Activist Sonam Wangchuk lost 350 grams in weight and was experiencing mild dehydration on Friday (July 26, 2026), his physician Satish Lamba said, according to a statement issued by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Mr. Wangchuk has entered the 20th day of his indefinite hunger strike demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Amid a surge in demand for digitised birth certificates, the office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) is implementing stringent checks to prevent fraudulent digitisation of old records. The RGI informed the States in June that in certain instances, the credentials of registrars have been compromised due to user IDs, passwords, or one-time passwords (OTPs) being shared with unauthorised persons. On July 6, the RGI asked States to identify “Registration Units showing unexplained spikes in registrations”.
Forty-six years after India successfully launched its first experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3), history is set to repeat itself as Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket, prepares to lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on July 18 (Saturday) at 11.30 a.m.
Sir Garfield Sobers, one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history and a former West Indies captain, died in Bridgetown on Friday (July 17, 2026) at the age of 89. The death of the legendary cricketer was confirmed by his son Daniel. Sobers was only 10 days shy of completing his 90th birthday.
U.S. airstrikes on Friday (July 17, 2026) appeared to have collapsed a tower at Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, but India sought to clarify that the Shahid Beheshti terminal that it operates at the Chabahar port in Iran has not faced any damage.
India rejects former Japan Minister’s remarks on Shinkansen project delay
Japan will provide its next-generation E10 series Shinkansen trains to India for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, official spokespersons in the Ministries of External Affairs and Railways said on Friday, addressing queries on the status of the project.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday (July 17, 2026) called for a political consensus to eliminate paper leaks and overhaul India’s examination system, alleging that recurring leaks were undermining the aspirations of millions of students and their families.
Only a unified Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is acceptable to the BJP as an NDA ally — this is a message conveyed by the top leadership of the BJP to its allies in Maharashtra, amid speculations that the NCP (SP) [Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar] may reconsider its support to the Delimitation Bill under certain conditions, and that this softening could be a percussor to a wider talk of alliance.
A strong earthquake struck the southern Mexican Pacific coast on Friday (July 17, 2026), right on the border with Guatemala, and was felt from Mexico City to El Salvador. Authorities have not immediately reported any severe damage or casualties in any country.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said the West Asia crisis and the expectation of a weak monsoon present significant risks to economic growth. “Despite global uncertainties, India has witnessed an over 7% growth rate in the past few years. Last financial year, India clocked a growth rate of 7.7% supported by strong and robust macroeconomic fundamentals,” he said in an interview.
The opposition to the Bidadi Township Project intensified on Friday, with former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa joining the protest at Freedom Park in central Bengaluru. The move gained significance as the veteran leader, who retired from electoral politics in 2022, has not publicly joined an agitation of this scale since then. During the gathering, a foot march from Bidadi to Bengaluru was announced in protest against the State government’s proposed Bidadi Township Project and its plan to build a second international airport in Kanakapura.
Published - July 18, 2026 06:45 am IST