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Oil tanker attacked by drone in Gulf of Oman; one Indian mariner killed

A bomb-carrying drone boat struck a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, killing one mariner on board, Oman said. The state-run Oman News Agency reported the attack in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Muscat, the sultanate's capital. It identified the vessel as the MKD VYOM. It said the dead crew member was from India. Iran has been threatening vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, and is believed to have launched multiple attacks as the war in the Mideast continues after Israel and the United States started a major airstrike campaign targeting the Islamic Republic.

Exporters seek demurrage waiver as West Asia disruptions delay cargo

Apparel exporters on Monday urged the government to waive demurrage charges on export cargo at airports, as flight disruptions arising from ongoing West Asian crisis may impact movement of consignments. In a communication to the civil aviation ministry, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said the prevailing situation has significantly disrupted international flight operations, resulting in route restrictions, airspace closures, flight diversions, schedule irregularities, and operational constraints at certain overseas airports. Airport demurrage charges are fees on cargo or baggage at an airport terminal being kept beyond the allowed free period. These charges encourage swift clearance. It varies by airport, cargo type and duration. These unforeseen developments have directly impacted the timely movement of export cargo from Indian airports to various international destinations,AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel said. As a consequence, he said export consignments are currently strande

US-Israeli airstrikes targeted Natanz facility: Iran's envoy to IAEA

Iran's ambassador to the UN nuclear agency alleged on Monday that US-Israeli airstrikes have targeted Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site. Israel and the US have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which America bombed back in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, told journalists he condemned what he called the "unlawful, criminal and brutal" attacks by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. "Again they attacked Iran's peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday," he said. "Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie." When asked which site he was referring to, Najafi responded: "Natanz.

Starry and Restless profiles 3 women journalists who defied writing norms

A vibrant triple biography traces how Martha Gellhorn, Rebecca West and Emily Hahn defied convention, blurred fact and fiction, and reshaped war reporting and literary journalism

Oil, gas tankers avoid Strait of Hormuz as West Asia tensions intensify

The US earlier issued a warning to shipping in the Middle East that vessels in the region should stay 30 nautical miles away from its military assets

Haryana govt employee arrested in ₹590 crore IDFC First Bank fraud case

The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in Haryana on Saturday arrested a state government employee in connection with the Rs 590 crore IDFC First Bank fraud case. Official sources said the employee's role is under the scanner in the fraud case, which rocked the state on Sunday after the private lender disclosed a Rs 590 crore fraud committed by certain employees and others at one of its branches in Chandigarh, targeting state government accounts. The accused employed with the panchayats department was produced before a court in Panchkula, which sent him to six-day police remand, the sources said. On Tuesday, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested four people, including the alleged masterminds behind the fraud, with a private firm owned by the wife of a former employee emerging at the centre of the financial irregularities. Two of those arrested are former employees of the IDFC First Bank, while the other two are private individuals who ran a partnership firm that alleged

PM Modi inaugurates Micron ATMP unit; Sanand plant starts production

The Micron ATMP facility was the first project approved by the government in 2022 under the ambitious ₹76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission

DGGI probe into banned online gaming leads to Fino Bank arrest: Sources

Finance Ministry sources say probe has flagged GST evasion, shell entities and payment aggregators in alleged banned online gaming operations, leading to arrest of a senior bank official

CIA assessed Khamenei's death may empower IRGC hardliners: Report

The intelligence agency reports did not conclude any scenario with certainty, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters

Iranian defence minister, IRGC commander killed in strikes: Reports

Nasirzadeh was the Deputy of Chief of Staff for the Iranian Armed forces before taking charge as the Minister of Defence. The Minister began his military carrier as a fighter pilot

Iran conflict to push freight, insurance costs up: Indian exporters

With a joint attack by the US and Israel on Iran triggering a massive military confrontation in the Middle East, Indian exporters on Saturday said the development is expected to push transportation and insurance costs up, potentially disrupting the outbound shipments to the US and Europe. They said that any prolonged tensions in the region could impact oil prices and that will have implications on input costs and current stability. Following the attack by the United States and Israel, Iran launched retaliatory military strikes targeting several American military bases in the Middle East, including in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President SC Ralhan said the ongoing conflict has already begun to disrupt established global logistics channels. "Air routes are being altered, and maritime trade through the Red Sea and key Gulf straits faces heightened uncertainty. If diversions become prolonged, shipments may ...

Israel-Iran conflict likely to push up energy prices, hit India supplies

Escalating Israel-Iran tensions could disrupt Strait of Hormuz supplies, lift Brent crude prices and raise India's import bill, analysts warn, even as a prolonged blockade remains unlikely

Dubai main airports suspend all flights following Iran missile attacks

The escalating situation across the Gulf region following the joint Israel-US attacks on Iran has majorly disrupted flight connections in and out of Dubai, a major aviation destination and a commercial hub on Saturday. Regional airspace closures have caused disruption to several flights in the overall Gulf region too. "Some flights have been canceled or delayed at @DXB and Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International (DWC) as a result of the partial closure of the airspace of the United Arab Emirates," a statement by the Dubai airport said. "We kindly ask you to contact your airline and refrain from heading to DXB or DWC at this time," it added. Dubai Airports owns and manages the operation and development of both of Dubai's airports Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC). Over 100 airlines operate flights to and from Dubai to almost all countries across continents. Regional airspace closures have caused disruption to several flights, including Emirates and Air

Voters face issues as EC portal down in Bengal after SIR rolls publication

Voters in West Bengal were left high and dry for most parts of the day, unable to access their electoral status on the website of the Election Commission and its mobile application following the publication of post-SIR electoral rolls on Saturday, on account of the portal remaining dormant on "technical" grounds. Although online data on the EC-designated websites could not be accessed since morning, officials said they realised the problem after users reported them to be "down" and inaccessible at around 1 pm. The poll panel has started publishing the electoral rolls in phases, which marked the culmination of a 116-day statewide exercise that began on November 4 last year. The ECI's voter services portal and the state CEO's website were both unresponsive, triggering confusion among voters attempting to check their names on the list. "The final electoral roll will be published online in the afternoon," an official of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer had said. Following the

HC defers Delhi govt's mandate on private school fee-regulation panels

The Delhi High Court on Saturday deferred the implementation of the city government's mandate to private schools to constitute school-level fee-regulation committees (SLFRCs) for the upcoming academic session. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said during the pendency of the petitions challenging the government decision, the constitution of the SLFRCs shall remain in abeyance and the schools shall be entitled to collect the same fees for the academic year 2026-2027 as they did the previous academic year. Any exorbitant fees, the bench added, shall be regulated in accordance with law. The bench passed the order on pleas moved by several school associations seeking a stay on a February 1 notification of the Delhi government that asked the schools to set up the SLFRCs within 10 days. The petitioners include the Delhi Public School Society, Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, The Forum of Minority Schools, Forum for Promotion of Quality ...

Domestic air passenger traffic rises 4.36% to 15.25 million in Jan: DGCA

India's domestic air passenger traffic grew 4.36 per cent year-on-year to 152.49 lakh in January 2026 over the corresponding month of last year, according to DGCA data. The domestic carriers, including four major ones, IndiGo, Air India Group, SpiceJet and Akasa Air, together had flown a total of 146.11 lakh passengers in January 2025 on local routes, data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) late Friday evening showed. Gurugram-headquartered IndiGo, which faced massive operational disruptions on account of stricter norms for pilots' rest and duty period in December and lost about 4 per cent market share in the previous month, wrested it back with 63.6 per cent market share, having flown 97.04 lakh passengers during the reporting month. On the contrary, Air India Group lost nearly three per cent market share at 26.5 per cent ( 40.34-lakh passengers) sequentially in the previous month, according to data. In terms of passenger load factor, Akasa Air recorded t

20 dead, 6 injured as cracker unit explodes in Andhra, CM to visit spot

As many as 20 people were killed and six others critically injured in the cracker unit blast here in Kakinada district on Saturday, a top police official said. "We have information that 20 people were killed in the incident," Kakinada Superintendent of Police G Bindu Madhav told PTI. Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha told PTI that six people were critically injured in the cracker unit blast. Anitha said she was on her way to the blast site. Tourism Minister K Durgesh said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is expected to visit the site. "This is the biggest blast in the state. Full details are yet to come. There is no chance that anyone would survive. Some people are undergoing treatment, he told reporters. The intensity of the explosion at Vetlakpalem village in Samarlakota mandal was so strong that bodies were flung into nearby paddy fields, a police official said. An investigation into the cause of the fire, which led to the blast, is ongoing, police officials sai

Over 47,000 names deleted in Mamata Banerjee's Bhabanipur seat after SIR

Ahead of the 2026 assembly elections in West Bengal, the publication of the post-SIR electoral rolls on Saturday triggered fresh political ripples in Bhabanipur, a constituency represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, with over 47,000 names struck off and more than 14,000 kept "under adjudication". South Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly segment, widely regarded as Banerjee's pocket borough, had 2,06,295 voters when the SIR process began on November 4 last year. The draft roll, published on December 16 last year, showed deletion of 44,786 names. In the final list released on Saturday, another 2,324 names were removed, taking the total deletions to 47,094, a figure roughly 11,000 less than the over 58,000-vote margin secured by Banerjee in the 2021 Bhabanipur bypoll. This comparison is likely to add a sharper political edge to the constituency's pre-2026 electoral discourse. Apart from the deletions, 14,154 voters have been placed in the "under adjudication" category, with their

IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib gets bail in AI Summit protest case

A Delhi court has granted bail to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Uday Bhanu Chib, who was arrested in connection with a protest at the India AI Impact Summit. Chib was produced before the duty magistrate around 1 am on Saturday as his four-day police custody, granted by the court on February 24, came to an end. Duty Magistrate Vanshika Mehta was hearing an application by the Delhi Police seeking a seven-day extension of his custody. However, she dismissed the plea and granted him bail. Speaking to the media, Chib's counsel informed that bail was granted by the magistrate against the surety bond of Rs 50,000, and the court has also directed his client to surrender his passport and electronic gadgets. "The duty magistrate was pleased enough to grant bail to Uday Bhanu Chib and has explained in the bail order that the police crime branch has not been able to explain the reasons for seeking extension of PC remand to Uday Bhanu Chib," the IYC president's counsel said. On Februar

Flyers protest at Bengaluru airport after flight 'fails' to land in Nepal

Chaos prevailed at Kempegowda International Airport here after passengers bound for Nepal have staged a protest against a private airline, alleging gross mismanagement that disrupted their travel plans for two consecutive days. According to passengers, the flight departed Bengaluru for Kathmandu at 10.30 am on Thursday. However, the aircraft returned without landing in Kathmandu under circumstances that were not clearly communicated to travellers, they alleged. The same aircraft reportedly took off again on Friday morning, but once again failed to land in Kathmandu and was diverted to Lucknow. Passengers alleged that they were made to remain seated inside the aircraft for several hours after landing in Lucknow. "We were kept inside the plane for hours without proper information. No one clearly explained what was happening," a passenger said during their protest on Friday. After prolonged waiting and exhaustion, travellers staged a protest inside the aircraft, forcing the airline to