Mumbai

Indian applicants for US visitor visas are facing lengthy waits for interview appointments, with estimated times varying widely by city: around 12 months in Hyderabad, 11.5 months in Mumbai, 10 months in New Delhi, 7.5 months in Chennai and 6.5 months in Kolkata. The figures are drawing attention as travelers and families plan trips months or even a year in advance.

The Committee for Judicial Protection (CJP) has issued an ultimatum calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, warning that if he does not step down by the deadline, it will launch a nationwide protest movement starting in Mumbai on 2 October — Gandhi Jayanti — before expanding to cities across India, framing the campaign as a pledge to save democracy.

News reports say Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while at the United Nations, declined to answer two questions concerning Hafiz Saeed and terrorism. Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, has long been linked by India and Western governments to major attacks including the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Available snippets only show the headline, so the full context of the exchange and reactions are not clear from the posts.

A new report highlights how India's surrogacy ban is leaving single fathers and same-sex couples with no legal route to parenthood at home, pushing many to travel overseas for surrogacy arrangements. The ban restricts the practice to heterosexual married Indian couples, cutting off groups who previously relied on surrogacy clinics in cities like Mumbai. Families describe costly and complex journeys abroad as their only option to have children.