Row over vandalism at Tagore's ancestral house in Bangladesh

A political row has erupted in West Bengal over the reported vandalism at an ancestral house of Rabindranath Tagore located in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, with both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raising the matter publicly. 

Centre cannot cite DM Act changes to deny loan waiver: Kerala HC

The Centre cannot take a stance that it is unable to issue a directive to waive/write off loans of persons affected by disasters of severe magnitude like the Wayanad landslides by citing a section that had been removed from the Disaster Management (DM) Act, the Kerala High Court said on Friday.

Crash and burn

The first hull loss of the 'Dreamliner', one of aviation's most advanced twin-aisle aircraft, is one that is unsettling, more so when there have been recent examples of survivability in modern widebody jets. The tragic end to Air India flight Al171, on June 12 there was one surviving passenger just minutes after its liftoff from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick, and it touched a recorded barometric altitude of 625 feet, will be under much global scrutiny. That the crew were faced with a sudden and sharp turn of events on the 11-plus-year-old Boeing 787-8, a plane with ample avionics redundancy, and reliable twin engines - the GEnx-1B67, rated at 67,000 lbs of thrust each - has led to much speculation about the cause. Experts have suggested reasons such as issues with load planning, ambient air temperature and engine performance, wing sur-face settings, and even a bird hit. Inducted by Air India during its government-owned days, as part of a 68-aircraft deal signed with Boeing in 2006, the subfleet of 787-8s has played a role in its medium to long-haul network expansion to Europe, the Far East and Australia. The plane's global safety record has been strong in general, but it has also been an aircraft type that has raised some concerns. These have included assembly-line quality control, 'whistle-blower' statements, engine icing problems that resulted in a safety directive, a lithium aerospace battery-related electrical system issue that led to extensive worldwide groundings, an emergency locator transmitter battery fire that caused heat damage, and, in 2024, an inflight upset that was linked to a feature in the flight deck crew seat.

The rot starts at the top of the aviation ladder

There is a version of Murphy's law which says that "if there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong".

The fiery end to Air India flight Al171 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on June 12, 2025, just after its departure for London Gatwick, is a rude wake-up call one that has been sounded for several years. But the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA), the judiciary, the statutory body the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and all airlines in India have been turning a blind eye to the need to ensuring stringent training and safety standards. Sound bites such as the one about India being the fastest growing aviation system have all come to nothing due to years of corruption and political manipulation in the system. A major failure in India is the complete lack of accountability. Other than pilots being blamed, no one else has been held accountable. The rot starts at the top of the aviation ladder. 

Rogue nation

Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, at a time when Washington and Tehran were in talks, are brazenly illegal, reckless and dangerous. If there was any possibility of resolving the nuclear issue through dialogue, Israel has practically killed it. That Donald Trump, despite his repeated warnings, failed to stop America's closest ally from launching the attacks - threatening his own diplomatic push - suggests that the U.S. President was either not serious about his words or had limited influence. Israel's over-night attack targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, ballistic missile factories and the residences of Iran's top nuclear scientists and military chain of command. In retaliation, Iran launched a drone attack, with most shot down. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has promised a harsh response. If Iran launches ballistic missiles, which seems likely, Israel would carry out more attacks, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated. So, what possibly awaits West Asia are prolonged attacks and counterattacks, with potential regional spillover effects. 

Endgame of a 2,611-year-old Jewish-Persian enmity

Despite mutual loathing, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agreed yesterday about the primordial significance of their latest conflict. While Mr. Netanyahu called it "a decisive moment in Israel's history", Khamenei was equally definitive in his verdict: "With this crime, the Zionist regime sealed for itself a bitter and painful destiny." 

India abstains from UNGA resolution for Gaza ceasefire

India abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza for the fourth time in three years, indicating a growing trend in the Modi government's policy not to vote on statements critical of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, in which 55,000 have been killed. India had voted in favour of a UNGA resolution for ceasefire in December 2024, making the latest move a significant departure from India's position just six months ago. 

Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom mission to ISS postponed once again

After multiple postponements, the launch of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has once again been postponed, this time due to a glitch in the ISS. NASA said it, along with Axiom Space, was postponing the launch of Axiom Mission 4.

In a first, Centre sanctions over 300 FRA cells to 'facilitate' implementation of Forest Rights Act across 18 States, UTs

In a first since the Forest Rights Act (FRA) came into being in 2006, the Union government has started funding structural mechanisms to "facilitate" the implementation of the law meant to give forest rights to Scheduled Tribes and forest-dwelling communities. Implementation of the FRA, for the last 19 years, has been the domain of State and Union Territory governments. 

Israel-Iran conflict may impact oil supply to India, spike export costs

Israel's attack on Iran and heightened tensions in the area pose significant risks to India in terms of curtailed supplies of oil and a 40-50% increase in the export costs, according to analysts and trade experts. 

'U.S. funds wary on investing in India as tariff pause is set to end'

Investors from the U.S. may become more cautious about investing into India as the pause on tariffs is set to come to an end. 

IREL told to stop rare earth sales to Japan, focus on local needs

India has asked State-run miner IREL to suspend a 13-year-old agreement on rare earth exports to Japan and safeguard supplies for domestic needs, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, aiming at reducing India's dependence on China. 

Why Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities

Israel has been preparing for this for years. It had carried out several clandestine attacks inside Iran, including the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the father of Iranian nuclear programme. It took the war directly to Iran in April 2014, by bombing the Iranian embassy in Damascus.