The United States has launched Operation Southern Spear, an intensified maritime campaign aimed at dismantling suspected drug-trafficking networks operating across the Caribbean. The initiative signals a significant escalation in Washington’s counter-narcotics strategy, with expanded surveillance, interdiction and strike capabilities deployed throughout the region.

India mourns the passing of Saalumarada Thimmakka, one of the country’s most admired grassroots environmentalists, whose remarkable life symbolised devotion to nature and community-led conservation. Known as the “Mother of Karnataka’s Trees”, she leaves behind a legacy deeply rooted in afforestation, ecological care and public awareness.

The United States has emerged from the longest government shutdown in its history, lasting six weeks, yet the end of the impasse brought little relief in Washington. Although federal agencies have resumed operations, the political scars, public frustration and economic disruptions continue to dominate national discourse.

India enforces one of the world’s most stringent control regimes on ammonium nitrate, a chemical widely used in agriculture and mining but also known for its potential misuse in improvised explosives. Recognised as a special category explosive, ammonium nitrate is governed under the Ammonium Nitrate Rules 2012, designed to regulate its lifecycle from manufacturing to end-use.

Global greenhouse gas emissions are projected to surge to their highest level in history in 2025, according to the latest Global Carbon Budget assessment released at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The findings reveal that despite a decade of global pledges under the Paris Agreement, fossil fuel emissions continue to rise, deepening concerns about the world’s ability to stay within safe warming limits.