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The Indian Navy on Wednesday commissioned INS Jatayu, at Minicoy island in the Lakshadweep Islands, its second base in Lakshadweep after INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti. Later in the day, the Navy commissioned its first MH-60R multi-role helicopter squadron INAS 334 ‘Seahawks’ at Kochi, a major capability boost for its rotary fleet and its anti-submarine warfare capabilities.INS Jatayu is the beginning of a phased expansion plan to strengthen India’s surveillance and security posture in the strategically located islands close to the Nine Degree channel and critical sea lanes of communication.“This is very close to the Nine Degree channel, so this is…

The Interim Agreement between India and the U.S. will not include any item that would hurt Indian farmers, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday (February 7, 2026), adding that there are several areas where Indian farmers and MSMEs have received duty-free entry into the U.S. market. India and the U.S. early Saturday (February 7, 2026) morning issued a joint statement in which they announced that the two countries had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement, and would continue working together towards a more comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement. While U.S. President Donald Trump has already signed an executive order…

It was a viral video of a group of cheetahs taking down a wildebeest that triggered Big Cat People, Jonathan and Angela Scott, to put together their latest e-book, Safari Etiquette: An essential guide. “There were five male cheetahs, unusual to have such a big coalition, and in October 2022, two of these cheetahs ended up nailing a wildebeest,” Jonathan says. Within seconds of their kill, they were surrounded by vehicles filled with overexcited people, egging the guides and driver to go even closer. “It is the paparazzi effect, isn’t it? People behave really badly when there is something they…

India defined its red lines by pulverising terror bases in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Now it is time to set a red line on BangladeshIndia has long prided itself as a voice for international law. While its founding Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, saw international law as a largely European construct designed to benefit Europeans, he nevertheless viewed the construct as necessary to protect newly sovereign states. He inserted the necessity to respect international law in Article 51 of the Indian Constitution. Every Indian Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about creating a “new world order” rooted in international law that advances…

A file photo of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. | Photo Credit: PTI Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s open offer to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nitin Gadkari to leave the BJP and contest as a candidate from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) met with derision from the saffron party.Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, speaking at a rally in Latur, had again picked on the BJP for reportedly ‘excluding’ Mr. Gadkari from its first list of 195 candidates while announcing the name of former Maharashtra Minister Kripashankar Singh, accused of graft charges, for the Jaunpur…

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi launching the economic plan BCPPER under the Growth Hub Initiative in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. | Photo Credit: @HUDDeptOdisha/X Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday (February 7, 2026) launched an ambitious development plan that brings eight urban centres under the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradeep Economic Region (BCPPER), aimed at serving as a major growth engine of Odisha.The BCPPER, which accounts for 19% of Odisha’s total economy and is valued at $22.4 billion, is targeted to grow to a level of $500 billion by 2047. The economic plan has been prepared by NITI Aayog.BCPPER is spread over 11,892…

Max Heingo. | Photo Credit: Getty Images At a time when his classmates are taking baby steps to crack the final examinations back home later this year, fast-rising Namibia medium-pacer Max Heingo is facing one of cricket’s toughest shortest-format tests at the T20 World Cup.The 17-year-old Heingo, who cleared the Class XI exams as a student of the Flamingo Secondary School in Walvis Bay last year, has been given special exemption after being called up to ‘feel the thrill’ of the T20 extravaganza.“After writing my Grade XI final exams, I did not have time to manage school because I got…

When Arrowhead, one of Ranthambore National Park’s favourite tigers, died of cancer, the Internet exploded with tributes. However, wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi, whose work focusses on the conservation of large carnivores such as tigers and leopards, believes that selective sympathies towards animals that have attained celebrity status, often because of their popularity with tourists, may be somewhat misplaced. He argues that tourists who enter protected parks with large cameras and have an immense social media following push for policies and management that are completely unscientific. “People may go on a safari and take a picture of a tiger limping or…

Is the United States at the brink of a civil war? The plain answer is no. But it is a country and society that is so deeply divided that it is at war with itself. And Minnesota is just the tip of the iceberg.  The shooting of Alex Pretti on January 24 in the ongoing Minnesota siege has once again foregrounded the deep divisions in the American state and society. Pretti, a US citizen not an illegal immigrant, was seen in several video clips waving a phone when federal agents apprehended him. The official account is that he was carrying a…

Actor Rajinikanth and Tamil Nadu are inseparable. The magic spell that the actor cast on the screen 48 years ago remains largely intact. Yet, the actor has not been spared from sharp criticism for some of his actions and views. Why is Rajinikanth courting controversies?The superstar has courted trouble in the past too. The contradictory statements of Rajinikanth on demonetisation in 2016 and later, drew flak. An unverified remark made by Rajinikanth after the police firing during the anti-Sterlite protests in May 2018 led to the Justice Aruna Jegadeesan Commission, which probed the violence, indicted him stating actors of the…