Hyderabad-origin tech professional Nikitha Godishala, 27, was found dead with stab wounds in Maryland, US, after being reported missing on New Year’s Eve 2025. US investigators accused her former boyfriend and roommate, Arjun Sharma, 26, of killing her and fleeing to India. Sharma allegedly left the US after reporting Nikitha missing and later came under Indian authorities’ radar during a cheating investigation filed in Telangana. Hyderabad Police, assisted by Agra authorities, traced and arrested him from a flat in Agra, eight months after the killing. US authorities had issued murder warrants, and extradition proceedings are now underway. (PC: NDTV)

Twenty-one Tamil Nadu pilgrims who survived devastating flash floods in Nepal returned to Chennai, describing the experience as a “second birth.” Their convoy of three buses was struck by an avalanche-triggered flash flood, which swept away two vehicles. Survivors said they escaped by climbing onto their bus and then reaching a hilltop Armed Reserve Police camp, where Nepalese police provided shelter. Around 400 people from Tamil Nadu may have travelled to Nepal during the period. Authorities said 140 Tamil Nadu residents have been rescued and remain safe in Nepal, while at least 80 are still believed missing. Rescue and repatriation efforts continue. (PC: NDTV)

India has sent its third relief consignment to flood-hit Nepal, delivering 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid along with an 11-member medical and tunnel rescue team. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the team and supplies had reached Kathmandu as rescue operations continued after devastating flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border. The latest shipment takes India’s total humanitarian assistance to Nepal to 57.5 tonnes. It includes portable generators, dignity kits, food packets and water purification tablets. The team comprises doctors, paramedics and a reconnaissance unit assessing a tunnel rescue operation at a hydroelectric project where people are feared trapped. India has also offered Bailey bridges, technical teams, NDRF personnel and equipment.

Ed Nathanson, who calls himself the “World’s Greatest Snack Detective,” says discovering Indian cuisine around five years ago completely changed his taste and how he views other cuisines. In an Instagram video, he joked that Indian food had created a “problem” because food from other countries no longer seemed as special. Describing his first experience, Nathanson said it felt as though the “gates of heaven had opened.” He praised pani puri as “little flavour bombs” and said Gobi Manchurian made cauliflower taste extraordinarily good. Comparing Indian cuisine’s complex flavours with simpler foods elsewhere, he said his eating habits also changed. Despite being a “hardcore carnivore,” Nathanson now orders vegetarian dishes. Social media users offered mixed reactions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the upcoming SCO Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Government sources said no formal bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected, though a pull-aside meeting may occur. A full Modi-Xi bilateral is more likely during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Modi and Pezeshkian are also expected to meet at the BRICS Summit. Meanwhile, Pezeshkian and Putin are scheduled to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues, following a $25-billion agreement on new nuclear facilities. India will focus on terrorism, separatism and extremism, with the SCO’s RATS mechanism remaining key to regional security cooperation. (PC: X)

The Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Maharashtra Police has arrested three more people, including two foreign nationals, in connection with a Mephedrone (MD) racket busted on a street in Balewadi, Pune, in June. The suspects were identified as Cisse Sadio alias Alex, 30, a Senegalese citizen; Jele Beasmark, 30, a citizen of the Kingdom of Eswatini; and Indian national Vikram Kalekar, 30, from Karjat in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. All three were arrested on Thursday and remanded to ANTF custody for six days by a Pune court. Police recovered 22 grams of MD and eight mobile phones from Alex, and 14 grams of MD and six phones from Jele. The case now has seven arrests. (PC: The Indian Express)

Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested a Delhi couple, Sahil, 25, and his wife Sameera, 21, for alleged links to a Pakistan-based espionage network. Police said the couple met in 2022 and married in 2024. Sameera, who worked at a Noida call centre, allegedly came into contact with a Pakistani “agent” on Instagram and later introduced Sahil to him. According to police, the agent told them they could make money through espionage-related activities. Investigators allege the couple sent Indian SIM cards to Pakistan via Dubai and were tasked with gathering information and recruiting operatives. Police said the Instagram trail helped uncover the alleged connection and led to the couple’s arrest on Friday. (PC: The Indian Express)

India will purchase the Javelin anti-tank guided missile system from the United States, strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries. The ground-launched, medium-range, fire-and-forget missile can engage tanks, armoured vehicles and fortified positions at distances of up to 5 km. The US Embassy in India welcomed the Indian Army’s signing of a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the acquisition. In November 2025, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency had notified approval for the sale of 100 Javelin missiles, one fly-to-buy round, 25 command-launch units, training aids, simulation rounds, spare parts and lifecycle support. The agreement also opens discussions on co-production and strengthening both countries’ defence industrial bases. (PC:  Lockheed Martin)

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Friday that 320 Indian nationals remain uncontactable following devastating flash floods in Nepal, while around 100 persons of Indian origin are also missing. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 21 Indians from Tamil Nadu who had reached Kathmandu from the affected areas safely arrived in Delhi. Another 63 Indian workers at the Trishuli One hydropower project were rescued on Thursday. Meanwhile, 96 Indians stranded on the Chinese side safely crossed into Nepal by land, with efforts underway to evacuate them. The MEA said some uncontactable persons may have been travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and could hold nationalities other than Indian.

Nepal’s devastating flash floods have raised the risk of flooding in Bihar as water levels in the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi and Burhi Gandak rivers continue to rise following heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Nepal. The floods, triggered after an ice-rock landslide blocked a river near Nepal’s border with China, have affected several districts and left at least 826 people missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management authorities. Bihar officials said several rivers have touched or crossed danger levels in bordering districts, while the Gandak, Kosi, Ganga, Burhi Gandak and Ghaghra are flowing above danger marks at multiple locations. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have increased monitoring of downstream river systems.