Source: The Hindu  Indian Express and others

Indian economy grows 8.2% in Q2 2025-26

India’s real GDP has been estimated to have grown by 8.2% in the July-September quarter of the current financial year 2025-26 over the growth rate of 5.6% in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, official data showed on Friday (November 28, 2025). The National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), has released the Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the July-September quarter.

PM Modi unveils 77-ft statue of Lord Ram in Goa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (November 28, 2025) unveiled 77-feet tall statue of Lord Ram in Goa as part of Shree Samsthan Gokarn Jeevottam Mutt’s 550th year celebrations. Mr. Modi arrived at a special helipad which was constructed in the premises of the mutt, its central committee chairperson Shrinivas Dempo said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India on December 4-5

Against the backdrop of continued war between Ukraine and Russia, President of Russia Vladimir Putin will visit India during December 4 and 5. During the visit, President Putin will lead the Russian delegation in the 23rd India-Russia annual summit, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced.

Hong Kong high-rise fire toll rises to 128; over 200 still missing as inquiry begins

Firefighting, rescue and search operations at seven high-rise buildings in Hong Kong were halted on Friday (November 28, 2025), the third day after a massive blaze broke out, as the death toll climbed to 128 with over 200 still missing. The Hong Kong Police have launched an investigation into how the cluster of buildings, housing about 4,600 residents in 1,984 apartments, caught fire. The death toll so far in the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po stood at 128, Chris Tang Ping-keung, secretary for security of the HKSAR government, said. Over 200 people remain unaccounted for, Mr. Tang said, as families of the missing persons anxiously wait for the news about their loved ones.

Airbus A320 software switch: Flight delays, cancellations likely; over 200 planes impacted

IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express flight operations will see disruptions as they work on fixing a potential issue related to flight controls in their A320 family planes and 200-250 aircraft will be impacted in the country, according to sources. Airbus on Friday (November 28, 2025) said intense solar radiation might corrupt data critical to flight controls in a significant number of A320 family aircraft and that the software changes required to fix the issue would lead to operational disruptions. With many of the narrow-body A320 family planes of the domestic carriers set to undergo software changes or in some cases hardware realignment, there will be operational disruptions as the aircraft have to be grounded, the sources said.

Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar to break bread together on November 29

A day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar used social media to target each other amidst a leadership battle, both have decided to hold a breakfast meeting on Saturday (November 29, 2025) at the former’s residence in Bengaluru. The Chief Minister said, “High command telephoned and told both of us to meet. Therefore, I invited him for a breakfast meeting.” The Chief Minister reiterated that there was no change in his stand. “I will listen to whatever high command says. He (Mr. Shivakumar) has also said that several times,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Cyclone Ditwah: Red alert for Tamil Nadu’s coastal districts on November 29 as storm moves closer

The Regional Meteorological Centre has maintained its red alert, indicating possibility of isolated extremely heavy rainfall, for various districts in Tamil Nadu on Saturday (November 29, 2025) and two districts on Sunday, as Cyclone Ditwah continues to move over coastal Sri Lanka and the adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal. Cyclonic Storm Ditwah moved at a speed of 7 kmph and lay centered over coastal Sri Lanka and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, 380 km south-southeast of Puducherry and 490 km south of Chennai. It is very likely to continue to move across the Sri Lankan coast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal and reach over southwest Bay of Bengal near north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early Sunday morning.

Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka: PM Modi announces assistance under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’

India on Friday (November 28, 2025) delivered essential relief supplies to cyclone-battered Sri Lanka with Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveying to the island nation that New Delhi stands ready provide more aid to it to deal with the situation. New Delhi launched “Operation Sagar Bandhu” to assist Sri Lanka in its hour of crisis and the first tranche of relief materials were handed after the consignments were transported by Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and frontline ship INS Udaigiri.

Amit Shah inaugurates three-day DGP/IGP Conference in Raipur

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (November 28, 2025) said security forces and police are effectively combating extremism, radicalisation and narcotics by focusing on precise intelligence, clarity of objectives, and synergy in action. Mr. Shah was speaking after inaugurating the three-day 60th Director General of Police Conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau in Raipur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the conference over the next two days on November 29 and 30. Mr. Shah said the conference has emerged as a key forum for resolving the country’s internal security challenges – from identifying problems and challenges to formulating strategies and policies.

Rahul calls for a debate on air pollution in Parliament, says Modi govt sitting idle

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday (November 28, 2025) called for an immediate, detailed debate in Parliament on air pollution, and a strict action plan to tackle the “health emergency”. Mr. Gandhi said that he met with a group of mothers who shared with him how their children are exhausted, scared and angry as they are growing up breathingthe toxic air in Delhi. Taking to X, he wrote “Modi ji, India’s children are choking in front of us. How can you stay silent? Why does your government show no urgency, no plan, no accountability?” He added that our children “deserve clean air – not excuses and distractions”.

Supreme Court agrees to hear on December 1 pleas for extension of time for registration of Waqf properties

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 28, 2025) agreed to hear on December 1 various pleas, including the one filed by All India Muslim Personal Law Board, seeking extension of time for the mandatory registration of all waqf properties, including ‘waqf by user’, under the UMEED portal. A Bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih took note of the submissions of lawyer Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, appearing for one of the petitioners, that the pleas needed to be listed for hearing urgently. “List these applications along with I.A. No…on December 01, 2025,” the Bench said.

India seals ₹7,995 crore deal with the U.S. for Navy’s MH-60R helicopter fleet support

India on Friday (November 28, 2025) sealed a ₹7,995-crore deal with the U.S. as part of “follow on support” package for Indian Navy’s fleet of 24 Seahawk helicopters for five years. The Defence Ministry said it signed Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) with the U.S. for sustained support of the MH-60R helicopter fleet through follow-on support and supply for five years at an approximate value of ₹7,995 crore. MH-60R, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation, is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with state of the art avionics and sensors.

NISAR earth observation satellite enters final science operations phase

The NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, launched in July, has entered the science phase, the ISRO announced on Friday (November 28, 2025). The earth observation satellite provides all-weather, day-and-night data, which have a wide range of applications. It is the first satellite jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The NISAR mission is broadly classified into different phases – launch, deployment, commissioning and science phases. The final science operations phase begins at the end of commissioning and extends till the end of NISAR’s five-year mission life.

BNP chairperson and former PM Khaleda Zia’s condition ‘extremely critical’: Alamgir

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s health condition is “extremely critical”, a close aide said on Friday (November 28, 2025). The 80-year-old former premier was admitted to a hospital on Sunday (November 23, 2025) night when she developed a chest infection that affected both her heart and lungs. “Last night, the doctors said that her physical condition is extremely critical,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency.

Ukraine’s top peace negotiator Andrii Yermak resigns as corruption investigations widen

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday (November 28, 2025) the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, whose residence was searched earlier in the day by anti-corruption investigators. Mr. Yermak has been Ukraine’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the United States. He has also been a trusted confidante of Mr. Zelenskyy’s for years. The unprecedented searches at the heart of Ukraine's government come at a time when Kyiv is under intense U.S. pressure to sign a peace deal nearly four years after Russia invaded.

Hungary PM defies EU, promises Putin to keep buying Russian oilHungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban defied the EU on Friday (November 28, 2025) by promising Vladimir Putin he will keep buying Russian oil, as he attended a Kremlin meeting held in the midst of a diplomatic push to end Moscow’s Ukraine offensive. Mr. Orban — in power in the EU and NATO country since 2010 — has throughout the war maintained ties with the Kremlin, while also criticising Hungary’s neighbour Ukraine. “We have not given up cooperation [with Russia] in any area, regardless of any external pressure,” Mr. Orban told Mr. Putin. “I would like to reiterate that energy supplies from Russia form the basis of Hungary’s energy supply now and will remain so in the future.”

Four tourists trapped 120 ft up in sky dining restaurant near Munnar in Kerala; rescue efforts on

Five persons, including four tourists, were trapped in a sky dining restaurant at Anachal near the Munnar hill station in Kerala’s Idukki district on Friday (November 28, 2025). According to reports, the incident occurred around 1.30 pm. A four-member family from Kannur and a staff have been trapped in the restaurant.

This generation gives the entire Swiss hockey a lot of new confidence for the future: Swiss head coach Jair Levie

Switzerland’s field hockey is not as competitive or famous as its ice hockey teams or its tennis players. Slowly and steadily, the national body for field hockey is making quiet efforts to ensure the junior and senior teams perform well in International competitions. The result is showing. The junior men’s team qualified for the FIH World Cup in Chennai and Madurai, after winning the Euro u-21hockey II-B in Lausanne, by remaining unbeaten.

Under-19 Asia Cup: Ayush Mhatre to lead India

Promising batter Ayush Mhatre was on Friday (November 28, 2025) retained as captain of a 15-member Indian team for the upcoming U19 Asia Cup in which the focus will be again on teen batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The age-group continental tournament will be held in Dubai from December 12-21 in 50-overs format.

Imran Khan’s son asks international community to intervene for his father’s safety

Kasim Khan, the son of Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Thursday (November 27, 2025), called for an urgent intervention to ensure his father’s safety. The London-based younger Khan’s appeal comes as his family and his father’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party colleagues say they have been denied access to the politician who was first arrested in May 2023 and is serving a 14 year sentence on corruption and other charges.

Maharashtra declares paid holiday on Dec 2 for voting in civic council, nagar panchayat polls

The Maharashtra Government has declared a paid holiday on December 2, 2025, for employees of different establishments, businesses and other workplaces to enable them to vote in elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats. According to a Government Resolution (GR) issued on Friday (November 28, 2025), employees in the districts where voting will take place on Tuesday (December 2, 2025) are entitled to get paid leave to exercise their franchise.