The deadly car blast that occurred in front of the Red Fort on Monday evening had claimed the life of 13 people and left the crowded place like a battleground with debris of several burnt vehicles and dismembered human parts all around. Even as it was confirmed on Thursday morning that Dr Umar Un Nabi was at the wheel, it has also emerged that the Kashmiri medical professional had links to transnational terror network traced to as far as Turkey.
The DNA matching of the leg found wedged between the steering wheel and the accelerator of the white Hyundai i20 that exploded has confirmed beyond any iota of doubt that he was driving the vehicle at the time of the blast, investigators say.
The incident at the Dubai Air Show occurred during an aerial stunt when the aircraft failed to lift for a horizontal flight after a rolling manoeuvre that happened to be too close to the ground possibly because the jet lost altitude. The pilot lost control as the jet had a free fall.
It has now come to light that a room in the Al-Falah university's hostel was exclusively used to store and prepare the explosives and that the college lab was used to test the chemicals for serial blasts in Delhi on the pattern of Mumbai 26/11.
All 176 passengers safely disembarked and the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft was moved to the bay for security checks. A bomb disposal squad did not find anything suspicious.
The ethics and optics of such a high-end procurement by the chairman of the anti-corruption body has ignited nationwide outrage. Has the watchdog become the wolf! The moment has come in our democratic discourse to realise, repeat realise, that fighting corruption is not just about laws and institutions. Its feasibility lies in a culture of governance nurtured by appropriate democracy (which has to evolve on its own). Is anybody listening?
The arrest of Indian-origin Ashley Tellis (64), foreign policy adviser to the US Government since 2001, who has worked at US Department of State, the National Security
Council and the Department of Defence, has sent shockwaves through diplomatic
and academic circles, given Tellis’s longstanding role in shaping Indo-US relations
and his deep involvement in strategic policy formulation.
The arrest has sparked intense speculation about the nature and intent behind
the alleged offences. It is certainly India-centric.
The fault is that he was the architect of Indo-US relations for a long
time, especially his behind-the-scenes role in the nuclear agreement of 2008.
His essay “India’s Great-Power Delusions” published in Foreign Affairs in
July/August 2025 provided the spark for getting targeted although he was seen
as playing a partisan role in Indian politics in India and abroad for long.
It can consume President Trump any time, if the Democrats get to the root
of the issue, not the symptoms.
The ultimate trick of an instant money transfer of such a huge amount to the women folk—who in most villages do not get to see currency notes in their life time—has earned Modi an unending stream of bouquets and brickbats, with just one stroke of a button. This windfall looked surreal, unlike of all other freebies born earlier.
TO MR. DONALD THE NEW TRUMP: Thank you, Mr Trump, for doing more good for India than for America—like the 50% tariff! That said, India's Keynesian tribe remains ill-equipped to grasp the long-term implications of your new visa and tariff regimes—assuming they
endure.
Paradoxically, domestic prices in the US are bound to rise. This will be the
consequence of the pattern of your actions on illegal immigration, tariffs on
goods and services, and the overhaul of the H-1B visa program. Brace for that
event, Mr Trump!
You were honest and forthright. You wear no mask! You don’t act to please “friends”; you’ve shown that your role has no permanent allies. You make no bones about what you believe must be done. And, you have shown absolute courage. Symbolically, Jerome Powell was the last barrier to fall in your relentless march toward absolute power.
Your approach—and your American culture—is alien to vote-bank politics. Unlike in India, where many a politician cloaks the intentions behind welfare schemes and legions
of projects and consolidates vote-banks—you operate with unapologetic clarity.
In India, vote banks define the entire polity where crooks, pretenders, fake
elites, masqueraders and 'masketeers' rule the roost (But it takes just a day
to change what it has been there for over seven decades!).
Mussoorie, a popular tourist destination, Haridwar, a great sanctum of salvation, Rishikesh, the abode of the saints, Tehri and Nainital, also a tourist spot, are all cut off. The historic Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple in Doon is submerged, with water levels rising above the idols. Earlier, the newly built highways to the Char Dhams—major pilgrim centres—built by breaking the Himalayas and that with tens of thousands of crores of rupees of the poor people, converting the shrines into tourist spots, were destroyed in a series of flash floods as if ordained from above. The devastation is now complete for Uttarakhand. Pilgrim centres were set up by the ancients not for pleasure hounds but to be trekked for various other benefits for humanity.
A Critique: What matters is not merely the installation of a female Prime Minister for the first time. In the historical context of Nepal, what truly matters is the transformative shift within a society long perceived as primitive. The people have asserted themselves, like in Lanka, but unlike the 'Buddhist' upsurge, here it has been a million times more intense, more fierce, more violent—compressed into the shortest span of 24 hours.
Breaking free from a perceived inevitability, the revolution, unlike any other in modern history, shows they are no longer a tribe ordained to live by the strength of their brawn—as security guards, as Gorkhas. A people have come of age.
Nepal is burning literally, unlike of anything history has witnessed in any
part of the world in modern times. The “Gen Z Rebellion” has set fire to Prime
Minister Oli, President Poudel's houses and Parliament building. They are burning—flames
and smoke billowing out high into the skies.
Neither the fate of former Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda
and Sher Bahadur Deuba was different!
KP Sharma Oli, who reportedly resigned as PM earlier, and Prez Ram Chandra Poudel are
scrambling army choppers to flee. Protesters are setting fireworks around the
airport to stop leaders and the elite clerks from leaving the country. India
has partially closed its border.
Gen Z protesters took to arson and vandalism all across the tiny Himalayan
country.
Army is getting ready to take over.
(The violence was more of an eruption of underlying discontent over corruption
in high places, the lavish lifestyles of legions of unproductive clerks constituting
what is called the Government machinery and the resultant grinding poverty across
an underdeveloped country—than a simple ban on social media.)
Black proofing of the 2000-km iron wall is the brainchild of Trump although he is innocent of physics or for that matter anything of science. To demonstrate the will power behind the President's decision, Noem also picked up a roller brush where the work is going on. (Aside: But illegal immigrants can cross the border at night! Nights are cooler.)
WHO GOT WHAT: For Putin, the summit marked a symbolic return to global
legitimacy—an escape from diplomatic isolation - a great leap forward, standing
on his head. He even floated proposals for joint US–Russia ventures, signaling
a bold pivot toward normalization. (Where have the sanctions gone!)
For Trump, the meeting served to boost his self-styled image as a master dealmaker,
inching him closer to what some insiders describe as his “obsessive” pursuit
of the Nobel Peace Prize. Whether this ambition compromises national interest
is a question critics are now asking aloud. Ironically, the original Alaska
agenda was left untouched—overshadowed by optics, ambition, and the choreography
of power.)
(Aside: Let’s put the Ukraine issue simply. Imagine India is obsessed
with national security. It decides to invade and own not the bordering Pakistan
or Bangladesh but Sri Lanka or the Maldives—not across a land border, but across
the sea—because it perceives growing Chinese influence in the ocean as a threat.
Now apply that logic to Russia. Putin wants to annex Ukrainian territory across
the strategic Black Sea—not just for land, but to control the strategic sea
route itself. Same style, a decade ago it annexed Crimea. So he invaded Ukraine
again for more. It is not a war but is an invasion. It’s not just about borders.
It’s about expansion and dominance. Now let the common man take the explanation
forward! Let us not be confused! Ukraine is not at war! There is no war!)
The State will have a two-language formula for the schools—Tamil and English.
Goodbye to the fraud called entrance exams: No competitive entrance exam for higher education - Admissions will be based on Class 11 and 12 marks. (See footnote)
The SEP and the State's determination to bring education back to the State
List constitute a structured resistance to the Centre’s ultimate designs for centralisation of governance.
The preliminary probe report claims both the fuel control switches were in ‘CUT OFF’ mode moments after lift-off (FADEC may be set to register like that). But the switches are mounted on the centre pedestal, between the seats of the captain and the first officer at arm's length. Who can switch it off? Transitioning is a two-stage manual procedure and that makes a clicking sound also. Not one, both switches! The switches are so protected by multiple layers of physical and procedural safeguards and guarded by metal brackets for a third party to meddle with easily. The cockpit is locked during takeoff. They are handled only for start and after landing, also in emergencies. Is it possible that the pilot just missed to put the switch to RUN while on the runway and the aircraft, a good one, was running on residual fuel? Which it can do for 20 to 40 seconds. The Air India flight stalled after 32 seconds of passing the Go/NoGo point.
(Soon after the videos came into public domain, the next day of the crash, our aviation expert had stated in these columns, the crash had something to do with the fuel line.)
(Soon we will put together another diverse discourse with experts to dispel any nagging doubts surrounding aviation dynamics that are stirring curious minds in the current context.)
TRUMP: "We'll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know
what DOGE is? The monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t
that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies (Tesla and SpaceX)." Nobody on
earth ever got so much of Government subsidies as Musk, The New Trump declared
audaciously when the 'Beautifiul Bill' that scraps Tesla subsidies made its
entry into the Capitol. Musk knew the Bill spelt his death knell...
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
At that momentous event, "I will be thinking about my
mother (the late Shyamala Gopalan), who is looking down
from heaven," Harris said. The scaled back presidential
inauguration this time will have no precedent with a
devastating coronavirus locking down everything and a
heightened security bandobast with reports of armed Trump
protesters likely to re-enact the Capitol episode posing the
gravest threat to Biden, the President-elect, and others.
"We were taught to see a world beyond just ourselves. To be
conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people."
- Kamala Harris, Vice-President-elect, United States of America.
She is releasing a series of her reminiscences of her early
period, of people and events that had deep influence on the
course of her life and thoughts, in the coming days leading up to
her inauguration as the Vice-President of America, the first
woman ever to occupy a position that high in the greatest
democracy yet.
The first woman Vice-President has become an inspiration for girls
of colour, and for all girls. Kamala Harris is becoming an icon. Her
passionate speech had a great, lasting impact on the listeners,
when she said, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will
not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that
this is a country of possibilities.”
Yet another helpless Indian woman having had to go to Saudi Arabia in search of work as maid servant has reportedly died of physical and mental torture
by her employer, it has been alleged. However, the Indian Foreign Ministry has
said after an inquiry that she died of natural causes.
Unlimited excitement will be on offer in Dubai as Lionsgate Entertainment
and The 20th Century Fox are building theme parks to provide the audience an
illusion of experiences of timeless horror of the Titanic disaster and the death and rebellion of the dystopia.
PUDUCHERRY (PONDICHERRY)
Promenade Beach, Paradise Beach, Auroville Beach, Serenity Beach, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Church of the Capuchins, Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Thirukaameeswarar Temple (Periya Koil), Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, French War Memorial, Romain Rolland Library, Governor's Palace, Bharati Park (Government Park), Light House, Chunnambar Beach, Backwater Resort
Even as the shutdown’s economic damage is still being assessed, the Bill’s passage does not resolve deeper disputes over health care subsidies and immigration policy, which remain flashpoints in upcoming negotiations. With the next funding deadline looming in just two months. Democrats said the Republicans played chicken with the economy.
When one Rajendra Nikam, 43, was asked to produce his train ticket by a ticket checker in an AC local on Tuesday, he showed the ticket on his mobile phone. He said he had purchased it on the Indian Railways’ UTS mobile app.
In a post on X, Governor Radhakrishnan said, "Prof Tripathi was a distinguished Sanskrit scholar, researcher and a popular teacher. During his tenure, he worked with dedication for the promotion and propagation of the Sanskrit language. With his demise, we have lost a dedicated researcher and an able administrator who tirelessly worked for the cause of Sanskrit."
Shanawas made his acting debut in 1981 with Prema-geethangal, directed by Balachandra
Menon. His films include Mazhanilavu, Eeyugam, Maniyara, Neelagiri, China Town,
Garbhashreemaan, Jana Gana Mana and Zachariyayude Garbhinikal.
Achuthanandan joined the Communist Party in 1940 and was a founding member of the CPI (M) in 1964. He served as Kerala’s Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011 and was elected to the State Assembly seven times. He played a key role in the historic Punnapra-Vayalar uprising and led several grassroots movements.
The police arrested 43-year old Rohan Saldanha from his house following allegations that he had cheated businessmen in Karnataka and other States out of hundreds of crores of rupees. On the pretext of securing huge loans, he would collect advance payments of up to Rs 4 for loans worth Rs 500 cr.
MK Muthu had ventured into Tamil cinema in the 1970s as a challenge to rival MGR but his acting career didn't succeed. After strained relations with Karunanidhi he joined the AIADMK, founded by his rival superstar MG Ramachandran, but reconciled with him in 2009.
The deceased were of 61 to 86 years. Seven victims have been identified. Two others await identification. Some survivors were rescued through a window by firefighters. The cause of fire is still under investigation. Understaffing was blamed for loss of so many lives.
Ex-military operative Zora Bennett's high-risk mission to a dinosaur-inhabited island has made Scarlett Johansson the highest-grossing box office star in Hollywood. Following the release of her 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' she just climbed two steps to the first place pushing down her 'Avengers' costars Samuel L Jackson and Robert Downey Jr.
Celebrities in attendance, Jeff Bezos (61), the Amazon founder, and Lauren Sanchez (55), a media personality, tied the knot in a spectacular three-day ceremony of opulence, glamour and grandeur and all that in Venice that culminated on Friday splurging an estimated $50 million, yet not without some controversy. But that was his hard-earned money!
Nepal’s Yala Glacier, located in the Langtang region of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, has officially been declared “dead.” On May 12, a memorial ceremony was held at the glacier.
At that momentous event, "I will be thinking about my
mother (the late Shyamala Gopalan), who is looking down
from heaven," Harris said. The scaled back presidential
inauguration this time will have no precedent with a
devastating coronavirus locking down everything and a
heightened security bandobast with reports of armed Trump
protesters likely to re-enact the Capitol episode posing the
gravest threat to Biden, the President-elect, and others.
