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India has extended its ban on Pakistani aircraft entering its airspace until August 23, 2025, citing ongoing security concerns.

Civil Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol announced the update, which applies to all Pakistani-registered commercial and military aircraft. The move follows Pakistan’s extension of its airspace restrictions on Indian flights amid continued diplomatic tensions, according to Xinhua.

India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals from July 24, marking the first such move since the 2020 Galwan clashes. The announcement, made by the Indian Embassy in Beijing, signals a cautious thaw in bilateral ties, Firstpost reported.

The decision follows Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s recent visit to Beijing, where he and Chinese vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong discussed ways to improve relations. Both sides agreed on people-centric initiatives, including cooperation on trans-border rivers and resuming hydrological data sharing.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a two-nation visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives from July 23 to 26. His UK visit, at the invitation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, marks his fourth trip to the country since taking office in 2014, according to Firstpost.

During his stay, Modi will meet Prime Minister Starmer for talks on strengthening bilateral ties, with a focus on finalising the India-UK Free Trade Agreement. He is also scheduled to call on King Charles III and engage with leading business figures from both nations.

Discussions will cover a broad range of issues, including concerns over Khalistani activities in the UK, Firstpost reported.

India and Nepal share a long and open border stretched across five Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. On Nepal’s side, Madhesh, Koshi, Bagmati, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim touch India’s border. A mix of Himalayan hills and Tarai marks up the geography of its open borders, effective since 1950. Indian paramilitary force Shashatra Seema Bal (SSB) guards these borders from the Indian side while the Armed Police Force (APF) of Nepal guards Nepal’s side. Barring some contention, the India-Nepal open border has served its purpose effectively, whether it is keeping the tradition of Roti-Beti alive or contributing to the economies of both countries. Open borders also kept the bioregion of the Himalayas intact, whose impact is visible on the flora and fauna between the borders. 

Nevertheless, for states, security is a non-negotiable, as is the question of the security of open and porous borders and people living around and beyond them. India has been a victim of terrorism for a very long time, and Nepal also has been a victim of organized violence for decades. In 2020, during diplomatic tensions, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli backed India’s call for a standard definition of terrorism during the UNGA. Five years down the line, we do not have a standard comprehensive convention against international terrorism, which rocked South Asia two months back in Pahalgam. India and Nepal have an extradition treaty, and the political elites and intellectuals see the border security with grave concern. 

However, there are growing anxieties from both sides about illegal migration. Elites in Kathmandu point out the illegal migration coming from India, while India also occasionally finds people from Myanmar and Bangladesh on the border regions with Nepal. There has also been a growing movement of countries from the Gulf and Turkey promoting their specific ways of Islam through many organizations in the Tarai region of Nepal, which is home to the majority of the Muslim population of the country. The mushrooming of many infrastructure projects backed by Turkey near the border areas needs closer scrutiny. The Turkish NGO Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) has been flagged by Indian agencies as an entity of concern. Many reports in Indian as well as Nepali media from time to time report the activities of this organisation working with the Islamic Sangh Nepal as a security threat to both nations. A recently-released report has flagged specific concerns in India. 

After Operation Sindoor and Turkey’s open support to Pakistan in the same, Turkey and Pakistan are being viewed by India as security threats. This is why these new developments in the border regions of both countries are being viewed cautiously. It is also worth noting here that Indian anxieties over these developments are not only part of rhetoric, but India has faced multiple security risks, most notably the IC-814 hijacking and the fake Indian currencies printed with the help of Pakistan’s ISI. They have also used the traditional criminal networks between India and Nepal to further their means. Well-documented sources suggest that ISI has used Nepali soil to harm India since the 1980s. It has also harmed Nepal, as the country is currently on the FATF’s grey list due to ‘deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) regimes.’ Terrorists and financiers use any loopholes in any country to achieve their end results. The Nepal government, however, has taken the list very seriously, and the officials are working to remove the country from the list. 

If we look at the Turkish involvement in this already complex scenario, which is constantly working in tandem with Pakistan, it fuels more of India’s anxieties. There are multiple infrastructure projects IHH is taking with other organizations in the Tarai region, making up a thorny issue for Indian agencies. IHH’s record also backs these issues, as the organization has been accused of planning a bombing in Los Angeles in 1999 and is said to have ties with Al Qaeda. Many international agencies also flagged their concern about IHH, which is also known to support Erdogan and is said to have close relations with the Turkish government. 

In this context, the broader border security arrangements between India and Nepal need to be examined. The India-Nepal open border stands today at the intersection of tradition and shifting geopolitics. As external actors with divergent strategic ambitions insert themselves into the region, the onus is on India and Nepal to jointly future-proof the border against vulnerabilities that neither side can tackle alone. The task is straightforward: border management must evolve from merely guarding physical space to understanding and disrupting transnational networks that exploit social, religious and financial channels.

This calls for institutionalised cooperation, not just between security agencies, but also through shared platforms for intelligence, financial scrutiny and civic engagement along the border regions. A proactive approach would also mean enhancing community resilience in the Tarai and adjoining areas, ensuring that developmental gaps are not filled by opaque foreign entities with unclear agendas. Both governments can explore structured dialogues at the level of home ministries and central banks to counter emerging threats like terror financing and ideological radicalisation. At stake is not just bilateral security, but the health of the broader Himalayan bioregion, where open borders have historically sustained both people-to-people ties and ecological continuity. Preserving this openness while safeguarding sovereignty will require vigilance, trust-building and a strategic alignment that reflects the realities of an interconnected and contested neighborhood. India and Nepal have the history, goodwill and institutional frameworks to achieve this; what is needed now is the political will to update and act on them with clarity and foresight.

The author is a PhD Candidate at the School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi

The Embassy of India, Kathmandu, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Government of Nepal and Project Implementing Agencies of Government of Nepal today signed Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) for undertaking five High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal under the grant assistance of Government of India in education and health sectors at a total estimated cost of Rs 390 million.

These five projects—Construction of Shree Jan Shakti Secondary School Building, Bateshwor-3 Bateshwor Rural Municipality, Dhanusha, Construction of Shree Mahobani Padam Secondary School, Pokhariya Municipality, Parsa, Construction of Shree Basuki Secondary School, Mellekh Rural Municipality, Achham, Construction of School Building, Hostel and Library of Benga Sah Secondary School, Prasauni Rural Municipality-2, Bara and Construction of five Bed Hospital Building, Nashon Rural Municipality -5, Manang   in Nepal shall be implemented through local authorities and institutions of the Government of Nepal including municipalities and rural municipalities.

The construction of these facilities will help provide better education and health facilities to the people in Nepal, reads a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Since 2003, the Government of India has taken up 579 High Impact Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal, including the five projects whose MoUs have been signed today. 

Out of these, 496 projects have been completed in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation and creation of public utilities across all seven provinces of Nepal at the grassroot level. The remaining  projects are ongoing at various stages. 

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide- ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation. 

The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in empowerment of its people by augmenting infrastructure in priority sectors.

China has started construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, raising concerns in India and Bangladesh.

The $167bn Motuo Hydropower Station is expected to surpass the Three Gorges Dam in capacity. Beijing says the project will support clean energy and local development, BBC reported.

However, India and Bangladesh fear it could disrupt downstream water flow, impact livelihoods, and pose environmental risks. Critics also warn of threats to Tibet’s biodiversity and local communities.

A British F-35B fighter jet stranded in Kerala, southern India, for over five weeks is set to depart on Tuesday, airport authorities confirmed.

The jet, part of the HMS Prince of Wales fleet, was forced to land at Thiruvananthapuram airport—located in Kerala’s capital—on June 14 due to bad weather and later developed a technical snag, according to Firstpost.

Its extended stay drew public attention and was even raised in the UK Parliament. Built by Lockheed Martin, the $110m stealth jet is known for its short take-off and vertical landing capabilities.

At least 40 schools in Bengaluru received bomb threats via email on Friday, prompting swift police action. The messages claimed explosives were hidden in classrooms, triggering evacuations and searches by bomb squads and sniffer dogs. No explosives were found, Xinhua reported.

The incident follows a series of recent hoax threats in Delhi and at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, adding to growing concerns over such false alarms disrupting public life.

The EU has approved a new round of sanctions against Russia, described as one of its toughest yet, according to foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The package includes a lower price cap on Russian oil exports—cut from $60 to $47.60 per barrel—and measures to permanently block the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. It also targets a Russian-owned refinery in India and blacklists over 100 vessels linked to sanction evasion, according to Xinhua.

Slovakia, which had delayed the deal over energy concerns, backed the move after receiving assurances from the European Commission.

A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month supports the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, said a source briefed on U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence, Reuters reported.

The first officer was at the controls of the Boeing 787 and asked the captain why he moved the fuel switches into a position that starved the engines of fuel and requested that he restore the fuel flow, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the matter remains under investigation.

The U.S. assessment is not contained in a formal document, said the source, who emphasized the cause of the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, India, that killed 260 people remains under investigation.

There was no cockpit video recording definitively showing which pilot flipped the switches, but the weight of evidence from the conversation points to the captain, according to the early assessment, according to Reuters.

At least 19 people were killed by lightning in Bihar over the past 24 hours amid heavy rain and thunderstorms, officials said Thursday. Most victims were struck while working outdoors or sheltering under trees, Hindustan Times reported.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed condolences and announced compensation for the families. He urged the public to stay alert and follow weather advisories.

The India Meteorological Department has warned of continued lightning and rain in several districts as the monsoon remains active.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has called on India, China, and Brazil to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin towards peace, warning that continued economic ties with Moscow could “slam back” on them.

His remarks come as India faces criticism for ramping up imports of discounted Russian oil since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, European and NATO countries remain major buyers of Russian energy, Firstpost reported.

The EU leads in liquefied and pipeline gas imports, while NATO member Turkey is the top importer of Russian oil products—highlighting a double standard in Western criticism.

The Indian Embassy in Iran has issued a new advisory urging Indian citizens to reconsider non-essential travel to Tehran due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to Firstpost.

The embassy advised Indians currently in Iran to stay alert, monitor developments closely, and consider commercial flights or ferry services if planning to leave the country.

This caution follows recent clashes involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. Last month, Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites under “Operation Rising Lion,” prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks from Iran. The US supported Israel and conducted its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22 as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer”, Firstpost reported.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US is making real progress in opening up India’s markets, crediting his tariff policies for breaking long-standing trade barriers.

“We’re going to have access into India,” he said, linking the shift to his tougher trade stance, according to Firstpost.

While no formal deal has been announced, talks are underway in Washington with an Indian delegation led by top negotiator Rajesh Agrawal. Trump said a deal is close, though some issues remain — particularly around India’s agriculture and dairy sectors.

Unlike other major partners, India has not received a formal tariff warning, adding weight to hopes for an agreement soon, Firstpost reported.

US President Donald Trump has again claimed he helped avert a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack. During a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump said US trade diplomacy played a key role in easing tensions following India’s Operation Sindoor, Firstpost reported.

While Pakistan has credited Trump’s mediation, India has consistently denied any such involvement.

S. Jaishankar, the Indian External Affairs Minister, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers meeting. He conveyed greetings from Indian President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi, underlining India's commitment to improving relations while trying to settle lingering border concerns resulting from the 2020 Ladakh standoff, Firstpost reported.

In discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Jaishankar acknowledged the “good progress” made in easing tensions over the past nine months but emphasized the need for continued efforts to avoid disputes. He also called for removing trade barriers to enhance economic ties and urged a firm, shared stance on “zero tolerance” towards terrorism.

This visit marks Jaishankar’s first to China since the military clashes began, signaling a cautious but positive step toward better cooperation, according to Firstpost.