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PM Modi was warmly welcomed in Zagreb, Croatia, with cultural performances and Sanskrit mantra chanting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday, marking a historic moment as the first Indian PM to visit the Balkan nation. Upon his arrival at the hotel, he was greeted by enthusiastic members of the Indian community with chants of “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai,” along with a cultural performance featuring traditional Indian dance.

A group of Croatian nationals, dressed in white, chanted the ‘Gayatri Mantra’ and other Sanskrit verses with PM Modi, highlighting the strong cultural ties between India and Croatia. The video of the moment was shared from the Prime Minister’s official X handle

The bonds of culture are strong and vibrant! Here is a part of the welcome in Zagreb. “Happy to see Indian culture has so much respect in Croatia,” PM Modi said in the post.

In another post, Prime Minister Modi shared a beautifully curated two-minute video capturing the highlights of his warm welcome in Zagreb, including vibrant cultural performances

Donald Trump-Asim Munir Lunch: History and geography have once again led Washington to Islamabad, and more importantly, Rawalpindi’s doorstep. Rawalpindi is where the Pakistan’s army has its headquarters.

US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for a special luncheon at the White House on Wednesday. The meeting comes at a time when Israel is intensifying its military strikes on Iran, with whom Pakistan shares a nearly 1,000-kilometre border. The United States, which backs Israel’s actions may also join them in ensuring they put an end to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

THE IRAN FACTOR

History and geography have once again led Washington to Islamabad, and more importantly, Rawalpindi’s doorstep. Two US aircraft carriers – the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Harry S Truman – are stationed in the Arabian Sea, and a fleet of B-2 Stealth bombers are lined-up at the US’ Indian Ocean air force base in Diego Garcia – all awaiting orders from their Commander-in-Chief – President Trump.Speaking about the US making a military move on Iran hours before meeting Pakistan’s army chief, President Trump said at a White House press briefing that “I may do it, I may not do it – nobody knows what I’m going to do.” But any prolonged efforts against Iran, would mean the United States would need a land access to the enemy country – something Pakistan can provide.

PAK ARMY CHIEF WANTS ‘NOBEL PRIZE FOR TRUMP’

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the White House Deputy Press Secretary, Anna Kelly, mentioned that the reason President Trump is meeting Pakistan’s army chief is because the latter has called for a Nobel Prize to be given to the US President for averting a “nuclear war between India and Pakistan” last month.

India’s top engineering schools have become the favoured hunting grounds for talent.

Half a dozen global trading giants, from Citadel Securities and IMC Trading to Millennium and Optiver, are ratcheting up their presence in India’s booming derivatives markets, fuelling a hiring spree and pushing exchanges to improve technology.

The firms’ hiring plans, being reported for the first time, come amid expectations that large domestic consumer and investor bases will help shield India from global turmoil sparked by the trade policies of US President Donald Trump.

The South Asian nation made up nearly 60% of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April, the Futures Industry Association says, while its regulators say notional turnover of the contracts has grown 48 times since March 2018.

For Western firms, the gold rush is too big to ignore, particularly after US trading firm Jane Street earned $2.34 billion from its India trading strategy last year, some of the firms’ executives said.

We have seen competition increasing both on the trading front, where you see more players going for the same opportunities, and on the job market as well,” said Jocelyn Dentand of global high-speed trader IMC Trading.

The firm plans to grow its team by more than 50% by the end of 2026 to stand at more than 150, added Dentand, the managing director of its India unit.

Foreign investors turned buyers of Indian stocks in April and May, purchasing a net $2.8 billion, as they abandoned their previous selling stance from October 2024 to March 2025, prompted by high valuations and slower growth in earnings.

US-based Citadel Securities, a market-making firm founded by well-known investor Kenneth Griffin, runs a leaner team of around 10 in India but has ramped up capital allocation to its operations, said a source familiar with its plans.

“In India, we’re constantly looking for talent and constantly hiring,” said the source, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to the media and declined to give details of the plan.

The minister revealed the UK Industrial Strategy would be released soon, forming the blueprint for focus areas for such a partnership with India.

The UK must harness scientific and academic relationships with India as it becomes an increasingly powerful player in the science and technology space, Britain’s minister for science, research and innovation has said.

During a session on ‘Unlocking UK-India Collaboration for a New Era of Innovation’ at India Global Forum’s Future Frontiers Forum at the Science Museum in London on Thursday, Lord Patrick Vallance called for greater mobility of high-skilled professionals through the Global Talent Visa and the need to tap into complementary skills across all sectors.

The minister revealed the UK government’s much-anticipated Industrial Strategy would be released in a few weeks, forming the blueprint for focus areas for such a partnership with India.

“There is already a strong relationship between India and the UK, and I think it’s growing,” said Vallance.

“But government-to-government relationships on science aren’t actually what drives everything. It has to be a scientist and a scientist as well. There are important academic links. I’d like to see more of that as India becomes an increasingly powerful player in the science and tech space,” he said.

The forum was addressed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal earlier on the sector-wide benefits of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) struck between the two countries, as it “adds value to science and technology and innovation”.A Free Trade Agreement demonstrates to the world that the two countries are friends, allies, and plan to work together closely; they trust each other,” said Goyal.

Vallance concurred and highlighted: “India has its focus areas, we have ours, now we need to create opportunities across those sectors.” Lord Ara Darzi, the British surgeon behind a seminal review of the National Health Service (NHS) and much-needed areas of reform, hailed India’s “transformative health solutions” as the “intellectual and production power” the UK must collaborate with.

The forum also included a ‘Pitchers and Punters’ curated showcase of Indian start-ups pitching to a jury of international investors.

Among the standout companies were Zypp Electric, Lina Energy, Steamology Motion Ltd and Electric Miles – with Zypp Electric winning this year’s Clean Tech Award presented by British renewable energy group Octopus Energy.

So the Pakistan Field Marshal had his lunch with the President of the United States. Whether the mercurial US President planned to also get Prime Minister Modi to Washington to ‘share a meal’ with his dangerous neighbour, as he had said earlier, is unclear. But while Pakistan may celebrate the ‘historic’ culinary bonding in Washington, the bottom line is that there are no free lunches, particularly not with a self-proclaimed transactional president. Gen Asim Munir knows that very well, and is expected to use America’s inevitable demands for his own ends, some of which may result in unknown effects on the declared continuance of ‘Operation Sindoor’.

Copy-Pasting From History

First, look at the lessons of history, in terms of how Pakistan has used US presence and vice versa. On December 8, 1959, a soon-to-be Field Marshal awaited the pleasure of a President of the United States. President Ayub Khan, a dictator who had seized power a year earlier, hailed Dwight D. Eisenhower as a leader of the ‘free world’, bringing to his attention the threat from India, the Kashmir question, the yet-to-be-signed Indus Water treaty, its complete dependence on those waters, and the threat from ‘communism’.

Replace the Russian threat with China, and the whole read-out can be almost copy-pasted into current Pakistani files, especially as Eisenhower, who said he was “delighted that President Ayub had taken the initiative ..to improve relations with India”, had got Ayub to agree to set up a military base in Peshawar, to spy on the Russians. 

There are free lunches in Washington.

Munir Has The Levers

Munir, however, knows his man in America. He came prepared with a proposal to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping a nuclear war – which, Trump would know, is a non-starter. A ‘nomination’ can’t even be announced, let alone making it to the top when Trump is cordially disliked by his own treaty partners. But PM Modi was forced to do the opposite – deny the position of ‘peacemaker’ to the President in his telephone conversation, while his Foreign Secretary did so publicly. 

Pakistan scored on that one, but that just might be a false score on one level. That Munir was the first serving chief to meet with the US President was hailed back home. More notable was the fact that the meeting took place – unusually so – with just Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witcoff, and, on the Pakistani side, the ISI Chief General, Asim Malik. No civilian aides whatsoever.

Bilawal Bhutto accused India of violating international law by unilaterally halting the 1960 agreement after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned that India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could lead to war, calling the move “illegal and provocative.” His remarks come about two months after New Delhi halted the landmark water-sharing pact.

“We do not want war, but if water is used as a weapon, Pakistan will be forced to act and we are in a position to defeat India just as we have before,” the PPP chairman said during the National Assembly’s budget session on Monday.

Bilawal Bhutto accused India of violating international law by unilaterally halting the 1960 agreement after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. “India has two options: share water fairly, or we will take it from all six rivers,” he warned.

The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, governs the distribution of water from six rivers between India and Pakistan.

With Home Minister Amit Shah signalling the treaty will “never be restored“, the potential consequences for Pakistan are wide-ranging and severe.Agricultural Impact

Pakistan’s agriculture depends almost entirely on the Indus River system. The western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, account for over 80 per cent of irrigation in the country. Without the IWT’s protections, India could restrict flow or alter water timing, directly threatening food security.

Crops like wheat, rice, cotton, and sugarcane could see massive yield drops. Experts warn this could lead to a 30-40 per cent reduction in agricultural output by 2030 if disruptions continue. For a country where nearly 40 per cent of the population is involved in farming, the fallout could be catastrophic.

Energy

Hydropower plants like Tarbela, Mangla, and Neelum-Jhelum rely on consistent river flows. These installations contribute roughly 30 per cent of Pakistan’s electricity.

Reduced water flow would slash generation capacity, forcing Pakistan to increase reliance on imported fuel and thermal plants. That not only raises costs but also risks nationwide blackouts, disrupting industry, agriculture, and households. An energy crisis would compound inflation and deepen Pakistan’s economic problems.

Water Scarcity

Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad depend on water from the Indus system. A sudden cut or diversion could lead to shortages in drinking water, sanitation problems, and even civil unrest.

In rural areas, reduced river flow may push communities to extract more groundwater, further depleting aquifers and increasing soil salinity. Inter-provincial water disputes, particularly between Punjab and Sindh, could escalate.

Economic Consequences

Pakistan’s economy is heavily water-dependent. Agriculture alone contributes over 24 per cent of GDP and employs a large chunk of the population. A disruption in water supply could lead to a 1.5-2 per cent annual GDP loss. Export revenues driven by crops and textiles would decline, while inflation rises. The burden on government subsidies and emergency relief efforts could also grow, worsening the fiscal deficit.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in China’s Qingdao to attend the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting.Defence Minister.Sending a stern message to India’s neighbours, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has refused to sign a joint statement at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet because it did not mention the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 innocent lives and did not reflect India’s strong position on terror. While skipping any mention of Pahalgam, the document mentioned Balochistan, tacitly accusing India of creating unrest there. Pahalgam’s exclusion from the document appears to have been done at Pakistan’s behest as its all-weather ally, China, holds the Chair now. 

India has consistently trashed Pakistan’s allegations about its involvement in Balochistan and said Islamabad must look within and stop backing terror instead of making wild allegations. Mr Singh is currently in China’s Qingdao to attend the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting. The summit is being attended by member states, including Russia, Pakistan and China, to discuss issues related to regional and international security. Established in 2001, SCO aims to promote regional stability through cooperation. The bloc currently has 10 member states — Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Addressing the summit, the Defence Minister called upon SCO members to unite to eliminate terrorism for collective safety and security. He said the biggest challenges faced by the region are related to peace, security and trust deficit, with radicalisation, extremism and terrorism being the root cause of these problems.

“Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges requires decisive action. It is imperative that those who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences. Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations,” Mr Singh, taking in a veiled swipe at Pakistan.

Axiom 4 Mission: Not only has it been a historic moment for India, Poland, and Hungary, which have sent astronauts to space for the first time in nearly half a century, it has had symbolic significance for Europe and Asia.

The Axiom 4 launch, a commercial human spaceflight mission involving Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX, has scripted history in more ways than one. Not only has it been a historic moment for India, Poland, and Hungary, which have sent astronauts to space for the first time in nearly half a century, it has had symbolic significance for Europe and Asia.

At the time of this report, the four astronauts onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule are orbiting Earth, notching up speed to be in-sync with the International Space Station – their destination for the next 15 days.

As they whirl around the ‘Pale Blue Dot’ close to 16 times per day, India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu see a world that is vastly different from when the last explorers from their countries ventured into Space.

The last time India, Poland, or Hungary sent people to space, their current crop of astronauts had not yet been born – and back then they were called cosmonauts, as they all flew on Soviet missions, with the Iron Curtain still intact, diving Europe in two. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the world was still in the midst of the Cold War.

The last Indian to look down at planet Earth from the dark, enveloping space surrounding it, was Rakesh Sharma, an Indian Air Force pilot who traveled to the Salyut 7 space station in 1984 as part of a Soviet-led initiative to help friendly nations access Space. Similarly, the last Polish person in Space was Miroslaw Hermaszewski, who traveled to the Salyut 6 space station aboard the Soyuz 30 capsule in 1978. While the last Hungarian national in Space was Bertalan Farkasm who also went to the Salyut 6 space station, aboard the Soyuz 36 in 1980.

But this mission, especially for India, is no longer a one-off. India’s space agency, ISRO, sees the Axiom 4 mission as a key stepping stone toward its own maiden crewed mission, planned for 2027 under the Gaganyaan programme, meaning “sky craft”. India also plans to set up its own space station over the next decade.

In his first words after the lift-off, Shubhanshu Shukla said, “What a fantastic ride” in Hindi.”This isn’t just the start of my journey to the International Space Station – it is the beginning of India’s human space programme.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the successful launch on X, saying, “He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!”

For SpaceX too, The Axiom 4 mission was historic in a way, as the mission marks the debut of the fifth and final Crew Dragon vehicle, which was named ‘Grace’ after it reached orbit joining Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance, and Freedom in the active fleet. SpaceX ultimately plans to phase out its current vehicles in the 2030s in favour of ‘Starship’, its giant next-generation rocket currently in development.

President Trump wants the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to extend his expiring first-term tax cuts at $4.5 trillion, boost military spending and fund his plans for unprecedented mass deportations and border security.

As the US Senate inches closer to a vote on the White House’s massive tax and immigration agenda, tech billionaire Elon Musk has renewed his criticism of President Donald Trump’s flagship spending bill– “One Big Beautiful Bill”– and threatened to unseat the lawmakers who support the unpopular package, which is expected to slash social welfare programs and add an eye-watering $3 trillion to the national debt. 

Lawmakers in the US Senate were bogged down in a marathon session of amendment votes on Monday as Republicans sought to pass the “big, beautiful bill”, which would extend Trump’s tax cuts passed in 2017. 

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame,” Musk, who was Trump’s presidential advisor till May, said in a post on X. 

“And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” he added. 

Paresh Rawal had initially exited the film due to creative differences

Akshay Kumar has shared a cryptic post about “moments of happiness” amid the excitement surrounding Paresh Rawal’s return to Hera Pheri 3. The veteran actor had walked out of the film due to creative differences, prompting a Rs 25 crore lawsuit from Akshay Kumar’s production company.

However, Paresh Rawal has confirmed his return to the franchise, stating that the issues have been resolved after he returned Rs 11 lakh with 15% interest to Akshay’s production company.

Following the confirmation, Akshay Kumar shared a throwback picture of himself on Instagram. 

In the caption, he wrote, “‘In life, we accumulate stolen moments of happiness. That’s your real wealth.” – A reminder to laugh loud, love deep, and cherish the pauses.” Take a look:confirmed his return to Hera Pheri 3 in a podcast with Himanshu Mehta. The actor said, “There’s no controversy. I believe that when people love something so much, they have to be extra careful. It is our responsibility towards the audience. 

He added, “The audience has given you so much adulation. You can’t take things for granted. Mehnat karke unko (film) do [try hard give them]. So, I was of the opinion that sab saath mein aaye, mehnat karein. Aur kuch nahin [Everybody come together and work hard, nothing else]. It is all resolved now.”

When the host reconfirmed if Hera Pheri 3 is in the works with the OG cast, Paresh said, “Pehle bhi aane hi waali thi, but it’s just that we had to finetune ourselves (laughs). After all, all of them are creative, be it Priyadarshan, Akshay or Suniel. They are friends for many, many, many years.”

The Hera Pheri franchise launched in 2000, followed by the sequel Phir Hera Pheri in 2006. The films featured Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal in lead roles. 

Directed by Priyadarshan, Hera Pheri 3 is set to wrap by mid-2026, with a likely release in 2027.