US strikes Iran; Tehran hits back at Gulf states, says Hormuz shut

US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in countries across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range.

Population spectres do harm. Managing demographic change is the challenge

Discussions of population devolve into debates about childbearing and ultimately centre on women's bodies.

Modern global discourse emphasises a return to traditional ways of life .

On Indo-Pacific, Delhi must match words, actions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's six-day tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand came amid uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's commitment to a balanced Asian order, his talk of a possible US-China "G-2", and the Pentagon's decision to drop the Indo-Pacificlabel. It underlines Delhi's intent to strengthen its independent role in Asia and its Indo-Pacific waters. It also marks a new phase in India's post-Cold War engagement with the East. The celebrated "Look East" and "Act East" policies broadened India's ties with Southeast and East Asia over the last three decades.

Price of water is not about economics, but justice

The Moody's water management ratings, published in June, place India in the highest water-risk category. With 18 per cent of the world population, India has access to only about 4 per cent of global freshwater resources. In 2024, the Ministry of Jal Shakti announced that India's per capita freshwater availability is shrinking over the decades. Urban demand, driven by population growth, commercial expansion, and changing lifestyles, continues to outpace supply.

GCC is office success story. Now, focus on factory

Foreign Direct investment (FDI) in China has gone mainly into manufacturing-initially labour-intensive and then hi-tech. Not for nothing it has earned the moniker of "the world's factory". FDI in India has come, and continues to do so, largely in services, making it "the world's office" for global corporations. According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, India now hosts 2,100-plus global capability centres (GCC) of over 500 of the Forbes top-2,000 companies. These GCCs together employ some 23 lakh professionals and generate nearly $100 billion in annual revenue.

In Europe, on migration, far right is mainstream

Migration has always had political overtones in Europe. But the story this summer signals the emergence of a new political vocabulary one centred on "reimigration". The word that once dominated the European far-right's vocabulary has entered the political mainstream, indicating a systemic transformation in how Europe understands ideas of citizenship and belonging.

14 nations and the EU reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China's claims in South China Sea.

The US, the UK and a dozen other Western and Asian countries reasserted on Sunday that China's expansive claims in the South China Sea are illegal based on a 2016 arbitration ruling.

A joint statement issued by the 14 nations said they rejected "destabilising" actions in the disputed waters that threaten regional stability. The 27-nation European Union released a separate statement, reaffirming the ruling as a "landmark decision in the peaceful settlement of disputes".

US nuclear firm Holtec's IPO plans could have an India SMR footprint

Holtec International, an American nuclear firm cleared by the US Department of Energy (DoE) to invest in India's atomic energy sector, has filed with the American securities regulator to go public later this year.

Florida-based Holtec, one of the world's largest exporters of capital nuclear components, is a frontrunner in the emerging small modular reactor (SMR) space and could combine the initial public offering (IPO) with some private placement to raise capital for its upcoming projects, including proposed SMR-based projects in India.

China's Long March in space tech continues with reusable rocket

China on Friday successfully landed a re-usable rocket for the first time a mile-stone for the country's space programme that will challenge American companies' dominance in the technology.

The Long March 10B rocket-which can carry a payload of up to 16 metric tons to low Earth orbit-lifted off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site in Hainan. Low Earth orbit is a region between 160 km and 2,000 km above the Earth.

Six minutes after liftoff, the rocket's booster the part that houses the engine and provides the initial thrust-separated from its upper stage and began a controlled descent to a floating platform on the sea. There, it was caught by a net.

Before China, only Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin demonstrated the ability to launch and land rockets.

Al use by the judiciary: What SC's proposed regulations allow, what is barred

The Supreme Court (SC) last month released the draft of Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Courts, 2026, aimed at developing a governance frame-work for use of Al in the judiciary, prescribing general principles regarding Al's use, and establishing an institutional framework for the same. It has sought comments and suggestions from stakeholders and the public by July 15.

The Draft Regulations may be seen as an effort to regulate the use of Al in court processes to optimise court administration.

A next-generation obesity drug is raising hope, and questions

Retatrutide is an experimental weight-loss and diabetes drug. It belongs to a new generation of medications that targets three different hormone receptors at once. All GLP-1 drugs are incretin mimetics - they mimic the action of certain gut hormones by activating the receptors, helping control blood sugar and suppress appetite. They im-prove secretion of insulin, inhibit secretion of glucagon that stimulates glucose production in the liver, and reduce appetite by slowing down digestion. While semaglutide targets GLP-1 receptors, tirzepatide goes for GLP-1 along with GIP. Retatrutide has three targets-GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon.