Current Affairs – International 
Pele’s 1958 World Cup final shirt sells for $4.9m: 
It is the second most valuable football jersey sold behind the Argentina shirt Diego Maradona wore when he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England at the 1986 World Cup – which went for £7.1m in 2022.
U.S.-Iran Conflict: Washington has escalated its airstrike campaign against Iran for six consecutive nights, hitting bridges and railways in southern Iran. The U.S. also intercepted and boarded tankers in the Gulf of Oman. In retaliation, Iranian forces have launched strikes on U.S. military bases in Gulf countries.
Global Energy & Humanitarian Fears: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the Strait of Hormuz standoff threatens global energy security. Tensions have disrupted evacuation and aid shipments in the region.
Israeli assassinations of several key leaders force Hamas to find new head:
According to a Hamas source, the internal ballot to select a chairman has narrowed down to what is likely to be a close contest between former Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal and former deputy chairman Khalil al-Hayya. The winner will replace the current transitional council, which took over following Sinwar’s assassination in Gaza in October 2024. The new leader will then continue until 2027, when new elections are due to be held.
Italian Bridge Verdict: Former executives, including ex-head of Italy’s motorway operator Giovanni Castellucci, have received jail terms (up to 12 years) for the 2018 Genoa bridge collapse that killed 43 people.
AI Cooperation: Thirty-five nations are convening in Washington D.C. (with others signing an agreement in Shanghai) to shape a unified global ecosystem for trusted technology and AI.
Severe Weather & Wildfires: Unprecedented heatwaves are driving record temperatures across Europe, while Canada is battling over 800 active wildfires, causing massive blankets of smoke to drift south and trigger U.S. air quality alerts.
Ukraine Protests: The removal of Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov by President Zelensky has led to large protests, as the military navigates internal leadership rifts and the prolonged Russian conflict.
Japan relaxes royal succession rules:
The Japanese parliament approved a bill to relax imperial succession rules, amid concerns over the dwindling size of the imperial family. It allows the imperial family to adopt distant male relatives over the age of 15 and lets women keep their royal status after marrying outside the family. But it does not change the law barring women from ascending the throne despite wide public support, meaning Princess Aiko, the only child of the current emperor, is still not eligible to succeed the throne.
Current Affairs – India
ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organisation’s) Brain Drain Prevention: The Department of Space issued a directive requiring stricter adherence to voluntary retirement and resignation rules for scientists to prevent talent from jumping to private competitors. While DoS hasn’t disclosed the scale of departures, multiple Isro sources told TOI that it was substantial enough – between 100 and 120 at least – to trigger the intervention.
Puri Rath Yatra Incident: Over 30 devotees were hospitalised and two tragically died following a stampede-like crowd rush during the traditional Lord Jagannath festival in Odisha.
Sonam Wangchuk’s Hunger Strike: Activist Sonam Wangchuk continues his hunger strike (20 days) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding constitutional safeguards and statehood for Ladakh. Doctors attending him have warned of possible organ damage.
Leaders like Arvind Kejriwal have joined the protest, demanding Mr Wangchuk be made education minister.
Tragic Railway Accident: Three school students were killed and others critically injured in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district after a train rammed into a school van at an open level crossing.
Automotive Emission Norms: The Indian government released draft CAFE III emission regulations. These rules are designed to push manufacturers of M1-category passenger vehicles toward stricter fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.
Delimitation Bill Talks: Discussions regarding the revised delimitation bill are stirring national politics, with the Congress party calling for an all-party meeting to discuss its terms.
New Delhi Police Commissioner: The Ministry of Home Affairs appointed senior IPS officer Anurag Kumar as the new Commissioner of Delhi Police, replacing Satish Golcha.
Defense Advancements: The Defence Acquisition Council cleared a major acquisition package worth Rs 52,000 crore for all three military services to boost border security preparedness.
US Tariffs Bill on Russian Oil: 60 US Senators backed a new bill that proposes tariffs up to 100% on India for its purchase of Russian oil, a move supported by US President Donald Trump.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THIS WEEK.

1. AI Is Getting Messy…   And Smart
Meta just launched a tool to catch AI fake pics. Plot twist: it can’t even spot its _own_ AI images if you crop them 😬 Experts say watermarks are easy to break. With US midterms coming, spotting deepfakes is gonna be a big deal.

Meanwhile, companies are ditching giant AI models for smaller, cheaper ones that do just one job really well. Think “AI for your skincare brand” instead of “AI for everything.”
2. The Chip War Is REAL
Ever heard of HBM chips? They’re the tiny brains inside Nvidia GPUs that power ChatGPT. SK Hynix, the company that makes most of them, just had a HUGE $26.5B debut in the US and stocks jumped 14%.

Translation: Big Tech is spending _trillions_ on AI. Experts say AI spending could hit $1.5 TRILLION by 2027. That’s a lot of zeroes.


3. Space Is Having a Moment
India in Space : ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla just got back from the ISS 🚀 ISRO also launched NISAR, a satellite with NASA to track earthquakes + forests.
Back to the Moon: NASA named the Artemis III crew who will land on the Moon soon. One of them is from Italy!
Mars Rover Backup : NASA might send a backup Mars rover to the Moon’s south pole to test it first.

4. Science That Slaps
Cancer detection glow-up : Korean scientists made a new blood test that finds early colon cancer with 90% accuracy. No surgery needed.
India x Japan : The two countries just teamed up for better healthcare tech + quantum science research.

Ig Nobel time: Scientists in Japan painted stripes on cows to keep flies away… and it worked. Yes, this won an actual prize.

5. Internet Rules Update
The UK just told Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Oracle: “You’re too important to fail.” Now they have to follow stricter rules because so much of banking runs on their clouds.

The Vibe : AI is everywhere, chips are the new gold, and space is cool again.
*What to watch*: Can we actually trust what we see online with AI? And will India lead the next space wave?

SPORTS SCOREBOARD
INDIA IN ACTION 🇮🇳

CRICKET
IND vs ENG ODI Series

Game 1: India dominated and won by 6 wickets. Shubman Gill starred with 80.
Game 2: England bounced back with a 4-wicket win in Cardiff.
WOMEN’S TEST : History at Lord’s! India beat England by 270 runs and ended the host’s unbeaten run. Yastika Bhatia scored a brilliant 113.

ATHLETICS
Asian U23 Championships : Anand Singh threw a personal best 80.57m to win Javelin GOLD. India finished with 16 medals overall.

BADMINTON
PV Sindhu won in straight sets 21-14, 21-11 vs Malaysia’s Wong. Still showing top form.

*BIG NEWS FOR INDIA*
Commonwealth Games 2030 : Ahmedabad will host! 17 sports, lower costs, and a 125-member Indian team led by Neeraj Chopra and Mirabai Chanu.

Khelo India 2026 : Telangana announced as the host state.

*AROUND THE WORLD* 🌍

FOOTBALL – FIFA WORLD CUP 2026
Final Set: ARGENTINA vs SPAIN| July 19, New York
Argentina came from behind to beat England 2-1. Messi with 2 assists.
Spain beat France 2-0 to reach their first final since 2010.
This final has GOAT energy written all over it


TENNIS – WIMBLEDON
Jannik Sinner defended his Wimbledon title, beating Zverev in the final. At 24, he’s being called one of the greats already.

BASKETBALL – NBA
LeBron James is officially a free agent after leaving the Lakers. Will it be Cleveland, Miami, or somewhere new for his record 24th season?
The NBA is also investigating the Bucks’ new contract with Gary Trent Jr.

TRACK & FIELD
Diamond League : Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi shattered the 1000m world record with a time of 2:11.83.

ONE LINE SCORES
F1 : Verstappen calls new car wing “super dangerous” before Belgian GP
Golf : Bryson DeChambeau shoots 67 at British Open
Power Slap : India’s Amanpreet Singh KOs ex-WWE star Jack Swagger

TO WATCH THIS WEEK: FIFA World Cup Final
IND vs ENG 3rd ODI

WEEKLY WATCH
llumination Entertainment has never been afraid of a high-concept premise, but their latest animated entry, Minions & Monsters, might be their most daring stylistic pivot yet. Shifting the action away from standard superhero parodies and straight into the roaring, monochrome backdrop of 1920s Hollywood, the film delivers a chaotic, meta-layered love letter to classic cinema. While it occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own dizzying pace, it breathes fresh, monstrous life into a multi-billion-dollar franchise.

For years, the Minions’ narrative drive has been simple: find a despicable boss, serve them, and accidentally destroy them. Minions & Monsters relevance relies on cleverly disrupting this cycle by turning the camera inward. The story centers on James, a highly creative and fiercely independent Minion who dreams of directing his own silent-era creature feature. When their strict de facto leader, Dick, flatly rejects James’s artistic vision, the aspiring director splits from the main tribe. Along with his loyal crew—including the brave but bumbling Henry—James stumbles upon an ancient, glowing spellbook hidden beneath a studio backlot.
Looking for a realistic prop to elevate his indie film, James accidentally summons a deceptively small, neon-green squid creature named Goomi, whose hilariously extravagant full name is Gary Orkam Oliver Magma Ichabod the Deceiver. Goomi’s promises of introducing them to real monsters quickly spiral out of control. Meanwhile, the rest of the oblivious Minion tribe finds themselves swearing allegiance to Dort, a sinister, hyper-intellectual robotic alien who plans to claim Earth as his personal laboratory.
The film’s biggest asset is its stellar, eclectic voice cast. Franchise veteran Pierre Coffin continues to perform vocal miracles, imbuing new standouts James and Henry with a deeply endearing, sibling-like creative bond. The newcomers match his energy perfectly. Christoph Waltz is a delight as Max, an eccentric, megaphone-wielding silent film director who turns the bumbling yellow sidekicks into accidental cinematic icons before the sudden arrival of “talkies” threatens their careers. Jesse Eisenberg brings a hilariously cold, neurotic precision to the alien conqueror Dort. Trey Parker steals every scene he is in, voicing the cutesy yet inherently terrifying Lovecraft-inspired Goomi. The first half of the film moves at a breakneck speed, packed with smart cinematic references that will delight older cinephiles. However, the second half occasionally loses its footing. As the alien and magical plots collide, the narrative gets slightly cluttered, relying a bit too heavily on predictable, gooey action clichés and standard slapstick to resolve complex character arcs.

By the final act, the boundaries between James’s fictional movie set and terrifying reality completely shatter as a menagerie of actual cosmic horrors is unleashed upon California. The comedy of errors escalates with the introduction of Phillips and Howard, two bizarre, Lovecraftian entities whose terrifying presence contrasts hilariously with the frantic, gibberish-filled direction of the Minion film crew. The ultimate threat materialized in the form of Irene, a colossal, gluttonous orange slime monster adorned with countless blinking eyeballs. As Irene rampages through the Hollywood hills with an endless appetite, swallowing entire movie sets whole, the chaotic production truly spirals out of control. In a brilliant comedic beat of artistic obsession, James refuses to stop filming, and Henry repeatedly puts his life on the line just to keep the camera rolling.
The action culminates inside a colossal, burning studio soundstage, where the Minions and local residents successfully execute a trap to bind Irene. But victory is short-lived. In its final moments, the giant slime beast releases a deafening, reality-warping roar that tears open a massive, swirling green vortex directly in the sky above Los Angeles. Gravity reverses, and one by one, the screaming, yellow crew is pulled off their feet into the cosmic portal. Just before the screen abruptly cuts to black, a giant, terrifyingly familiar metal silhouette emerges from the shadows of the rift, looking down at the falling Minions. Audiences are left gasping in the theater, facing a massive cliffhanger: Did the Minions just accidentally open a gateway to their ultimate future master, or have they finally conjured a cosmic monster they cannot defeat?
HEAL THE WORLD 

Ever heard of a travelling story?

Imagine a library that does not wait for readers to come to it. One that travels, on hoofbeats, through the mountain paths of the Himalayas, carrying books to children in villages that roads rarely reach.

As Donate-a-Book enters its 11th year, we’re reminded that meaningful change never happens alone. It is built through partnerships – between donors, communities, organisations, and people who believe every child deserves access to books.