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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is an extremely worrying development. The VD Satheesan-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government is facilitating the saffronisation of higher education in the State.

Every country with favourable environment for private entrepreneurship to flourish is replete with examples of rags to riches happenings. India is no exception to this phenomenon, where some with exceptional vision and courage to give shape to ideas in the face of all kinds of adversities have literally fought their way to find seats in the top tier of business houses. The late Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries, is uncontestedly remains the best example of creating immense wealth with almost nothing to start with but an idea and unwavering will. Licence Raj, whose dismantling started in 1991 under the stewardship of Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh and sabotage attempts by business houses which prospered in a protective environment were the two main hurdles the likes of Ambani had to overcome.

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government has approved a pilot project to operate selected Community Health Centres (CHCs) in the districts of Rewa, Dewas and Guna through an outsourced management system. According to the state cabinet, the arrangement will be implemented in centres where most doctor positions have remained vacant for a long period. The government argues that the move will improve access to healthcare at the local level and reduce the need for patients to travel to district hospitals for the treatment of minor ailments. The project will run for five years, after which it will be evaluated. If the results are found satisfactory, the model may be extended to other Community Health Centres across the state.

Geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions and rising demand are driving fragmentation and slowing progress across the global energy landscape, according to the World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index 2026, released in Geneva on June 18.

The US-Iran deal marks a genuine easing of one of the most dangerous geopolitical shocks to hit the energy market, but it should not be mistaken for a reset button. The immediate risk of a military breakdown has declined, and that matters for every stakeholder: Washington, Tehran, Gulf producers, Asian importers, shipping insurers and consuming economies already battling inflation. Yet the oil market that existed before the war cannot simply be restored by diplomatic signature. The risk premium has not vanished. It has changed its structure, moving from the visible fear of missiles, mines and naval confrontation to the less dramatic but equally consequential uncertainties of compliance, sequencing and trust.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is visiting China on a three day visit beginning June 23, the outcome of which is expected to be of big importance to Bangladesh having special consequences on the relationship with the neighbouring India also.

NEW YORK: For nearly a decade, the choreography was familiar. There would be an embrace. The broad smiles. The carefully staged bonhomie. The public declarations of friendship. Cameras would capture the optics before diplomats discussed the substance.

For more than two decades, Christopher Nolan has remained cinema's most elusive magician—a filmmaker who transforms philosophy into spectacle, science into emotion, and blockbuster entertainment into intellectual inquiry. This July, the Oscar-winning director will bring that rare cinematic mystique to India when he arrives in Mumbai for the premiere of his latest epic, The Odyssey, marking the first time a Christopher Nolan film has ever had an official premiere in the country.

Lebanon is once again facing a crucial moment. In March 2026, Hezbollah launched missiles into Israel, thereby opening a new front of the war, following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The fragile political, economic, and security environment of Lebanon has exacerbated the country's political and economic crisis, which has since intensified.

LONDON: Right now in Britain we are seeing a well-organised campaign to increase military expenditure. The argument goes that we should spend less on public services so that we can spend more on weapons. But if we take a wider look at the militarisation taking place across the world, three facts stand out.