POLITICS
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Oct- 2025 -26 October
IAF helicopter carrying President Murmu gets stuck in wet concrete at temporary Kerala helipad
A brief scare occurred in Pathanamthitta when an IAF helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu got its wheels stuck in wet concrete at a temporary helipad built just hours earlier. Officials denied any security lapse, calling it a landing deviation. Pathanamthitta: An alleged security lapse surfaced on Wednesday after an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu to Sabarimala got its wheels stuck in wet concrete at a swiftly built temporary helipad inside an indoor stadium complex near here, prompting officials to push the chopper out. The incident in Pramadam, Pathanamthitta, occurred shortly after the President alighted, even as the state’s top police official denied any compromise to the security protocol. According to reports, the helicopter landed at the temporary…
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26 October
Mosquito saliva protein sialokinin may shape immune response in chikungunya infections
Singaporean researchers discover that sialokinin, a peptide in Aedes mosquito saliva, binds neurokinin receptors to suppress early inflammation, facilitating chikungunya virus spread. Targeting salivary proteins could offer novel therapeutic strategies against CHIKV and other mosquito-borne viruses. New Delhi: A team of Singaporean researchers has identified a mechanism where mosquito saliva can help boost the human body’s immune response during chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection. The research, published in Nature Communications, showed that sialokinin — a bioactive peptide in Aedes mosquito saliva — binds to neurokinin receptors on immune cells and suppresses monocyte activation. This helps reduce inflammation and facilitates early viral dissemination. The findings offer new insight into how mosquito bites shape disease outcomes, said the team from the A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs…
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26 October
Prez Droupadi Murmu’s helicopter wheels sink into newly concreted landing pad
President Droupadi Murmu’s helicopter wheels got stuck in soft concrete at a newly built helipad in Pathanamthitta. The last-minute change from Nilackal to Pramadam due to weather caused the issue. She continued her Sabarimala journey by road Pathanamthitta: The wheels of the helicopter which carried President Droupadi Murmu for her Sabarimala visit got stuck in a depression in the newly concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Pramadam here when it landed on Wednesday morning. After the President left for Pamba by road, visuals on TV channels showed several policemen and fire force personnel pushing the helicopter’s wheels out of the small depressions created when it landed on the concrete. A senior police officer of the district said that…
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26 October
‘Maha-Lathbandhan’ of chaos-makers: NDA leaders on Oppn’s seat tussle in Bihar
As Bihar heads toward elections, the NDA accuses the Mahagathbandhan of disunity and internal conflict. NDA leaders project organizational strength, highlighting coordinated campaigning, while criticizing the opposition’s lack of leadership and chaotic seat-sharing, ahead of polls on November 6 and 11 New Delhi: As the election heat rises in Bihar, sharp political attacks have started between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan, with leaders from the ruling alliance launching scathing critiques of the opposition’s internal rifts, accusing it of being “disorganised” and “plagued by infighting” over seat-sharing. BJP Bihar State President Dilip Kumar Jaiswal lashed out at the opposition bloc, saying the alliance has exposed its “true face” to the people. “The way the Mahagathbandhan has handled the selection of candidates and…
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26 October
India slams Pakistan’s ‘doublespeak’ at UN for defending terrorists as ‘freedom fighters’
India denounced Pakistan at the UN for defending terrorists as “freedom fighters,” calling it the “epicentre of terrorism.” New Delhi said Islamabad was twisting international law to legitimise cross-border attacks and obstructing a global anti-terrorism treaty for nearly two decades. United Nations: Pakistan has made a renewed attempt to legitimise its terrorism by defending its terrorist brigades sent across to attack India by making the outlandish claim that they are freedom fighters. India denounced it as “doublespeak and hypocrisy” by the “epicentre” of global terrorism. Nations should “distinguish between terrorism and the exercise of the legitimate right of people to resist foreign occupation”, Muhammad Jawad Ajmal, a Counsellor at Pakistan’s UN Mission, said on Wednesday. He falsely claimed that the “distinction…
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26 October
Trump cancels meeting with Putin, cites lack of progress in talks
US President Donald Trump has cancelled his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing stalled diplomacy and new sanctions on Russian oil exports. Trump said recent talks with Moscow “didn’t feel right” and expressed hope for a future peace deal. Washington: US President Donald Trump has said that he has cancelled his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday at the White House. “It just didn’t feel right to me.” “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future,” Trump added. He…
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26 October
Saudi Arabia abolishes Kafala system – What it means for migrant workers
Saudi Arabia has abolished its decades-old Kafala system, granting migrant workers the freedom to change jobs, travel without sponsor consent, and access legal protections. The move, part of Vision 2030, aims to improve labour rights and global perception Hyderabad: In a landmark reform, Saudi Arabia has officially abolished the decades-old Kafala (sponsorship) system, marking a major shift in the treatment and rights of migrant workers in the Kingdom. The move, effective since March 2021 and part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative, is expected to benefit ‘around 13 million migrant workers,’ making it one of the most significant labour reforms in the Gulf region. What is the Kafala system? The Kafala system—Arabic for “sponsorship”—is a legal framework that…
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26 October
IRA in the making: Ghazwa-e-Hind rhetoric, 8,850 trainees at seven camps in Bangladesh
A senior Bangladeshi adviser disclosed recruitment and training of 8,850 recruits for an alleged “Islamic Revolutionary Army” across multiple centres, prompting Indian alarms that the Yunus government, Jamaat and Pakistan’s ISI aim to radicalise forces and heighten tensions with India New Delhi: The disclosure by a senior adviser to the Muhammad Yunus government in Bangladesh clearly suggests that the first phase to set up the Islamic Revolutionary Army (IRA) is underway. On October 20, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, an adviser to the interim government, said on social media that recruitment and training were being imparted to 8,850 individuals across several centres. He said that these individuals would undergo training in martial arts, firearms instruction, taekwondo and judo. This revelation confirms what the…
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26 October
Man crashes car into White House security gate, taken into custody
A man was arrested after ramming a vehicle into a White House security gate late Tuesday night. No injuries were reported. The incident, currently under investigation, occurred as President Trump was reportedly inside and follows recent security concerns in Florida Washington: A man was taken into custody after crashing his vehicle into a security gate outside the White House in Washington, according to local media reports. The incident occurred around 10:37 p.m. on Tuesday (local time) at the intersection of 17th Street and E Street NW, near the southwest perimeter of the presidential complex. According to the US Secret Service, the driver rammed his car into the secured gate, prompting an immediate response from security personnel. Agents quickly arrested the suspect…
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26 October
When it comes to Ukraine peace negotiations, it’s all over the map
Donald Trump reportedly urged Ukraine to concede the Donbas to Russia during tense meetings with President Zelenskyy, dismissing maps showing front-line realities. His transactional approach contrasts sharply with Ukraine’s view of territory as sacred, hard-fought land, not negotiable real estate Virginia: Donald Trump is reportedly “sick” of seeing maps of the front line in Ukraine. Indeed, according to one European official’s account, he tossed aside Ukrainian delegation maps during his latest meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on October 17, 2025. Instead, Trump is said to have aggressively pushed Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s terms to end the war and surrender all of the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east to Russian President Vladimir Putin. A political geographer who has…
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