"Concern For India As Well": Sri Lanka MP To NDTV After US Sinks Iran Ship

A United States submarine sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday. The incident occurred off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, far from the Persian Gulf where much of the current conflict has been concentrated.

Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that their navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the sinking vessel. However, officials say that as many as 148 crew members remain missing, with hopes of finding additional survivors fading as search operations continue.

The strike has prompted concern in Colombo and across the region, including in India, given that the incident occurred in international waters within Sri Lanka's search and rescue zone in the Indian Ocean.

Among those raising questions publicly is Sri Lankan Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who said the incident has implications not only for Sri Lanka but also for the wider region.

"This is a serious concern for Sri Lanka and also the Indian Ocean, and I'm sure for India as well," Rajapaksa told NDTV.  "The war is happening miles away and we can see movements in the Indian Ocean just 40 nautical miles from the Gulf in Sri Lanka."

Rajapaksa also said the Sri Lankan government must clarify whether it had prior knowledge of the operation.

"I think the government of Sri Lanka must answer to the people of Sri Lanka and to the rest of the world whether they were aware of this particular situation or this particular attack on this vessel or they were kept on guard," he said. "If they have been kept on guard then they have to bring this up with the relevant authorities and especially with the United States."

Rajapaksa added that transparency was essential if Sri Lankan authorities had been aware of the movements involved in the attack.

"And if not, if they were aware of this kind of movement in the Indian Ocean and also in the Sri Lankan economic zone or the EZ of the international waters, then the government must make sure that they inform this properly to the Sri Lankan people and also have a proper broader dialogue with the regional partners as well," he told NDTV. 

Rajapaksa suggested that the Sri Lankan government should examine whether the operation had taken place without its knowledge.

"Yes of course, especially when it comes to the Indian Ocean because as we all know the Indian Ocean is something that is active at the moment compared to the Gulf region," he said. "So this is something that Sri Lanka should take very seriously."

He said that if Colombo had been informed of the US operation, it needed to explain why such information had not been disclosed publicly.

"If the government had a dialogue with the United States and they were aware of this particular action then they have to make sure why they kept it as a secret from the public and the parliament and how they got into that agreement," he said. 

But he added that if the government had not been informed, that raised an even more serious concern.

"If not, how come such an operation takes place in our waters in the Indian Ocean without our knowledge?" Rajapaksa asked, adding that  the incident should prompt regional discussions among South Asian nations.

"This is something I believe the government of India and also the South Asian region has to come together and look at and take this particular incident very seriously," he said. 

When asked about the broader context of this ongoing war, Rajapaksa said history had shown the difficulty of predicting what follows major military interventions.

"We have seen this before from that part of the world if you look at Libya and if you look at Iraq and even Afghanistan," he said. "The question is what is after, what's going to happen after."

He said that while political leaders may pursue military objectives, smaller countries often bear the consequences.

"There are international laws and regulations that must be respected and each and every country's sovereignty must be respected and protected," Rajapaksa told NDTV. "This is about the national security of the Indian Ocean and about Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, the regional part of the world, Pakistan." 

"So this is something that the region has to bring up together," he added. 

The Strike

At a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Iranian frigate had been destroyed by a US Navy submarine.

"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Mr Hegseth said.

He described the strike as a demonstration of the United States' ability to target Iranian military assets globally during the ongoing war. Calling the operation a "quiet death", Hegseth said the attack highlighted the reach of American naval forces.

Senior US military officials said the strike was historically significant.

General Dan Caine, a senior American officer, said it was the first time since the Second World War that a US submarine had sunk an enemy ship.

The incident forms part of a wider US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on Saturday. According to the Pentagon, one of the central objectives of the campaign is to eliminate Iran's naval capabilities.

General Caine said US forces had already destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels.

"We have destroyed more than 20 Iranian navy vessels and have effectively neutralized, at this point in time, Iran's major naval presence in theater," he said.

The Sinking Of IRIS Dena

Sri Lankan authorities identified the vessel as the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena.

According to Sri Lanka's foreign minister Vijitha Herath, the ship issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday.

Within less than an hour, a Sri Lankan rescue vessel had reached the location. The incident occurred approximately 40 kilometres south of the southern port city of Galle. By the time Sri Lankan naval rescue boats arrived, the frigate had already sunk.

"The frigate had sunk and only an oil patch remained when the navy rescue boats approached," Herath told the Sri Lankan parliament.

The Sri Lankan navy immediately launched search and rescue operations. Two naval craft and an aircraft were deployed to search for survivors in the surrounding waters.

Officials say the operation is ongoing, though hopes of finding many additional survivors appear limited.

"We are keeping up a search, but we don't know yet what happened to the rest of the crew," a Sri Lankan defence official told nws agency AFP.

Sri Lankan navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said the rescue operation was carried out under international maritime obligations.

"We responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this is within our search and rescue area in the Indian Ocean," he said.

Sampath also confirmed that some bodies had been recovered from the area where the vessel sank.

"We have found a few bodies from the area where the ship had gone down," he said.

The 32 rescued Iranian sailors were transported to the main hospital in southern Sri Lanka. Security was tightened around the hospital as the injured crew members were brought in by Sri Lankan naval personnel.

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Video: Passengers Flung Into Air, 2 Dead As Pickup Truck Hits Divider

A speeding pickup truck lost control and collided with a divider on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district on Tuesday. Two people died in the accident, while six others were injured.

The incident occurred on the expressway stretch in Unnao's Bangarmau area. Preliminary investigations suggest the driver dozing off resulted in the truck losing control. CCTV footage shows the truck traveling in the middle of the road before suddenly veering and hitting the divider. The impact of the collision was so severe that several passengers were seen being thrown off the vehicle.

Police isaid the driver, Murari, and a three-year-old girl, Shiksha, died on the spot. Six other injured passengers were taken to a local health center by the police. They were subsequently referred to the district hospital, where they are currently receiving treatment.

Police have sent the two bodies for a post-mortem examination.

(With inputs from Gaurav Sharma)

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Vanchana OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch This Tamil Courtroom Crime Drama

Vanchana is a Tamil-language courtroom crime drama directed by Uma Mahesh. The film revolves around a young man accused of murdering a church father, with all evidence stacked against him. A determined criminal lawyer, Krishna, takes up the case and uncovers unexpected twists and shocking evidence during the investigation.

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T20 World Cup Semi-Final Line-Up Dates, Venues, Timing: Full Details Here

Defending champions and co-hosts India on Sunday booked their place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after beating West Indies in their last Super 8 encounter at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Sanju Samson scored a match-winning 97 to help India overhaul West Indies' total of 195/4 with four balls to spare in what was effectively a virtual quarterfinal, since both sides needed a win to advance to the knockouts. Samson remained unbeaten on 97 off 50 balls.

India, who finished second in Group 1, will now take on Super 8 Group 2 table-toppers England in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. The first semi-final will see South Africa squaring off against New Zealand in Kolkata on Wednesday.

T20 World Cup 2026 Semi-Finals Line-Up:

South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final, Wednesday, March 4, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (Time: 7 PM)

India vs England, 2nd Semi-Final, Thursday, March 5, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Time: 7 PM)

More to follow...

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Xiaomi 17 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Design, Display, Camera, Battery and Key Features Compared

Xiaomi 17 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max compete in the ultra-premium segment with flagship hardware. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at CNY 6,999 (roughly Rs. 90,000) and features a 6.9-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 6,800mAh battery, and a Leica-tuned 200-megapixel periscope camera. The iPhone 17 Pro Max, priced at Rs. 1,49,900 in India, offers a 6.9-inch 120Hz Super Retina XDR display, A19 Pro chip, triple 48-megapixel cameras, and optimised battery performance.

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Iran Sends Its Cheap And Best 'Shahed' Drones At Expensive Targets

1. The Shahed drone's biggest strength is that it is very cheap to build and deploy, but gives the effect of a much more powerful weapon than its size. Others may be forced to expend their pricey anti-drone missiles, making interception of the Shahed drones a costly affair.
2. Most weaponised drones have range and weight limitations. The Shahed works around these by acting as a drone and a cruise missile rolled into one. The Shahed-136, for example, can reach a maximum of 2,500 km.
3. Iran has been able to launch the Shahed drones from deep within its territory, far away from any prying eyes. This has ensured their survivability and unpredictableness. Its payload capability is also good, at par with its range strength.
4. The Shahed drones fly at very low altitude, powered by a basic piston propulsion system. When these qualities are combined with its small radar signature, they are hard to detect in areas where the terrain is uneven.
5. Some have called the Shahed drones' engine noise the "scream of death". Civilians have reported hearing the road of the engines just before they struck their targets. This sound adds to psychological fear of the common people and enemy forces.

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Missiles Over Dubai Raise One Question: Is Burj Khalifa Insured?

Dubai's Burj Khalifa, a $1.5 billion icon at the heart of a $20 billion district, was evacuated after explosions were heard across the city as Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes targeting US military locations across the Gulf following joint American and Israeli attacks on Tehran, putting fresh focus not just on regional tensions, but on how the world's tallest tower is insured against war.

Iran carried out attacks targeting locations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Doha in Qatar and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Residents in Dubai told Agence France-Presse they heard loud explosions and saw missiles moving across the sky.

Emirati authorities evacuated the 828 meter tower after explosions were reported across Dubai, clearing one of the city's most recognizable landmarks as part of precautionary measures.

The Emaar Cover

The Burj Khalifa draws millions of visitors each year to observation decks on the 124th, 125th and 148th floors overlooking the city and the Arabian Gulf. Behind the glass and steel sits a layered insurance structure arranged for developer Emaar Properties.

The core insurance program was arranged by Oman Insurance for Emaar as a construction all risk and property policy, with Munich Re as lead reinsurer, covering roughly $1.5 billion in exposure for the structure. That program covers the structure owned by Emaar, while contents, individual apartments, hotel interiors and offices are insured separately by their owners.

Large flagship Emaar properties in Dubai are explicitly insured for political violence, including sabotage and terrorism, malicious damage, riots, civil commotion, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities whether war be declared or not, civil war, rebellion, revolution, coup d'état, insurrection or mutiny and war.

Given Burj Khalifa is Emaar's highest profile asset and Emaar's more ordinary towers now routinely carry political violence and terrorism extensions, it is described as highly likely, though not publicly documented, that the tower's current property program also includes terrorism and broader political violence coverage. That would be the mechanism for any claim arising from a deliberate missile attack.

In insurance practice, a missile strike by a state or non state actor is usually treated under specialized terrorism, political violence or war risk extensions, not as a separate missile peril. However, many policies exclude full war while buying back narrower terrorism or political violence cover, meaning any response would depend on detailed wording, limits and exclusions that are not public.

Cost and value figures underscore the stakes. Build cost stands at about $1.4 to $1.5 billion. Estimated 2025 replacement cost ranges from about $2.8 to $3.5 billion. A 2026 valuation analysis argues the tower anchors a roughly $20 billion Downtown Dubai development and that its total worth is several times construction cost.

Data from Knight Frank show average residential prices at about AED 3,000 per square foot by end 2024, nearly 80 percent above the Dubai average, with annual home sales around AED 467 million in 2024.

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How Friendly Chat On Train Led To SIM-Porting Nightmare For Delhi Woman

A friendly conversation on a train journey turned into a nightmare for a Delhi woman after a fellow passenger allegedly hijacked her SIM card to drain her credit cards.
Delhi Police have arrested two brothers who specialised in stealing "Unique Porting Codes" (UPC) from unsuspecting travellers under the pretext of making an urgent phone call.
The duo allegedly gained the trust of fellow passengers while travelling, stole their mobile phone porting codes, and drained their bank accounts.
The investigation began following a complaint from Vandana Gupta, a resident of Rohini Sector 6. In January, while returning to Delhi from Kanpur with her son, she met a man named Sachin Gupta on the train.
After gaining her trust during the journey, Sachin asked to borrow both Vandana's and her son's mobile phones on the pretext of making an urgent call. He returned the devices shortly after, but the damage was already done.
On January 23, the victim realised something was wrong when both her and her son's mobile numbers were suddenly deactivated. A week later, on January 30, 2026, she discovered three fraudulent transactions on her credit card:
First transaction: Rs 20,550
Second transaction: Rs 2,627
Third transaction: Rs 25,687
Vandana immediately filed a complaint on the national cybercrime portal, leading to an FIR at the Rohini Cyber Police Station.
A team led by Inspector Praveen Chauhan traced the money trail. They discovered that Rs 20,000 had been transferred to a Kotak Mahindra Bank account belonging to a man named Nitin and withdrawn from an ATM that same day.
Following a raid in Burari, police arrested 26-year-old Sachin Kumar Gupta and his 23-year-old brother, Nitin Kumar Gupta.
According to police, Sachin had previously worked at a well-known mobile store, giving him knowledge of SIM porting.
While holding the victim's phone on the train, Sachin secretly initiated a SIM port request and noted the Unique Porting Code (UPC). Using this code, he obtained new SIM cards for the victims' numbers, registered under his brother's name. Once the new SIMs were activated, he installed the CRED app. Since he now had the phone numbers, he bypassed security via OTPs to gain full access to the credit cards.
Police recovered a Motorola mobile phone and the Kotak Mahindra ATM card used in the crime. According to police, the mastermind, Sachin, is a BSc dropout who previously worked for Uber. His brother, Nitin, is a B.Com graduate who worked in a retail showroom. Both are now in custody as police investigate if there are other victims.

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Boy Missing For 6 Years, Parents Find Uncle, Aunt Buried Him Near Expressway

When a four-year-old boy went missing from Rajasthan's Dausa district in 2020, his family held onto the hope that they would find him one day. Six years later, that hope has turned into a nightmare: the child was allegedly murdered by his own uncle and aunt and buried beside the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

On August 16, 2020, Prince, also known as Tillu, disappeared while playing in his courtyard. Despite an exhaustive search by his family, no clues were found. In 2021, the family filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court, which prompted a more intense investigation.

The case proved difficult -- seven different investigation officers were replaced over the years. Eventually, the court directed the administration to recover the child at all costs. Nearly five years after the disappearance, the Rajasthan Police finally cracked the case.

Police are currently digging near the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to recover the child's body. To assist in the operation, a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) machine was brought in from Delhi.

The machine detected signals approximately 9 meters (30 feet) underground. Based on these leads, two JCB machines have been digging for three days, operating for a total of 24 hours. However, despite digging 15 feet down so far, the police have yet to recover the body.

The investigation revealed that Prince's own uncle and aunt, Anil and Krishna, allegedly murdered him and buried him near the highway over a grudge. Both have been arrested and reportedly confessed to the crime during interrogation. They have been remanded in police custody until March 1.

Prince's siblings recalled that after he went missing, Anil and Krishna even joined the search to deflect suspicion. Tillu's eldest sister, Archana, is devastated. She remembered how Anil used to take her brother on motorcycle rides, saying she never imagined he could be capable of such an act.

His brother, Samar, described Prince as a "naughty" child who often brought him broken toys to fix. "Anil went searching with me, too," he added, struggling to process the betrayal.

Prince's father, Jagmohan Bairwa, returned to India from Dubai on February 21 after receiving news of the search. In an interview with NDTV Rajasthan, "I'll be happy if my son is found, in whatever condition. I have full faith in the police and judiciary that I will finally get justice."

The family's courtyard lies empty, with dejected children sitting around and a neem tree whose age matches exactly what Prince, alias Tillu, would have been today if he were still with his family. 

(With inputs from Devendra Singh Naruka)

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"Modi Hug Is Special": Netanyahu's High Praise For "Brother" PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trademark “hugplomacy”, where he embraces world leaders in his trademark hug, has once again drawn international attention after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised what he called the famous “Modi hug”.

“It's been a wondrous friendship, both personally, between the two of us, and between our two countries and our two peoples,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu recalled the moment the two leaders greeted each other warmly moments after PM Modi landed in Israel.

“Prime Minister Modi's personal embrace is something special-it's called the ‘Modi hug.' It's well known around the world, and when you hug someone closely, truly, you know it's not an act. It's a real thing,” he said.

“So I want to return the hug here from every single one of the Knesset members; it's not only an indication of the personal relations and the personal friendship between us, but it really reflects the warmth of the tie between our two peoples,” he said.

PM Modi has become known internationally for greeting world leaders with embraces, a departure from traditionally formal diplomatic gestures such as a handshake.

During his visit, Prime Minister Modi addressed Israel's parliament, the Knesset, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the Israeli parliament Knesset -- a first by an Indian Prime Minister -- reaffirmed that India stands with Israel in its battle against terror. 

PM Modi last visited Israel in 2017, a trip which opened new avenues in defence, agriculture, and water management cooperation between the two countries. Netanyahu had also welcomed PM Modi at the airport in 2017.

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Ram Abdullah Antony Streaming on Prime Video: What to Know About Poovaiyar, Soundararaja Starrer

One of the most anticipated Tamil crime-thriller films, Ram Abdullah Antony, has finally made its way to digital screens. The film centers on three 12th-grade friends—Ram, Abdullah, and Antony—who belong to different religions but are inseparable. This film is now available for rent exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

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