By The Hindu Group

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Aland voter deletion: Karnataka CEO says all data handed over to police

Responding to allegations made by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over vote fraud in Aland Assembly constituency in 2023 and the probe into the case being “blocked” by the Election Commission of India (ECI) by not sharing key technical data with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Karnataka, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka has claimed that his office, based on the instructions of the ECI, has “handed over all the available information with the ECI to the Superintendent of Police, Kalaburagi district, on September 6, 2023, for completing the investigation”.

U.S. visas of Indian executives revoked over ‘drug trafficking’

Months after charging two Indian companies with “criminal conspiracies” to smuggle fentanyl precursors into the United States, the U.S. Embassy on Thursday (September 18, 2025) said that it has revoked and denied visas for “certain” Indian “business executives and corporate leadership”, accusing them of smuggling ingredients that are used in the illegal production of the drug. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy said that the “family members” of these business executives would also “face consequences” for the illegal production and trafficking of drugs to the United States.

CBI charges Anil Ambani, Rana Kapoor in ₹2,796-crore corruption case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet on Thursday (September 18, 2025) against Anil Ambani and others over alleged fraudulent transactions between the industrialist’s group companies — Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) and Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), Yes Bank and firms of the bank’s former CEO Rana Kapoor’s family — causing a loss of ₹2,796 crore to the bank, officials said. In its charge sheet filed before a special court in Mumbai, the federal agency has said Mr. Ambani is the chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group and director of Reliance Capital Limited, the holding company of RCFL and RHFL.

If oil prices come down, Putin will settle and drop out of Ukraine war: Trump

If the price of oil drops, Russian President Vladimir Putin will end the war with Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (September 18, 2025), suggesting that European countries, India, and China stopping the purchase of Russian oil was key to this. Mr. Trump’s comments were made during a joint press conference at Chequers, the official country residence of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the end of his two-day state visit to the U.K. “Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin will settle. He’s going to have no choice. He’s going to drop out of that war,” Mr. Trump said, and he brought India into the picture as well.

Lalit Modi’s brother, held in 2019 rape case; lawyer claims false case to extort money

Samir Modi, the brother of fugitive businessman Lalit Modi, was on Thursday (September 18, 2025) arrested at the Delhi airport in connection with a 2019 rape case, police said. “Samir, a businessman, was arrested at the airport upon his return from abroad today. He has been taken into custody after an FIR was registered against him at the New Friends Police Station under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation),” the police said. Meanwhile, Mr. Samir’s lawyer has claimed that the charges levelled against him are false and an attempt to extort money from him.

Chabahar operators to face U.S. sanctions from September 29

In yet another harsh measure by the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday (September 18, 2025) that the U.S. was revoking its waiver of sanctions over the Iranian port of Chabahar, ending a special waiver given to India in 2018, within 10 days. The decision, amongst a number of other moves by the U.S. to impose “maximum pressure on Iran”, including designating several entities involved in Iran’s oil trade, will affect India’s plans to develop the Shahid Beheshti terminal at the Chabahar port as an alternative trading route for India, circumventing Pakistan, to send cargo to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Two dead after rain batters Chamoli in Uttarakhand

Torrential rains lashed the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Thursday (September 18, 2025), with gushing waters and debris reducing homes to rubble. The deluge left two persons dead, while at least seven others remain missing. Just two days ago, rains and floods wreaked havoc in State capital Dehradun, leaving 21 dead and 17 missing. According to the Chamoli district administration, several villages in the Nand Nagar area suffered extensive damage. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, the police, doctors, and paramedics were rushed to the affected sites, with rescue operations launched on a war footing.

Modi-Xi meet repaired India-China relations, but its importance should not be overstated: experts

The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin has “repaired” India-China relations, but its importance should not be “overstated”, veteran diplomats and commentators said at the launch of the book China: Indian Perspectives on China’s Politics, Economy, and Foreign Relations, a special publication by The Hindu Group, in New Delhi on Thursday (September 18, 2025).

Trump says U.S. is trying to ‘get back’ Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan

The Trump administration is trying to negotiate a takeover of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday (September 18, 2025). Mr. Trump’s comments were made at Chequers, the official country residence of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at a joint press conference with the two leaders at the conclusion of the President’s two-day State visit to the U.K. Mr. Trump said that when his first administration (2016-2020) had planned on taking U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, it had planned to hold on to Bagram, a 77 sq km airbase with a 11,800 ft runway, which was a focal point for logistics for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. U.S. troops exited Afghanistan — including Bagram — in a chaotic manner on on 29 February 2020 under the newly appointed administration of Joe Biden. Mr. Trump said that the U.S. had “given” Bagram to the Taliban for “nothing”. The Taliban took over Afghanistan after America’s exit.

Ukraine hits Russian oil refinery deep behind front

Ukrainian drones on Thursday (September 18, 2025) hit a major Russian oil refinery some 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) from the front line, triggering a fire, officials from both countries said. The strike is the latest in a wave of drone attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure as Kyiv seeks to knock out Russia’s vital energy revenues that fund its Army. A source in Ukraine’s SBU security agency said its drones had hit “the heart” of a refinery in the central Bashkortostan region run by state-controlled energy giant Gazprom.

U.S. once again vetoes Security Council resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

The United States once again vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday (September 18, 2025) that had demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages after saying that the effort did not go far enough in condemning Hamas. All 14 other members of the United Nations’ most powerful body voted in favour of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory. The outcome further highlights U.S. and Israeli isolation on the world stage regarding the nearly two-year war in Gaza.

Cambodian PM accuses Thai forces of evicting civilians on border

Cambodia’s leader Hun Manet has accused Thailand of preventing more than 20 families from returning to their homes on the disputed border, according to his letter to the head of the U.N. released on Thursday (September 18, 2025). The Thai army said the Cambodian residents had “illegally occupied” Thai territory. In a letter dated September 17 to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Hun Manet said Thai forces had “widened the conflict zone by erecting barbed wire and barricades” and “forcibly” evicted Cambodian civilians from their “long-settled lands” in two border villages in northwestern Banteay Meanchey province since last month.