Evening news wrap: Annamalai hands over resignation letter to BJP; CBSE re-verfication portal faces cyberattack & more

• Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai met BJP national president Nitin Nabin and the party's national general secretary (organisation), BL Santhosh, in New Delhi and submitted a five-page resignation letter.
• Hours after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched its much-anticipated verification and re-evaluation portal for Class 12 students, the board reported a series of "cyber threats" targeting the platform.
• TMC chief Mamata Banerjee led a sit-in protest in Kolkata over alleged attacks on party leaders, including nephew Abhishek Banerjee. This comes a day after police denied permission to the West Bengal opposition party to hold any protest.
• After leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to its second consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) title triumph, captain Rajat Patidar's first words, were to his childhood friend, to whom he said, "Dekha, jeet gaye. Kar diya na maine."
• US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has removed nine officers from a navy promotion list, disproportionately targeting women and minority officers, according to a report by The New York Times.

Here are the top 5 stories of the day

Annamalai submits resignation letter to BJP chief Nitin Nabin, set to launch new political party

Annamalai also handed over a five-page note detailing BJP's performance in the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The meetings come amid intense speculation over Annamalai's political future. The former IPS officer is reportedly planning to launch a new regional political party with what associates describe as a "secular" and "Tamil-first" outlook. Read full story

'15 lakh hits within 2 minutes': CBSE re-evaluation portal faces cyberattacks

According to CBSE, at one point, the portal received nearly 15 lakh hits within just two minutes as an attempt to deny students access to the platform. The board also detected more than one lakh attempts to gain unauthorised access to files, which it attributed to the activities of “malicious actors” seeking to disrupt services. Read full story

'Aligning with traitor': Mamata Banerjee attacks TMC rebels seeking to join Suvendu Adhikari's government

Addressing the people, Mamata accused the BJP of "rigging counting in 177 of 294 assembly seats to win Bengal elections". "TMC leaders are being threatened in Bengal by cops," she further said.She targeted the TMC rebels, saying that "my regret is those who received my support in their lives now aligning with traitor". Read full story

'Jeet gaye, kar diya na maine': Rajat Patidar's first words to childhood friend after RCB's second title win

As the fireworks lit up the Ahmedabad sky and Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrated yet another IPL triumph, one man sat quietly in the stands, soaking in the moment. Abhishek Pathrod had found a spot close to the presentation stage, eagerly waiting for his childhood friend Rajat Patidar. Read full story

Pete Hegseth removes women, Black officers from Navy promotion list; Pentagon denies bias - Report

Hegseth removed at least three women, two Black men and four white men from the one-star admiral promotion list. The final slate of 22 nominees bears little resemblance to the broader force, with no female officers included despite women making up 21 per cent of active-duty navy personnel. Only two non-white officers were included, though 38 per cent of the force identify as racial minorities. Read full story