Evening news wrap: CDS General addresses Operation Sindoor ‘setbacks'; 'Thug Life' release postponed in Karnataka; and more
Top news today covers a range of critical developments. CDS General Anil Chauhan addressed
'setbacks,' emphasising that outcomes matter more than losses, confirming India lost some jets but dealt heavy damage to terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK.
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Meanwhile, the Karnataka high court has adjourned the hearing on the Kamal Haasan-starrer 'Thug Life' until June 10.
On the international front, the Trump administration has set a Wednesday deadline for trade deal offers from partners including the EU, Japan, and India, pushing ahead despite legal challenges to its tariff powers. In Karachi, a security breach at Malir prison led to the escape of 216 inmates after an earthquake-induced evacuation.
Lastly, ahead of the IPL final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, rain has cast uncertainty over the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings.
CDS General Anil Chauhan on Operation Sindoor 'setbacks': 'Losses are not important, outcomes are'
Speaking at Savitribai Phule Pune University, the CDS stressed that morale and adaptability are key in modern warfare. He confirmed that India lost some fighter jets in early strikes on terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK, but later inflicted major damage.
Chauhan called Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism unacceptable and said the Pahalgam attack was an act of religious cruelty.
Karnataka HC adjourns 'Thug Life' movie petition hearing to June 10
The delay followed news that Kamal Haasan wrote to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and agreed not to release the film in the state until talks resolve the row over his controversial remarks linking Kannada's origins to Tamil.
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Justice M Nagaprasanna criticised Haasan for not issuing an apology, questioning the actor's authority to comment on language history and comparing the situation to earlier public apologies by other celebrities.
Donald Trump sets Wednesday deadline for trade deal offers ahead of tariff rollout
A draft letter from the USTR urges partners, including the EU, Japan, Vietnam and India, to present proposals on tariffs, quotas, and digital trade.
Despite multiple talks, only a framework deal with Britain has been reached. The push comes amid legal challenges to Trump's tariff powers, but the administration insists the tariff programme will proceed regardless of court rulings.
Security breach at Karachi's Malir prison sees 216 inmates flee
Earthquake tremors prompted their evacuation. During the precautionary move, a group of prisoners attacked guards, seized weapons, and fled.
Police have recaptured 78 so far. One inmate was killed in a shootout and three security personnel were injured. Officials confirmed no militants were among the escapees.
Rain hits Ahmedabad before Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings final
Royal Challengers Bengaluru face uncertainty ahead of the IPL final as star opener Phil Salt missed training, possibly due to the birth of his first child. His absence could impact RCB's strong opening partnership with Virat Kohli. With limited replacement options, Salt's availability remains unclear as the team prepares to face Punjab Kings at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
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Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bengaluru stampede: No villains, no terror, but the unbearable weight of unmanaged emotion
It begins innocently. A murmur becomes a ripple, a ripple becomes a surge, and before long, the collective heartbeat has outpaced the individual brain. You don't feel yourself walking; you feel yourself being walked. The crowd is no longer a group. It is a mood with muscle. On June 4, in Bengaluru, 11 people died because Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally won a cricket match. That sentence is not a metaphor. Nor is it satire. It is, heartbreakingly, a statement of fact. RCB, that most mercurial of IPL franchises, had shed its identity as cricket's most glamorous therapy group and actually gone and done the unthinkable — lifted the trophy. And the fans, faithful to a fault, responded like survivors of a long winter stumbling into spring. They swarmed the streets not to riot, but to rejoice. And somewhere in that bliss, the air ran out. A celebration became a stampede. A triumph became a requiem. But this isn't a Bengaluru tragedy. Nor a cricketing one. It is the ancient, foot-worn ghost that returns wherever humans try to gather joyfully without first informing the fire marshal. It visited the Kumbh Mela in January, when 30 people died, crushed in a space that was not meant to accommodate the weight of a nation's sin and salvation. It showed up during the 2021 Kumbh too, when lakhs of people decided that divine immunity trumped pandemic science. We know this ghost well. It appeared in Hillsborough, in Itaewon, in Mecca. And each time, we are shocked, as though chaos isn't the inevitable consequence of designing joy without a blueprint. The psychology of the crush What happens in a stampede is not madness. It's math — and psychology. In crowds, our individuality does not disappear. It gets outsourced. The part of your brain that says 'this is unsafe' goes on sabbatical. In its place, the evolutionary instinct for mimicry takes over. One person runs. Two follow. Twenty panic. The rest become physics. We are not thinking. We are echoing. Gustave Le Bon wrote about the 'irrationality of crowds' as if we lose IQ points in bulk. But that's not quite right. It's not that we become less intelligent; it's that we surrender agency. And there is no tragedy more silent than that of a human who no longer has control over their own feet. We call this 'emotional contagion.' It's the same thing that makes people cheer louder when they're surrounded by others cheering. Or cry harder at funerals they barely meant to attend. But when the contagion is panic — or ecstasy that exceeds its container — it metastasizes. A crowd is not dangerous because it's emotional. It's dangerous because it's unified. And unity, without boundaries, becomes pressure. Literal, fatal pressure. The banality of mourning What happens next is equally predictable. The bureaucratic afterlife of the dead kicks in. 'Unfortunate incident.' 'The crowd swelled unexpectedly.' 'Ex-gratia compensation of ₹5 lakh per family.' Mourning, efficiently filed under 'Miscellaneous'. There are no villains. Only velocity. No ideology, no terror, just the unbearable weight of unmanaged joy. But if you had paused, just for a moment, in that Bengaluru crowd, you would have seen the opposite of chaos. You would have seen care. A child on a father's shoulders. A street vendor who closed shop early because he thought tonight would be special. A girl who just wanted to be near Kohli-shaped hope. They didn't die because they were careless. They died because we treat emotion like an afterthought, something to be tolerated until the data is in. Our cities don't plan for joy India is built on the crowd. We don't just gather — we perform our existence in multitudes. We mourn in hundreds. We bathe by the millions. We queue in hope. We rally in rage. But we still design our cities like we expect everyone to stay politely indoors until further notice. Our architecture is rational. Our emotions are not. The result is tragedy in high definition. We prepare for protest. We do not prepare for delight. Joy, in our infrastructure, is treated like a software bug — unexpected, avoidable, probably user error. We build flyovers, not flow. We install CCTV, not empathy. Our crisis management begins only after the crowd becomes a headline. And even then, the solutions are spectacularly literal: Deploy more barricades. Install better speakers. Raise compensation. But the question remains: How do we plan for collective ecstasy in a country where ecstasy is always assumed to be private? A few undeniable truths, then. A crowd is not a danger. But pretending it isn't one is. Joy is the most underestimated variable in public policy. We don't design for feelings. We clean up after them. In a stampede, no one chooses to run. They just forget how to stop. The infrastructure of emotion is the first thing we forget and the last thing we mourn. The crowd will return. It always does. The Kumbh will swell again. RCB will rise or collapse (or both in the same over), and people will pour into the streets again. Because we are a species that needs to be near others when we feel the most. The impulse is ancient. Sacred, even. But perhaps the saddest part is this: The next time a child asks to go see the crowd, someone will pause. Not because they're afraid of the dark. But because they've learned that joy, in our cities, can be just as lethal as fury. So let's not kill the instinct to gather. Let's respect it enough to plan for it. To give it lanes, exits, care. Let us not wrap feelings in red tape, but at least anticipate its footprint. Because the 11 people in Bengaluru didn't go out looking for headlines. They went looking for magic. They found music and lights and shared wonder. And then, they found silence. And for that, they should've been able to come home. The writer is an advisory professional and an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur
Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
Defence alert: Crypto is turning into a geopolitical weapon
"I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies… Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behaviour." That was Donald Trump in 2019, when he still voiced concerns shared by central bankers, International Monetary Fund (IMF) economists and financial crime experts across the world. The consensus was clear: crypto, while technologically innovative, lacked both intrinsic value and sovereign backing, and undermined anti-money laundering regimes as well as monetary integrity. Fast forward to 2025. Better educated perhaps by the America crypto lobby's campaign cheques and the sweat equity gifted to his family, Trump, now US president again, recently signed Executive Order 14178. A stroke of the pen dismantled many of the regulatory guard-rails once deemed essential. Not long after, the Trump family entered the crypto business. One of their earliest strategic partners was Pakistan, a state associated with cross-border terrorism, shady finances and furtive fund diversion. Also Read: The triumph of crypto bros: Don't just shrug and move on What should India make of a superpower whose political leaders launch private currencies? Or of a country where former convicts are rehabilitated as strategic advisors to sovereign crypto councils? Are we witnessing a global power in search of infinite minting rights without democratic oversight but with the full cover of plausible deniability? Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, pleaded guilty to serious anti-money laundering failures, spent time in US custody and paid $4.3 billion for a settlement. His crypto exchange facilitated transactions for sanctioned groups like Hamas—flows that would never get past a regulated banking system. The Binance blow-up should have ended his financial career. Instead, he now advises Pakistan's official crypto task force. Justin Sun, whose firm invested $30 million in Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, was under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for civil fraud. Today, he is a front-row guest at US political fund-raisers. Are crypto dealings the new way to buy influence in the US? This seems like a gateway through which otherwise ineligible actors—be it individuals, regimes or rogue states—are quietly admitted into the global financial order, now that the need for institutional legitimacy appears to be receding behind the opacity that once resulted in exclusion. Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | De-dollarization: Trump should target crypto, not Brics It's a return to Cold War-style shadow financing, but with the support of blockchains instead of banks. So much for the superpower that lectures the world on clean governance. When financial opacity is rebranded as innovation, geopolitics takes on a new form we should all be wary of. The IMF and World Bank have been vocal in their concerns. The IMF has warned that widespread adoption of private cryptocurrencies threatens monetary sovereignty, enables illicit flows and undermines capital controls, especially in emerging markets. We saw disruptions in El Salvador, Nigeria, and Lebanon, where crypto experiments coincided with capital volatility and institutional erosion. Terror finance remains an enduring threat to global security. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has repeatedly highlighted how terrorist groups exploit crypto to bypass formal banking oversight. Yet, Pakistan has FATF clearance. For a country like India—on the front-line of cross-border terrorism—this is a real risk. Crypto has operationalized what could be described as 'eHawala': borderless transfers in real time that can stay hidden. A sovereign nation should not let private entities mint currency, however trendy or popular it proves. To its credit, the Reserve Bank of India saw this coming. Its resistance to private cryptocurrency is neither timidity nor technophobia—it is an assertion of monetary sovereignty. In today's world, capital flows can be weaponized. It is therefore a matter of national security to ensure such weapons are not aimed at us. Also Read: Trump's crypto reserve: An odd idea with a silver lining for the world Yet, the pressure to capitulate is mounting. Global crypto platforms, freshly repackaged as fintech innovations, have been pushing for softer regulation. In India, domestic actors have lobbied against India's high tax on crypto gains by arguing that crypto capital must be stopped from fleeing offshore. In matters of financial security, arguing that crypto should remain unchecked because conventional checks aren't flawless is not just illogical, but dangerously juvenile. Even if the US exerts diplomatic pressure, India mustn't oblige. Instead, India should put systems in place for crypto deterrence. Cutting-edge surveillance tools, forensic finance capabilities and offensive digital arsenals could be deployed against adversarial scenarios of crypto being used as a Trojan horse to destabilize our financial system. Just as strategic weapons are kept discreet, so must this. The future of finance may well be digital. But that future must be guided by sovereign plans, not determined by offshore hype or patronage games. In the crypto age, our sovereignty must be defended with the same strategic intent that we apply to borders, seas, airspace and cyberspace. Crypto is now a geopolitical instrument and potentially a vector of strategic harm. It needs to be viewed as a weaponizable tool, even as we secure our financial architecture from any threat it may pose. This is no longer a matter for committees to discuss. It is a political decision—one that cannot be deferred without consequences. The author is a corporate advisor and author of 'Family and Dhanda'
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First Post
19 minutes ago
- First Post
How the West lost Turkey and India is paying the price
As Turkey and Ankara try to cobble together a pan-Islamic bloc rooted in grievance and revanchism, India must do more to support the Saudi–UAE axis in West Asia and reinforce its alignment with moderate Muslim powers like Indonesia read more I visited Turkey some years ago as part of a delegation from the Royal College of Defence Studies, London. Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the Prime Minister, and the Kemalist character of Turkey—defined by Atatürk's vision of secularism, European integration, and military guardianship—was visibly present. We were briefed by officials at the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the EU representative office in Ankara. It was evident that Kemal Pasha's dream of a European Turkey was floundering. The EU wanted Turkey's strategic location and large military-industrial base but balked at fully integrating a Muslim-majority nation. The conditions placed upon Turkey for EU accession were politically awkward and perceived as patronising. The result was a wounded national pride—and the beginning of a long geopolitical drift. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD That drift now affects us in India directly. Turkey under Erdogan has recast itself from a secular republic aspiring to European norms, to a confident, assertive, and increasingly power-seeking leadership role in the Islamic world. Operation Sindoor made this real for India: as Pakistan reeled, Turkey stood firmly by its side—diplomatically, rhetorically, and strategically; hoping to gain from it. From Europe's Rejection to Erdogan's Reimagining When Europe effectively closed the door on Turkish accession, it handed Erdogan the perfect opportunity to remake the country's identity. With the secular military sidelined and public opinion more receptive to Islamic nationalism, Erdogan recast Turkey's foreign policy through the prism of Muslim solidarity and civilisational assertion. The Arab Spring, Syria, Palestine, and Kashmir became not just foreign policy issues but ideological battlegrounds. Turkey's alignment with Pakistan deepened during this phase. Though their diplomatic ties date back to the early years of both republics, the modern warmth is more strategic. Pakistan gained a powerful ally that regularly supports it in international forums like the UN and OIC. For Erdogan, Pakistan offered both a military partner and a religiously resonant cause—particularly the issue of Kashmir, which plays well with Turkish domestic audiences and the broader Muslim world. General Pervez Musharraf was instrumental in bringing transformational effect to Pakistan-Turkey relations because of his lifelong obsessive fondness for everything Turkish going back to his young days when his father was posted to Ankara. Sectarian alignment between the two also plays a role, albeit not a deep one. Both countries are Sunni-majority and largely follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. This common ground provides a religious-cultural comfort level, even though Turkey's religious landscape is shaped more by Sufi traditions and state control, while Pakistan's is influenced by powerful clerical networks and sectarian actors. Their real bond, however, is not theological but political - both governments use Islamic identity for global positioning and to challenge India's rise as a pluralist, secular democracy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Why India Failed to Influence Turkey India, despite its global rise, has failed to gain strategic traction with Turkey. One reason is the mismatch in worldviews. Erdogan sees himself as a leader of the Islamic world; India, with its strong ties to Israel and growing alignment with the West, is viewed as part of an opposing camp. Second, Indian diplomacy has been marginally reticent in engaging Turkey's domestic political landscape. While India has cultivated strong ties in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, it has remained reactive and restrained when it comes to Turkey. Third, India's burgeoning ties with Turkey's rivals—Greece, Armenia, and Israel—though grounded in mutual interest, have confirmed Ankara's perception of India as strategically adversarial. This despite India's proactive action of launching Operation Dost as a humanitarian and disaster relief operation after the devastating earthquake hit Southern Turkey in Feb 2023. India's support was almost the first to reach Turkey. Economically, the India-Turkey relationship lacks sufficient weight to act as a lever. Trade is modest too. This limits India's ability to shape Ankara's choices through economic means. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What's at Stake for India? The implications of Turkey's hostility go beyond diplomatic sparring. Turkey's backing gives Pakistan added legitimacy in global forums and bolsters its Islamic narrative. Ankara's support to Islamabad on Kashmir complicates India's diplomatic messaging in Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, where Turkey is investing heavily in soft power and religious outreach. More concretely, defence cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan is growing. Joint military exercises, arms deals, and drone collaborations are becoming more common. This has implications for South Asia's strategic balance and could introduce new military technologies into Pakistan's arsenal. The recent Ukrainian drone attack—Operation Spider Web—would have given Pakistan ideas on utilisation of drones in an imaginatively pro-active way against India. Turkey's religious diplomacy also poses a softer but insidious challenge. Through state-backed institutions and media, it is projecting itself as a leader of the global Muslim ummah. This can shape narratives that influence Indian Muslim communities indirectly, especially in an era where identity politics is increasingly global. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What Must India do? India needs to develop a coherent Turkey strategy grounded in realism, not nostalgia about shared civilisational roots. India must respond clearly to Turkish provocations, whether on Kashmir or Pakistan. Silence has sometimes been mistaken for weakness. New Delhi should be willing to call out Ankara, including at multilateral forums. Deepen ties with Turkey's adversaries—Greece, Cyprus, Armenia, and Israel—not just diplomatically, but in defence, culture, and trade. A robust regional counterweight will force Turkey to reconsider its positioning. Invest in projecting India's narrative as a secular, multi-religious democracy. Partnering with moderate Muslim countries—like Indonesia, UAE, Egypt and now increasingly even Saudi Arabia—can help isolate Turkey's harder posturing. While current trade levels are modest, Turkey's dependence on tourism, select exports, and access to Asian markets gives India some room to explore economic influence, directly or via third parties. Turkey's turn under Erdogan is not temporary. It reflects a deeper shift in identity and ambition—one that rejects the rejection of the West and seeks frontline Islamic leadership, casting aside all 'Kemalian' thought. In aligning with Pakistan, Turkey is not just supporting a traditional ally—it is staking a claim in a multipolar Islamic world where India is seen as the 'other'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Fortunately, India is no longer a passive observer in West Asia or Southeast Asia. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, New Delhi has made significant and sustained inroads into the Middle East and beyond. The burgeoning strategic and economic partnerships with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Oman reflect a quiet but profound shift—one that positions India as a key partner in regional stability, infrastructure, and counter-radicalism. Simultaneously, India's enhanced ties with Indonesia—the world's largest Muslim-majority country and a democratic, pluralistic nation—serve as a counter-narrative to the Islamist posturing of the Turkey-Pakistan axis. These relationships are not merely transactional but represent a convergence of long-term visions. As Ankara and Islamabad try to cobble together a pan-Islamic bloc rooted in grievance and revanchism, India must do more to support the Saudi–UAE axis in West Asia and reinforce its alignment with moderate Muslim powers like Indonesia. By doing so, New Delhi can effectively dilute the ideological resonance of the Turkey–Pakistan combine and reaffirm its own civilisational model as a viable and inclusive alternative in the Islamic world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The writer is a member of the National Disaster Management Authority. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
