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  • A trailblazer whose stage experiments transformed Indian theatre

    A trailblazer whose stage experiments transformed Indian theatre

    The Indian performing arts community is mourning the loss of one of its most transformative figures, Vijaya Mehta, who passed away last week at the age of 92 after a decades-long career that redefined the trajectory of Marathi theatre.

    Born in 1934 in Vadodara, located in modern-day Gujarat, Mehta grew up in a family rooted in acting. Despite a clear path opening up to her in mainstream commercial cinema, she made the deliberate choice to dedicate her life to theatre, a decision that would reshape regional performing arts for generations. Her introduction to Marathi stage work came during her college years, when a professor encouraged her to pursue acting, and she later honed her craft under the mentorship of Ebrahim Alkazi and Adi Marzban, two foundational pioneers of modern Indian theatre, absorbing their commitment to bold creative experimentation.

    Widely credited with spearheading the modernization of Marathi theatre through the 1960s and 1970s, Mehta broke dramatically from the field’s long-held traditions of over-the-top melodrama and opulent, unrealistic sets. Instead, she crafted experimental works centered on the everyday lives of ordinary people, bringing layered, flawed, authentic characters to the stage that resonated deeply with Maharashtra’s growing middle-class audience, who for the first time saw their own experiences reflected truthfully in theatrical performances.

    In 1960, the same year that the Bombay Reorganisation Act established the new state of Maharashtra, Mehta co-founded Mumbai’s landmark experimental theatre collective Rangayan. The group went on to stage some of the most daring productions in Marathi theatre history, while nurturing a new generation of acting and writing talent. Mehta also expanded the boundaries of Marathi theatre by introducing audiences to fresh takes on Sanskrit classics, new productions from iconic Marathi playwrights such as Vijay Tendulkar, and innovative adaptations of works by global theatrical legends including Bertolt Brecht and Anton Chekhov.

    Beyond her work on the stage, Mehta built an acclaimed career in film as a director and actor. Her best-known features include 1985’s *Rao Saheb*, a period drama following a 19th-century reformist lawyer in Maharashtra, and 1988’s *Pestonjee*, a nuanced exploration of love, infidelity, and friendship among the Parsi community of 1950s Mumbai. For more than a decade, she also served as chairperson of Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), collaborating with leading Indian artists and iconic international theatre figures such as Peter Brook and Eugenio Barba.

    Throughout her career, Mehta mentored countless artists who would go on to find fame across Indian stage and cinema, including well-known Bollywood actors Nana Patekar and Anupam Kher. In tributes shared following her death, peers, protégés, and public figures have celebrated her enduring legacy. Maharashtra politician Raj Thackeray noted that Mehta emerged at a pivotal moment when Maharashtra was undergoing rapid social change, industrialization, and expanding access to education, and that she filled a critical need for a new, modern approach to Marathi theatre. Playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar, whose early one-act works Mehta directed and produced through Rangayan, recalled that the collective prioritized artistic exploration over fame or profit, writing “When I joined hands with Bai [Madam], as Vijaya was called, I knew that I had found my home ground. We were not interested in entertaining; fame and money were not even on our radar. We wanted to explore theatre, art and life through our work.”

    Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who led the cast of *Rao Saheb*, recalled Mehta’s rigorous, insightful approach to directing, writing “I had already done a few films by then and thought I understood something about acting. But every rehearsal with her reminded me how vast the ocean of this craft really is. In front of her wisdom, her understanding of human behaviour, and her extraordinary sensitivity, I happily became a student again.”

    Mehta leaves behind an unmatched body of work and an indelible mark on Indian performing arts. Her death has left an unfillable void in the Indian theatre community, with actress Sonali Kulkarni summarizing the widespread grief and gratitude: “To say that your passing is our loss would be too small a thing to say. We would only diminish what you truly gave us. The richness your presence brought, the abundance you gifted to the theatre is something we can never fully repay.” Over her career, Mehta earned some of India’s highest arts honors, including multiple National Film Awards for acting and direction, and the Padma Shri, a top civilian award granted by the Indian government, in recognition of her transformational contribution to modern Indian theatre.

  • North Korean leader Kim observes weapons tests from new naval destroyer

    North Korean leader Kim observes weapons tests from new naval destroyer

    In a latest demonstration of North Korea’s push to develop a nuclear-capable navy, leader Kim Jong Un supervised live weapons tests and operational evaluations on the newly repaired 5,000-ton guided-missile destroyer Kang Kon, state media reported over the weekend. The country’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) detailed that Friday’s trials included test-firings of a nuclear-capable strategic cruise missile, live firings of the warship’s main naval gun and automatic cannons, alongside comprehensive checks of its electronic warfare infrastructure, target-tracking systems and on-board information processing capabilities. Kim observed the full sequence of tests from a coastal observation post before issuing a formal directive: military and shipbuilding officials must wrap up all remaining sea trials and deploy the Kang Kon to active frontline service within a two-month timeline. This latest set of military assessments comes just weeks after Pyongyang formally commissioned its first 5,000-ton guided-missile destroyer, the Choe Hyon, in late June. That milestone was marked by a high-profile ceremony, where Kim reaffirmed that his goal of outfitting the entire North Korean Navy with nuclear-capable weapons systems was progressing on schedule. The Choe Hyon was first publicly unveiled in April 2025, with Kim framing the vessel as a transformative step that would dramatically extend the North Korean military’s operational range and bolster its ability to carry out preemptive strikes against adversary targets. According to KCNA’s official disclosures, the warship is outfitted with a layered suite of weapons, including anti-air and anti-ship defense systems, as well as both nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean defense officials and independent military analysts broadly suspect the Choe Hyon class of destroyers was developed with significant technical assistance from Russia, amid a rapid deepening of military and defense cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang over the past two years. However, some outside experts have cast doubt on the actual combat effectiveness of the newly built vessels once deployed. The Kang Kon, the second ship of North Korea’s new 5,000-ton destroyer class, was first presented to the public in May 2025, one month after the Choe Hyon’s debut. But the vessel suffered serious damage during a botched launch ceremony at the northern North Korean port of Chongjin, an incident that triggered a public rebuke from Kim. Pyongyang confirmed the destroyer had completed repairs and was relaunched in June, but outside defense analysts continue to question whether the vessel meets the technical standards required for reliable active service. Kim’s push to expand North Korea’s naval capabilities marks a notable strategic shift after years of prioritizing development of land-based ballistic missile programs. Today, his military modernization agenda includes construction of a domestically built nuclear-powered attack submarine and development of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater platforms, priorities he outlined when laying out his five-year national defense goals at the Workers’ Party Congress held last February. Looking ahead, Kim has set an ambitious production target: Pyongyang aims to construct two new 5,000-ton guided-missile destroyers every year for the next five years, alongside development of a larger 10,000-ton destroyer class to further expand the navy’s blue-water operational capabilities.

  • Iran begins six-day state funeral for Ali Khamenei

    Iran begins six-day state funeral for Ali Khamenei

    On Saturday, the heart of Iran’s capital Tehran swelled with massive crowds of mourners, kicking off six days of national funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed more than four months prior on the opening day of the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran.

    Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, with his iconic black turban resting atop it, was displayed at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, the city’s central venue for large state religious and national gatherings. Thousands of mourners, many clad in traditional black mourning attire, began streaming into the site hours before the official ceremony commenced, arriving well before dawn to pay their final respects.

    Local state Iranian television officially marked the start of the national funeral proceedings just after 6 a.m. local time. Across the sprawling crowd, many participants carried bright red flags emblazoned with the Farsi word for “Martyr”, and resonant chants of “Death to America”, “Death to Israel”, and “Revenge, revenge” rang out across the capital venue.

    Iranian authorities project that between 15 and 20 million people will take part in the funeral events held in Tehran alone, making it one of the largest public gatherings in the nation’s modern history. The multi-day commemoration will include additional memorial events held in neighboring Iraq before Khamenei’s final burial in the northeastern Iranian holy city of Mashhad, a site of profound religious significance for Shia Muslims globally.

    High-ranking dignitaries from more than 100 countries around the world have confirmed their attendance to honor the former leader. Notable attendees include Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, both of whom played a central mediating role in facilitating talks between Iran and the United States during the recent conflict. Senior diplomatic and political delegations from Russia, China, India, and Afghanistan are also scheduled to participate in the official ceremonies.

    Global observers are directing particular attention to one unconfirmed appearance: that of Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei’s son and successor as Iran’s current supreme leader. Mojtaba Khamenei was injured during the opening phase of the war, assumed the role of supreme leader in March following his father’s death, and has only communicated with the Iranian public through written statements since the conflict began, having made no public appearances to date.

    For the vast majority of Iranians alive today, Ali Khamenei was the only supreme leader they have ever known. He assumed the role of supreme leader in 1989 following the death of Iran’s revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, after previously serving as Iran’s president throughout the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. Over his nearly 40-year tenure as Iran’s highest authority, relations between Iran and the United States remained consistently hostile, a defining feature of his leadership. Iranian officials had publicly called for a massive national turnout to honor Khamenei, who was 86 at the time of his death.

  • Eala wins ‘for all the girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks’

    Eala wins ‘for all the girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks’

    On a tense, unforgettable Saturday evening on Wimbledon’s iconic Centre Court, 21-year-old Alexandra Eala delivered one of the biggest upsets of this year’s Championships, outplaying defending champion Iga Swiatek in straight sets 7-6 (11-9) 6-2 to etch her name into the history books as the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era. What makes the fairytale win even more meaningful is the full-circle connection between Eala and her beaten opponent: three years ago, it was Swiatek who handed Eala her graduation diploma at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy, and left the young rising star with words of wisdom that have stuck with her ever since.

    Standing in front of a cohort of graduating academy players as the then-world No.1 and freshly-minted three-time French Open champion, Swiatek urged her audience to pursue their goals with relentless tenacity, telling them that giving their absolute best to any pursuit would leave them with no regrets. Eala never forgot those words, and on Saturday, she put that lesson into practice against the woman who inspired her. The win capped a years-long upward trajectory for the young Filipino star, who fell in love with the sport as a child playing alongside her brother and grandfather, and still jokes she cannot match her older brother’s pace even today.

    Eala first stepped into the national spotlight in 2022, when she became the first Filipina to claim a junior Grand Slam title at the US Open, earning a spot on the cover of her home country’s Vogue in recognition of the breakthrough. Two years later, she announced her arrival on the global senior tennis scene with a Cinderella run at the 2025 Miami Open, where, ranked outside the top 100 at just 19 years old, she notched an early upset over – coincidentally – Iga Swiatek, before going on to defeat other Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys to reach the tournament semi-finals.

    That run marked the start of Eala’s steady climb up the WTA rankings. Since the Miami breakthrough, she has broken into the world’s top 30, claimed two titles at the WTA 125 level, and finished as runner-up at Eastbourne last year. Heading into this year’s Wimbledon, she proved she could compete with the sport’s elite by beating world No.2 Elena Rybakina and No.8-ranked Elina Svitolina in Berlin, and even shared a doubles court with tennis legend Venus Williams.

    As Eala’s on-court success has grown, so has her popularity at home and abroad. Outside of show courts at Grand Slams, queues of fans wrap around the grounds to catch her practice or matches, and public viewing parties for her games draw thousands of supporters across the Philippines. This outpouring of national pride comes with a unique pressure: every win is celebrated as a collective national victory, while every defeat is felt deeply across her home country. The weight of that attention overwhelmed Eala earlier this year at the Australian Open, where thousands of fans queued just to watch her practice sessions.

    To stay grounded through the chaos of her rising stardom, Eala leans on the years of quiet, consistent work that got her to this point. “I try to be as authentic as I can. I believe in being genuine,” she told reporters after Saturday’s win. “Although I’m very grateful and very welcoming of all the support that I get, me, my team and my family are the ones who have been putting in the hours. We’re the ones who are here at the courts 12 hours in a row. We’re the ones who wake up early, who come back home late. I think that work ethic is really what keeps me grounded.”

    Against Swiatek on the sport’s most famous stage, that groundedness helped Eala absorb every bit of pressure that came her way. Urged on by thousands of fans packed into Centre Court and cheering from Henman Hill, Eala saved eight of the 11 break points she faced, hit 24 winners against only 21 unforced errors, and closed out the win over the six-time Grand Slam champion well after 8:30 PM local time. Across the Philippines, fans stayed up late into the night glued to screens, sharing messages of “Filipino pride” across social media.

    Former Filipino tennis player Dyan Castillejo told BBC World Service’s Sportsworld that the entire nation has rallied behind Eala’s historic run. “I’m getting hundreds and thousands of texts from so many people. Everybody just wants to be a part of it. Everybody felt that they were a part of it, every Filipino,” she said.

    Eala carries her culture and her roots with her onto every court, embroidered onto her visor in her native Tagalog: the phrase “kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto”, which translates to “once it grows, it cannot be stopped”. For Eala, the words are more than a motto – they are a reflection of her lifelong ambition as a dreamer from a small tennis community. “I resonate with those words so much. More than being unstoppable, I think it refers to a dream and an aspiration to become unstoppable,” she told BBC TV. “Ever since I was young, I’ve always been such a dreamer, so being able to live out my dreams and experience things like this only makes me more ambitious. For me to be able to represent the Philippines in Wimbledon and in the biggest stages in the world, it means so much to me.”

    Reflecting on what the win meant to the young girl she used to be, who headed to practice every day after school in ruffled socks and light-up shoes with chubby cheeks, Eala called the moment everything she ever could have imagined. “It is incredible to have my countrymen cheering me on, knowing that we are all in this together. This goes out to them, my family and all the girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. It means the world.”

  • Visiting PLA Navy fleet ushers in first ‘open-house’ day in HK

    Visiting PLA Navy fleet ushers in first ‘open-house’ day in HK

    On July 3, 2026, a visiting fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy welcomed hundreds of visitors for its first-ever public open-house day at the PLA Hong Kong Garrison’s Stonecutters Island naval base, marking a rare opportunity for local residents to connect directly with the service members and learn about the fleet’s operations.

    The one-day event brought a wide range of interactive activities designed to bridge the gap between the public and the PLA Navy. Attendees, including large groups of local students, got the chance to go aboard the guided-missile frigate Hengyang, walk through its decks, explore the vessel’s working areas, and pose for photos with crew members, as seen in official Xinhua photos from the event. Beyond on-ship tours, the open house featured live drill demonstrations that showcased the fleet’s professional capabilities, cultural and art performances performed by both garrison members and local community groups, and structured exchange programs that allowed visitors to ask questions about daily life at sea and the Navy’s missions.

    This open-house event marks a notable step in increasing public engagement between the PLA garrison and Hong Kong’s local community. It comes as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen ties between the garrison and Hong Kong residents, offering a transparent, approachable look at the work of the PLA Navy that goes beyond traditional official presentations. For many young attendees in particular, the event provided a first-hand look at naval operations that most would only have seen in media reports, fostering greater understanding of the garrison’s role in safeguarding Hong Kong and the country’s maritime interests.

  • Eala upsets Wimbledon champion Swiatek in win for Philippines, No. 2 seed Rybakina also out

    Eala upsets Wimbledon champion Swiatek in win for Philippines, No. 2 seed Rybakina also out

    LONDON — The 2024 Wimbledon Championships delivered two stunning upsets on Saturday, as the women’s singles draw saw both the defending title holder and the 2022 champion crash out in the third round, headlined by a historic breakthrough from 21-year-old Alexandra Eala that makes tennis history for the Philippines.

    Eala’s career-best run at the All England Club reached a new high when she knocked out world No. 3 Iga Swiatek, ending the Pole’s 2023 title defense with a tight 7-6(9), 6-2 victory on Centre Court. The result is far more than a personal upset win: Eala is now the first player from the Philippines, regardless of gender, to advance to the fourth round of any Grand Slam singles tournament in the sport’s history.

    After sealing the win with a forehand winner on her third match point, the left-handed Eala dropped to her knees in disbelief before rolling onto the grass of Centre Court, overwhelmed by the moment. Speaking in an on-court interview surrounded by fans waving Philippine flags, she paid tribute to the support that has carried her to this point.

    “It’s incredible to have my countrymen cheering me on and knowing that we’re all in this together,” Eala said. “This goes out to them, this goes out to my family, this goes out to all the little girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. It means the world.” The young rising star earned her upset after a tense first-set tiebreak, where she saved two set points to clinch the opening set before closing out the match in straight sets.

    Swiatek came into this year’s tournament as the red-hot defending champion, having claimed her first Wimbledon title last year with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 blowout of Amanda Anisimova in the 2023 final. This is not the first time Eala has gotten the better of the world No. 3: the 21-year-old, who trains at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca, first announced her arrival on the global stage last year with a breakthrough run to the Miami Open semifinals that included an earlier upset win over Swiatek.

    Eala’s historic upset was not the only shocking result of the day. Just minutes before Swiatek exited the tournament, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina suffered an equally lopsided third-round exit at the hands of Belgium’s Elise Mertens, falling 7-6(4), 6-1. As the No. 2 seed in the women’s draw, Rybakina is the highest-seeded player to be eliminated from this year’s women’s singles competition. Her early exit guarantees that Aryna Sabalenka will retain her world No. 1 ranking after the conclusion of the tournament.

    Mertens, the No. 25 seed at this year’s Wimbledon who already holds two Wimbledon doubles titles, will face off against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round on Sunday.

    In other injury-related Wimbledon news on Saturday, 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams announced her withdrawal from the women’s doubles draw, where she was set to compete alongside her sister Venus Williams. The 44-year-old Williams, who made her competitive singles comeback earlier this week, suffered a right knee injury during her singles match, forcing her to pull out of the doubles draw.

    “I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Williams shared in an Instagram post, confirming the news that ends the Williams sisters’ latest doubles run at the tournament.

  • England beats India in 2nd T20 despite debut by 15-year-old Sooryavanshi

    England beats India in 2nd T20 despite debut by 15-year-old Sooryavanshi

    On a packed Saturday evening at Manchester’s Old Trafford cricket ground, 22-year-old Jacob Bethell produced a masterclass in controlled aggressive batting to deliver a four-wicket victory for England over India, overshadowing a historic international debut from Indian teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and putting the hosts 1-0 up in the five-match Twenty20 series.

    The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi entered the record books long before he stepped onto the field: at 15 years and 99 days old, he broke a decades-old record previously held by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar to become India’s youngest ever senior men’s international cricketer. Opening the batting in place of rested wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson, the teenager walked out to a raucous reception from a majority Indian crowd in the stands, plus a peak-time television audience watching across India. His first international over came against fellow debutant Josh Tongue, 28 years old and yet to earn a T20 cap prior to the match. After missing his first two deliveries, Sooryavanshi got off the mark with a fortuitous inside edge that whistled past his off stump, before announcing his arrival on cricket’s global stage with two stunning sixes. The first came against Rajasthan Royals teammate Jofra Archer, a stooping stroke over the deep backward point boundary that sent the ball spiraling high into the Manchester stands. He followed that effort just four deliveries later with a second maximum, launching Tongue into the seats at wide long-on. His promising debut was cut short shortly after, however, when the 15-year-old charged down the wicket to hit Will Jacks, lost his balance while attempting to power a flat leg-stump delivery, and left stand-in captain Jos Buttler with a simple stumping off 14 runs from 10 balls.

    While Sooryavanshi’s debut captured global headlines, it was India’s Abhishek Sharma that anchored the visitors’ innings through the middle overs, building a 50-run partnership that put India on track for a big total. Mirroring his form in the previously rain-abandoned first T20 in Durham, Sharma looked set for a match-defining score until Sam Curran forced a mis-hit: a low full toss that Sharma launched straight into the hands of deep midwicket, ending his innings at 43. Curran went on to claim two more key wickets, removing dangerous opener Ishan Kishan for 49 and Shivam Dube for 5, finishing with figures of 3 for 33 from his four overs. He would have earned a fourth wicket had an attempted catch by Archer off Tilak Verma not been ruled invalid by match officials. India eventually set a competitive target of 191 runs for England to chase.

    England’s chase got off to a disastrous start, with Indian left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh removing both openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler for ducks in the very first over, leaving the hosts reeling at 0 for 2 inside six balls. Middle-order batsman Harry Brook launched a rapid counterattack, however, smashing 39 runs from just 15 deliveries including four fours and three consecutive sixes that halted Arshdeep’s early momentum and put England back in contention. By the time Brook was dismissed, England had stabilized at 51 for 3 when Bethell walked to the crease to steady the innings.

    The 22-year-old produced a perfectly paced knock, biding his time through the middle overs before turning the match decisively in England’s favor in the 17th over. Facing Indian leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, Bethell smashed two consecutive free hits for six after Bishnoi delivered two back-foot no balls. The over leaked 29 runs, swinging full control of the match to the hosts. Bethell finished his 46-ball innings unbeaten on 76, including five fours and five sixes, and partnered with Archer to see England across the finish line with one full over to spare, securing a four-wicket win that put England ahead in the series.

  • Ireland scores late try to beat Australia 33-31 at Nations Championship match in Sydney

    Ireland scores late try to beat Australia 33-31 at Nations Championship match in Sydney

    SYDNEY, Australia — The first match of World Rugby’s groundbreaking new Nations Championship delivered a thriller for the packed crowd at the sold-out Sydney Football Stadium Saturday, as Ireland pulled off a late 33-31 victory over a valiant Australian Wallabies side thanks to a match-winning conversion from flyhalf Sam Prendergast.

    The momentum swung wildly from start to finish in the 10-try contest, with the lead changing hands seven times across 80 minutes. Australia got off to a blistering start, crossing the try line twice early through winger Dylan Pietsch and fullback Jock Campbell — who was making his first Wallabies appearance in four years — to hold a 24-19 advantage at halftime. Ireland stayed within striking distance, however, with first-half tries from Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier, and scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, who dotted down just minutes before the break to keep the visitors in touching distance.

    The match’s decisive moment came with three minutes left on the clock. Replacement forward Thomas Clarkson crossed the line for Ireland to set up a conversion that would put the Irish one point ahead, and Sam Prendergast coolly slotted the kick to give Ireland the narrow lead. Australia still had a chance to steal the win in the final dying seconds: flyhalf Ben Donaldson was handed a long-range penalty attempt from more than 40 meters out, but his kick drifted wide of the posts, handing Ireland the opening match victory.

    Saturday’s result kicks off the Nations Championship, a new 12-team global tournament organized by World Rugby designed to crown an official men’s world number one. Competing sides are split into northern and southern conferences, with northern hemisphere teams traveling south for July matches and southern teams heading north for November fixtures. After six rounds of round-robin play, the top four teams will advance to a finals series hosted in London this November, where the world’s best team will be determined.

    The opening match also marked a key transition point for the Wallabies coaching setup. Current head coach Joe Schmidt is set to step down after the team’s next two Nations Championship matches: a clash with France in Brisbane next Saturday, and a match-up with Italy in Perth on July 18. Long-time rugby coach Les Kiss, currently wrapping up his duties with the Queensland Reds Super Rugby side, will officially take over the head coaching role on July 20, and will make his debut in charge for a two-test series against Japan in August. Schmidt’s tenure has been marked by recent poor form, with the Wallabies ending 2023 on a four-match losing streak, including a winless tour of the United Kingdom late last year.

    For Ireland, Saturday’s win comes off the back of a strong 2024 Six Nations campaign. Ireland finished as runners-up in the tournament behind France, with a 36-14 opening loss to the French followed by wins over Italy, Scotland, Wales and England. The wins over the home nations saw Ireland claim their 15th Triple Crown title, one of the most prestigious honors in northern hemisphere rugby.

    Two other opening-round Nations Championship matches were held Saturday. In Christchurch, New Zealand, the All Blacks pulled off a narrow 34-32 win over France, with uncapped flyhalf Ruben Love named in the starting lineup for the hosts. In Tokyo, Japan secured a comfortable 27-10 victory over Italy, with goal-kicking fullback Takuro Matsunaga scoring 17 total points for the home side. Notably, Japan head coach Eddie Jones was absent from the sideline for the match, serving the final game of a four-match suspension for verbally abusing match officials at an under-23 tournament in Australia back in April.

  • ‘Baseless’: Cair sues Florida governor for terrorism designation alongside drug cartels

    ‘Baseless’: Cair sues Florida governor for terrorism designation alongside drug cartels

    A landmark legal challenge has been launched against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by the United States’ largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), over a controversial state law that labeled CAIR a domestic terrorist organization — placing the civil rights group in the same legal category as some of the hemisphere’s most violent international drug cartels.

    The lawsuit, filed Thursday, brings together three major non-profit legal and advocacy organizations: CAIR itself, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The legal teams describe the designation enshrined in House Bill 1471 (HB 1471) as entirely unfounded, constitutionally flawed, and a direct threat to fundamental First Amendment rights.

    In an official statement announcing the legal action, CAIR emphasized that the terrorist designation exposes the organization to immediate and irreversible damage. If enforced, the law would allow Florida state authorities to shut down all of CAIR’s programming, advocacy, and community operations across the state. Beyond CAIR, Florida’s new terror list also includes two additional vaguely defined entities: the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist movement that has no documented active operations in the United States and no centralized global headquarters, and antifa, the loose decentralized anti-fascist movement that has no formal structure, membership roster, or fixed operating base.

    The law grants Florida officials sweeping power to attach crippling stigmatizing labels to non-profit organizations, then deploy a broad range of state powers to immediately silence and disable the targeted group, its staff, its members, and any other individuals connected to the organization. Penalties include harsh criminal charges, civil fines, and administrative sanctions that reach far beyond standard regulatory measures, CAIR argues in the suit.

    Alongside CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, and antifa, DeSantis has proposed adding more than 90 other organizations to the state’s terror registry. That list includes major international groups like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Venezuela-based transnational criminal gang Tren de Aragua, and Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel, one of the deadliest drug trafficking organizations in the world.

    The current designation traces back to HB 1471, a bill approved by the Florida state legislature in March this year, signed into law by DeSantis in April, and implemented on July 1. This is not the first time DeSantis has attempted to blacklist CAIR: in December 2023, the governor issued a unilateral executive order to place the group on a terror watchlist, but that action was blocked by a federal judge earlier this year.

    In his ruling blocking the initial executive order, federal judge Mark Walker centered his decision on a core constitutional question: whether a state governor can, outside of a formal emergency, unilaterally label one of the nation’s largest civil rights groups a terrorist organization and cut off any government benefits to individuals or entities that provide material support or resources to the group. Walker’s ruling was clear: “This Court finds he cannot.”

    Now, CAIR is asking the court to issue an emergency injunction to block enforcement of HB 1471 entirely, arguing the new law retains all the constitutional flaws of the original executive order.

    The text of HB 1471 states that any person or entity that provides support to a designated terrorist group can face criminal prosecution, and it also includes a provision asserting that no religious code — a measure widely interpreted to target Sharia law, which is protected under First Amendment religious freedom provisions for many American Muslims — can supersede Florida state law.

    In their legal challenge, CAIR and its co-counsel point out that the designation process laid out in HB 1471 lacks basic due process protections. The law does not require state officials to provide the targeted organization with formal notice that includes all justifications for the designation, all material evidence — both incriminating and exculpatory — that decisionmakers relied on to approve the label. It also does not require the state to prove, or even provide evidence, that the targeted organization has violated any existing state or federal law.

    Founded in 1994, CAIR is a U.S.-based non-profit focused on protecting civil liberties for Muslim Americans, and it funds almost all of its work through public donations from American citizens of all faith backgrounds. Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s deputy national director based in Washington, D.C., previously told Middle East Eye that when similar executive orders targeting CAIR were in effect in Florida and Texas, the organization was blocked from purchasing property and barred from accessing state government contracts. Both states have also added the Muslim Brotherhood to their domestic terror lists.

    Republican leaders, most notably Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have repeated longstanding claims that the Muslim Brotherhood maintains secret influential ties to CAIR and seeks to impose Sharia law across the United States. CAIR has repeatedly pushed back against these accusations, noting that more than 95% of its annual budget comes from individual donations from the American public, including both Muslim and non-Muslim supporters.

    Internationally, the Muslim Brotherhood is designated a terrorist organization by several Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Syria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. At the U.S. federal level, the Trump administration issued an order designating specific national chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon as terrorist organizations, but no such designation applies to the movement as a whole or to any U.S.-affiliated groups. Critics of these designations have long argued that blacklisting the Muslim Brotherhood is largely a geopolitical concession to authoritarian monarchies and authoritarian regimes in the Middle East that view the popular reformist movement as a threat to their hold on power.

    Cruz has argued that the movement, which retains widespread public support in many parts of the Arab world thanks to its combination of Islamic religious identity, grassroots political organizing, and community social welfare programs, poses a direct threat to U.S. national security. But when asked by Middle East Eye how the Muslim Brotherhood threatens U.S. security, Nathan Brown, a leading expert on Middle East politics at George Washington University and a trustee of the American University in Cairo, offered a blunt response: “None at all.”

  • Row after Indian state drops eggs from school lunch menu

    Row after Indian state drops eggs from school lunch menu

    A proposed policy shift in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, which would remove eggs from some government school mid-day meals in favor of vegetarian alternatives, has ignited fierce public and expert debate across the country, touching on questions of nutrition accessibility, ideological influence, and the future of the world’s largest school feeding program.

    The controversy began last week, when West Bengal’s newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government announced it would hand over preparation of mid-day meals for Kolkata Municipal Corporation-run schools to the Annamitra Foundation, a food service arm of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) — the Hindu organization more widely known as the Hare Krishna movement. Iskcon follows strict vegetarian dietary practices, so the plan will swap eggs for plant-based protein sources. As of yet, no final decisions have been made, the organization confirmed to the BBC, and it remains unclear whether the pilot will ever launch or expand to other schools across the state. That has not stopped the proposal from reigniting a long-running national argument over what belongs on the plates of millions of vulnerable schoolchildren.

    India’s federal mid-day meal scheme, first launched nationwide in 1995 after decades of local testing, has grown into the largest school feeding initiative on Earth, serving free cooked lunches to more than 110 million students across government and government-aided schools. For millions of children from low-income households, the daily meal is the most nutritious — and sometimes the only — full meal they consume in a day. For decades, the program has been widely praised for cutting childhood hunger, improving nutrition outcomes, and boosting school enrollment and retention among marginalized communities. While the Indian central government sets minimum calorie and protein requirements for meals, individual states are given full authority to design their own menus, leading to wide variation across the country: states including Tamil Nadu and Bihar regularly serve eggs alongside grain and vegetable dishes, while others like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh exclusively offer vegetarian options.

    Nutrition campaigners and public health experts have widely pushed back against the West Bengal proposal, arguing that eggs are one of the most accessible, affordable, and nutritionally complete sources of protein for growing children from low-income backgrounds. At roughly 8 Indian rupees (around $0.08) per egg, the food has been a staple of Bengali culinary culture for generations, and its nutritional profile is hard to match on a public budget. Fareha Shanam, a nutritionist at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, explained that eggs contain all nine essential amino acids that the human body cannot produce on its own, alongside critical micronutrients including vitamin D and vitamin B12. While plant-based options like pulses and legumes do offer protein, Shanam noted that they have higher fiber content and a less balanced amino acid profile. Alternatives like paneer (Indian cottage cheese) can match eggs’ nutrition, she added, but cost far more, making regular service unfeasible for a publicly funded program that operates on tight budgets.

    Dr. Vamshi V, a consultant internal medicine physician at Hyderabad’s Gleneagles Aware Hospital, warned that removing eggs without carefully crafting nutritionally equivalent substitutes could have long-term negative impacts on children’s health. “For many children, the school meal is the most nutrient-dense food they get all day,” she explained. A shortfall of essential protein and micronutrients may not cause immediate visible harm, she added, but over time it can hinder physical growth, impair cognitive development and learning, and weaken children’s immune systems.

    Critics of the policy have also accused the BJP government of allowing religious ideology to shape public nutrition policy. The opposition All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which held power in West Bengal until May 2026, has claimed the government is seeking to “impose vegetarianism” on schoolchildren. Iskcon and state leaders have rejected these accusations. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari defended the plan, framing it as an effort to provide students with “good and pure food” and emphasizing that no one would be forced to participate in the organization’s religious practices. Iskcon officials note that the group already serves 1 million school meals daily across 16 Indian states through its Akshaya Patra Foundation, and that its vegetarian menus are designed to meet all national nutritional requirements. Radharaman Das, until last week Iskcon’s Kolkata vice-president, told local media that the organization prioritizes nutrition and hygiene in its meal preparation, and that the proposed vegetarian menu would match the protein and vitamin content of egg-inclusive meals. Notably, Das has since been removed from his leadership posts, though Iskcon has not publicly shared a reason for the personnel change, and has not responded to the BBC’s request for comment on the decision.

    Other critics have pointed out that the plant-based substitutes proposed by Iskcon, including soybeans and kidney beans, are not widely consumed in West Bengal and may be rejected by students, leaving many without the protein they need. Several politicians and activists have proposed a compromise solution that has already been tested in some regions: offering students a choice between an egg and a vegetarian alternative. In a Bihar school, for example, students receive an egg every Friday, while those who prefer a vegetarian option get a banana instead, with no coercion either way.

    Reactions to the proposed change among parents and students in Kolkata have been mixed. Some young students told the BBC they welcomed the shift as a break from their regular routine, while others expressed disappointment, noting they looked forward to the days of the week when eggs are served. Chaitali Mitra, a 37-year-old parent whose daughter attends a local government school, said she believed eggs were a critical part of the school meal. “It would reassure me that my growing child’s protein needs were being fulfilled,” she said.

    For teachers across the country who work with low-income students, the debate underscores the non-negotiable importance of the mid-day meal program itself. “The mid-day meals have been among the biggest reasons for students getting admissions in primary schools,” an unnamed Delhi primary school teacher said. Many children arrive at school hungry every day, she added, and wait eagerly for their daily lunch.