Leaked Messages Reveal How US Virgin Islands Governor Personally Intervened for Jeffrey Epstein
Documents that were included in the US Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed. (AP Photo/ File)
Files released by the US Justice Department show how deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein operated in the US Virgin Islands as months before his arrest in July 2019, he had an island dispute and the island’s top elected official, Democratic Governor Albert Bryan Jr. offered to help.
Officials in the Virgin Islands had issued a stop-work order while investigating unauthorised construction on Epstein’s private islands and were considering potential fines. As the dispute between Epstein and the officials intensified, the disgraced financier towards US Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr.
According to text messages exchanged between Epstein and Bryan in 2019, the Governor told the convicted paedophile that he had spoken with US Virgin Island’s top environmental official and asked him to pause the enforcement of stop-work order and other punitive measures until the matter is discussed, CNN reported.
Bryan, who is currently the governor of the US Virgin Islands, is in the final year of his second term as governor. (Photo: US Justice Department)
After Epstein raised the issue of rising fines and negative media coverage, Bryan said that he had asked the commissioner who was overseeing the case to “recuse himself and concede on all previous permit requests.”
In a message, Bryan told Epstein, “We got you.” According to the CNN report, after analysing dozens of messages and emails exchanged over a period of several months, Bryan expressed willingness to talk to regulators involved in the case on Epstein’s behalf and reassured the convicted offender that he was addressing the dispute.
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Message exchanges also show that Bryan and Epstein had planned to meet privately as the island dispute was ongoing. Epstein, in one of the messages, cautioned that enforcement actions would “kill all interest and send investors to puerto rico instead!!”
Bryan, who is currently the governor of the US Virgin Islands, is in the final year of his second term as governor. Bryan had been asked several times in the past if he had provided Epstein with any special treatment, to which the governor has responded saying, “No.”
Larry Summers Resigns as ‘Wingman’ Texts With Jeffrey Epstein Surface in Federal Probe
This combo shows Jeffrey Epstein, left, and US economist Larry Summers. (AP)
Former US treasury secretary and Harvard University president Larry Summers will resign from teaching at the end of the academic year amid the investigation of his ties with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reports stated.
Harvard University said that it has accepted Summers resignation as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government and that the professor would retire from other academic and faculty posts he holds.
Though no evidence of Summers involved in any wrongdoing has emerged till now, the Harvard president has been under fire after the US House Oversight Committee released documents detailing an ongoing personal correspondence between him and Epstein.
The Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton, in a statement to CNBC said, “In connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein has accepted Professor Lawrence H. Summers’ resignation from his leadership position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.”
the Harvard spokesperson further added, “Professor Summers has announced that he will retire from his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard at the end of this academic year and will remain on leave until that time.”
Gold smuggling: ED chargesheet against Kannada actor Ranya Rao, 2 others | India News
2 min readNew DelhiFeb 25, 2026 07:36 PM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted a prosecution complaint under the PMLA against Kannada actress Ranya Rao, stepdaughter of senior Karnataka police officer K Ramachandra Rao, Telugu actor Tarun Konduru, and hawala dealer Sahil Sakariya Jain before a special court in Bengaluru in an alleged gold smuggling and money laundering case.
An agency spokesperson said on Wednesday that the accused have been charged with the offence of money laundering under Section 3, punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, 2002.
On March 3 last year, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials had intercepted Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru on her arrival from Dubai allegedly with a consignment of 14.213 kg of gold (valued at Rs 12.56 crore), which was strapped on her body using bandages.
An FIR was registered by the CBI in March 2025, based on a complaint from the DRI. Subsequent searches led to the recovery of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore.
In May 2025, the ED had conducted searches at 16 locations across Karnataka and seized incriminating documents, digital devices, Indian and foreign currency. “Immovable properties worth Rs 34.12 crore, held in the name of Ranya, were provisionally attached in July 2025 under Section 5(1) of the PMLA. Probe has revealed an organised and structured mechanism for procuring gold abroad, illegally importing it into India, selling it for cash in local markets, and subsequently laundering the proceeds through both hawala and banking channels,” the spokesperson said.
“The ED’s probe has uncovered that between March 2024 and March 2025, the accused allegedly smuggled 127.287 kg of gold valued at around Rs 102.55 crore into India. The smuggled gold was later sold in the domestic market through a network of handlers and jewellers,” a ED spokesperson said in its statement.
“The proceeds of crime were allegedly generated in cash and moved through hawala networks in India and abroad, before being layered and routed through multiple bank accounts and entities to make them appear as legitimate business transactions,” the spokesperson alleged.
Who is the winner of Beast Games Season 2? Tyler Lucas takes home $5.1 million
Beast Games Season 2 (Image Via Getty)
Beast Games Season 2 now has its winner. Tyler Lucas, known as Player 167, won the $5.1 million grand prize in the season finale that streamed on Amazon Prime Video on February 24, 2026. The final episode, titled “$5,000,000 Decision,” ended weeks of guessing about who would walk away with the biggest prize. In the last round, Tyler picked the correct suitcase and secured the win. The season began with nearly 200 contestants, but only one made it to the top. Along the way, the show handed out more than $11 million in total prizes. Even players who did not win the grand prize still earned large amounts of money. After the episode aired, Tyler confirmed his victory in a post on X, writing, “I can finally say this publicly, I am the winner of beast games season 2!!! Let’s gooo, thank you so much, what an experience i will never forget this, I am forever grateful.”
Tyler Lucas wins Beast Games Season 2 as MrBeast confirms record-breaking payout
Tyler Lucas did not reach the finale by luck. Week after week, he survived physical tasks and mental tests. When the final moment came, it all came down to one decision. He chose the right suitcase. That single move earned him $5.1 million.The prize money this season was massive. Here is how the top 10 contestants finished:Player 167 – $5,100,000Player 148 – $1,800,000Player 195 – $1,193,000Player 126 – $1,000,000Player 152 – $510,000Player 118 – $342,264Player 38 – $160,057Player 173 – $137,547Player 24 – $100,000Player 60 – $100,000So even those who did not win still walked away with life-changing amounts. Before Beast Games Season 2, Tyler Lucas had already built an impressive background. He graduated from Bellefonte Area School District in 2011. He later served as a United States Air Force pilot. He also played as a wide receiver at Penn State. Those experiences shaped his calm mindset and discipline under pressure.At the end of the finale, MrBeast said, “Tyler will walk away from Beast Games Season 2 with $5.1 million, one of the largest cash prizes in television history. But no one is walking away empty-handed. This season, there were over $11 million in prizes. Multiple people literally became millionaires. And every single player who competed was given $1,000 for playing. We pushed 200 players to their limits, seeing how far they’d go, to leave their mark in Beast Games history.”In related news, MrBeast also shared that he is “borderline blind” in his right eye and often has to squint to see clearly. Season 2 may be over, but the impact of that $5.1 million decision will be remembered for a long time.
Tony Gonzales Scandal: ‘This is going too far boss’: Texas Republican Tony Gonzales refuses to resign after staffer’s suicide amid affair allegations
US Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, has said he will not resign despite increasing pressure from fellow lawmakers over allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who later died by suicide.The row centres on text messages which appear to show Gonzales engaging in sexually explicit exchanges with Santos-Aviles in May 2024. In the messages, Gonzales allegedly asked the aide to “send me a sexy pic” and about her “favourite position.” Santos-Aviles responded at one point by saying, “This is going too far boss.”Gonzales has denied having an affair and has described the allegations as politically motivated. He told reporters he would not resign and said that not all facts had yet come out. “There will be an opportunity for all the details and facts to come out,” he said.The controversy has drawn attention because Santos-Aviles later died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire outside her home in Uvalde, Texas. Her death was ruled a suicide by self-immolation.Several House Republicans, including Representatives Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Anna Paulina Luna and Nancy Mace, have publicly called for Gonzales to step down.House Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders have expressed concern about the seriousness of the allegations but have stopped short of demanding Gonzales’s resignation while investigations continue. Johnson said investigations should be allowed to play out before drawing conclusions.Gonzales is also facing a competitive Republican primary scheduled for March 3, in which he is being challenged by Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist and social media personality. US President Donald Trump has previously endorsed Gonzales in the race.
Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026: Courts giving more importance to procedure over environmental damage, says ex-SC judge | India News
3 min readAlwarFeb 25, 2026 08:38 PM IST
In environmental matters, courts are giving more importance to procedure rather than the environmental degradation likely to be caused and they have also become deferential to the government, said former Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta on Wednesday.
In his keynote address at the annual Anil Agarwal Dialogue at Neemli, Alwar, held by the Centre for Science and Environment, he also criticised recent court orders in cases related to the Great Nicobar project, Vantara, and one pertaining to ex-post facto clearances.
Referring to the recent judgment of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Justice Gupta said that the court’s role does not end at just looking at procedures followed. “The procedure may have been followed but if the end result is an environmental disaster, then the court is required to step in… if an environmental damage cannot be reversed or compensated, it is not sustainable development,” he said.
“By and large we can all agree that the NGT experiment has not been successful. But not because the experiment was wrong, it is the men (running it) who have failed the system,” he said.
Justice Deepak Gupta was a Supreme Court judge from February 2017 to May 2020. He also served as the head of the Supreme Court’s green bench. Prior to that, he was the Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court and first Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court.
Underlining that a bad environment can never be good economics, he said: “If the environment cannot be set right, no amount of economics can justify. It can be good business, but cannot be good economics.”
Clarifying that he was not against development (in Nicobar) but questioned the environmental cost, referring to instances of compensatory afforestation being carried out at places away from the site of deforestation. “The compensatory afforestation has become a joke,” he said.
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A six-member special bench of the NGT on February 16 refused to interfere in the environmental clearance granted for the Rs 81,000 crore integrated development of Great Nicobar project. It had said there were adequate safeguards in the clearance accorded and also noted the project’s strategic importance, thus paving the way for its execution.
Justice Gupta also went on to slam the Supreme Court closing all the proceedings against Vantara (a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre run by Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar) after accepting a clean chit from a special investigation team appointed by it.
The SIT, chaired by former SC judge Justice Jasti Chelameswar, had concluded that there were no violations of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, at Vantara.
Justice Gupta also hit out at the top court’s judgment on the conservation of Great Indian Bustard, and laying of power lines in the habitat of the critically endangered bird, and the SC’s decision to overturn the order quashing ex-post facto clearances.
An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change.
Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. … Read More
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How Manchester Mosque Volunteers Restrained an Armed Attacker During Ramadan Prayers
A man has been arrested by the UK police after he entered the Manchester Central Mosque allegedly with an axe and a knife on Tuesday.
Police were called to Manchester mosque on Upper Park Road in Victoria Park, Rusholme around 8:40pm on Tuesday after reports suggested that two men were acting suspiciously.
#UPDATE | We’re questioning a suspect in custody following an incident at Manchester Central Mosque last night and seeking to identify a second man.
Weapons were seized by officers and increased patrols are in place. pic.twitter.com/0IPwKQuUbu
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) February 25, 2026
According to greater Manchester Police, a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon and possession of class B drugs. The person remains in police custody for questioning, while officers search for the second person.
I am being kept updated about an incident last night at Manchester Central Mosque.
My thoughts are with everyone who was there, at Ramadan prayers. My deepest thanks go to the volunteers for their quick thinking and bravery. @gmpolice are now leading the investigation – and…
— Shabana Mahmood MP (@ShabanaMahmood) February 25, 2026
A witness of the incident, according to The Guardian report, said the suspect was carrying an axe and as he entered the mosque, four people restrained him and hit him with a fire extinguisher. The mosque, in a statement, confirmed that the suspect was also carrying a hammer and a knife.
I am concerned to hear of the incident at Manchester Central Mosque last night. I know this will be worrying for Muslim communities, especially during Ramadan, a time of peace and reflection.
My thanks go to the volunteers and emergency services for their quick response.
We…
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) February 25, 2026
UK’s Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged the incident in Manchester mosque and in a post on X said, “I am being kept updated about an incident last night at Manchester Central Mosque. My thoughts are with everyone who was there, at Ramadan prayers. My deepest thanks go to the volunteers for their quick thinking and bravery.”
Mahmood further added, “Greater Manchester Police are now leading the investigation – and must be allowed to pursue their work. Anyone who has any information should contact them on 101. There is no place for hatred in our country, and there never will be.”
UK PM Keir Starmer released a statement on the incident and said he was “concerned” by the news, adding: “I know this will be worrying for Muslim communities, especially during Ramadan, a time of peace and reflection.”
Videos circulating on social media on Tuesday showed heavy police presence outside the mosque in Manchester. On Wednesday morning, the mosque remained quiet.
Decoded: The viral doomsday AI memo that roiled Wall Street
Stock market investors are used to shocks from central banks, Trump and geopolitics – not Substack. Yet a 7,000-word essay by James van Geelen appears to have rattled markets all the same.
The founder of Citrini Research published “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” on Sunday, outlining a hypothetical scenario in which accelerating AI adoption leads to widespread white-collar job losses, weaker consumption and mounting financial strain.
The essay describes a “deflationary cascade” in which AI doesn’t just augment workers, it replaces them so efficiently that it destabilises the broader economy.
In a market already jittery about rapid AI developments and heavily concentrated in tech stocks, the scenario struck a nerve. By Monday morning, the post had gone viral across trading desks.
What does the post say?
Citrini’s thesis imagines a near future in which rapidly improving AI agents hollow out software companies,displace white-collar workers, destabilise credit and housing markets, and inadvertently bankrupt the middle class.
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It stresses that the scenario is a “thought exercise, not a prediction.” Still, its chain-reaction logic alarmed investors. The post is written as a retrospective from 2028. In its version of events, AI first drives a surge in productivity and profits before job losses start to weigh on spending and credit.
Here are the key triggers from the post that spooked the market:
1) Death of the middleman
At the heart of Citrini’s thesis is a sharp leap in AI capability. It points to increasingly autonomous tools such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex as early signs of systems able to execute complex business tasks with minimal human input.
The impact would extend beyond software to travel booking, insurance, real estate commissions, and other industries built on transaction “friction.” If such agents scale, they could undercut demand for platforms such as Monday.com, Zapier and Asana by allowing companies to manage workflows internally at lower cost. That, in turn, could push vendors like Oracle into sharper price competition.
Nor would it stop there. In Citrini’s framework, personal AI agents transact directly for consumers, bypassing intermediaries such as Uber and DoorDash. Payment networks, including Visa and Mastercard, could face pressure if transactions shift to lower-cost crypto rails.
The common thread: when machines optimise every transaction for efficiency, habitual app loyalty—a cornerstone of many digital business models–begins to erode.
2) Mass white-collar unemployment
Historically, technologies have created more jobs than they destroyed. Citrini argues AI could prove to be the exception.
“AI is now a general intelligence that improves at the very tasks humans would redeploy to. Displaced coders cannot simply move to ‘AI management’ because AI is already capable of that,” the report states.
In this scenario, layoffs in software and other white-collar sectors accelerate, and workers cannot easily transition into higher-value roles. Many shift into lower-paying or less stable jobs, putting pressure on wages and weakening consumer spending.
That softer demand then feeds back into corporate decisions. Instead of hiring, companies double down on automation to cut costs, reinforcing what Citrini describes as a cycle with no natural brake.
3) Financial spillovers
The report extends the shock into the private credit and housing sectors.
Many software firms have been financed by private-credit lenders based on assumptions of steady long-term revenue. If AI undermines those assumptions, defaults could surge. Asset managers such as Hellman & Friedman and Permira, cited in the report, could face pressure if software-backed loans sour.
At the same time, laid-off white-collar workers struggle to service mortgages, triggering housing stress. Combined credit tightening and falling consumer confidence could amplify the downturn.
Citrini ultimately sketches a late-2027 crash that wipes out 57% of the S&P 500.
4) The paradox of “ghost GDP”
Citrini flags what it sees as a growing imbalance: the economy looks healthy on paper, but many households are under strain.
In one scenario, large AI companies continue to post strong profits and productivity gains. Given their heavyweight in stock indices and overall output, headline GDP and market indicators remain resilient.
The problem, the firm argues, is that machines don’t spend. They don’t buy homes, cars or everyday services.
The result is what Citrini calls “ghost GDP” – economic output that shows up in the data but doesn’t filter through to the wider population.
That gap between rising corporate profits and squeezed household finances, the firm warns, could heighten social and political tensions, with anger directed less at Wall Street and more at Silicon Valley.
How did markets react?
Investors were already uneasy about AI disruption. The Substack post sharpened those fears.
US software stocks led the slide. Shares of Datadog, CrowdStrike and Zscaler fell sharply, while International Business Machines suffered its worst one-day drop in decades. Private-equity groups KKR and Blackstone, both cited in the report, also declined.
The broader selloff, which coincided with renewed trade-policy uncertainty in Washington, pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.7%, or 822 points, on Monday.
Shares of DoorDash fell about 7% after the note called it a “poster child” for businesses that monetise friction between buyers and sellers. In the scenario, AI agents enable customers and drivers to transact more directly, squeezing margins. On social media, co-founder Andy Fang said the rise of “agentic commerce” would force the company to adapt. “The ground is shifting underneath our feet,” he wrote.
“So far this year, the stock market has been discounting a scenario in which AI is our Frankenstein monster,” said Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research. His base case is less dire: “We continue to believe that AI is augmenting workers’ productivity rather than making them extinct.”
Also read: IT stock crash wipes out Rs 1.2 lakh crore for LIC & mutual funds in bloodbath not seen since 2008
After the selloff, van Geelen said the report was a scenario, not a forecast. Speaking to Bloomberg, he described it as an attempt to “start a conversation” about a world in which human intelligence is no longer the scarcest resource.
Whether that future materialises is unclear. But the episode shows how quickly AI enthusiasm can turn into market anxiety.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
How PM Modi’s Israel visit will add muscle to India’s military might| India News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Israel comes at a moment when the Middle East is a tinderbox – from the grinding Gaza war to spiralling US–Iran tensions and unprecedented missile exchanges that have redrawn the region’s security map. Yet, as Hindustan Times Executive Editor Shishir Gupta underlines in a wide–ranging conversation with Senior Anchor Ayesha VermaNew Delhi is choosing to walk into the eye of the storm, not away from it.
PM Narendra Modi landed in Israel to a red-carpet welcome with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. (X/Narendra Modi)
Modi in a region on edge
The United States has mounted a massive military build–up across the Middle East, with advanced aircraft and carrier groups moving into launch positions, while Israel remains on high alert amid fears that any American strike on Iran would trigger retaliation on Israeli territory. This build-up includes America’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
Follow latest updates on PM Modi’s visit to Israel
In parallel, Washington and Tehran are engaged in fraught diplomacy in Geneva, with an American deadline, dictated by Trump, hanging over talks on Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes and its domestic crackdown on protesters.
In this febrile context, Modi’s decision to travel to Israel “appears to be risky” on the surface, Gupta notes, but he argues that the symbolism cuts the other way. Rather than “sitting tight” in Delhi and issuing political statements, the Prime Minister is choosing to enter the “heat of the current environment,” signalling that India wants to be present as a serious stakeholder and advocate for de-escalation.
Modi, Gupta points out, has cultivated strong personal equations across the region – with Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel and other Gulf capitals – and has physically travelled to virtually all key countries in West Asia. This, he suggests, allows Modi to project himself as a leader who is not picking sides in a sectarian or bloc contest, but as someone willing to talk to all actors even as India firmly defines its own interests.
The deepening India–Israel defence partnership
Behind the optics, the visit is expected to push India–Israel ties into a new gear, particularly in defence, technology and joint development of cutting–edge capabilities. Gupta reminds us that Israel has been a “very close and trusted ally” for decades, even when Indian governments of the past were reluctant to be seen engaging Tel Aviv too openly.
Also Read: PM Modi’s Israel visit is a signal amidst US-Iran tensions
During the 1999 Kargil war, Israel quietly supplied targeted weaponry, laser–guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and other force multipliers that significantly boosted the Indian Air Force’s ability to hit Pakistani positions. More recently, during “Operation Sindoor,” Indian forces used a package of Israeli-origin systems – including loitering munitions like PALM–200/400 and Harpy/Harop, and Rampage long-range missiles, supplemented by BrahMos strikes – to take out terror infrastructure in Pakistan at places like Bahawalpur and Muridke, the strongholds of Jaish–e–Mohammed and Lashkar–e–Taiba.
India also turns to Israel for high–end anti–tank weapons, including those inducted during the Ladakh stand–off with China in 2020, and increasingly for long–range stand–off missiles to neutralise air–defence systems that Pakistan has extended with Chinese radar support. Israeli missiles and emerging systems like the Iron Beam laser weapon are seen in Delhi as “top of the line,” and Gupta says the visit is likely to unlock weapon supplies that were not cleared even in the past.
“The defence partnership becomes much more deeper,” he stresses, describing a shift from simple buyer–seller ties to an intensive, multi–layered relationship anchored in trust at the very top between Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mission Sudarshan Chakra: Shielding India from missiles
The most strategic piece of this puzzle is India’s emerging collaboration with Israel on anti–missile defence, which Gupta connects directly to Modi’s “Mission Sudarshan Chakra” announced in his Independence Day speech. The tipping point, he says, was again Operation Sindoor, when Pakistan reportedly fired nearly a thousand missiles, including ballistic missiles, at India – causing minimal damage but exposing the scale of potential saturation attacks India must be prepared for.
Also Read: PM Modi gets ceremonial welcome in Israel, hugs Netanyahu | Watch
India’s core concern now is Pakistan, which Gupta bluntly calls the “unscrupulous power,” as opposed to China, where he sees at least the possibility of mature dialogue between “two big powers.” Pakistan has used Chinese systems to strengthen its air defence and is working on longer–range missiles such as the Ababeel, a 2,000 km–class system with multiple independently targetable re–entry vehicles (MIRVs) that can release several warheads on different trajectories.
Once such “bomblets” separate, interception becomes extremely difficult, which is why India needs the capability to hit enemy missiles either in their boost phase or in the terminal phase before they fragment. Here, Israel’s experience is critical: during Iran’s large–scale strike last year, Israeli systems reportedly neutralised 498 of 500 incoming missiles, using a layered shield of Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow–3.
Mission Sudarshan Chakra, as Gupta explains it, is essentially about building India’s own layered missile defence grid:
Detecting launches through radars, aircraft and satellites.
Neutralising threats at multiple ranges – roughly 100 km, 250 km and 400 km – using different interceptor families.
Combining this with long–range stand–off weapons that can hit enemy launchers and missile infrastructure at source.
In a world where stand–off missiles, loitering munitions, kamikaze and swarm drones are becoming standard tools of war – and where both China and Pakistan possess such capabilities – Gupta calls Sudarshan Chakra “the key to Indian security currently.” The India–Israel plan is to jointly develop critical elements of this architecture in India, both to ensure self–reliance and to scale up rapidly for a worst–case scenario.
India’s role amid US–Iran friction
Zooming out, Varma presses Gupta on how India fits into the sharper US–Iran confrontation that frames Modi’s Israel trip. On one side is an American show of strength and a president under domestic pressure to demonstrate results on Iran after judicial setbacks on his economic agenda; on the other, an Iranian leadership that sees itself as the vanguard of Shia power and is unwilling to be seen backing down.
Talks in Geneva are trying to bridge fundamental gaps: the US wants Iran to cap its enrichment and ballistic missile programmes and rein in violent crackdowns on protesters, while Tehran refuses to accept such constraints. “It is not looking good,” Gupta warns, suggesting that the expiry of Washington’s 10–day deadline could be followed by action within hours or days, depending on how each side reads the situation.
In this fraught landscape, India occupies a rare position: it can speak to all the key players. New Delhi maintains channels with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iran – and separately enjoys a close, terrorism–focused partnership with Israel. India has also kept lines open with the Taliban and has over the past few years acted as a messenger and calming influence, from the Ukraine war to the Gaza conflict, while making its own red lines clear (such as calling 7 October 2023 a terrorist attack).
Gupta describes this as “pure strategic autonomy” – India talking to everyone, without being owned by anyone, and using its “good offices” to keep diplomacy and dialogue alive even when rivals cannot directly speak to one another.
From Palestine and “vote banks” to an economic corridor
The conversation also traces how India’s Israel policy has evolved. India recognised Israel in 1950 and Palestine later, but for decades avoided overt warmth with Tel Aviv, largely because of domestic political sensitivities and the desire to protect a particular “vote bank.” The relationship became more open after 1992, yet even then remained low–key in public rhetoric.
Gupta argues that since 2014, Modi has flipped that script by engaging “everyone” – from Israel and the UAE to Jordan and the wider Gulf – while retaining support for Palestinian statehood. He cites the almost casual “tea diplomacy” with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, who can fly in for a few hours of high–level discussions, as an indicator of the comfort level, and points to intense counter–radicalisation dialogues with Jordan and the UAE as further evidence of a new depth.
At the economic level, Varma and Gupta discuss Netanyahu’s idea of a “hexagon alliance” involving India, Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Middle Eastern partners – which Gupta reframes less as a hard security bloc and more as an economic and connectivity vision built around the India–Middle East Economic Corridor.
In its envisaged form, Indian goods would move from Indian ports to Fujairah in the UAE, then overland through Saudi Arabia to Jordan, on to Haifa in Israel, and from there onwards to Mediterranean ports like Cyprus, Greece, Naples and Marseilles – with the possibility of Beirut if conditions allow. Gupta calls Hamas’s October 7 attack an event that “brutally ripped apart” this corridor just as it was nearing reality, but stresses that the underlying logic of integrating these economies remains compelling.
For India, he emphasises, the priority is not to sign up to a formal alliance designed by others, but to deepen economic cooperation with Gulf partners, Israel, Greece and Cyprus while keeping the regional balance intact. Modi’s Israel visit, then, is less an isolated bilateral stop and more a node in a wider strategy: hardening India’s own defences, expanding high–technology and economic linkages, and positioning New Delhi as a stabilising, autonomous power in a Middle East on the brink.
BJP targets Congress, calls Rahul Gandhi ‘Puppet of Foreign Power’
3 min readNew DelhiFeb 25, 2026 08:23 PM IST
From Bofors to Bhopal gas tragedy, the BJP on Wednesday launched a stinging attack on the Congress, calling the party “compromised”, over its series of allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modiand lashed out at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi “as a puppet in the hands of foreign power”.
At the party headquarters, BJP chief Nitin Nabin, alongside Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and party’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, alleged that the Gandhi-Nehru family has repeatedly “compromised national interest to prioritise personal and political gains.” “From Nehru to Rahul Gandhi, Congress’s dynastic politics… has evolved into a continuous pattern marked by foreign influence, corruption, and compromises with national interest,” Nabin alleged.
“At one point Jawaharlal Nehru reportedly remarked that 45 crore people were a liability…while Rahul Gandhi claims to be ‘Babbar Sher’, the country has seen how he is a puppet in the hands of foreign power,” he said.
Nehru, Nabin alleged, functioned in a manner that “appeared accessible to foreign agencies such as the CIA” and, “in 1954, handed over India’s rights in Tibet to China” without securing any reciprocal benefit.
Nabin then harked back to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Bofors scandalsaying defence deals were “turned into a means of filling private bank accounts.” “In the Bofors scandal, attempts were made to influence the Swedish investigation and to shield associate Ottavio Quattrocchi…”
He also accused Rajiv of “facilitating the safe departure of Warren Anderson from India in a government aircraft” after the Bhopal gas tragedy, and called it another “reflection of Congress’s compromised mission”.
Goyal alleged that Gandhi family, throughout its political history, has “repeatedly compromised national interest, public welfare, and national security.”
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Alleging that his “links with forces described as anti-national are well known”, Goyal referred to Gandhi’s alleged meetings with associates of George Soros, and accused him of “maintaining contacts with foreign elements”.
“By engaging with persons linked to George Soros and to countries such as China and Pakistan, Rahul Gandhi compromises national interests… Rahul Gandhi has displayed petty politics before the country and the world… functioning like a puppet of foreign powers,” he alleged.
“Congress and Rahul Gandhi are unable to tolerate the reality of a new Indiaan emerging economy, India’s growing dominance on the global stage, and the rising popularity of the PM Narendra Modi,” he said.
During the tenure of then PM Manmohan Singh, Goyal claimed that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi exercised an “extra-constitutional authority” by virtually operating “a parallel cabinet”.
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“Under the banner of the Panchsheel Agreement, Aksai Chin was effectively ceded to China. Nehru also wrote to the UN advocating for China’s permanent membership in the UNSC, despite India itself being a claimant to that position… what does the compromised Gandhi family and the compromised Congress think of this nation?” he said.
Poonawalla said Congress had given way to a “compromised Congress party”. “Congress has now also become ANC — anti-national Congress, and ACP — abusive Congress party as well.”
4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 25, 2026 08:02 PM IST
As India and Israel look to elevate their strategic partnership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tel Aviv Wednesday on a two-day visit. He is meeting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and the two sides are expected to sign a slew of pacts in the economic, security and diplomatic spheres to deepen bilateral ties.
Modi’s visit to Israel is taking place amid turmoil in the region, talk of a potential US strike on Iran should negotiations fail in Geneva and US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative to rebuild Gaza and deploy an international stabilisation force in the ravaged Strip. India has stayed away from the Board and attended its first meeting as an observer.
Modi was received by Netanyahu and his wife Sara at the Ben Gurion international airport in Tel Aviv, and the two leaders held a private meeting there after the welcome ceremony. They will meet Thursday for official bilateral talks.
Modi, in a post on X, said, “Had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Expressed gratitude to him for the warm welcome earlier in the day. It is a delight to be back in Israel after 9 years. We discussed a wide range of subjects aimed at boosting bilateral ties. Sectors such as technology, water management, agriculture, talent partnership and more offer immense scope for close collaboration. We also discussed key developments in the region.”
“I am extremely honoured to be received by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mrs Netanyahu at the airport. I look forward to engaging in bilateral discussions and fruitful outcomes that strengthen the India-Israel friendship,” he said.
Welcoming him at the airport, Netanyahu said, “This is a bond of real friendship! My wife Sara and I welcomed today our good friend, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, who has arrived for another historic visit to Israel. Prime Minister Modi previously visited Israel in 2017, and I later paid a reciprocal visit to India that was truly exceptional.”
“We share a close personal relationship, speak often, and I believe that the deep friendship between us powerfully reflects on the ties between our two countries,” he said, adding they will attend a festive reception at the Knesset, visit an innovation event in Jerusalem, and host Prime Minister Modi for a joint dinner.
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“Tomorrow we will visit Yad Vashem, and afterwards hold another meeting together with our teams, during which we will sign a series of agreements in the economic, security, and diplomatic spheres that will further advance cooperation between Israel and India,” Netanyahu said.
When Modi visited Israel in July 2017, the India-Israel bilateral relationship was elevated to ‘Strategic Partnership’. Now, the plan is to elevate this partnership. India and Israel share a robust strategic partnership with strong cooperation across science and technology, innovation, defence and security, trade and investment, agriculture, water and people-to-people contact.
Modi is skipping a visit to Palestinian Authority-governed Ramallah in the West Bank again, as he did during his visit to Israel in 2017. He went to Ramallah in February 2018 on a separate bilateral visit. At that time, New Delhi had framed it as a de-hyphenation of the Israel-Palestine issue, staying committed to a two-state solution.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. … Read More
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Documents that were included in the US Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed. (AP Photo/ File) 
