Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday admitted for the first time his country played a role in the 2024 crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane, describing it as a “tragedy”.

The Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government has been dealt a significant political and administrative setback after the High Court issued an interim stay on the notification process for the local body polls.

The BJP’s core team that is finalising the names of party candidates for the Bihar election will meet on Saturday, sources said. Following this, a meeting of the BJP’s central election committee will be held the next day, they said.