It was 48 hours of high drama. From the kind of diplomacy that happens in Delhi to the odd culture-war moment, the news cycle has been anything but dull. You’ve got the PM in France for the G7, a row with the Americans over a fatal strike in the Gulf, and all the hullabaloo around SpaceX putting up some big numbers. We put together a quick rundown for you.
Global power plays in focus
Narendra Modi is in the air for a week in France and Slovakia, where the G7 and some one-on-ones will be the order of the day. The White House has put it on the record that he and Donald Trump will be in the same room in France on the 16th and 17th – a full plate of meetings, in other words.
There’s also been some friction with the US. After a US Navy operation in the Gulf left three Indian mariners dead, S. Jaishankar made his displeasure known to Marco Rubio. Rubio stood by the move, pointing to an American blockade on Iranian oil being flouted. It’s a hard line from Washington.
Then there was the noise about a ship near Oman being hit. The MEA has put a stop to those stories. They’ve been in touch with the master of the vessel and can confirm the crew is fine. In their words, the reports were ‘false’ and ‘baseless’.
G7 stakes and the India factor
New Delhi is treading a fine path at the summit. There’s the optics, sure, but also some serious talk to be had. The idea is to work with partners while not ceding an inch on security or energy. Watch for the crisis management, not just the handshakes for the cameras.
Turmoil and tactics in Indian politics
The Trinamool is in the middle of a loyalty test. You have 19 wayward MPs set to be made out as the ‘real TMC’ in Parliament. Shatrughan Sinha has come out in support of Mamata Banerjee, making the case that this is when you don’t let your chief down.
Leadership has been on top of it. A reshuffle has put Arnab Banerjee in as youth chief and Kunal Ghosh over North Kolkata. The message is clear: they’re putting the organisation back in order while the rest of it plays out.
Culture, outrage, and accountability
Sejal Pawar, an MBBS student from Mumbai, has been in the crosshairs after some comments she made on Pranit More’s show in Gurugram about body donors. AIMSA has called them out, saying they were ‘insensitive and disrespectful’.
Then there’s the matter of dignity and ethics in front of an audience, a conversation this has only stoked.
In a move of its own, the NCW has called in both Pranit More and one of his viewers, Himanshu Jangra, to answer for the viral Rs 370 Biryani video. You can put on a show with some crowd-pleasing clips, but when the regulators come calling, it’s a different story.
What you have to make of it:
– Institutions are not sitting on their hands.
– What goes viral has a way of coming back to you.
Over at Star Plus, they’re making a play for the prime-time slot with a bit of a mind game. Anil Kapoor is set to be the face of ‘India Ke Top 1%’, a reality series that’s as much about thinking on your feet as it is about being right. Leave the trivia for another time; we’ll be talking over the water cooler about the kind of conundrums he puts out there.
Sport and emotion: tributes and track talk
Manu Bhaker was in Dehradun for a training stint when she made a point of going to see her old coach, Jaspal Rana. The loss is “irreparable,” she said. It’s hard to put into words what it means to be left by a 49-year-old with such a legacy and the kind of connection they had.
And for those of you following the racing line, do your homework for the weekend. The 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP is on the horizon, and with it comes a new name for what was once the Spanish Grand Prix. The tarmac is the same, but the story has been rebranded.
Business buzz: IPO frenzy and a beer bounce
You could feel the energy on Wall Street when SpaceX hit the public market. We’re talking a $2.2 trillion valuation to start. The stock, offered at $135, opened at $150 and even ran up to $176.50 for a while before settling in around $161. Now the press is crowning Elon Musk the first of his kind.
Closer to home, the Delhi heat has some numbers to show for it. Beer moved off the shelf in May at a 10% clip. We’re looking at 11,12,761 cases versus 10,10,524 last year. With the big names in stock, people are spending.
Also on the radar
A Hapur chemical plant was in flames, and it was no small fire. Some houses and a car were lost in the process.
Out in West Asia, you have to read between the lines. One side says a US-Iran deal to open the Strait of Hormuz is in the works for Sunday; Tehran says otherwise. There’s a lot of posturing, and a US military presence to keep things from getting too quiet.
So what’s on the docket? Modi in France for some G7 face time, the TMC playing its hand, and seeing how the dust settles on all these hot-button issues. The news is moving, and we’re with it.
