The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has uncovered a fake input tax credit racket worth approximately 593 crore in Karnataka, leading to the arrest of the alleged mastermind.
'After we were alerted about the war, none of us could sleep for the next two nights while sailing through those waters.'
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
He added that the BSF, working with the Army, had neutralised eight terrorists in four infiltration attempts in 2025.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
The Bhairav Battalion is positioned between the Para Special Forces and regular infantry units to meet modern warfare requirements, especially in view of drone-intensive warfare.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
Alliances fight wars effectively only when they share an endgame. If Israel acted without US knowledge, then the military alliance is operating without real coordination at the level of strategic targeting. Neither picture is reassuring in a war that is no longer regional in its consequences. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Delhi is implementing heightened security and traffic restrictions for the five-day AI Impact Summit, deploying over 10,000 police personnel and issuing traffic advisories to minimize disruption to commuters and students.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Singh, who worked in a factory in Alwar, was known locally as a 'Siddh Purush' and often participated in religious events. This allowed him to build rapport with defence personnel and civilians alike, the officials said.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
Five individuals, including an electronic repair shop owner and a DJ operator, have been arrested for allegedly defrauding a 78-year-old Delhi resident of over Rs 2.19 crore through a sophisticated cyber fraud involving impersonation of law enforcement officials and a 'digital arrest'.
Officials said the digital ban was intended to disrupt ideological channels that facilitate cross-border radicalisation, particularly in areas where socio-economic vulnerabilities are exploited by extremist networks.
Financial Intelligence Unit detects over Rs 7,800 cr blackmoney.
'The Maoist leadership spread fear that surrender meant torture or death. Once that false narrative collapsed and our operations proved transparent and credible, the surrender momentum became irreversible.' 'From 42,000 square kilometres, Maoist activity is now confined to barely 500-600 square kilometres -- less than two per cent of Bastar. This is their last remaining base area.'
A special NIA court in Jammu and Kashmir has ordered the immediate attachment of land belonging to Ghulam Nabi Fai, a US-based Kashmiri lobbyist and convicted agent of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The swag of the military animals on Kartavya Path was unbeatable! Commanded by Captain Harshita Raghav, the double-humped camels, ponies, kites and dogs are soldiers providing active military duties.
After recent high-intensity operations in the Bastar region and the neutralisation of several senior Maoist leaders, officials say the insurgency has lost its ability to mount large-scale coordinated attacks.
'The (Maoist) organisation is in visible decline. Their senior leaders are ageing. Forest life is unforgiving -- older leaders simply cannot cope physically.' 'Earlier, they attracted educated youth from cities. That stream has dried up. Today's recruits largely come from poor village backgrounds and lack ideological depth.'
If Lockheed Martin gets the opportunity, then it will set up a mega hub in India to produce the "iconic" aircraft and it will be the first such global facility outside of the US, top officials of the company told PTI.
'From every point of view, they have faced an extremely difficult couple of years, and the setback they have suffered is irreversible.' 'This reality has begun to set in even amongst the top-level cadres. That is why, in recent times, we have witnessed a huge number of senior-level cadres emerging from the jungle and deciding to renounce violence and join the mainstream.'
Baghaei also alleged that recent unrest in Iran was fuelled by foreign interference, claiming riots were triggered by "very evident" interventionist remarks by US and Israeli officials.
That a country thinks it has the right to randomly invade another country has repercussions that will for sure be played on the global arena in the years to come.
Construction major L&T is gearing up to expand its footprint in the global nuclear supply chain, a senior company official has said, while calling for amendments to key legislations on the domestic front to pave the way for the entry of private players and foreign capital necessary for capacity enhancement.
In a key revelation, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer John Kiriakou has said that Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was the most wanted terrorist for the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, had escaped from the Tora Bora hills in Afghanistan in the guise of a woman.
Security forces in Manipur have launched a major crackdown on the banned People's Liberation Army (PLA) following an ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy. Fifteen cadres have been arrested, including suspects directly involved in the attack. Investigations are underway to determine if the PLA has political patronage and if weapons looted during ethnic clashes are being used against security forces.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is training specialized 'drone commandos' and 'drone warriors' for modern warfare, with plans to deploy them in missions like Operation Sindoor. A 'School of Drone Warfare' has been inaugurated to provide training in UAV operations, anti-drone warfare, and surveillance.
An influential US lawmaker claims his visit to India helped catalyze "early signals" that New Delhi may reduce its imports of Russian oil, a step he described as "meaningful" in weakening Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has announced the formation of a special CoBRA battalion for counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir. This decision comes 17 years after the jungle warfare unit was established to combat Naxal insurgency. The new battalion, directed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will be deployed in forested areas of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Jammu region, where recent terrorist incidents have occurred. CoBRA units are known for their specialized jungle warfare and guerilla tactics training, and the new battalion will be equipped with modern weaponry, communication, and surveillance equipment.
Officials confirmed that all detained individuals were in India without valid documentation and had used fake papers to establish residence.
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