New Delhi: Former test batsman and former head coach of Pakistan Haroon Rasheed Tuesday pointed out the sharp differences between India and Pakistan’s cricket structures, saying India is now enjoying the rewards of long-term planning, strong domestic cricket and a strong age-group system, while Pakistan is struggling due to inconsistency and instability.Speaking on Hamaraiweb.com, Haroon said that Pakistan’s recent performance reflects deeper issues within the country’s cricket structure. “The recent Test defeat to Bangladesh and our performance in white-ball cricket before that tells the whole story of our cricket,” he said.Haroon, who served the Pakistan Cricket Board in several roles including chief selector, coach of senior and junior teams and head of the cricket academy, said India’s system has produced a huge talent pool, especially in T20 cricket.“There is a lot of talent to choose from in India at the moment, especially in T20 cricket. This is because all their players are coming through the proper system from different age groups.”The former Pakistan batsman said that lack of stability, continuity and planning has seriously harmed Pakistan cricket over the years.Aaron said, “I don’t think changing the board chair so often has helped. I have served under at least six different chairmen in my time on the board and when a new chair comes, it means he brings his own people, policies and mentality.”Haroon also stressed the urgent need to reform Pakistan’s domestic infrastructure and warned that other countries were moving too fast.“There is a dire need to change the domestic structure left by competition between association and departmental cricket in Pakistan and come up with a new concept, otherwise we will be left behind. Even Bangladesh has now shown how they have improved.”He also questioned the frequent change of captaincy by the PCB and said that the constant reshuffle did not develop stability in the team.He questioned, “When you decide to appoint a captain in any format, it must be done with a lot of thought, so how can you keep changing the captain, how will the Pakistan team remain consistent and stable?”Haroon said Pakistan has historically performed better under captains who have been given long-term leadership roles and warned that the country risked falling further behind if young players were not properly groomed.“There are a lot of things that need to be fixed in Pakistan cricket. Otherwise we will be further left behind. Because we are not even grooming our young talents properly or giving them the right coaching and experience to prepare them for long-term international cricket.”

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta publicly questioned FWICE’s decision to ban Ranveer Singh over his exit from ‘Don 3’ and argued that the ban would ultimately deprive 300 workers of their livelihood. FWICE issued this direction after Farhan Akhtar claimed that Ranveer’s sudden departure led to a loss of Rs 45 crore during the pre-production phase of the film.

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) banned the actor on Monday (May 25). Ranveer Singh after his sudden departure Farhan AkhtarFarhan himself had put the matter of ‘Don 3’ before the workers body. After this decision, there has been a sharp reaction from the industry including film producers. Sanjay Gupta Now the federation is publicly questioning the logic behind this move.

Sanjay Gupta hits back at FWICE

Addressing

Three notices, zero response – how did the non-cooperation directive come against Ranveer?

A non-cooperation directive was issued by FWICE against Ranveer after Farhan approached the federation over the ‘Don 3’ controversy in April. The actor was served several notices by the body, to which he responded by saying that FWICE was not the “appropriate forum” to resolve a contractual matter between the parties involved.

FWICE President Ashok Pandit breaks down federation’s decision in press conference

FWICE President Ashok Pandit addressed the media at a press conference to highlight the reasoning behind the federation’s decision. He explained that FWICE was forced to take action after Farhan filed a formal complaint, alleging that Ranveer had walked out of the film days before the shooting began and the actor had consistently failed to respond to his notices. “As soon as the complaint reached us, we registered it formally. Subsequently, we issued three notices to Ranveer Singh: one every 10 days, inviting him to join us, and three reminders. However, we received no response at all. Since we received no response, we collectively decided to call a press conference to inform the industry of the decision taken by our federation. As soon as we announced the press conference, we received a letter from Mr. Singh Received an email stating that this matter does not come under our jurisdiction and we have no right to interfere in it. We took note of their stand and decided to proceed accordingly,” Pandit said.

Farhan claims loss of Rs 45 crore – the financial stakes behind ‘Don 3’ controversy

Last month, Farhan had brought the matter before FWICE and alleged that Ranveer’s sudden exit from the project had caused a financial loss of Rs 45 crore. The official letter from the federation elaborates on the sequence of events, “A complaint was filed by filmmaker Farhan Akhtar before IFTDA on 11th April 2026, following which the matter was officially referred to FWICE for further action and appropriate intervention. In accordance with the principles of fairness, transparency and natural justice, FWICE convened meetings with all concerned parties to hear the case. Farhan Akhtar with the film’s producer. During the proceedings, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani informed FWICE that they have already collected around Rs. Rs 45 crore was spent on the pre-production of the film. He expressed serious concern that the sudden exit of such a big actor from the project at the final stage could cause serious financial loss to the producer and adversely affect the overall execution of the film.”

From Amitabh to Shahrukh Khan and Ranveer – the iconic legacy of the ‘Don’ franchise ‘Don 3’

‘Don 3’ was officially announced by Farhan’s production house Excel Entertainment in August 2023, with a teaser that introduced Ranveer Singh as the new face of the iconic ‘Don’, a role originally brought to life by Amitabh Bachchan and later re-imagined. Shahrukh Khan.

Western Europe was hit by unseasonably warm weather on Tuesday, with record-breaking temperatures across the continent.Temperatures soared well above the normal average for May, according to weather agencies, trapped under a high pressure system carrying hot air from North Africa and over Western Europe. At least seven people died directly or indirectly due to the extreme weather in France, Reuters reports, while authorities in several countries issued warnings and restrictions. France’s weather service said Monday was the hottest May day recorded in the country since measurements began, while Britain also recorded its hottest May day. Temperatures are expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius in parts of France on Tuesday, with the heat likely to continue through Wednesday and Thursday.France’s junior energy minister Maud Bregon said the seven people who died in the heat wave included five who drowned in lakes, rivers and beaches as people sought respite from rising temperatures. Officials also directed local administrations to enforce protective measures during sporting events.In Paris, spectators and players had to contend with difficult conditions at Roland Garros as temperatures hovered around 33C. French authorities said one person died during a 10-kilometre race in Paris on Sunday, while 10 others were hospitalized in serious condition after another race near the capital.Much of Brittany remained under an orange level heat warning on Tuesday.“It’s a bit worrying because it’s not really normal at this time of year, but unfortunately I think it’s going to become the norm in France,” student Chloe Voisin told AFP in Bordeaux.In Britain, the Met Office recorded a maximum temperature of 34.8C at Kew Gardens, south-west London, on Monday, two degrees higher than last May’s record. Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst described the temperatures as “a good indicator of climate change” and said such conditions were increasingly likely to become the “new norm”.“This heat would be extraordinary even in the middle of summer in the UK, let alone May,” the Met Office posted on Twitter. In London, temperatures at this time of year are usually around 17C or 18C.Tourists and residents struggled to cope with the conditions. “If you’re not concerned about global warming, you must be completely deaf, blind, right?” Swiss tourist Philippe Bignens told AFP in London.Spain’s meteorological agency Emet warned of “exceptionally high temperatures for this time of year”, predicting “broad tropical nights” this weekend as well as high temperatures between 36C and 38C.In Italy, Lazio authorities banned outdoor work between 12.30pm and 4pm in sectors including farming, construction and logistics.Scientists said human-induced climate change is intensifying heat waves, droughts and floods, making such extreme weather events more frequent and severe across Europe, AFP reports.

Every year, more than 10 lakh candidates spend years of their lives preparing for India’s toughest examination. UPSC Civil Services Preliminary. The cutoff in 2025 was 92.66 points out of 200, meaning even one wrong guess can derail a dream. So when AI tools like ChatGPT, GeminiAnd as the cloud began to be used as a study companion by millions of students, a natural question emerged: could these AIs actually sit exams on their own?We decided to find out. Not with cherry-picked questions or imaginary prompts, but with the real thing, the actual UPSC CSE Prelims GS Paper 1 of 2025 (May 25, 2025) and 2024 (June 16, 2024), official answer keys in hand. We fed all 100 questions of each paper to each AI model individually, recorded each answer, and scored them according to the official answer key.Models tested: ChatGPT (GPT-5, May 2026), Gemini (2.5 Pro), and Cloud (Sonnet 4.5). Everyone was given questions in plain text, with no prompts, no coaching, no prior context.Each AI model was given the same prompt for each question: the question stem was with all options labeled from (A) to (D) and was asked to identify the single correct answer with one-line reasoning. No web search was enabled. No system prompt priming was used. The only advantage any AI had was that whatever it assimilated during training was the same knowledge that a well-prepared human candidate would take to the examination hall.Scoring: UPSC actual marking scheme has been applied: +2 for correct, -0.67 for incorrect, 0 for not attempted. All three AIs attempted all 100 questions.

About 2025 paper

2025 GS Paper 1 was widely described as moderate to difficult. Economics dominated with 18 questions, followed by Environment and Ecology (15), Politics (14), History and Culture (15), and Science and Technology (12). The paper relied heavily on multiple-statement verification questions, the dreaded “How many of the following statements are correct?” format, which penalizes guessing more than simple factual recall. The official general category cutoff was 92.66 points, the highest since 2020.

Final Scorecard: UPSC Prelims 2025

All three AIs crossed the 2025 cutoff of 92.66 points. But margin and subject-wise analysis reveals huge differences in capacity.

Sample Question: How each AI responded

Here is a representative sample of how the three models answered specific questions from the 2025 paper with official correct answers.

Gemini had the strongest performance overall, driven primarily by better management of current affairs and environmental questions. On the question about the Nature Solutions Finance Hub for Asia and the Pacific (which the AIIB plans to launch in late 2024), Gemini correctly identified the AIIB, while both ChatGPT and Cloud incorrectly identified the ADB, suggesting that Gemini remembered more recent institutional events. Gemini also outperformed rivals on the Gooty Tarantula question, direct air capture application and non-cooperation program details. Where Gemini went wrong was in science and technology, showing that it sometimes overgeneralizes in technical areas.Best Subject: History and Culture (87%). Worst subject: Science and Technology (67%).

ChatGPT GPT-5: Persistent but cautious (73/100, ~118 points)

ChatGPT delivered solid, consistent performance across all subjects. Its strengths were politics and history, subjects where years of UPSC-specific training data give it a strong base. Its notable weaknesses were in the environment and current affairs. On the CL-20/HMX/LLM-105 question, ChatGPT chose explosives rather than the more specific cruise missile fuel answer, reflecting his tendency toward broader, more familiar categories rather than precise technical distinctions.Best subject: Polity (79%). Worst subject: Current Affairs (57%).

Cloud Sonnet 4.5: Reliable reasoner, gaps in specs (68/100, ~112 points)

Claude passed the cutoff but with the smallest margin of the three. Its strongest performance came in the structured reasoning questions, Statement I/Statement II format that has become the hallmark of UPSC. On questions requiring logical assessment of causal relationships between statements, Claude was particularly more careful. However, Cloud struggled with specific current affairs and environment related questions and was the only AI to get the Mahajanapada-Rivers pair wrong, a staple of UPSC History preparation.Best subjects: Politics and reasoning questions (79%). Worst subject: Environment (60%).

History and Culture: Revision, Zero Sleep, Full Score All three AIs scored 80% or higher on the history questions. Questions about Fa Hien, Rajendra I, Araghatta irrigation and Ashoka administration were handled with confidence. These are textbook questions where the training data is rich and clear.Current Affairs and Environment: Accuracy DeclinesThis is where the test separates humans from machines. Questions about which institution launched a specific fund in late 2024, or about the exact habitat status of the obscure Indian spider, depend on highly specific or very recent knowledge. ChatGPT and Cloud scored only 57% on current affairs. The irony is sharp: the AI ​​models, which millions of aspirants use to follow current affairs, themselves get frustrated by current affairs in the exam.Science and Technology: Tough on Technical DetailsThis section produced the most surprising failures. Questions about the CL-20, HMX, and LLM-105 affected all three AIs to varying degrees. Direct air capture technology applications also created confusion. AI models handle broad conceptual science and technical questions well but stumble over precise technical distinctions in specific domains.

UPSC Prelims 2024 was a little easier with a cutoff of 88 marks. When tested on a 30-question sample from 2024, all three AIs performed 2-5 percentage points better. An important real-world data point: In 2024, an IIT-founded AI app called PadAI, trained exclusively on UPSC data and dynamically updated with current affairs, scored between 170 to 185 points at the exam venue. Meanwhile, generic ChatGPT scored only 75 marks in the same exam and failed to cross the cutoff. By 2025-26, the gap has narrowed dramatically. GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro now pass the preliminary exam without any UPSC-specific training.

So can AI really crack UPSC?

Clearing prelims is table stakes. UPSC has three stages: Preliminary, Main (Descriptive), and Personality Test (Interview). In Mains, candidates are asked to write analytical answers of 200 words demonstrating original thinking, policy awareness and ability to link historical precedent with contemporary governance. No AI can currently sit the mains exam, not because of lack of knowledge, but because the assessment itself is fundamentally different.Personality test is a structured interview before senior IAS officers in which character, leadership abilities and decision making under ambiguity are assessed. This is not the case in any language model.What AI has done is raised the floor. Any candidate who uses these tools wisely for concept clarity, answer-writing practice and faster revision walks into the examination hall better prepared than the generation before him.

What does this mean for candidates

Questions where all three AIs failed, specific recent events, precise wildlife conservation details, nuanced institutional knowledge, these are exactly the questions that set the toppers apart from the rest. An AI that scored 76% in the preliminary exam could be a powerful study partner. But the remaining 24% requires human discipline i.e. following the news daily, reading the environment section of the newspaper and remembering the specific year when a convention came into force. There are no shortcuts there, AI or otherwise.UPSC examinees are aware of this scenario. In 2025, around 22 to 28 per cent of questions in GS Paper 1 can be classified as current affairs-adjacent, based on events and institutional developments of the last 12 to 18 months. For AI models with training cutoffs, this is a structural blind spot. For candidates relying heavily on AI for current affairs preparation, this is a warning.

final call

Yes, AI can crack UPSC Prelims in 2026. All three major models pass above the cutoff by a reasonable margin. But clearing Prelims is not cracking UPSC. The exam is designed to test the qualities that are hardest to automate: sustained multi-year preparation, real-time current awareness, analytical writing, and human judgment under pressure. The performance of AI on this paper is an honest picture of that reality.

The New York Times continues to expand the popularity of its daily puzzle collection with The New York Times Connections, a word game that challenges players to find hidden connections between seemingly unrelated words. The May 26 puzzle (#1080) features another entertaining mix of sports-related words, conversational topics, classic movie titles, and clever wordplay. Today’s puzzle includes categories related to championship awards, topics of discussion, iconic comedy from the 1980s, and a purple category based on anagrams. This guide contains spoiler-free hints, complete answers, and a quick explanation of how the puzzle works.

What is the NYT’s ‘connection’ game?

Connections is a daily word puzzle from the New York Times that asks players to group related words together. The game uses four color-coded difficulty levels – yellow, green, blue and purple – with yellow usually being the easiest and purple often incorporating more abstract or playful logic.Players receive 16 words and must arrange them into four groups of four each. Each group shares a hidden relationship that may include categories, meanings, phrases, themes, or wordplay.

NYT Connection signs for today

NYT Connections Answers for May 26, 2026

Here are the correct groups for today’s puzzle:

How to play NYT Connections

The puzzle presents 16 words arranged in a grid, and your goal is to arrange them into four groups of four words that share a hidden connection. A new Connections puzzle is released daily through New York Times Games and the NYT Mobile app. Players should carefully scan all 16 words and look for the most obvious links first, as rearranging the board can often reveal hidden patterns and reduce confusion.Once you’ve identified a potential category, select four related words and submit them as a group. Correct answers are automatically locked. Since players have a limited number of incorrect guesses before the game ends, strategic thinking and elimination become especially important to solve difficult categories.

Other NYT Games to Explore

If you enjoy connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular daily puzzle games:Wordle: Guess the five-letter word in six triesSpelling Bee: Make as many words as possible using a specific set of lettersMini Crossword: A Short Daily Crossword ChallengeStrands: A word search-inspired puzzle based on hidden themes

Jonathan Endick, the son of Mango’s late founder Isaac Endick, has denied allegations he was involved in his father’s death, calling the allegations “serious, unjust and baseless” as he resigned as vice chairman of the fashion giant’s board to focus on his legal defense.In an open letter to staff published on Tuesday, Jonathan Endick said a “biased” and “distorted” narrative had been created around the case following his arrest in Spain as part of an investigation into his father’s 2024 death.“A public narrative has been created based on a perspective that is biased, distorted and taken out of context, creating a perception of the crime that has no connection to reality,” Andic, 45, wrote in his first public comments on the case.He said, “I have made this decision with sadness, but am confident that it is what is best for the company and for me… I need to focus all my energy on demonstrating my innocence.”

The mystery behind the death of Mango Tycoon

Isak Andic, founder of global apparel brand Mango, died on December 14, 2024, after falling about 500 feet from a cliff in the Montserrat mountains near Barcelona while hiking with his son.The death was initially considered a tragic accident. However, prosecutors reopened the investigation in October 2025, focusing on Jonathan Andik after investigators reportedly found inconsistencies in his statements and the circumstances surrounding the fall.Jonathan Andic was arrested last week before being released on one million euro ($1.2 million) bail. According to investigators, the area where the fall occurred was part of a relatively easy walking route commonly used by families and schoolchildren.Authorities reportedly questioned whether the nature of the fall matched his father’s description of Jonathan accidentally slipping.According to the BBC, investigators also examined forensic findings, which reportedly suggested that the injuries and position of Isak Endić’s body were inconsistent with an accidental fall.Police reportedly found inconsistencies in Jonathan Endick’s account of the incident. In one version, he stated that he was running ahead of his father, while in another he indicated that they were very close together.He also initially told authorities that his father was taking photographs moments before the fall, although investigators later found the phone inside Isak Andik’s pocket.The outlet reported that authorities investigated three visits Jonathan allegedly made to the site days before the incident, with investigators suggesting the visits may have included “planning and study of the site.”Police are also investigating the wider family and professional context, including alleged tensions related to Isak Endić’s plans to set up a charitable foundation.Investigators alleged that text messages between father and son reflected tension in their relationship and claimed that Jonathan had used “emotional manipulation” on his father for “economic purposes”.However, Jonathan Andik has denied any conflict and told investigators that he has a good relationship with his father.Founded in the 1980s, Mango became one of Europe’s largest fashion retailers, employing more than 16,000 people and having a turnover of €3.3 billion in 2024.

Omar un Nabi, the main accused in the Red Fort car blast

New Delhi: The National Investigation AgencyThe (NIA) investigation into the deadly car blast at Delhi’s Red Fort revealed how the key accused had allegedly used fake identities and a makeshift laboratory in Faridabad to procure chemicals and experiment with explosive material, official sources said on Tuesday.The agency had recently filed a 7,500-page chargesheet against 10 accused in connection with the high-intensity vehicle-borne IED blast that occurred in the national capital on November 10 last year, in which 11 people were killed and several others were injured.According to the investigation, the main accused Dr. Umar Un Nabi, who was driving a car loaded with explosives and died in the blast, had researched offline and online resources related to various chemicals. Umar used a fake identity under the name “Mr. Rahul Bhatt” on the IndiaMart commercial platform to purchase materials required for the experiments. Under the account, they listed their “products of interest as fertilizer bags, acetone solvent, anodes and chemicals, etc.”He had also set up a makeshift laboratory in his flat at Al Falah University, Faridabad, where he conducted experiments aimed at manufacturing prototype explosive materials, investigators quoted by PTI said.Investigators said Umar contacted a Mumbai-based businessman in August 2024 and paid Rs 25,000 through digital payment platform PhonePe for a customized mixed metal oxide (MMO)-coated titanium anode, a special electrode used in the electrolysis process.During the investigation, NIA sleuths recovered a delivery challan dated September 25, 2024, from the businessman, which helped them trace the supply chain used to procure the explosive-making material.The challan revealed that although Umer had purchased the anode, the name and mobile number of the buyer mentioned in the document belonged to someone else. According to the charge sheet, the businessman later sent the anode through a courier company to a location outside Al Falah University, from where Omar collected it.According to revelations made during the interrogation, an electrolysis process was conducted in Omar’s flat to produce chlorates and perchlorates from common salt solutions, a technique he had learned through his research.Chlorates and perchlorates are explosive substances commonly used in fireworks.Using the same fake identity, Omar later negotiated for 10 more anodes, but the deal did not fall through after the alleged Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGUH) interim terror module linked to al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was busted, the investigation revealed.The investigation also found that Umar and co-accused Dr Muzammil Shakeel had traveled to Ahmedabad, Gujarat on April 12 last year to purchase chemicals to make explosives. After praying at a nearby mosque, they returned to Al Falah the next day.According to officials, the accused followed radical Jihadi literature while carrying out these experiments. Later during investigation, material was recovered from their mobile devices.