National and International news today

National & Political News

Vande Mataram Protocol Dispute: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) reaffirmed its position to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, triggering political debate with the BJP.  

Kashmir Diplomacy: On a visit to Srinagar, US Ambassador Sergio Gor affirmed that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India, adding that Washington is evaluating a potential easing of its travel advisory for the region.  

Infrastructure & Urban Development: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared infrastructure projects worth ₹13,041 crore across rail and highway networks.  

International News

US & Iran Tensions: The US administration announced an escalated economic campaign targeting Iran, issuing warnings of secondary economic measures against nations aiding Tehran's nuclear and trade ambitions.  

US Debt Milestone: Official data indicates the US national debt has reached $40 trillion amidst ongoing domestic spending pressures.  

Sports Headlines

Hockey World Cup: India defeated Pakistan 5–3 in a group stage match in Amstelveen, securing advancement to the second round.  

Test Cricket: The Indian men's cricket team claimed a victory against Sri Lanka in the 1st Test at Galle.  

Asia’s biggest IPO of 2026 debuts

 China Resources New Energy shares nearly tripled on their stock market debut in Shenzhen on Thursday after the wind and solar energy company raised 24.5 billion yuan ($3.61 billion) in Asia's largest initial public offering (IPO) of 2026 so far.

The stock opened at 21.60 yuan, more than double its IPO price of 10.11 yuan. During early trade, it soared as much as 198%, triggering a temporary trading halt.

The strong listing performance came despite weakness in the broader Chinese market and is being viewed as a key test of efforts to attract large domestic listings and encourage households to channel more savings into equities following a slowdown in IPO activity.

China's blue-chip CSI300 index was trading nearly 2% lower in early morning trade.

According to LSEG data, companies listing on the Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing stock exchanges raised $7.7 billion through A-share IPOs during the first half of the year, representing a 64.4% increase from the corresponding period last year. Including offshore listings, total funds raised by Chinese companies through IPOs almost doubled to $16.2 billion.

West Asia War updates: Abbas Araghchi says draft U.S. deal includes ending naval blockade, Hormuz arrangements

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas ‌Araghchi said on Friday (June 12, 2026) ⁠that an “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)” for ‌addressing the U.S.-Israeli ‌war ‌on ⁠Iran ⁠had “never been closer”, but urged media outlets ‌to refrain from speculating about its contents ‌until it was finalised. He said Iran ⁠would share all ‌details with the public in due course, in ‌what he called Tehran’s responsible and transparent ⁠approach.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (June 12, 2026) accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was “totally unacceptable.” Three vessels with an Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers on Wednesday (June 11).