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India, Israel Sign MoU to Deepen Defense Cooperation

02 June 2022, India, New Delhi: Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh (L) receives Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (R) ahead of their meeting during his official visit to India. (Virender Singh/GPO/dpa)
02 June 2022, India, New Delhi: Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh (L) receives Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (R) ahead of their meeting during his official visit to India. (Virender Singh/GPO/dpa)
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India, Israel Sign MoU to Deepen Defense Cooperation

02 June 2022, India, New Delhi: Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh (L) receives Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (R) ahead of their meeting during his official visit to India. (Virender Singh/GPO/dpa)
02 June 2022, India, New Delhi: Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh (L) receives Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (R) ahead of their meeting during his official visit to India. (Virender Singh/GPO/dpa)

India and Israel signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding to further deepen their long-standing defense cooperation.

The deal was inked during a meeting between Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his visiting Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz.

Gantz later met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for talks on regional developments and challenges and joint interests.

They also tackled international strategic affairs, industrial cooperation and cooperation in weapons research and development.

The MoU marks 30 years of security ties between their countries and agrees to build further cooperation, Gantz’s office said in a statement.

India and Israel had kicked off a series of meetings and events to mark their cooperation.

The ministers declared their intention to further develop defense cooperation in a manner that harnesses Israel’s "technological advance and operational experience", together with India’s "extraordinary development and production capabilities".

"Cooperation between the countries would be in line with Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ vision."

In addition, the ministers discussed partnerships within the government-to-government framework, military training, and technological cooperation with a focus on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and defensive capabilities.

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New Delhi Hotel Fire Kills at Least 21

Local people attempt to douse a fire at a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP)
Local people attempt to douse a fire at a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP)
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New Delhi Hotel Fire Kills at Least 21

Local people attempt to douse a fire at a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP)
Local people attempt to douse a fire at a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP)

At least 21 people were killed when a fire ripped through a hotel in New Delhi on Wednesday, police said, in one of the deadliest blazes in the Indian capital in recent years. 

Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and routine disregard for safety regulations. 

The fire broke out in the morning at Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast in a congested neighborhood in the south of the city, Delhi Police said in a statement. 

"It is with profound sorrow that 21 persons have been declared dead in this tragic incident," the force said. 

It said rescue and search operations were continuing, with more than 40 people taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. 

Several of those killed were visitors from African countries who had come to the city for medical treatment, the Indian Express and other local media reported. 

The blaze was eventually brought under control with the help of eight fire engines, police said. 

"All concerned agencies remain deployed at the spot to ensure every possible assistance to those affected," the force added. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident "tragic". 

"My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones," his office said in a statement on X. 

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. 

Electrical short circuits, often caused by poorly maintained wiring, remain the leading cause of fire incidents in India. 

In March, a fire at a government-run hospital in eastern India killed at least 10 critically ill patients. 

World

Trump in ‘Spectacular’ Health, Adviser Says After Medical

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz attends a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 June 2026. (EPA)
US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz attends a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 June 2026. (EPA)
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Trump in ‘Spectacular’ Health, Adviser Says After Medical

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz attends a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 June 2026. (EPA)
US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz attends a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 June 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump is in "spectacular" health, a television doctor in his cabinet insisted Tuesday, after a medical examination failed to quell questions about Trump's health.

Mehmet Oz, who is Trump's administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was speaking to reporters after a physician's report on Trump came out last Friday.

"If you look at these records, they're spectacular, you know," Oz -- who is widely known as Dr. Oz after the television show he hosted for more than a decade -- said at a White House briefing.

"That amount of energy and that amount of mental acuity does not exist in a vacuum. You have to have a vessel to carry it, and the president has unique ability to just keep going at all hours of the day with remarkable strength."

Trump, who turns 80 on June 14, is the oldest person ever to become US president. A doctor's report last week said he was in "excellent" health but should lose weight.

Oz dismissed questions about why Trump has had three so-called "annual" examinations in the past year, compared to predecessor Joe Biden's one per year.

"I do actually believe he is curious to make sure everything is going in the right direction," said Oz, adding that Trump was "meticulous."

Issues including bruising on Trump's hand, swollen ankles, a cardiovascular condition and apparent sleepiness in some meetings have raised further questions about Trump's health.

World

Russia Repels Drone Attack Over Leningrad Region as Economic Forum Kicks Off

Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Russia Repels Drone Attack Over Leningrad Region as Economic Forum Kicks Off

Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Russia downed 50 drones over the Leningrad region northwest of Moscow overnight and continues to repel the suspected Ukrainian attacks, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Wednesday, as a major annual economic forum was about to start.

The Leningrad region, home to crucial energy export infrastructure and a major oil refinery, is hosting the economic conference, President Vladimir Putin's "Russian Davos", in St. Petersburg from Wednesday.

The investment forum, the fifth since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, opens ‌just hours after ‌a deadly Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv ‌which ⁠Moscow said was ⁠in response to a deadly attack on a dormitory in Kremlin-controlled Luhansk. Putin is to deliver his keynote speech on Friday.

In St. Petersburg, Russia's second-biggest city and Putin's hometown, Pulkovo ‌airport was temporarily restricting flights, Russian aviation watchdog ‌Rosaviatsia said on the Telegram messaging app.

More than 30 flights were delayed or ‌cancelled, local news outlets said.

St. Petersburg has put in place comprehensive safety ‌measures ahead of the event, Alexander Beglov, the city's governor, told the RIA news agency.

"All new challenges have been fully taken into account. Law enforcement forces have allocated personnel and equipment to ensure public safety and order," he said.

Ukraine has recently stepped up attacks ‌on Russian energy infrastructure as it tries to deprive Moscow of revenues.

On Tuesday, it hit the Ilsky export oil ⁠refinery in ⁠Russia's south with drones.

At least 20 drones heading to Moscow were downed overnight, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

In Russia's central Tambov region, outbuildings at an industrial facility in the city of Michurinsk were damaged, the governor said on Telegram.

The National Armed Forces of Latvia, an EU and NATO member, briefly issued an airspace violation threat for the municipality of Aluksne close to the Russian border on Wednesday morning, before withdrawing it.

A Ukrainian drone attack killed seven and injured another eleven in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, the Kremlin-installed head of the region said.

Denis Pushilin, posting on the Telegram messaging app, said the drone hit a passenger bus travelling between Moscow and Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.