A 31-year-old Indian Navy sailor, Pradeep Mukherjee, was arrested on October 3 for allegedly passing classified maritime information to a Pakistani intelligence operative, PTI reported, citing official sources. The Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence cell detained him at INS Agrani in Coimbatore, where he was attending a management development course.   Investigators say a woman posing online as an operative contacted him months ago, and the relationship was used to extract details on naval assets, fleet movements and the Visakhapatnam base. A native of West Bengal, he joined the Navy in 2014 and was posted with the Eastern Naval Command. (PC: India Today)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday defended India's ties with Russia, saying Moscow has stood by New Delhi when its security and territorial integrity were under threat. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in New Delhi, he recalled Soviet support since the 1950s, when much of the world backed Pakistan's military regime. He said each country judges relationships by its own experience, and India's has been consistently positive. His remarks come amid US and European criticism of India's Russian oil purchases, which the MEA has called "unjustified and unreasonable." On Ukraine, Jaishankar reiterated India's call for an end to the war through dialogue and diplomacy. (PC: India Today)

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said emerging and middle powers must carefully navigate the growing rivalry between the United States and China. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he described the situation as a “Goldilocks scenario”, where the rivalry should be neither excessively confrontational nor overly cooperative, but maintained at the “right temperature.” He said countries are increasingly pursuing diversification, de-risking and resilient supply chains while developing cooperation based on shared interests. Jaishankar argued that complete agreement between countries is no longer necessary; sufficient areas of convergence can enable cooperation. He also highlighted multi-alignment as an increasingly important strategy in today’s interconnected world. (PC: X)

An Indian Navy sailor, 31-year-old Pradeep Mukherjee, was arrested on October 3 by the Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence (CI) cell at INS Agrani in Coimbatore for allegedly transmitting classified maritime intelligence to a Pakistani intelligence operative. Mukherjee, a West Bengal native who joined the Navy in 2014, was posted with the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. Officials said a female Pakistani operative allegedly contacted him through social media and developed an online relationship to obtain sensitive information about naval assets, fleet movements and the operational framework of the Visakhapatnam naval base. Investigators detected suspicious digital activity before placing him under surveillance. 

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar has recalled the moment his co-pilot attacked him in the cockpit of flight FZ1073. Speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the 39-year-old said the Omani co-pilot stood up to pray, and he looked ahead out of respect. "Suddenly, after about four or five minutes, there was a big blow to the back of my head," he said. He first feared the aircraft was damaged, then realised the blows came from inside the cockpit. Though injured, he reached the door's twist knob and opened it, letting crew and passengers intervene and save all 174 on board. (PC: X)

A pharmaceutical plant run by India's Kusum group in Ukraine's Sumy region has been mostly destroyed in Russian drone attacks, killing one person and injuring several others. Officials said the casualty figures could change. Visuals showed a large plume of smoke over the site. The group, led by Indian national Rajeev Gupta, began in 1994 as an exporter of Indian medicines and opened the Sumy plant in 2009. The facility had kept working through the war. The loss is estimated at least Rs 400 crore. The group calls itself a Ukrainian company with Indian roots, making over 50 mostly generic medicines for nine-plus countries. (PC: NDTV)

India has said there is no fixed timeline for former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s return, as Dhaka’s extradition request remains under legal review. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said India had a duty to provide shelter to Hasina when she arrived in August 2024, as she was still Bangladesh’s prime minister at the time. He clarified that she was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or Army but travelled on a Bangladeshi military aircraft. Hasina’s presence in India remains a major issue in bilateral relations, although New Delhi says the extradition process will follow established legal procedures. (PC: AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Indian flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar after a mid-air attack on September 30. Netanyahu called Machchhar a “hero for Israel, India and the entire world.” He invited the pilot and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel’s Independence Day ceremony. Machchhar was also invited to light a torch, an honour usually given to Israeli citizens. During the call, Machchhar described how the Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked him with an axe inside the cockpit. Despite his injuries, he managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers then helped control the attacker. Netanyahu praised Machchhar’s courage and judgment.

India on Saturday summoned Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires over alleged cross-border infiltration along the India-Pakistan border. The move came a day after BSF troops shot dead two suspected Pakistani intruders in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district. Police said three people entered Indian territory, but one later returned to Pakistan. The other two continued moving towards the border fence despite repeated warnings, officials said. India said the incident showed a pattern of cross-border movement linked to armed drug networks. Pakistan claimed the two men were unarmed civilians who crossed the border by mistake. India rejected the claim as “baseless and motivated” and urged Pakistan to prevent such incidents.

India strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations over its remarks on Jammu and Kashmir. India said Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are “integral and inalienable” parts of India. Indian diplomat Bhavika Mangalanandan said Pakistan’s “so-called civilian governments” are “at the mercy” of the Army and rarely complete their terms. India also accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism and using the Kashmir issue to divert attention from unrest at home. It referred to protests and a crackdown in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India said J&K held peaceful elections in 2024, followed by a transfer of power.