India successfully conducted “the first-of-its-kind rail-based test” of the Agni-Prime ballistic missile giving the Asian giant a big boost to its security options.
Indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile’s test was carried out from a Rail-based Mobile Launcher under a full operational scenario.
The test, conducted in collaboration with the Strategic Forces Command, was carried out from a Rail-based Mobile Launcher under a full operational scenario. This marks the first launch of its kind, showcasing enhanced mobility, rapid reaction capability, and low-visibility deployment.
The DRDO added that Agni-Prime missiles can strike targets at a range of up to 2,000 kilometres. Furthermore, the launch demonstrates the system’s effectiveness in offering cross-country mobility and flexible deployment options.
In other news, the death toll in Kolkata, on account of the heavy rains on Tuesday, has risen to 12. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that Kolkata received as much as 251.6 mm in 24 hours, the heaviest it's seen since 1988.
Police said that most of the deaths were due to electrocution with 2 people having drowned.
The devastation has somewhat dampened the preparations and festive mood in the City of Joy ahead of next week’s Durga Puja - the biggest annual festival of Hindus in the state of West Bengal.
Shifting focus, the Karnataka High Court has dismissed a case filed by tech-billionaire Elon Musk’s X against the government-run Sahyog portal.
X had argued that the portal was being used to arbitrarily censor content on the platform. A single-judge bench ruled that X’s challenge against the Home Ministry-run Sahyog portal was “without merit”.
The full order has not been made public yet with no clarity on whether X will appeal against it.
The dismissal marks the second case in just over two years that X has lost while challenging the Modi government’s powers to block or take down content.
In the US, an ICE detainee was killed and two others badly wounded at a Texas-based facility by a lone gunman, before he took his own life.
Officials allege that 29-year-old gunman, Joshua Jahn, was armed with a sniper and fired indiscriminately from an adjacent roof. No law enforcement officers were hurt in the incident.
FBI Director Kash Patel later posted a photo on X showing what he said was the suspect’s unused ammunition. The shell casing of one round was inscribed with "ANTI-ICE."
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