Overview
- U.S. troops are finishing a planned withdrawal from their last bases in Iraq this week, a move officials and analysts say could widen the room for Iran-backed militias and help revive dormant Islamic State cells by removing U.S. intelligence, drone and fire-support capabilities.
- A Flydubai Dubai–Tel Aviv flight suffered a cockpit stabbing on Wednesday, passengers and crew overpowered the accused co‑pilot, the plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and investigators are treating the suspect’s intent to crash the aircraft as a key line of inquiry.
- A shooting at a CISF camp in Kathua killed multiple personnel and left the alleged shooter in custody, renewing scrutiny of mental‑health, leave and command issues inside India’s central forces after a string of fratricides and suicides reported in recent years.
- Indian domestic probes and public outcry intensified: Mumbai police recorded about 40 statements and sent IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode’s devices for forensic analysis after his death and an FIR alleging abetment to suicide was filed, while Delhi University students staged mass protests with a 10‑point safety charter that prompted the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice.
- Officials warned of rising food‑price risks before the festival season as pulses jumped about 10% last month and agriculture and foreign‑policy ministers cited El Niño, supply‑chain strains and fertilizer and energy pressures that could tighten rabi supplies and push consumer prices higher.