India First

Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency diversion to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Majahar and attempted to seize control of the aircraft, which descended 14,000 feet and issued distress codes 7700 and 7500 before passengers and crew restrained the assailant. In New Delhi, leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc met to launch nationwide demonstrations seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the withdrawal of the SIR exercise, amid ongoing seat-sharing disputes between Congress and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the conclusion of the BJP Nashamukt Punjab Yatra in Jalandhar, pledging to eliminate narcotics in Punjab by December 31, 2029, as political leaders and former law enforcement officials debated governance, de-addiction infrastructure, and narcotics seizure data ahead of state elections.

The political standoff between the BJP and Congress over the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified, with the Congress and Indian Youth Congress staging nationwide demonstrations demanding his resignation or prosecution over alleged electoral disenfranchisement through the Special Intensive Revision process. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi visited Delhi's Bella Estate and alleged that hundreds of voter names had been deleted from electoral rolls. BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, hit back, accusing the opposition of targeting constitutional institutions to deflect from election defeats. An India Today panel examined the allegations, the Form 6 declaration process and the statutory provisions governing electoral rolls under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Meanwhile, violence broke out in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, during a road-widening demolition drive that affected a portion of the Shahi Masjid. The incident came ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Maha Kumbh.

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari has triggered a political row after citing an observation attributed to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the A.G. Noorani Memorial Lecture. Quoting from a book, Ansari referred to Nehru's reported view that Hindu right-wing communalism posed a greater threat to India than communism. The remarks drew criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described them as an insult to Sanatan traditions. Cleric Umar Ahmed Ilyasi also criticised Ansari. His supporters highlighted his career as a diplomat and scholar.

The US House of Representatives has passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, authorising tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy, including India and China.

This special broadcast covers major national security, geopolitical, and cultural developments. The programme details the maritime incident in international waters near the Gulf of Oman, where Pakistan Navy offshore patrol vessel PNS Hunain executed an unsafe manoeuvre and collided with a frontline Indian Navy warship, prompting India to lodge formal diplomatic protests citing the 1991 bilateral military agreement.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has updated its Red Book of most wanted terrorists, placing a bounty of seventy lakh Pakistani rupees on Jaish-e-Mohammed founder and UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar ahead of the Financial Action Task Force plenary in Paris.

A special news broadcast from Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi covers diplomatic and economic engagements at the 18th BRICS Summit.

India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, bringing together member nations under the themes of resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability.

The report primarily covers the escalating Saudi-Houthi conflict following missile and drone strikes on southern Saudi cities, alongside strategic analyses of the trilateral Mecca defence agreement involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.

Seven people, including six students, were killed after a five-decade-old building housing the unregulated 'Hostel Days' PG accommodation collapsed during basement renovation work in Delhi's Satya Niketan. Police arrested property owner Hariram Gupta and members of his family, while the MCD suspended five officials. The Delhi High Court also ordered extensive safety inspections of private student housing, bringing regulatory failures and Delhi's acute hostel shortage into focus. Today's show also examines India's evolving defence strategy, from the expansion of BrahMos missile capabilities and indigenous manufacturing to the use of artificial intelligence and preparations for grey-zone warfare. Indian Navy and Coast Guard officials further discuss counter-narcotics operations, the monitoring of strategic straits and measures to strengthen coastal security across the Indian Ocean Region and India's Exclusive Economic Zone.

On Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced his government's resolve to develop a grand temple complex in Mathura and Vrindavan on the lines of Ayodhya's Ram Temple and Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath Dham.

A major political debate has broken out over the appointment of retired Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra as the Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.