headlines that matter

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath & Raghav Bikhchandani

Israel + US vs Iran: As messy as ever

OMG, the war is on! Never mind, we have a ceasefire. Wait, maybe not… It was Trump as usual in the Middle East.

First, the US base strike: Iran finally responded to the US strikes on its nuclear sites. It launched an attack on the biggest US military base in the Middle East. Al Udeid Air Base is the regional headquarters for the US military—and hosts 10,000 troops. The Qataris say the missiles were intercepted and nobody died. But, hey, Tehran took it as a win—saying it will “never leave any violation of its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered.” FYI: The operation was called Victory Message.

An act of war? Maybe not. US military officials described the attack as “a retaliatory but largely symbolic response.” More intriguingly, Donald Trump interpreted it as a gesture of peace:

“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that Iran had “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.” In addition to there being no U.S. casualties, he added, “very importantly, there have also been no Qataris killed or wounded.”

Nothing says ‘lets make up’ quite like a medium-range ballistic missile. 

Point to note: The amusing bit is that Arab states were the only ones seemingly worked up about this “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty. Saudi Arabia—which typically does eff all when Gazans are being killed—offered to deploy “all its capabilities” to support Doha. Btw, Jeddah has zero love for Qatar—which suggests the Iranian strike was indeed just a bit Middle East kabuki. 

Meanwhile, in Israel: Tel Aviv continued to launch missiles—targeting an infamous prison and some military HQs. No hospitals or schools were hit. So fairly mild stuff by Bibi’s standards. According to some reports, Tel Aviv has signalled that it is “looking to wrap up its strikes on Iran soon”—so it can get back to ethnic cleansing, no doubt.

Wait, do we have a ceasefire? Not content with thanking the Iranians, Trump went on to claim that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire”—that was “unlimited” and would last “forever.” Like true hate, perhaps. He even congratulated both sides—like a guest of honour at a World Cup final:

On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, “THE 12 DAY WAR.”

But, but, but: There is no confirmation from Tel Aviv—though the Iranian Foreign Minister seemed to take the bait, tweeting: 

As of now, there is NO agreement on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.

Btw, the post was shared at 4:16 am. 

Point to note: The Economist seems to be the only publication that thinks the Qatar strikes are a sign that “fierce hardliners” are grabbing power in Iran.

Where are we now? No one really knows. Between Bibi’s appetite for constant war and Trump’s microscopic attention span, it’s hard to guess which will win out. But here’s what we don’t know: Whether or not the US destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. The IAEA says there must have been “significant damage”—but since Tehran has canceled all cooperation no one may ever know: 

The hunt for the four hundred kilograms of enriched uranium continues in the aftermath of the U.S. and Israeli strikes. U.S. and international officials said they were unsure what became of them, so the question remains whether the attack destroyed the Iranian nuclear program, or just forced it into smaller, more secretive pockets of Iran’s web of thirty-odd nuclear sites.

Even so, most experts agree that the regime will get right back to building the bomb—which it needs more than ever to keep the greater and lesser shaitans at bay.

Reading list: The New York Times has more on the US base—and lays out the consensus on Iran’s nuclear program. For a more detailed view, check out this Council for Foreign Relations analysis. The Guardian is best on the ceasefire drama. The Atlantic and Economist have different takes on the power struggle within Iran—and whether this will be the end of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Let’s not forget Gaza: since that is exactly what Netanyahu wants. Yesterday, Israel killed at least 30 Palestinians—most of whom were looking for humanitarian aid. On the happier side, the Danish shipping giant Maersk has divested from all companies linked to Israeli settlements on the West Bank. And the World Central Kitchen—founded by celeb chef José Andrés—has returned to cooking meals for Gazans.

IndiGo has a severe caste problem

A trainee pilot at IndiGo has filed an FIR against three senior colleagues—Tapas Dey, Manish Sahani and Captain Rahul Patil—under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He claims that they abused and harassed him at the company’s head office in Gurgaon. It began at his very first day at the job: 

“One of the officials, Tapas Dey, told me to leave my phone and bag outside in a demeaning manner,” he said. “This set the tone for the abuse that followed.” The FIR includes direct quotes allegedly made by the officials during the meeting: “You are not fit to fly an aircraft, go back and stitch slippers” and “You don’t even have the worth to be a watchman here.” 

Beyond verbal abuse, the pilot was subjected to salary deductions, forced retraining, canceled travel privileges and repeated letters of warning. His complaint to IndiGo’s ethics committee was ignored—which led to the FIR. 

Where we are now: IndiGo has denied the allegations and said it will cooperate with law enforcement over the case. Dalit rights groups have entered the fray—demanding a government probe. (Times of India)

A bizarre rash of needle attacks in France

Around 145 people have been stabbed with needles at a nationwide festival—the Fête de la Musique. They were attacked at outdoor concerts—performed on sidewalks, in parks and other public spaces. What’s puzzling: there is no confirmation of date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB being involved. Needle spiking is typically used in cases of sexual assault—to render victims disoriented or unconscious. The intent in this remains unclear—although 12 suspects have been arrested across France.

Context to note: Needle attacks are not new—and have been rising across Europe and the UK—typically at clubs and bars. There were waves of such reports back in 2022. That said, experts say such attacks are very rare—despite the publicity and panic they inspire: 

Dr. Adam R. Winstock, a founder of the Global Drug Survey…  said that needle spiking is a “remarkably rare event.” Even when it comes to drink spiking, a more common form of drugging people, toxicological analysis has shown that only a very small percentage of drinks that people think are spiked are actually spiked, he said. Similarly, only “very rarely” have the police received confirmation that a drug has been administered through needle spiking, he said.

New York Times and The Guardian have lots more on the needle attacks in France.

Say hello to the lovely Vera Rubin telescope! 

A powerful new telescope—set high on a mountain in Chile—has shared its first very images. These were taken by the largest digital camera in the world:

It has 3,200 megapixels (67 times more than an iPhone 16 Pro camera), making it so high-resolution that it could capture a golf ball on the Moon and would require 400 Ultra HD TV screens to show a single image.

The camera will capture an image roughly every 40 seconds for about 8-12 hours a night—generating a phenomenal amount of data: “In just over 10 hours of test observations, the observatory has discovered 2,104 never-before-seen-asteroids, including seven near-Earth asteroids.” 

Key fact to note: The observatory is named after astronomer Vera Rubin—best known for her research on the motion of galaxies—which led to the conception of dark matter. Many scientists argue her work deserved a Nobel Prize.

On to the gorgeous photos: Ofc, the real reason why we’re telling you all this is so we can show you the images. Below is the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae, rendered in stunning detail:

Here is a huge cluster of galaxies including spiral galaxies in the vast Virgo cluster:

Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has the nerdy details—and a very cool must-see animation of how the telescope works.  

what caught our eye

business & tech

• Adani Group has set up India’s first fully solar-powered hydrogen plant in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
• A new study has revealed that Meta’s Llama 3.1 AI model can reproduce 42% of the book ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’—which could have major implications for generative AI copyright lawsuits.
• Google is using the expansive library of YouTube videos to train its AI models, but YouTubers say they had no idea this was happening. 
• While the rest of the world focussed on Tesla’s robotaxis and Cybertrucks, Elon Musk quietly inked the “largest of its kind” deal with China—worth $557 million—to build its first large-scale energy storage station in Shanghai. 

sports & entertainment

• Jude Bellingham is the latest footballer to criticise the state of the pitches at the Club World Cup in the US—which doesn’t bode well for next summer’s FIFA World Cup.
• We’re nearly at the halfway mark of the Club World Cup and attendances have wildly fluctuated from ‘hostile’ atmospheres to swathes of empty seats. 
• A restored cut of ‘Sholay’—featuring previously deleted scenes including an alternate ending—will premiere at the Bologna Film Festival. 
• Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a must-read on the battle for Starbucks’ coffee-making crown—which took place earlier this month. 

health & environment

• Kashmiri apples will soon be available on the other side of the country—from an orchard in the Darjeeling hills. 

meanwhile, in the world

• In 2028, Oman will become the first Gulf state to introduce a 5% income tax—as part of a bid to reduce oil dependence. 
• Japan’s ruling party has suffered its worst result in local assembly elections in Tokyo, underscoring the challenge PM Shigeru Ishiba faces in next month’s upper house parliamentary elections.
• BBC News turns the clock back to the twentieth century, when Dubai almost became a part of India.   
• Pro-Palestinian group—Palestine Action—which had vandalized Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland—has joined the ranks of banned terrorist organizations by the UK. Yup that includes ISIS, Hamas and Al Qaeda.

meanwhile, in India

• India’s proposed trade deal with the US has hit a rough patch ahead of the July 9 deadline—after which domestic industry will have to brace for a 26% tariff. 
• Washington Post (splainer gift link) reports on how AI is transforming Indian call centres, and what it means for workers.
• Mother tongue mapping in schools across Delhi NCR reveals a rich linguistic diversity, while parents prefer fluency in English from an early age.
• India’s coastline is now 50% longer than it used to be, due to more accurate measurements that have recently been carried out.

Three things to see

One: The Alia CX300 is the first all-electric aircraft to successfully fly four passengers from East Hampton to New York’s JFK Airport. The best bit is the price: $8 or Rs 700! (Mint)

Two: Prada is getting all kinds of grief for its new Spring/Summer 2026 menswear show in Milan—which featured models wearing, um, Kolhapuri chappals. Of course, there wasn’t even a whisper of acknowledgement of the “inspiration”—that sells for £1,000 (Rs 1.17 lakh). Cue the outrage. (Indian Express)

Three: Also facing backlash: Diljit Dosanjh—and his upcoming horror-comedy Punjabi film ‘Sardaar Ji 3’ starring Pakistani actress Hania Aamir. The reason: Aamir condemned Indian air strikes on Pakistan in 2019 and during Operation Sindoor. According to a film trade group, no producers should work with Dosanjh: “He should be fully boycotted in the country by music labels and Punjabi film industry. Diljit is a compulsive Pakistani lover.” Ofc, the movie has been banned in India but is slated for an international release on Friday. You can check out the teaser below. (Hindustan Times)

feel good place 

One: Well, that’s one way to get into a tub.

Two: Resident Covid fighter.

Three: ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd: Lute edition.