Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi interacts with Bihar-based students who were reportedly injured in police action during the student-led protest, in New Delhi on September 3, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

Cuddalore Collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar inspecting the construction of a check dam at Melpattampakkam in Cuddalore district. Photo: Special Arrangement.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, along with representatives of Tata Group, TCS, and HyperVault, announced a Rs 70,000-crore investment in Telangana that would create the largest data centre in the country. Ministers Sridhar Babu, Uttam Kumar Reddy, Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, Lakshman Kumar and Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju are among those seen. CEO and Managing Director of TCS K Krithivasan, K Rajanna, president of TCS HyperVault and CEO of HyperVault Deepesh Nanda are also seen.

Story so far: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has stepped up action against food companies using “100%” claims on their products, saying such claims can give consumers an impression of absolute purity or completeness that may not match what is actually inside the packet.

The move comes as food regulators are paying closer attention to how products are labelled and advertised. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also asked food businesses to stop using “100%” claims on food labels, packaging and promotional material.

The key question is: can a company claim “100%” when the product does not actually contain 100% of that ingredient? The CCPA’s orders offer some clues.

What has the CCPA found?

In June 2026, the CCPA imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty each on Mrs. Bectors Food Specialities, which markets English Oven products, and Storia Foods and Beverages for misleading “100%” claims. The companies were also directed to stop using the claims on their packaging, websites and digital platforms.

In the case of Mrs. Bectors, one of its bread products was marketed as “100% Atta Bread” and “100% Whole Wheat Bread”. The company, however, admitted that the bread contained 87% whole wheat flour.

Mrs. Bectors argued that “100% Atta” was meant to convey that wheat flour was the only grain used in the bread. The CCPA did not accept this explanation. It said that “100%” is an exact numerical expression and should not be used loosely or approximately.

The Authority also took into account the use of “Zero Maida” alongside “100% Whole Wheat Bread”. Taken together, these claims could give consumers the impression that the bread was entirely made from whole wheat flour.

What about ‘100% Juice’?

The Storia case involved a similar concern, but with beverages.

Storia marketed one of its products as “100% Tender Coconut Water” and “100% Natural Tender Coconut Water”. However, the ingredient declaration listed water and 9.6% coconut water concentrate, followed by the words “Equivalent to 100% Coconut Water” and “Reconstituted”.

The CCPA found the prominent “100% Tender Coconut Water” claim misleading because an ordinary consumer could understand it to mean that the product was entirely natural tender coconut water.

The CCPA raised a similar concern over Storia’s fruit beverages marketed as “100% Juice”. These products contained water as well as specified quantities of fruit pulp or juice concentrates.

For example, the pomegranate variant contained water, 4% pomegranate juice concentrate and 10% apple juice concentrate. The mango variant contained water, 16% mango pulp and 12.5% apple juice concentrate.

Can the fine print save a claim?

The CCPA’s orders suggest that putting the correct information in the fine print may not be enough if the prominent claim creates a misleading impression.

Consumers typically see the front of a packet before reading its detailed ingredient list. The CCPA has therefore looked at the overall impression created by the packaging and advertising, rather than assuming that a detailed ingredient declaration automatically corrects a prominent claim.

This approach was also seen in the case of McVitie’s Wholewheat Marie biscuits.

The biscuits contained 19.5% whole wheat flour, while refined wheat flour accounted for 52%. The CCPA found that the prominent use of the word “Wholewheat”, along with wheat imagery on the packaging, could lead consumers to believe that the biscuits were predominantly made from whole wheat.

Pladis India, the manufacturer, argued that “Wholewheat” was part of its registered trademark and pointed to a disclaimer on the packaging.

The CCPA, however, said that being a registered trademark does not put a company outside consumer-protection laws. Nor, it held, can a disclaimer necessarily cancel out a prominent representation that may mislead consumers.

What is the FSSAI’s stand on ‘100%’?

The FSSAI too has taken note of a noticeable surge in the use of the term “100%” across food product labels and promotional platforms.

In May 2025, it advised Food Business Operators (FBOs) not to use “100%” on food labels, packaging or promotional material. It said the expression was not defined under the existing food regulations and could create a false impression of absolute purity or superiority.

The FSSAI had earlier taken a more specific position on packaged juice products. In June 2024, it directed food businesses to remove “100% Fruit Juice” claims from labels and advertisements where the juice was made by reconstituting concentrate.

The FSSAI’s action primarily deals with food safety, standards and labelling requirements. The CCPA, on the other hand, looks at whether companies are misleading consumers through their advertisements or product claims.

Under Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, the CCPA can order a false or misleading advertisement to be discontinued or modified. It can also impose a penalty of up to ₹10 lakh on a manufacturer, which can rise to ₹50 lakh for every subsequent contravention.

What does this mean for food companies and consumers?

The recent orders show that the ingredient list is not the only thing that matters. The CCPA can also look at how a product is presented on its packaging and in advertisements.

For companies, this means that product names, claims, images and disclaimers may all be considered when assessing whether it could mislead consumers.

For consumers, the front of a packet may not always give the complete picture. The ingredient list can help show what the product actually contains.

Image for the purpose of representation. | Photo Credit: PTI

Key events

Falklands row shows urgent need to commit to 3% target, says Labour defence committee chair

Javier Milei’s threats to the Falkland Islands make it even more important that Andy Burnham increase defence spending immediately, according to the Labour chair of the defence committee.

Tan Dhesi said the comments by the Argentinian president this week show why the government should raise military spending to 3% of GDP by 2030.

But he said Burnham’s plans remain mired in confusion after the prime minister appeared to reassure him that the 2030 target would be hit, only for Downing Street to later retreat.

Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Ministers in the UK have condemned Javier Milei’s comments. Photograph: Rob Carter/Alamy

“It’s important the prime minister and the chancellor don’t defer those decisions to next year,” Dhesi told the Guardian.

“We’ve seen Germany publicly expose Russia for the drone incident [in Leipzig]. Now we’ve got a threat from Argentina saying they are looking to take over the Falklands. We owe it to the Falklands – they say it’s their right to self-determination. It’s important that we also defend them from this threat.”

You can read the full story here:

Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick also condemned the disruption of the Port of Dover by masked demonstrators – but said he understood the frustration with small boats crossing the Channel. Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning programme, Reform’s economic spokesperson said:

I absolutely do. I’ve always hated people obstructing other people doing their daily life, whether it’s Just Stop Oil or whatever.

And I don’t like people going around in balaclavas, which is obviously very intimidating. In fact, our party’s policy is to ban face coverings like that.

But do I understand why people are extremely frustrated? Yes, absolutely. This needs to end. This farce of the small boats has been going on for far too long.

And in fact you saw at our conference Nigel Farage and (National Rally president) Jordan Bardella, the likely next prime minister of France, signing an agreement which has the prospect of ending this once and for all.

Channel crossings are down about 40% compared to last year, with the number of crossings this summer at their lowest level since 2019. Home Office data shows people in small boats overwhelmingly come from war and conflict zones.

Nigel Farage has agreed a deal with France’s hard-right National Rally party on returning migrants who try to cross the Channel in small boats if both parties achieve power. A Labour party spokesperson said the proposal “is a meaningless document packed with daft and dangerous ideas, signed by an increasingly disgraced Reform leader and an opposition politician. It is nothing more than pointless posturing.”

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, went on to condemn the hundreds of masked protesters who prevented traffic from coming in and out of the port of Dover yesterday. In the interview with the BBC, he praised the police for effectively dealing with the “intimidatory behaviour” and said he had sympathy for the “people around Dover” and those disrupted by the delays.

A group called Patriot Platform, which styles itself as having “a fierce love for our homeland”, claimed responsibility for the blockade, as my colleagues note in this story.

The far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, reposted videos of the blockade, highlighting a live stream of the protest that directed viewers towards Patriot Platform.

Masked people on the road in Dover. Photograph: Ay_audits/YouTube

Thousands of workers at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will be offered redundancies with job losses reported to be spread over two years. The job cuts will be unwelcome news for Andy Burnham, who has vowed to “safeguard sovereign manufacturing” and reindustrialise Britain.

When asked if the government would be willing to protect the jobs, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said it is not for him to “intervene” as he isn’t responsible for running JLR’s business.

“They need to know what the right footprint for them going forward is. I want to talk to them about the numbers,” Reynolds told the BBC, adding there could be financial support for long-term investment but not for a taxpayer-funded bailout.

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, told the BBC that he has spoken to JLR’s CEO and the Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham. He said they’ll meet together early next week. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA

Farage claims that he faces a disproportionate level of scrutiny compared to the other parties as part of an establishment stitch up, despite having legitimate questions to answer about his party’s finances. Laura Kuenssbergg gave the Reform leader a series of examples of other investigations faced by other party leaders, Farage responded:

I don’t think the others have been de-banked. I don’t think the others have been kicked out by their pension provider. I don’t think the others have literally had an attempt to wipe them out of society, oh and their families as well.

There is no doubt there is huge political prejudice against Reform right across the corporate world and right across the establishment. And that is a simple fact of life – and why? Because we are the disrupters and that’s the way it works.

Farage told the Daily T podcast last month that he had received about 400 death threats in the last seven weeks, and as a high-profile, extremely divisive politician, it is argued that he needs a high level of security.

His claim that himself and his party are fighting the establishment is undermined by the fact that many of his senior figures, including treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick and MP for Fareham and Waterlooville, Suella Braverman, are former Conservative cabinet ministers who were at the heart of the same political establishment Farage is railing against.

Farage admits that the undercover report on donations 'looks bad'

In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssbergg, Nigel Farage acknowledged that the comments by James Orr and Dan Jukes were “injudicious at best” and admitted that the optics of the undercover filming don’t look good for his party.

“This looks bad, as does the sale of peerages, as does government contracts for donations. We are not the first people to be involved in a row over donations,” he said.

The BBC aired the full interview during its politics show on Sunday, having released an excerpt of it on Saturday.

The Guardian’s city editor, Anna Isaacs, is sitting on the panel on Laura Kuenssbergg’s show alongside broadcaster Jeremy Vine and political scientist Francis Fukuyama.

Her revelation that Nigel Farage received a £5m gift from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 British general election has dogged the Reform leader ever since she broke the story in April.

Farage, who has given different explanations as to why he accepted the gift, has argued he did not need to declare the money because he received it before he was elected as Clacton MP and it “wasn’t political in any sense at all”.

The parliamentary standards commissioner is investigating whether he broke the rules.

Isaac’s report came before a series of other stories raising questions about Reform’s finances, some of which you can read here. Isaacs was among the journalists who have reported critically on Reform who were banned from the party’s annual conference that concluded yesterday.

Nigel Farage to be questioned as he battles to contain growing donations scandal

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The Reform UK party leader, Nigel Farage, is scheduled to appear in an interview on Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday politics programme at 9am, where he will likely be asked more about an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News which showed two of his senior aides appearing to plot to get around electoral laws on foreign donations.

Accepting donations from a foreign company, including donations in kind such as polling, could constitute a criminal offence and the party has been reported to the police.

Senior aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr have both stood down pending the outcome of an internal party investigation.

As my colleagues note in the story, Farage himself remains under pressure over a separate clip in which he was heard saying “it’s all above board” after one of the reporters who was posing as the UK-based son of a wealthy US backer told the Reform leader he had been in discussions with Jukes and Orr for some time.

“I’ll be the registered donor,” the son says. “But then dad will send the money to me, and then as soon as that’s done and all those conversations are had the money is available.”

On Saturday, during the party’s conference in Birmingham, Farage continued to bat away suggestions of impropriety. “I’m not a compliance officer,” he told the BBC. “I frankly wasn’t even listening,” he said in reference to the meeting with the undercover reporters in Clacton.

Farage has framed the investigation, carried out by Verbatim Investigations, which was founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting, as another example of an establishment stitch up, and has denied any wrongdoing, as have Orr and Jukes.

An aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post on Saturday.

In response, U.S. forces struck three crude oil tankers that CENTCOM said were part of a network used to fund the IRGC and its regional proxies.

No American personnel were injured.

Two tankers including the M/T Downy off the coast of Iran’s Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask were “permanently disabled,” according to CENTCOM.

A third tanker, the M/T Kylo, also known as the Noxen, was destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was directed to abandon the ship, the U.S. military said. The tanker was not carrying oil at the time.

“If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement.

“We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

Iran’s official IRNA State Media responded Saturday on social media that it targeted three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three U.S.-linked vessels in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Iran earlier accused the U.S. of attacking an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.

The strikes come nearly a week after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks following about a month of relative calm.

The conflict began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran have since stalled.

– With files from The Canadian Press

He told reporters at the time that recognition was “predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reform.” He said he received that commitment in a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and discussed it with him later in a phone call.

Canada’s Privy Council refuses to publish the letter, citing respect for international diplomatic relations.

Carney framed the reforms, and the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to meeting them, as his government’s reasons for proceeding with statehood recognition — but both supporters and critics of the move interpreted it as Ottawa imposing conditions on that recognition.

Here’s a look at the reforms Carney called for and where they stand today:

1) Governance

Carney said Abbas promised that the Palestinian Authority, or PA, would “fundamentally reform its governance.” He said Canada has made it clear that Hamas can play no role in the future state.

Feda Abdelhady, the Palestinian ambassador to Ottawa, said in an interview in August reforms are underway and are meant to boost democracy for Palestinians. But she said progress can only go so far while Palestinians still face constant violence.

Israeli activists, who opposed sending aid to Gaza, block a road during a protest against international security forces to be deployed in Gaza Strip at Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza, in southern Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

“We could do the most incredible job of implementing reforms from textbooks and curriculum and everything else — but the occupation remains,” she said, pointing to Gazans’ daily struggle to survive without reliable access to food, shelter and water.

Her delegation shared with The Canadian Press a report the Palestinian finance ministry released in July which argues the PA has achieved 30 of 33 promised legal and social-system reforms — such as strengthening the rule of law and investment laws — over an 18-month period.

The report also said it will be impossible for the PA to fund social services or undertake more reforms due to Israeli economic policies such as withholding tax revenue collected on consumption and imports.

Since the October 2023 attacks by Hamas, Israel has cancelled thousands of permits for Palestinian workers, blocked roads used to export goods, and capped financial transfers.

2) Elections

Carney said the PA vowed “to hold general elections in 2026, in which Hamas can play no part.”

Palestinians last voted in 2006, leaving Abbas’ Fatah party in charge of parts of the West Bank. Hamas seized control of Gaza during a brief civil war in 2007.

Last fall the PA said it could only hold elections a year after the war in Gaza ends completely — and only when ballots can be cast in the West Bank and East Jerusalem without Israel detaining political candidates.

The PA held one election in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah in April.

Israeli forces demolish two homes in the Palestinian city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad)

3) Demilitarization

Carney said the PA pledged “to demilitarize the Palestinian state.”

Senior Canadian officials, briefing media in September 2025 about the statehood recognition, said that effort must include ending the PA’s payments to families of those imprisoned for killing Israelis.

They said it also must include education reform to ensure Palestinian students aren’t taught antisemitic messages.

In February 2025, Abbas vowed to halt the practice of paying stipends to the families of Palestinians held or killed in Israeli prisons, particularly those accused of violent attacks. That has meant shifting welfare payments to a single system — called Tamkeen — based on family needs, instead of using criteria that prioritize detainees.

Israel brands the previous policy “Pay for Slay” and insists it’s still happening. The PA says an independent audit, set for release later this year, found that the policy has been largely eliminated. The reform has been controversial in the West Bank, where some say the PA is abandoning people seen as freedom fighters.

The PA previously said demilitarization will require some security guarantee — such as foreign peacekeepers — against Israeli incursions.

A handcuffed Palestinian man is detained by Israeli border police officers during an army operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

4) Textbooks

An analysis by the Israeli firm Impact-SE of textbooks and teachers’ guides issued last September for schools run by the Palestinian Authority found the texts glorify violence.

The firm’s November 2025 report cites examples from the textbooks — such as one passage framing the 1972 murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics as legitimate resistance, and another featuring a photo of the dead body of four-month-old baby killed by Israeli shrapnel during the 2001 intifada.

“The Jewish Holocaust is entirely missing from the PA curriculum,” the think tank found.

Israeli textbooks have faced their own criticisms. A Hebrew University study in 2012 found the textbooks promote racism by excluding any portrayal of Arabs as peaceful, non-violent people. Both sides have published maps that ignore the existence of the other side.

What does Israel say?

The Israeli government has been loudly critical of Canada’s recognition of Palestine. Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed said the PA is corrupt and not serious about living in peace alongside Israel.

“We see regression,” Moed said, noting the lack of concrete dates for elections.

“Palestinians really don’t live up to their commitments. There is no reason whatsoever to say that there is any kind of Israeli involvement. They have all the capability. Actually, they have all support from the international community to move forward with these reforms.”

Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed responds to a question during an interview with The Canadian Press, in Ottawa, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

How much does this matter?

Jeremy Wildeman, a University of Ottawa human rights researcher who has focused on Canadian policies in the Palestinian territories, said statehood recognition seems to be based on perpetually moving goalposts.

He said Canadian politicians should focus on Israel’s disproportionate power over Palestinians — and the historically high level of violence the Israeli military allows settlers to undertake — instead of PA reforms.

“If you really care, the first thing you do is help stabilize the situation so the Palestinian government could govern,” Wildeman said.

Heidi Matthews, a professor at York University’s Osgoode Law School, said Canada’s focus on reforms could be understood as an attempt to create facts on the ground supporting Palestinian self-governance. Carney’s announcement included funding to achieve reforms.

“One way of reading that would be not a demand or a condition, but a concrete recognition that being able to function as a state, as a criteria of statehood, actually requires meaningful support by third states here,” she said.

“That support can look like actively strengthening governmental institutions so that the State of Palestine can fully and effectively perform the activities of a government.”

Matthews said this would be a shift away from decades of “just tinkering with humanitarian assistance” and toward ending Israel’s occupation.

She said Canada has an obligation to make that shift under a July 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice.

The ruling called on states “to put into effect modalities required to ensure an end to Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and the full realization of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”

Search teams first heard voices from inside the tunnel in the morning, allowing them to locate the two men, Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane said. Images showed a rescuer carrying one of the workers, covered in mud, on his back, while soldiers on either side helped.

One of those rescued said more people are alive inside the tunnel, according to army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, and the search is ongoing.

“I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to god,” Amir Maharjan, the brother of one of those rescued, told The Associated Press.

Basnet confirmed the first trapped worker’s rescue, and Neupane posted about the second on his Facebook page shortly after.

Both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu, and Maharjan said his family was on its way there. One of the survivors was in critical condition, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Officials identified the men as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor. They were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A plant.

About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in various tunnels, according to authorities.

About 115 are believed trapped in the tunnel at Trishuli 3A alone, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.

Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page that officials “are waiting for the rescue of more and more people.”

At least 1,287 people were killed in the Aug. 26 floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency.

China said Friday 31 people were killed and 531 were missing on the Tibet side of the border, according to Chinese official news agency Xinhua.

Nepal’s disaster agency estimated Friday that flooding caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.5 billion) in damage to infrastructure and property.

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict stretches into its fifth year following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour. Russian forces have relentlessly struck civilian areas.

Previously, these attacks occurred mostly at night — but now they are happening during the day as well. The front line in eastern and southern Ukraine remains largely deadlocked.

US envoys expected in Kyiv

Though U.S. efforts to negotiate a settlement have yet to produce a path to peace, in his nightly address Thursday Zelenskyy said that preliminary dates have been set for meetings in both Moscow and Kyiv. Ukraine’s negotiating team is in near-constant contact with the U.S. side and preparing for talks, he said.

“They confirmed they will have a meeting in Moscow and another one in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place in the coming days. This is very important. It is important that America remain actively engaged,” he said, adding that Ukraine is ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.

Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday that American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit Moscow first, then Kyiv on Saturday and Sunday, though this could not be independently verified.

Speaking with journalists Friday, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to confirm reports that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Moscow, only saying that the media would be informed if such a meeting took place.
U.S. officials did not immediately confirm the visit.

Kushner and Witkoff last visited Moscow in January 2026, where they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This would be their first visit to Kyiv.

After that meeting, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described talks as constructive, but said “that reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue.”

However, further talks have lost momentum with the White House’s attention focused on its conflict with Iran.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Putin described negotiations as “frozen.”

Deadly strikes in Ukraine

The latest diplomatic developments came as a “massive” overnight Russian attack on the Odesa region killed one person and injured at least five others, including a child, regional head Oleh Kiper said in a post on Telegram. The attacks damaged multiple residential buildings, including two multistory blocks.

Overnight strikes elsewhere in Ukraine killed two police officers in Dnipro, officials said, while a drone attack in Kyiv injured three people after hitting a residential building.

In Russia, a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, regional officials said Friday. They said the attack sparked a blaze at an oil depot but gave no further details. Russian media outlets reported two depots were hit, with one fire in Sochi and another in Sirius.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted oil facilities that form the backbone of Russia’s economy, one of the world’s largest energy producers. Growing economic pressure and public frustration have mounted in Russia after months of escalating Ukrainian strikes on refineries and e-commerce hubs that have caused nationwide disruptions.

The barrages prompted Putin last month to decree that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or don’t rebuild them after strikes. Analysts said the move was aimed at forcing companies to pay for their own security and bring damaged assets back into service, despite the cost.

Drone washes up in Finland

Finnish authorities said Friday they were investigating how a Russian-made drone ended up on a rocky shoreline in the Pellinge archipelago east of Helsinki.

Finland’s Border Guard said what appears to be a Geoscan 701 drone, manufactured by a Russian company, was found on the shore. “The device model in question is used by both state and civilian operators, and it is not possible at this stage to determine its intended use or identify the country or entity operating it,” the Border Guard said in a statement.

State broadcaster Yle reported the drone was discovered Tuesday by a fisherman, Peter Kellgren, who said it “was out there in the open sea” and appeared to have drifted ashore from elsewhere.

Geoscan describes itself as one of Russia’s leading drone manufacturers and says the 701 model is designed for large-scale aerial surveying.

Ang Faulkner grew up in one of the affected districts — Rasuwa — and says she is missing hundreds of family members, neighbours and childhood friends.

“I just blame myself for not being there in the worst time of their life,” said Faulkner from her home in Bedford, N.S.

Ever since she heard the news, Faulkner says she has struggled to eat or sleep.

It took her two desperate days to make contact with her parents back home.

She says her father had to use a friend’s solar panel just to charge his phone enough to make the two-minute call she was anxiously waiting for.

“All he could say is, ‘I’m safe, your mom is safe. But we have lost a lot of people from here,'” she said. “He could just hear screams and cries from the people of my village.”

Faulkner says many of her missing relatives are now presumed dead.

Among them is her cousin’s wife, who ran a hotel in Syabrubesi, a village that once sat on the banks of the Bhote Koshi River.

“They were just having coffee together, husband and wife, and all of a sudden all he could hear was like a lot of loud noises,” Faulkner said.

“So, they ran out and everyone was running, like ‘Run! Run!’ And they were running without knowing what was happening.”

She says her cousin managed to grab and pull himself up.

“He looked back. All he could he was a big, massive wave, almost as high as maybe five, six-storey-high building,” she said.

She says his wife was behind him.

“He literally had to see his wife washed away from the flood,” Faulkner said.

Her cousin made it to the mountainside with other survivors where she says they went about 24 hours without any food or water.

“I remember he’s saying, ‘I have nothing left. Like my whole life, my hometown, my wife, my life savings — everything is gone.'”

Faulkner’s aunt and uncle, who ran another hotel in Syabrubesi, are also still unaccounted for.

She’s heard through family members that they were doing housekeeping when the water came.

A video has surfaced on multiple broadcast channels, showing what Faulkner identified as their hotel, succumbing to the massive wave.

She says the mountain village of Syabrubesi has been completely washed away.

Experts say a glacial collapse likely triggered the flooding.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 5.2 seismic event occurred near the border between Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China, on Aug. 26 at 8:37 a.m. local time.

Initially reported as an earthquake, the event is now believed to have been caused by a falling glacier, resulting in the flow of debris.

The focus in Nepal remains on rescue and recovery in the primarily affected districts, with the death toll surpassing 1,200 and more than 4,000 still missing.

But for families searching for their missing loved ones, the mud makes closure hard to come by.

“It’s almost like concrete,” Faulkner said. “How are you going to find their bodies?”

She adds that a common practice in Nepal is to send children away to Kathmandu for boarding school once they’re around age five.

This means that many of the flood victims were adults, Faulkner says, and their children are now orphans who will need all the support they can get.

“They have lost a lot, but we can save their future.” Faulkner said. “Support Nepal, stand with us, and try to get answers that families are waiting for.”

Those looking to donate to the relief effort can do so through the Government of Nepal Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.

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Dinesh Sharma: The new appointment marks another significant turn in the political career of the 62-year-old leader

Dinesh Sharma, a prominent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Uttar Pradesh who served as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister during the first Yogi Adityanath government, has been appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

President Droupadi Murmu approved the appointment on September 5, with the new assignment taking effect from the date Sharma assumes charge. He will succeed Admiral D K Joshi (retd), who has held the post since October 2017.

The appointment marks another significant turn in the political career of the 62-year-old leader, who moved from academia and municipal politics in Lucknow to the state cabinet and subsequently to Parliament.

FROM PROFESSOR TO LUCKNOW MAYOR

Born on January 12, 1964, Sharma is an academic by background. He was associated with the University of Lucknow, where he taught in the Commerce Department. His academic profile includes an M.Com and PhD from Lucknow University.

Sharma entered active politics through the BJP’s student and youth organisations. He was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and later headed the BJP’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, in Uttar Pradesh. He subsequently rose through the BJP organisation and served as the party’s national vice-president.

His first major electoral-administrative role came in Lucknow, where he served as Mayor from 2006 to 2017. His long tenure at the helm of the state capital’s civic body helped establish him as one of the BJP’s prominent leaders in Uttar Pradesh.

EVELATION AS DEPUTY CM

Sharma’s biggest political elevation came after the BJP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. On March 19, 2017, he was appointed one of the two Deputy Chief Ministers in Yogi Adityanath’s first government, alongside Keshav Prasad Maurya.

During his five-year tenure, Sharma handled key portfolios including Secondary and Higher Education, Science and Technology, and Electronics and Information Technology. He also served as Leader of the House in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

Although he was not an MLA, Sharma entered the state legislature through the Legislative Council in 2017 and remained a member until 2023.

His tenure as Deputy Chief Minister ended in March 2022 when the BJP formed its second consecutive government under Yogi Adityanath and Brajesh Pathak replaced him as Deputy Chief Minister.

After leaving the UP government, Sharma moved to national politics. The BJP nominated him for a Rajya Sabha by-election in 2023 following the death of party MP Hardwar Dubey. He was elected unopposed and became a member of the Upper House from Uttar Pradesh.

In Parliament, Sharma also served as Vice-Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. His appointment as Lieutenant Governor comes even as his Rajya Sabha term was scheduled to continue until November 25, 2026.

OUT OF ELECTORAL POLITICS

Sharma’s career has taken him through several layers of public life — from student politics and the BJP organisation to municipal administration, state government and Parliament.

His appointment as Lieutenant Governor now takes him out of electoral politics and into a constitutional office responsible for the administration of the strategically important Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The President’s communique makes clear that Sharma’s appointment will formally take effect from the day he assumes charge.

The move also marks the latest chapter in a political journey that began in Lucknow’s academic and civic circles and eventually took Sharma to the UP cabinet, the Rajya Sabha and now the Lieutenant Governor’s office in the island territory.

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Last Updated:September 06, 2026, 15:24 IST

A mason was beheaded in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu. Police arrested two. DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin criticized the state's law and order.

A 28-year-old mason was allegedly beheaded by two armed men in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi district on Friday night, with the attackers fleeing the scene on another two-wheeler. The Kadayam police have arrested two people in connection with the murder.

The victim, L Santhanam of Pasumpon Nagar, was returning home on his motorcycle when the two accused allegedly intercepted him near the Pottalpudur van stand at around 9.30 PM. Police said the assailants attacked and beheaded him before escaping.

The accused reportedly abandoned the motorcycle they had arrived on at the crime scene and fled on another two-wheeler. Santhanam’s body was sent to Tenkasi Government Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The killing has also drawn criticism from DMK and leader of the Opposition, in Tamil Nadu Assembly Udhayanidhi Stalin, who questioned the state government’s handling of law and order.

In a sharp attack, Udhayanidhi said, “Before the Honourable Chief Minister delivers his response to the debate on the police department’s grant demands tomorrow, one of his party’s leaders has himself become a victim of murder in the capital."

He further alleged that a history-sheeter who had joined the ruling DMK seeking protection was chased and killed while trying to escape. Taking a dig at the government’s law-and-order record, he said, “This is the state of Tamil Nadu’s ‘victory law and order’!"

Udhayanidhi also questioned whether the focus should be on the deteriorating law-and-order situation or on allegations that the DMK had become a refuge for history-sheeters.

“Should we grieve thinking about how law and order has deteriorated to the extent that such a murder can happen right on the street in the capital?" he asked.

He added, “Or should we grieve thinking about how the DMK has become a garbage dump where all history-sheeter criminals seek refuge?"

Udhayanidhi urged the government to focus on public safety rather than political blame. “Stop pondering how to blame the DMK for this, and the government must take measures to ensure the safety of the general public," he said.

About the Author

Anushka Vats

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ...Read More

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Last Updated:September 06, 2026, 15:08 IST

There is a simple test for whether an economy is dead. Take its four engines one at a time: household spending, investment, public building, exports

Every first-year economics student learns that an economy runs on four engines. What households spend. What businesses invest. What the government builds. And what the country sells abroad. Add them up and you have GDP.

A dead economy is one where the engines have stopped. So take India’s, one at a time.

What households spend. Private consumption rose 7.1 per cent last quarter. That is not a mood; it is money staying in people’s hands. The income tax exemption threshold has moved from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers. It is a raise nobody had to ask an employer for. The 2025 GST rationalisation then cut rates on everyday goods and consumer durables.

Money not paid in tax does not sit still. It moves to the showroom. A household that keeps more of its salary and pays less at the counter stops deferring the two-wheeler, upgrades to the small car, replaces the ten-year-old refrigerator. That is why vehicle sales and festive retail have run at record levels.

Set it against 2013, when retail inflation ran in double digits. Ask anyone who managed a household then what a kilo of onions cost, and watch their face change. A pay rise meant nothing, because prices took it before the month ended. Last year, inflation averaged 2.1 per cent, the lowest in the history of the current series.

What businesses invest. Gross fixed capital formation rose 11.9 per cent last quarter, more than double the 5.8 per cent of a year earlier.

Investment is the most abstract word in economics and the most concrete thing in the country. India had 74 operational airports in 2014; it has 165 today, most in towns that had never seen a scheduled flight, so a family in a tier-three district boards a plane instead of a thirty-hour train. On the tracks, 162 Vande Bharat services now run where none existed a decade ago, and rail electrification has gone from about a fifth of the network to 99.6 per cent. The national highway network has grown from 91,287 km to over 1,46,572 km, with construction accelerating from 11.6 km a day to nearly 34.

That last number is not vanity. Every hour cut from a truck’s journey is a rupee cut from the price of what it carries. Roads are how a government fights inflation for a decade rather than a quarter.

That cycle is possible because the banks were repaired. In 2014, public sector banks admitted to bad loans of 4.72 per cent. The real figure, counting hidden stress, was 11.89 per cent, much of it lent to a few large corporate houses. The clean-up forced those losses into the open, and the bankruptcy code made defaulters lose their companies. By March 2026, bad loans were down to 1.93 per cent and profits at a record ₹1.98 lakh crore. A bank hiding losses cannot fund a factory. A clean one can.

What the government builds. When the Jal Jeevan Mission began in 2019, 17 per cent of rural homes had a tap. It is now near 80 per cent. That is not a percentage. That is four hours a day returned to a woman in Bundelkhand who used to walk to a handpump and back, twice, before her children left for school. It is a girl who now attends that school instead of making the second trip.

All of it done while shrinking the debt burden, not inflating it. Government debt has fallen from 90.6 per cent of GDP in 2020 to 83.4 today. Congress also spent. It left behind a current account deficit of 4.8 per cent of GDP and a rupee that slid from 54 to nearly 68 in months.

What we sell the world. Exports rose 12 per cent last quarter, after a record year of $863.1 billion. Electronics production has gone from $31 billion to $133 billion in a decade. In 2014 India had two mobile phone factories; today it has over 300, and 99.2 per cent of the phones Indians use are made here. Foreign direct investment hit a record $94.84 billion last year.

On the ground, that is a young woman in Sriperumbudur on an assembly line that did not exist when she was in school, sending money home every month. Under Congress, the external account was our weakest link. In 2013 Morgan Stanley filed India among the Fragile Five, and S&P and Fitch had us one notch above junk.

Four engines. All four turning at once.

That is how India grew 7.8 per cent last quarter, up from 6.9 a year earlier, in three months containing a US-Iran war, a scare at the Strait of Hormuz, an energy shock and new tariff walls. China slowed to 4.3 per cent, America held at 2.1. The IMF expects the world to grow 2.6.

On September 2, the Japan Credit Rating Agency raised India from BBB+ to A-minus with a stable outlook. The rating was unsolicited: New Delhi never asked for it. It follows S&P’s upgrade last year, India’s first in eighteen years.

So which engine, exactly, is dead?

Congress has never said, because it was never a finding. “Dead economy" was an American president’s phrase, used during a tariff fight against India’s interests. Congress brought it home and aimed it at Indians, then watched its own leaders call the economy robust within a day.

That is what deserves anger. This is not an insult to a Prime Minister. It tells the woman with a tap that her mornings did not change. It tells the town with an airport that its runway is imaginary. It tells the 269 million Indians who left extreme poverty in a decade that they are still where Congress left them.

They are not. India is not. And a party that borrowed a foreign insult to describe its own countrymen should not be surprised when those countrymen remember who said it.

Siddhartha Chepuri is National Member, BJYM Policy Research and Training. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.

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Last Updated:September 06, 2026, 15:05 IST

Five fire service units and police teams have been deployed at the spot. ADO Santosh and STO Narender are also at the spot.

One person has been rescued safely after a building collapsed near Shiv Mandir in Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh, New Delhi, on Sunday afternoon.

The Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Services, said one person had been rescued safely and that efforts to locate others were continuing.

“12 fire tenders are at the spot, along with the rescue team," officials said.

The collapse was reported at around 1:30 pm on Sunday, under the jurisdiction of Chanakyapuri.

Twelve fire tenders, along with rescue teams and police personnel, are at the spot as rescue operations continue.

Further details are awaited.

Here’s a clean news paragraph using the statement:

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said teams from the DDMA, NDRF, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, MCD, CATS and Civil Defence are carrying out rescue operations following the building collapse at Satya Niketan.

In a post on X, CM Gupta said the adjacent building has been vacated as a precautionary measure and that every possible effort is being made to safely rescue those trapped and provide immediate assistance to affected families.

She added that the situation is being closely monitored, with all concerned agencies working in coordination, and said the safety and well-being of citizens remain the government’s highest priority.

About the Author

Aanchal SinhaSub Editor

Aanchal is the Sub-Editor at News18.com, with more than four years of experience in national and international news. My work involves covering breaking news, politics, current affairs and developments...Read More

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