Evening news wrap: VD Satheesan named Kerala chief minister; EC expands nationwide SIR exercise, and more

Here are your top stories of the day.The Congress on Thursday announced VD Satheesan as the next chief minister of Kerala following the UDF’s sweeping victory in the Assembly elections. Satheesan emerged as the preferred choice over senior leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala after days of consultations within the party leadership. The decision marks the Congress-led alliance’s return to power after defeating the Left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan. Read full storyDonald Trump and Xi Jinping struck a warm and optimistic tone during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, despite continuing tensions over trade, technology and security. Xi said the two countries should be “partners, not rivals”, while Trump praised Xi’s leadership and expressed confidence in future relations. The summit is being closely watched as Washington and Beijing attempt to reset ties between the world’s two largest economies. Read full storyThe Election Commission has announced Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 16 states and 3 Union territories. The exercise will involve more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers conducting door-to-door verification for over 36 crore electors. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh have been excluded for now due to census and weather-related considerations. Read full storyTwo additional LPG carriers carrying cooking gas supplies for India have successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, taking the total number of vessels to 13. Officials said the ships were monitored through coordination involving multiple ministries and maritime authorities. The movement comes as India continues efforts to secure energy supplies amid instability in West Asia. Read full storyThe CBI investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 leak case has found that a handwritten question paper was allegedly scanned and converted into PDF files in Rajasthan before being circulated to students. Investigators said some aspirants reportedly paid between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for access to the leaked material. The probe follows the National Testing Agency’s decision to cancel the examination held on May 3. Read full story