Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay appointed his spiritual advisor as Officer on Special Duty. Public outcry led to the swift revocation of this appointment. This event underscores the deep-rooted influence of astrology in Indian politics. Many leaders privately consult astrologers for crucial decisions. This practice continues despite public scrutiny and modern governance.

The party has bought itself time after recent electoral gains. Yet the road to 2029 will test whether Congress can reinvent itself — or remain a diminished player in national politics.

At Google I/O 2026, Google made several major announcements, offering a glimpse into the future of technology. From its first-ever Audio Glasses to a revamped Search to a serie sof new AI models, the first day keynote of I/O 2026 was packed with launches. One of the big highlights was a revamped Search which is now completely reimagined with AI. Google Search isn't about searching the internet anymore. At its biggest event of the year 2026, Google introduced an intelligent Search box, fully powered by AI, marking a major shift in how users interact with Google Search called the "Generative UI in Search". "We’re entering the era of Search agents, where you can easily create, customize and manage multiple AI agents for your many tasks, right in Search," Google announced. Another key announcement was Google's first ever no-screen Audio Glasses. Developed in partnership with Samsung, the glasses will debut later this year.As the tech world turned its attention to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in California, Google introduced Gemini Omni, a new AI model that the company says will initially focus on video-based generation before expanding to support “any output from any input” over time. Calling the model as its most advanced AI model yet, Omni's first version is called Gemini Omni Flash. It is expected to launch before a more advanced Pro variant arrives late this year. Google also announced Gemini 3.5 Flash which is available today in the Gemini app. Antigravity CLI, Antigravity SDK, and Native Voice Support too are available globally starting today. As announced by the company, SynthID verification is now available in Search and Chrome. This means that Google is rolling out SynthID and C2PA verification to Search and Chrome. Search giant is focusing on improving Gemini on Agentic Coding, Long-Horizon Tasks, and Real-World Workflows. This means that users can more easily identify AI-generated imagery. Google also introduced a new Universal Cart tool that leverages Gemini and the Universal Commerce Protocol, enabling buyers to gather products from across the web through Gemini, Gmail, YouTube, and more, with added benefits such as deal tracking and smart recommendations. Along with CEO Sundar Pichai, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and other top Google executives take stage at the today's event. The company announced that Gemini app now has over 900 million monthly active users. Google also unveiled a new design for the Gemini app. Called Neural Expressive, the redesign features new colors, animations, and a completely repositioned Gemini Live icon. On mobile, there’s just a ‘plus’ menu that opens a bottom sheet with a carousel of upload options at the top. TOI Tech is covering the event live, stay with us for all the key updates from Google I/O 2026.

India’s Test squad for the Afghanistan match will be led by Shubman Gill, with KL Rahul replacing Rishabh Pant as vice-captain.