Agartala Press Club (APC) member and veteran photojournalist with Daily Desher Katha, Bikash Kole, died at GB Hospital on Tuesday morning following a fatal fall at his residence. He was 79. Kole had been unwell for the past few months and was undergoing treatment for heart-related health issues. APC vice-president Chitray Roy said Kole had moved to Tripura from Kolkata and joined the Information, Cultural Affairs (ICA) Department as a photojournalist. He later worked in different parts of Tripura before joining Daily Desher Katha as a senior photojournalist. “I had a very close professional relationship with him. We covered many programmes together. He had a great relationship with reporters, and he was a very good photographer,” Roy said. Roy said Kole had recently received treatment at GB Hospital for his heart condition. “Our Press Club president and secretary had submitted a letter to the Chief Minister requesting support for his medical treatment and expenses. Accordin

Rajat Sharma, chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV, has been unanimously re-elected president of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) for 2026-27. Sharma was re-elected at a meeting of the NBDA Board of Directors in New Delhi on September 22. The board expressed confidence in his continued leadership. NBDA currently has 29 leading news and current affairs broadcasters as members, representing 130 news channels and digital platforms. The association also welcomed Jayant Mammen Mathew, representing MM TV Ltd, to its Board of Directors following the 19th Annual General Meeting. Rachna Burman, director, public policy & content assurance, The Times Group, and Kshipra Jatana, group general counsel, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd, were appointed permanent directors. The other board members include M.V. Shreyams Kumar, Anuradha Prasad Shukla, Kalli Purie Bhandal, Anil Kumar Malhotra, Dhruba Mukherjee, Rahul Kanwal and Mahesh Kumar Rajaraman.    

The International Media Summit-2026, also described as the Global Media Summit-2026, brought together journalists and media professionals from across South Asia in Jamalpur, Munger district of Bihar, to discuss press freedom, media cooperation and challenges facing the journalism fraternity. Organised by the All India Journalists Union (AIJU), India, the summit was held at Siddhi Vinayak Marriage Hall. Rajya Sabha MP Dr Bhim Singh attended as the chief guest, while Munger MLA Pranav Kumar was present as the special guest. AIJU national president Ranjit Samrat chaired the summit. Journalists from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka participated in the event. Among those present were Raju Lama, president of the SAARC Journalists Forum International, and secretary general Abdur Rahman. Representatives of the SAARC Journalists Forum Nepal Chapter and journalists from different countries also attended. Speaking about the summit, Samrat told Influencing India, that the summit

Wednesday, 23 September 2026 #1  ·  Times Nation / Wellness  ·  Data story / In-depth feature What ghee & coconut oil may be doing to your cholesterol By Pushpa Narayan   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page Page 14 An ICMR study presented at an American Heart Association conference found Indians who cook primarily with ghee face three times higher odds of elevated LDL cholesterol compared to groundnut oil users, with coconut oil nearly as risky. The piece draws on data from over 18,000 adults across India and features on-record quotes from MDRF scientists and senior diabetologists. It connects the findings to India's public distribution system, proposing groundnut oil replace palm oil in ration shops to reduce cardiac intervention costs. The reporter marshals a significant peer-reviewed Indian dataset, names multiple expert sources on record, and extends the findings into concrete policy territory

The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has removed around 200 journalists from Delhi BJP Media Group, a WhatsApp group the party runs for reporters, triggering speculation that selected reporters might have been targeted for their coverage. The removals were first reported by the media news site Bhadas4Media on September 19. Speaking to Influencing, Akashdeep Thind, Delhi bureau chief of PTC News, questioned the whole exercise and informed he was not aware of his removal until it was brought to his notice. "This is no way to remove a journalist who has been covering Delhi BJP. They should have consulted before removing me from the group," Thind said. Thind added when he contacted the party's public relations officer to understand his removal, he was told the group had become too heavy and that his number had been deleted by mistake. He has since been added back. Like Thind, several journalists Influencing India contacted did not know they had been removed.  This is not t

The Gujarat High Court allowed Adani Enterprises to file its response to journalist Ravi Nair’s petition challenging his arrest and judicial custody in a criminal defamation case. Justice M.K. Thakker directed the company to place its legal and factual submissions on record, with the matter scheduled for hearing on September 23.  Nair was convicted by a Mansa magistrate in February 2026 and sentenced to one year in prison with a fine of 5,000 rupees over posts on X and articles published between October 2020 and July 2021. His sentence was later suspended by the Sessions Court and he was granted bail.  The Sessions Court issued a non-bailable warrant after Nair failed to appear personally on September 3. His plea seeking cancellation of the warrant was rejected on September 17, following which he was taken into judicial custody. Nair has challenged the warrant and custody before the High Court, arguing that it was issued

Coalition vows to unwind Labor’s energy agenda The Coalition has unveiled an eight-point plan to roll back key pillars of Labor’s renewable-energy program, including scrapping net-zero targets and mechanisms, ending offshore wind zones, and reopening the debate on nuclear power. It sets up a high-stakes political fight over cost-of-living, investment certainty and Australia’s emissions trajectory ahead of the next election cycle. Covered by: The Australian. RBA signals more pain: unemployment may need to rise Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has warned joblessness may need to lift to around 5% to bring inflation back under control, with markets and banks bracing for another rate hike. The comments sharpen the political and social stakes of monetary policy, pitting inflation-fighting credibility against household stress and rising mortgage pressure. Covered by: Australian Financial Review, The West Australian, Daily Telegraph. Global oil shock hits Australians at the bow