US joins Israel, bombs Iran's 3 nuclear sites; Putin warns Trump
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- “Continued aggression in the region will have consequences”: Putin warns
Trump
- British naval forces in the Persian Gulf have reportedly been placed on
high alert.
- Iranian State media displayed a map of American military bases in the region
with the message: “Mr. Trump, you started it, and we will end it”.
- “We are closer to a global military confrontation than at any point in the
last 50 years,” said retired General Mark Hastings.
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WASHINGTON, June 22: In a dramatic escalation of the Middle East hostilities, the
US has joined Israel in launching coordinated airstrikes on three
of Iran’s most fortified nuclear facilities. Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan were bombed overnight Saturday. This is the first direct American military intervention in Iran in decades.
President Donald Trump confirmed the strikes late Saturday (local time),
calling the mission a “very successful military operation” and declaring that
all US aircraft had safely exited Iranian airspace.
“A full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump posted
on Truth Social, referring to the underground enrichment facility near Qom.
The operation, conducted in close coordination with Israeli forces, involved
B-2 stealth bombers deploying 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs, specifically
targeting Iran’s deeply buried nuclear infrastructure.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has since reported no immediate
signs of off-site radiation leakage.
The strikes follow more than a week of Israeli attacks aimed at crippling Iran’s
air defences and missile systems.
Trump’s decision to intervene militarily represents a sharp departure from
his earlier campaign promises to avoid foreign entanglements.
“There is not another military in the world that could have done this,” he
said. “Now is the time for peace”.
Iran has condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and international
law. Iranian State media aired a stark warning to the US, displaying a map of
American military bases in the region with the message: “Mr. Trump, you started
it, and we will end it”.
In response to the strikes, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israeli
cities, injuring at least 20 people and causing significant damage in Tel Aviv
and Haifa.
Iranian officials have vowed further retaliation, and the country’s Supreme
Leader has called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom announced that it would support the US-led coalition,
citing the need to “uphold international security and prevent nuclear proliferation.”
British naval forces in the Persian Gulf have reportedly been placed on high
alert.
Adding to the geopolitical strain, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued
a stern warning to President Trump, stating that “continued aggression in the
region will have consequences.” While details of Russia’s potential response
remain unclear, Moscow has called for an immediate ceasefire and diplomatic
resolution.
With multiple global powers now entangled in the conflict, analysts warn that
the situation could spiral into a broader war. “We are closer to a global military
confrontation than at any point in the last 50 years,” said retired General
Mark Hastings on CNN.
As the world watches with bated breath, diplomatic channels remain open - but
fragile. President Trump is expected to address the nation again tonight, while
the UN Security Council prepares for an emergency session in New York.
Fordow: This is the most fortified of all nuclear sites in Iran. It
is very deep underground than Natanz and Isfahan. Israel wanted the US to strike
Fordow as it did not have that powerful bombs. “FORDOW IS GONE”, Trump posted
on his Truth Social platform after the strikes. Fordow is located 30 km northeast
of the city of Qom in Qom province, and 95 km southwest of Tehran. Fordow is
a fuel enrichment plant, said to be able to produce centrifuges. (To build a
nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to about 90 per cent U-235. ) When
Fordow became public, the US talks began. The 7-nation 2015 deal put strict
curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions. B-2 bombers
carrying MOPs were used in the Sunday attack.
What is MOP: Massive Ordance Penetrator or MOP is a precision-guided
bomb, also called "bunker-buster bomb". About a dozens MOP bombs, each weighing
13,000 kg, were deployed to destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear facility. And 30 submarine-launched missiles also were used. The MOP can penetrate 200 feet into the ground. Fordow,
Natanz and Isfahan were hit.
What are B-2 bombers: B-2 stealth bombers carry MOPs, two at a time.
Seven bombers were deployed. B-2's range is 9,600 km. With aerial refuelling,
the bomber, with low observability (minimise detection by enemy), can reach
virtually any target worldwide. Can carry nuclear weapons also. Can seat two
pilots. They are based in Missouri.
-With AI
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
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What caused Air India Boeing 787 crash? Some questions, some answers | |
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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