Israel claimed that it killed Iranian security chief Ali Larijani in an airstrike. Tel Aviv also claimed that the commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force was killed in a separate strike.

Iran has not yet commented on the claim.

The Israeli defence ministry’s statement came more than two weeks after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28. Tehran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in Gulf countries and some ships.

Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was speaking with Iran and other countries to safely bring back Indian ships from the Strait of Hormuz. Read on.

Janata Dal (United) leader and former Rajya Sabha MP KC Tyagi announced that he was quitting the party. This came a day after JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state.

Kumar is expected to step down after his election to the Upper House.

Tyagi said that his membership with the JD(U) had ended and that he would not be renewing it. “Our relation with Nitish ji is forever,” he said. “It is just that I am searching for new political ground in Uttar Pradesh under the banner of another political party.”

The former MP had been serving as a political adviser in the JD(U) after he was removed as its national spokesperson in September 2024. The JD(U) has previously distanced itself from several statements made by Tyagi, including his recent demand for a Bharat Ratna for Kumar. Read on.

Fourteen Muslims were arrested in Varanasi for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus after they organised an iftar party on a boat in the river Ganga and ate chicken biryani.

The complainant, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader named Rajat Jaiswal, alleged that they threw meat leftovers in the river, which holds religious significance for Hindus.

The men were arrested after a video showing them holding the party on the boat on Monday was widely shared on social media. They were booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to defiling a place of worship, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings and promoting enmity between groups. Read on.

The Lok Sabha revoked the suspension of eight Opposition MPs through a voice vote. They had been suspended in February for the remainder of the Budget Session after they allegedly tore up papers and threw them at the speaker’s chair.

The MPs are Congress’ Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose, and S Venkatesan from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

They had been suspended against the backdrop of multiple adjournments in the House amid protests by the Opposition after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was prevented from quoting an excerpt of an unpublished memoir of former Indian Army chief MM Naravane. Read on.

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