Author: Samiddha Chakraborty

Brazil secured champions endured a difficult first half as Japan produced a disciplined defensive performance and stunned Brazil by taking the lead in the 29th minute. Kaishu Sano capitalised on Japan’s quick attacking move to put the Asian side ahead, leaving Brazil struggling to find their rhythm before the break.

The hard-won Islamabad Memorandum has unraveled into open warfare as the United States and Iran traded heavy military strikes over the weekend, pushing the Strait of Hormuz crisis into its most perilous escalation since the interim peace deal was signed. Acting on direct authorization from U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. Navy and Air Force launched massive retaliatory airstrikes on Saturday, June 27, 2026, flattening multiple Iranian drone storehouses, ballistic missile launch sites, and coastal radar stations on Qeshm Island and near the port of Sirik. The American barrage was triggered after a Panama-flagged oil tanker, the M/T Kiku, and a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel, the M/V Ever Lovely, were struck by suicide drones while attempting to navigate the newly established Omani shipping corridor. Blaming Tehran for a “foolish, flagrant violation” of the truce, Trump issued an ultimatum from the White House, warning that the U.S. military stands ready to “complete the job” and systematically dismantle Iran’s governing political structure if hostile actions do not cease immediately. Tehran forcefully rejected the American narrative, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) deploying dozens of ballistic missiles and explosive drones against U.S.-linked military strongholds in Kuwait and Bahrain, while declaring that any further Western aggregation will freeze all ongoing diplomatic channels and met with a crushing, absolute response

Former Kolkata deputy mayor and Trinamool Congress leader Atin Ghosh, along with his daughter and son-in-law, has been booked by police in connection with an alleged property dispute involving a three-storey house and adjoining land valued at around ₹4 crore in eastern Kolkata.

India’s vital agricultural backbone has been dealt a staggering blow at the onset of the summer farming cycle, prompting the Union Government to activate emergency agricultural protocols on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Data released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reveals that the southwest monsoon has stumbled into a massive 43% nationwide rainfall deficit, transforming June 2026 into one of the driest seasonal openings in recent decades. The severe stalling of moisture-bearing winds—suppressed by a powerful combination of unfavorable El Niño conditions, a weak Somali Jet, and dry westerly currents—has left less than 10% of India’s total summer crop area sown. Responding to the crisis, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that the Centre has mapped out high-risk zones, identifying 315 districts facing severe drought vulnerabilities, with 111 non-irrigated districts placed under an extreme high-alert classification. Chouhan issued strict advisories to state administrations to mandate the instant rejuvenation of localized check dams and rural farm ponds while actively urging rain-dependent cultivators to bypass thirsty paddy fields in favor of low-moisture alternative cash crops, alternative inter-cropping methodologies, and short-duration coarse cereals to insulate rural livelihoods from systemic crop damage

Europe is facing one of its most severe heatwaves in recent years, with several countries experiencing record-breaking temperatures, red weather alerts and widespread disruption. The extreme heat has affected daily life, strained public services and raised concerns over the growing impact of climate change.France has been among the worst-hit nations, with several regions placed under the highest-level heat alerts as temperatures climbed above 40°C. Authorities have issued warnings over health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups, while emergency measures have been introduced to deal with the intense conditions.Southern European countries, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, have also recorded extreme temperatures exceeding…

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has renamed Suhrawardy Avenue in the Park Circus area as Gopal Mukherjee Road, honouring Gopal Mukherjee, popularly known as Gopal Patha, a figure associated with the communal violence in Kolkata during the Direct Action Day period of 1946. The decision has triggered a political controversy in West Bengal.

Stoking an intense national security and constitutional debate, U.S. President Donald Trump officially introduced the newly designated presidential aircraft at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday, June 19, 2026. The massive Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet—originally built as a high-end commercial airliner for the Qatari royal family—was accepted by the administration as a sovereign gift to serve as a critical “bridge” transport while Boeing’s next-generation presidential fleet faces extensive design delays. Embodying Trump’s long-standing preference for a bolder executive brand, the new aircraft completely scraps the traditional, 40-year robin’s egg blue scheme for a striking navy blue, red, and white livery anchored by a massive American flag emblazoned across its tail. While the President lauded the gargantuan jet as the “world’s most luxurious plane,” critics inside Congress instantly sounded alarms, pointing out that accepting a $400 million foreign asset wildly violates standard statutory gift limits. Deepening the controversy, structural audit trails exposed an unpublicized $934 million fund diversion from a Pentagon intercontinental ballistic missile modernization program to bankroll the jet’s classified countermeasure upgrades and encrypted communication hardware. The heavily fortified airborne command center is scheduled to begin immediate commissioning flights, leading a historic national flyover on July 4th before transporting the President to the high-stakes NATO summit in Ankara.

Marking a profound, historic shift in the state’s legislative architecture, the inaugural Budget Session of the newly constituted 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly commenced on Thursday, June 18, 2026, framed by an address from Governor R.N. Ravi. Outlining the policy priorities of the newly inducted administration under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the Governor’s 20-page speech emphasized an immediate crackdown on border infiltration, land allocation to the BSF for enhanced fencing, and the total dismantling of past extortion syndicates. The high-voltage session served as the first public display of a shattered Trinamool Congress (TMC), with Mamata Banerjee-loyalist lawmakers physically isolated into separate seating blocks, while a powerful 20-MP rebel camp leader, Ritabrata Banerjee, was officially recognized by the Speaker as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP). All eyes are now trained on Monday, June 22, 2026, when newly appointed Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta will present the state’s fiscal roadmap. Facing a massive inherited debt burden of ₹7.8 lakh crore, Dasgupta has signaled a “Marshall Plan” level of economic reconstruction, promising a bold industrial policy to facilitate seamless land acquisition and single-window investor clearings alongside a massive rollout of the central Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme to 6.5 crore citizens.

AnitThapa has resigned from the post of Chief Executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), ending his tenure as the head of the autonomous hill body in West Bengal. Thapa submitted his resignation, citing personal reasons, according to reports.

A diplomatic controversy has emerged between India and Bangladesh after Dr Zahed Ur Rahman, an adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, returned from Delhi airport without entering India, alleging that he was “humiliated” during an immigration check.