| | At a Glance | PM Modi visited the Netherlands’ Afsluitdijk dam as India studies Dutch water-management expertise for Gujarat’s Kalpasar project. All passengers escaped safely after a fire in the Rajdhani Express in Madhya Pradesh. The US and Iran exchanged fresh conditions for restarting nuclear talks amid tensions over sanctions and oil routes. CNG prices crossed Rs 80 per kg in Delhi-NCR due to rising global crude prices. The Taliban introduced controversial child marriage-related rules in Afghanistan. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu announced incentives for larger families, while Rahul Gandhi intensified attacks on the Centre over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy.
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| | 🌊 A Dam Good Idea? Why PM Modi Travelled All The Way To See A Dutch Marvel |  | Why PM Modi Visited The Afsluitdijk
- PM Modi visited the 32-kilometre-long Afsluitdijk dam in the Netherlands, a massive barrier that has protected the low-lying country from flooding for around 80 years.
- The Dutch are globally known for their water management expertise, and PM Modi's visit signals India's interest in learning from their experience to tackle its own water challenges.
- The trip has direct relevance to Gujarat's proposed Kalpasar Project, a mega freshwater reservoir and dam system across the Gulf of Khambhat that has been under study for decades.
What Kalpasar Project Could Mean For India
- Kalpasar dam would create the world's largest freshwater reservoir in a marine environment, storing around 10 billion cubic metres of water from rivers like the Narmada, Mahi and Sabarmati.
- Stored water would help irrigate dry regions of Saurashtra and South Gujarat, provide drinking water, and also include a 10-lane transport corridor cutting travel distance by over 200 kilometres.
- The project, first discussed in the 1970s, is now estimated to cost around Rs 85,000-90,000 crore and could take 12 to 15 years just to construct, with many environmental and feasibility studies still incomplete.
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| | 🔥 Smoke And Scramble: Swift Response Averts Rajdhani Express Disaster |  | Rajdhani Express Coach Catches Fire
- The fire erupted at around 5.15am in the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express in MP’s Ratlam.
- All 68 passengers were safely evacuated within minutes and officials confirmed that there were no casualties.
- Railway staff cut off overhead electric supply as a precaution and the train arrived at its destination after a delay of around 7 hours.
Videos Of Aftermath Emerge
- Videos showed passengers and locals standing along the railway tracks as thick black smoke billowed from a detached coach.
- An FSL team has been deployed to examine the burnt coaches and collect evidence from the site.
- In a related incident, five railway staff members were injured when a van carrying repair equipment overturned en route to the site.
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| | 🚫 War On Pause, Power Play In Talks: What Washington Wants From Tehran |  | US Sets Conditions
- The US responded to Iran with its own five conditions for restarting negotiations.
- The US asked Iran to limit its nuclear operations and accept release of less than 25% of frozen assets.
- The US has also demanded that hostilities across all fronts end before negotiations formally begin.
What Iran Wanted
- Iran had demanded the lifting of all US sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad.
- Tehran has insisted on ending the war on all fronts, including Israel’s military operations in Lebanon and the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.
- Iranian officials warned that any attack on the country’s oil infrastructure could disrupt global oil access through the Strait of Hormuz.
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| | 💸Fuel Just Got Pricier, Again: CNG Breaks Rs 80 Barrier in Delhi |  | CNG Rates Jump Again In Delhi-NCR
- Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) raised CNG prices by Rs 1 per kg on Sunday, taking Delhi’s rate to Rs 80.09 per kg for the first time.
- The hike came just two days after a Rs 2 per kg increase on Friday, marking a sharp back-to-back rise within 48 hours.
- The revised rates pushed up commuting costs for private vehicle users, cab drivers and public transport operators dependent on CNG.
Fuel Prices Rise Across Board
- Petrol and diesel prices were also increased earlier, with petrol in Delhi reaching Rs 97.77 per litre and diesel Rs 90.67 per litre after a nearly Rs 3 per litre hike.
- The consecutive fuel revisions came amid rising global crude oil prices triggered by tensions in the Middle East and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.
- India managed to limit the impact compared to global trends, even as international crude surged from around $70 to over $100 per barrel, driving cost pressures worldwide.
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| | 🚨 ‘Silence Means Yes’: Taliban’s Chilling New Child Marriage Rules |  | Taliban’s Outlines New Marriage Rules
- The Taliban regime introduced a 31-article family law regulation covering marriage, divorce, child marriage and separation rules in Afghanistan.
- One controversial provision states that a “virgin girl’s” silence after puberty may be treated as consent for marriage.
- The decree was approved by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and published in the regime’s official gazette.
What Are The Regulations?
- The regulation allows marriages of minors arranged by relatives other than a child’s father or grandfather if the spouse and dowry are deemed “appropriate.”
- Children married at a young age may seek annulment after puberty, but only through Taliban court approval.
- Fathers and grandfathers retain broad authority over child marriages, while Taliban judges can intervene in cases involving adultery accusations.
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| | 💰 Andhra Wants Families To Deliver – Literally. And It’s Giving Rs 70K For It. |  | Cash Push For Families
- Andhra Pradesh will provide Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 incentives for third and fourth children respectively.
- Naidu said declining fertility rates threaten Andhra’s demographic balance and future economic productivity across generations.
- The state’s fertility rate has fallen to 1.5, well below the national replacement benchmark target.
Wider Welfare And Growth
- Andhra Pradesh plans enhanced child welfare schemes, free education and fertility clinics to encourage larger families.
- Naidu claimed Andhra could face a sharply ageing population, with 23% above sixty years by 2047.
- The government also announced airport, port, waste-processing and land-record modernisation projects across the state.
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| | Bill Gates Released Mosquitoes, Diseases Get Nervous |  | Buzz With Benefits- Scientists release 30 million mosquitoes weekly from a Colombia factory.
- These insects carry Wolbachia, which blocks several dangerous viruses.
- The goal is reducing dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
Tiny Insects, Big Mission- The project is backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Researchers say released mosquitoes make local disease transmission harder.
- Despite conspiracy theories, scientists see hope for global disease control.
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| | 💣 NEET Repeat Triggers Rahul Gandhi’s Heat Towards PM Modi |  | Repeated Exam Failures
- Rahul Gandhi questioned why Dharmendra Pradhan remains education minister despite repeated NEET examination controversies nationwide.
- Rahul compared the 2024 and 2026 NEET leaks, accusing the government of repeating failed responses.
- The Centre cancelled NEET-UG 2026 after investigators found leaked questions circulating before the examination was conducted.
Probe On
- The CBI arrested a Pune-based Botany teacher accused of leaking Biology questions during NEET-UG 2026 examinations.
- Nearly 23 lakh students were affected after authorities scrapped the entire examination and ordered reconducted tests.
- Rahul Gandhi linked student suicides to systemic corruption, calling the recurring examination failures institutional “murder by the system”.
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| | 💔 She Said No. He Attacked. The Crowd Took Revenge. |  | What Happened
- A 21-year-old receptionist, Y Vaishnavi was attacked with a knife in public in Telangana after repeatedly rejecting a man’s advances.
- Police said the accused Teja allegedly slit her throat after learning that her engagement had recently been fixed.
- The woman was rushed to hospital but later died while undergoing treatment.
Crowd Takes Revenge
- Local residents chased the accused, tied his hands and allegedly assaulted him with stones after the attack.
- The accused suffered severe injuries in the mob assault and later died during treatment at a hospital.
- Police launched parallel investigations into the murder and the mob violence that followed.
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| | 🏔️ Six Defeats In A Row: Punjab’s Season Nosedives As RCB Book Playoff Spot |  | Venkatesh, Kohli Power RCB To 222
- Venkatesh Iyer smashed an unbeaten 73 off 40 balls as RCB posted 222 for four.
- Virat Kohli scored 58 off 37 balls and shared a 76-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal.
- Tim David hit 28 off 12 balls as RCB stayed in command in the death overs.
RCB Seal Playoff Spot Despite Shashank Fight
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by 23 runs to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs.
- Shashank Singh scored 56 off 27 balls but Punjab Kings finished on 199 for eight.
- Josh Hazlewood dismissed Marcus Stoinis after Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck twice in the powerplay.
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| | 🍚 Shashi Tharoor Serves A Five-Star Vocabulary Feast In Viral Idli Vs Rasgulla Debate |  | From Rasgulla Roast To Idli Defence
- An X user tagged Shashi Tharoor after a viral post claimed that 'rasgulla is nothing but an idli dipped in sugar syrup'.
- The Congress MP responded with a humorous and detailed takedown, calling the comparison a 'profound cosmological misunderstanding'.
- Tharoor argued that rasgulla and idli belonged to 'entirely different kingdoms' with completely different compositions, textures and purposes.
'The Idli Has Dignity'
- Tharoor described idli as 'one of the greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world' and praised the science of fermentation behind it.
- Calling it a 'masterclass in biotechnology', he said a perfect idli reflected balance in gut health, nutrition and texture.
- He concluded by saying critics were free to debate rasgulla’s sweetness or sponginess, but should 'leave the noble, perfectly fermented, steamed majesty of the Idli out' of such comparisons.
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