Mumbai

SixShiv Sena (UBT) MPs reportedly formed a separate group in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The six MPs are expected to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday, the party's foundation day. Sena functionaries said the process of forming the separate group was completed smoothly.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha. Barring Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waze, all the remaining MPs are understood to have joined the new group. Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Raut, Sawant and Desai also met Birla and urged him not to recognise any separate group formed by defecting Sena (UBT) MPs. However, Sena functionaries claimed that Birla had recognised the group of six MPs as aseparate bloc.

Evian-Les-Bains

Justas things were looking up for the peace efforts in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday crushed hopes again, with fresh warnings to Iran.

During his remarks at the G7 Summit in France, Trump said that no deal had been finalised with Iran and warned he would resume “dropping bombs” and go back to shooting if Tehran did not abide by its obligations.

Trump clarified that only a memorandum of understanding was in the works, and that no deal had been finalised. "If I don't like it, we will go back to shooting at them," Trump said, adding: "If they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head." He made the remarks sitting alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

NewDelhi:India's annual defence production touched an all-time high of Rs 1.78 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, the defence ministry said on Wednesday. The milestone represents a 15.6 per cent growth over the previous fiscal year's output of Rs 1.54 lakh crore and a staggering 110 per cent increase since 2020-21 when the figure was Rs 84,643 crore, it said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the "remarkable rise" in India's defence production in recent years is the result of the collective efforts of the Department of Defence Production and all other stakeholders. "This upward trajectory is a clear indicator of the country's expanding defence industrial base," he said. "With sustained policy support, several new initiatives, increased private sector participation, and growing export capabilities, the defence production sector is poised for continued acceleration in the years ahead," he said.