Eighteen people were killed in two separate road accidents in the state in the past 24 hours.
In a major mishap in Bankura district, a dozen people were killed late on Thursday night. The accident took place near Barjora area on state highway 9 on the Durgapur-Bankura Road. According to eyewitnesses, a Tata Sumo carrying a marriage party collided head-on with an iron scrap-laden lorry coming from the opposite direction.

A parliamentary panel on public sector units has sought action against BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal for not showing up for its meeting on Thursday to examine the functioning of the state-owned telecom firm.

The RSP, a major partner of the CPI(M) in the ruling Left Front, made it clear to its big brother party on Friday that it had failed “to correct the flaws in its policy even after back-to-back poll debacles in the state.”

Maharashtar-Karnataka boundry dispute is being utilised by the NCP to put the Congress and its Union ministers in a difficult situation. The Sharad Pawar-led party on Friday came out openly in favour of inclusion of disputed boundary areas in Maharashrtra.

State land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah on Friday punctured holes in his own Left Front government’s slogan “agriculture is our foundation and industry is our future.” He said that agriculture alone was the future of West Bengal. He lamented his inability to convince his own party, the CPI(M) and the government

In a bid to step up pressure on the government, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav has written to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reminding him of the promises made by him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on inclusion of caste in the ongoing census process.

Hindi writer Hrishikesh Sulabh was honoured with the 2010 International Indu Sharma Katha Samman by Indian high commissioner Nalin Surie at a function in London on Thursday evening.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit does not want any civic agency to leave Commonwealth Games-related work for the eleventh hour: she has given them 53 days to make the city “absolutely ready” by August 31.

Chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Friday attempted to take the sting out of the Opposition by clearing the decks for the state Lok Ayukta to be empowered with suo motu powers to raid corrupt officials. But as this opens the doors to the prosecution of government officials while leaving chief ministers, ministers, legislators and public servants nominated by the government out of its ambit, leaving Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde fuming.

Filmmaker Boney Kapoor is known for expensive projects. Having produced grand movies like Mr India, Wanted and No Entry, he now wants to make sequels of these. And needless to say, all of them will also be big-budget projects.