an evacuation," Woldenberg said. 'We don't have a place to make important items our reputation is built around." Lining up new factories in another country is just the start. Heavy manufacturing-molds must be transported hundreds or thousands of miles by truck or ship and then reassembled. Quality-control processes and safety inspections must be re-created. On Woldenberg's list: Vietnam, India and Cambodia. One place he isn't considering: the U.S. American injection-molding factories aren't set up—or cost-effective—for the painting, assembly and labor-intensive finishing the toys need, he said. Employees have hurried to halt shipments, reroute cargo, raise prices and freeze expansion plans. Woldenberg's production has been centered on China since the 1990s, when his companies started pairing up with contract manufacturers there. Factories compete vigorously for his companies' relatively small batches, and have plenty of the unskilled but experienced workers needed to manually smooth, paint, assemble and package the products, he said. After the tariffs of Trump's first term, Woldenberg began exploring new manufacturing centers and moved production for about 15% of his products to Vietnam and India over nearly three years. Last year, the companies imported $65 million of products, about 60% from China. When Trump won his second term in November, Woldenberg prepared for a trade war with China and drafted a plan to offset tariffs as high as 40%: Cut costs by 10% in every department. Rein in capital expenditures. Negotiate concessions from factories in China. (He said he got about 5% on average 'after a lot of arguing.") Keep his own price increases under 10%. Then, Trump slapped 145% tariffs on goods from China. Woldenberg threw out his plan. With tariffs at that level, he started planning to move production. That meant relocating the company's 1,500 injection molds installed in Chinese factories, weighing what he estimated to be 1.5 million pounds combined. But where? The answer was clear for one of his top products: GeoSafari Jr. Kidnoculars—bright blue, green and yellow binoculars sold under the Educational Insights brand. Amazon alone has shipped more than 9,000 a month lately, pricing them just under $10 each, and ranking it No. 1 among nature exploration toys. A factory near Hanoi already made some Kidnoculars. Woldenberg's team ordered the 13 molds in China to be sent there. They filled a flatbed truck with bulky blocks of metal stacked on pallets and wrapped in plastic. By May 1, the Kidnocular molds had arrived. Production began soon after. 'That's probably the single easiest product to move," Woldenberg said. Cooper the STEM Robot, a newcomer to the Learning Resources lineup, proved trickier. The cheerful, blue-and-black programmable ball with alligator-clip hands has sensors to detect objects and light, and can wheel along a line drawn by a child. It sells for $79.99 online. Woldenberg's team hasn't found a place to build it, or other electronics, outside China. 'Once the inventory that we have is gone, I don't know how we're going to replenish it," he said. Woldenberg doesn't dodge publicity. Under President Barack Obama, he fought tougher lead-testing rules—and in recent weeks has campaigned on cable television to end Trump's tariffs. His daughter, a company executive, posts TikToks explaining the pain of tariffs. The companies sued in late April, challenging the tariffs on constitutional and other grounds. 'It's not really our corporate personality to wait for the building to fall on our head," Woldenberg said. 'No one's going to save me. We are going to save ourselves." In court, he argued that even the president's emergency powers don't let him impose such tariffs without legislation. The government said that losing the case would hurt trade negotiations and that Trump needed to maintain the tariffs to pursue delicate talks over border crossings, narcotics control and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing. While the case wound through the courts, the tariff policy kept changing. In mid-May, the U.S. and China reached a surprise deal, lowering the new U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% for 90 days. Production in China for Woldenberg was back on, at least for a few weeks. His team moved quickly, turning around a truck about to cross China's border with Vietnam, weighed down by heavy steel molds needed for making Sight Word Swat, the Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game and other games and toys. Aborting the shipment cost the company $13,000. Two more trucks bearing company molds had already crossed the border. Woldenberg would have held off moving them had he known a deal was coming. Costs in Vietnam were running 10% to 30% higher than in China for many products, he said. More good news arrived at the end of May. A federal judge ruled that the government couldn't impose the tariffs on imports by Woldenberg's companies. The government appealed within hours. Meanwhile, the tariffs remained in place. For Woldenberg, the temporary deal with China and his initial court victory are promising but not enough. His team is heading to India and Vietnam in coming weeks to oversee new production lines, which take time to get up to speed. Some molds, including those for the Peeksville Hide & Cheep Chicken Coop, are en route to India by ship. The company just raised prices, averaging 5% to 10%. Trump recently suggested on social media that tariffs on China would be 55%. Tariff rates for Vietnam and India are scheduled to rise sharply in July—to 46% and 26%, respectively. Woldenberg says he can't predict whether those will stick, rise or fall, but says he can't afford to import from China if tariffs are 55%. 'We're like a refugee from a war—if the higher ground we sought isn't safe, we will load everything up in a donkey cart and move again," Woldenberg said. 'It's a really terrible way to run a business." Write to Theo Francis at

The Hindu

2 hours ago

• The Hindu

Tirupparankundram row: Madras High Court dismisses H. Raja's plea against police notice summoning him for inquiry

The Madras High Court on Monday (June 23, 2025) dismissed a petition filed by BJP leader H. Raja to quash a notice issued to him by the Madurai City police for conducting an inquiry with regard to a speech delivered by him during a demonstration organised by Hindu Munnani at Pazhanganatham junction in Madurai city on February 4, 2025, alleging encroachment of the Tirupparankundram hillock. Justice P. Velmurugan refused to entertain the quash petition at the admission stage itself, after observing that a person summoned for inquiry by the police had no authority to challenge such a notice issued under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The judge directed the petitioner to appear before the investigating officer for the inquiry and extend full cooperation to the investigation. The issue relates to a massive controversy that had arisen early this year with a section of people alleging that a dargah had been constructed on an encroached portion atop the Tirupparankundram hillock, which houses the Subramaniaswamy Temple, one of the Arupadaiveedu (six sacred temples) of Lord Murugan. The Madurai city police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Mr. Raja after he participated in the demonstration. The FIR was registered for alleged offences under Sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riots), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)). Subsequently, the police issued the notice under Section 35 of the BNSS for conducting an inquiry with Mr. Raja. The notice issued by the Inspector of Subramaniapuram police station also directed the petitioner to comply with a list of 10 conditions. The conditions required the BJP leader not to commit any offence in the future, not to tamper with the evidence in the present case, appear before the court concerned as and when required, and so on. The police had also warned him of arrest if he did not comply with the conditions. Mr. Raja had challenged the statutory notice on the ground that the investigating officer had exceeded his authority and assumed the role of a judicial magistrate by imposing such conditions on him. Though the quash petition was filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, it was transferred to Chennai and listed before Justice Velmurugan, who holds the portfolio of hearing all cases related to sitting as well as former MPs and MLAs.