TODAY NEWS ON June 27, 2025

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants

Source: The Print Media ( The Hindu, Indian express and others )

Axiom-4 mission: Dragon spacecraft docks with International Space Station

Dragon spacecraft carrying Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts achieved soft capture with International Space Station on Thursday (June 26, 2025). Soft capture of the Dragon spacecraft took place when the Space Station was passing over north Atlantic Ocean at 4:01 p.m. IST. A live videolink from NASA showed the spacecraft approaching the space station and the docking sequence was completed at 4:15 p.m. IST.

India refuses to sign joint statement in SCO summit

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (June 26, 2025) refused to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Defence Ministers’ meeting held in Qingdao, China. According to sources, Mr. Singh refused to sign document as it did not mention anything about Pahalgam terror attack but mentioned about militant activities in Balochistan.The pattern of Pahalgam terror attack matches with LeT’s previous terror attacks in India, Mr. Singh said. In response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people died, India on May 7, 2025 launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ to dismantle cross border terrorist infrastructure.

Issue birth certificate before discharge of baby, Registrar General of India tells States

The Registrar General of India (RGI) has asked all States to ensure that birth certificates are issued to mothers of new born children before they are discharged from hospitals, particularly government-run hospitals, which account for more than 50% of institutional births in the country. The RGI office said the registrar should give the birth certificate as soon as the registration of birth is completed “but not later than seven days” in an electronic or other format. It said government hospitals, community health centers and primary health centres across the country are working as registration units and the registrars of such units should be sensitised to the importance of the immediate issue of birth certificates, as their utility has been recently increased manifold.

Willing to discuss ongoing issues with Bangladesh: India

India is willing to discuss all issues with Bangladesh in a “conducive” environment, said Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, emphasising that established modalities exist between Dhaka and New Delhi that can deal with a full spectrum of bilateral relations. The remarks came as former diplomats and experts are set to address the Standing Committee on External Affairs to discuss the “Future of the India-Bangladesh Relationship”. Sources told The Hindu that the experts are former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, Lieutenant-General Ata Hasnain (retd), former High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, and Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Amitabh Mattoo.

‘Secularism’ and ‘socialism’ not part of Preamble drafted by Ambedkar, must be reviewed: RSS

Noting that ‘secularism’ and ‘socialism’ were not part of the Preamble of the Constitution as drafted by B.R. Ambedkar, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday (June 26, 2025) called for the later inclusion of these terms to be reviewed. “Freedom of judiciary was also curtailed... but one more thing. Two words — that is, ‘secularism’ and ‘socialism’ — were added in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution during the Emergency. These two words were not there in the Preamble before. Preamble is eternal to the nation, but are the views and values of socialism, in terms of ideology, eternal for India?” he asked. The word ‘secularism’ was not originally in the Indian Constitution, he emphasised. “Yes, the ideas of secularism may have existed, they may have been part of governance and state policy — that’s a different matter. But should these two words remain in the Preamble? This is something that deserves a review,” he said.

Schools can take time to use mother tongue as medium: CBSE officials

Schools in metropolitan regions, whose primary medium of instruction is English, may find it challenging to immediately transition to mother tongue as a medium of instruction due to the varied languages spoken by students in diverse communities, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) officials said. CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh, speaking on the much-debated language implementation guidelines released by the board recently, said that the CBSE’s goal is to ease the path of implementation of the National Education Policy-2020’s requirement to teach students in their mother tongue until Class 5.  “We are not forcing any school to immediately adopt the language implementation guidelines. We are not penalising any school or stating that their affiliation will be cancelled if they don’t immediately transition. We are organising a series of webinars and workshops for training purposes and hopefully we will be able to implement the policy,” Mr. Singh said.

Allahabad HC expresses anguish over burden of live-in relationship cases

Expressing anguish over the burden of live-in relationship cases, the Allahabad High Court recently said it was ‘fed up’ with such cases, especially after the Supreme Court had legalised the same. While hearing a bail application of a person accused of rape of a minor on the false promise of marriage, a Bench of Justice Siddharth observed that the concept of live-in relationships was against the “settled law in the Indian middle-class society”. The court added that the concept of a live-in relationship went against the interest of a woman since a man can marry even after the live-in relationship but it is difficult for the woman to find a life partner after a breakup.

U.S. requires visa applicants to share social media used in 5 years: U.S. Embassy in India

Describing each visa adjudication as a “national security decision”, the U.S. has asked applicants to share their social media usernames or handles for each platform they have used in the last five years. The U.S. Embassy in India shared the information in a brief statement issued on Thursday (June 26, 2025), which also cautioned against “omitting” social media information, as it could lead to “visa denial and ineligibility for future visas.”

Heartbreaking to see people seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza risking their lives: U.N. human rights chief

Calling for a ceasefire, release of hostages, and an “all-out effort” to get humanitarian assistance to Gaza, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday (June 26, 2025) said, “it is heartbreaking” to know that people who need humanitarian assistance risk their lives to get food or material assistance. Mr. Türk made the remarks in a media conference in Colombo, where he delivered a statement at the conclusion of his mission to Sri Lanka from June 23 to 26. “As of 25th of June, we have 598 reportedly killed in total as a result of them trying to access aid, at distribution points installed within Gaza. I have to say it is really, extremely distressing to see that militarised humanitarian assistance schemes have emerged, they are not a response,” he said.

North Korea may send more troops to Russia in July or August for Ukraine war, says Seoul

North Korea may deploy additional troops to Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine in July or August, and Pyongyang is continuing to supply arms to Russia, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday (June 26, 2025), citing a briefing by the intelligence agency. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes Russia may be readying to mount a large-scale assault against Ukraine in July or August, South Korean member of parliament Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after the closed-door briefing. “The timing of the additional deployment is that it could be as early as July or August,” Mr. Lee said, adding the agency cited a new round-up of troops for the dispatch by North Korea and a recent visit to Pyongyang by a top Russian presidential security official as grounds for its assessment.

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of U.S. Vogue after 37 years: U.S. media

Magazine legend Anna Wintour is stepping down as editor of fashion bible U.S. Vogue after 37 years in the post, U.S. media reported Thursday (June 26, 2025). British-born Wintour, 75, has been one of the most influential and formidable figures in fashion and magazine journalism for decades, famous for her ever-present sunglasses and unchanging bob haircut. Ms. Wintour, who took the helm at U.S. Vogue in 1988, announced her departure at a staff meeting, but she will stay on as group owner Conde Nast’s global chief content officer and as editorial director at Vogue, People magazine reported.

Decision on India’s 2036 Olympic Games bid set to take longer than expected

A decision on India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics is set to take longer than expected as the International Olympic Committee’s new President Kirsty Coventry, on Thursday (June 26, 2025), announced a “pause” on the entire process and set up a working group to figure out the “appropriate time” to identify a future host. In an online press conference after taking over as the first woman and the first African President of the IOC, the former Olympic champion swimmer said the consensus among the members was to reassess the process. Earlier, a decision on the bid was expected next year. A delegation from India, comprising high-ranking officials led by Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, is scheduled to be in Lausanne for informal talks on the issue next month.

Navy staffer held for leaking Operation Sindoor details, other classified info to Pakistani handler

An Indian Navy staffer posted in naval headquarters in Delhi was arrested in Jaipur for allegedly leaking defence-related sensitive information to a Pakistani handler in exchange for money, a police official said on Thursday (June 26, 2025).

ECI starts proceedings to delist 345 registered unrecognised political parties

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday (June 26, 2025) said it has started proceedings for the delisting of 345 registered unrecognized political parties (RUPPs) which have failed to fulfil the essential condition of contesting even a single election for the last six years since 2019.

Woman can’t be deprived of financial support from estranged husband just because she’s earning: Bombay HC

Merely because a woman is earning, it does not deprive her of financial support from her estranged husband as she has to maintain her standard of living, the Bombay High Court has ruled. A Bench of Justice Manjusha Deshpande, in the order of June 18, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, said the wife deserves the same standard of living as she was accustomed to before their separation.