The Editorial Page: War is waged as spectacle. We have devised new strategies of moral evasion 12 SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAgE JAIPuR, LATE CITy, 22 PAGES ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I Ly F R O M : A H M E DA b A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P u R , kO L k ATA , L u C k N O W , M u M b A I , N AG P u R , PAT N A , P u N E , vA D O DA R A POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 AT LEAST 87 wERE KILLED AfTER wARSHIP IRIS DENA wAS TORPEDOED NEAR SRI LANKA Before it was sunk by US, Iranian ship was offered shelter by India ‘Unsigned & undated’ report neither placed before Central Empowered Committee, nor approved by it: Amicus Second Iran warship, IRIS Lavan, docked at Kochi on March 4 Jay Mazoomdaar New Delhi, March 6 THESUPREMECourt’sAmicus CuriaeintheAravallidefinition case has submitted that the reportbythecourt’sAravallicommittee led by the Environment secretary “completely suppressed”theviewsoftheForest Survey of India (FSI) while recommending a 100-meter height definition for the hills. The Amicus Curiae’s sub- Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, March 6 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY US gives ‘essential partner’ India 1-month waiver to buy Russia oil Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, March 6 WITH AN effective halt in cargo movement through the Strait of Hormuz hitting crude oil flow to India, the US has issued a temporary 30-day “waiver” to allow Indian refinerstobuyRussiancrudethat is already in the high seas. Indiahad,inrecentmonths, Divya A WITH TEHRAN coming under incessant attacks from the UnitedStatesandIsrael,theIndiangovernmentisworkingon a plan to evacuate its citizens from the warzone in Iran, The Indian Express has learnt. Around 9,000 Indian citizens, mostly students, are stuckinIran.Mostofthemcome lPRESIDENT MURMU will attend the 9th International Santal Conference in Darjeeling. TRACK THIS AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm from Jammu & Kashmir, while some are from Uttar Pradesh and other states. They are primarily located in two Iranian cities—Tehran,whichhascome under heavy attack over the last few days, and Qom, about 150 kilometres from the capital. Iranianairspaceiscurrently closed following large-scale US and Israeli airstrikes beginning February 28. “Those requiring evacuation can be transported SAMALTMAN OpenAI CEO PAGES 18, 19 LATEST l SOME COuNTRIES HAvE bEGuN MEDIATION EFFORTS, SAyS PEzESHkIAN l ISRAEL POuNDS IRAN, LEbANON; TEHRAN HITS bACk AT uAE, bAHRAIN, SAuDI MORE REPORTS, 7, 15, 16 UPSC topper Anuj Agnihotri at home in Chittorgarh, Friday. PTI civil services. An alumnus of AIIMS Jodhpur, this was Anuj’s third RSP’s Balendra Shah is set to defeat former PM KP Sharma Oli in the Nepal elections. FILE attempt. In 2023, he was selectedforDANICS,thecivilservices for Union Territories. In second place was Rajeshwari Suve M, an engineering graduate from Anna University, Chennai. Akansh Dhull, who is B Com graduate from Delhi University, Raghav Jhunjhunwala, who has a BA (Hons) Economics degree from Delhi University, and Ishan Bhatnagar, a law graduate from Law University, Delhi, secured the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 to neighbouring Armenia and Turkmenistan through land route, from where they can be flown to India,” said a highly placed source. In fact, Turkmenistan has opened several additional checkpoints on its border with Iran to allow foreign citizens to leave the country. American Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has warned that American Stop Struggling with RAS in ENGLISH MEDIUM FREE SEMINAR »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The coming to power of RSP, founded three years ago, and its leader Balen Shah is being closely tracked in Delhi. For quite some years, India’s ties with Nepal have shown signs of strain, especially over unresolved territorial disputes and Beijing’s growing influence. l EVIDENT U.S. ACTING OUTSIDE TRADITIONAL FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: FINLAND PRESIDENT ‘See India as a peacemaker… one of the few countries that can talk to everyone’ Shubhajit Roy Stubb shared his views on InNew Delhi, March 6 dia’s growth, its peacemaking abilities,bilateralareasofcoopPRESIDENT OF Finland Alex- eration, his assessment of US ander Stubb, who is on a state President Donald Trump, the visit to India, met Prime Min- ongoing conflict in the Middle ister Narendra Modi Thursday East and Ukraine, and his adand the two vice to the InExPrEss leaders decided dian youth. to upgrade ties Edited to strategic partexcerpts: ALExANDERSTUBB nership on digiFINLAND PRESIDENT talisation and This is your sustainability. first visit as InaninterviewwithTheInPresident of Finland. dianExpressonthesidelinesof Yes, I’ve been in office for the Raisina Dialogue Friday, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANUJ AGNIHOTRI, a 26-yearold from Rawatbhata in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district, has toppedtheCivilServicesExamination 2025, the result of which was declared by the Union Public Service Commission on Friday, listing 958 candidates (659 men and 299 women) as qualified for appointment to different central Strategy for RAS 2026 8th March (Sunday), 11:00 AM Scan the QR Code to Book Your Seat Key Speakers Free Bonus for seminar Attendees New Delhi keeps close watch Kathmandu, March 6 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaipur, New Delhi, March 6 ExPlAINED landslide win in first poll post 2025 Gen Z protests IN THE first election post the September 2025 Gen Z protests that forced out the K P Sharma Oli government, Nepal appeared to have rejected the old exclusive Parul Kulshrestha & Damini Nath lNO DEAL WITH IRAN EXCEPT uNCONDITIONAL SuRRENDER, SAyS TRuMP Nepal rejects old guard, Balen Shah, 35, is set to become PM RSP heads for E. Yubaraj Ghimire ‘I don’t think there should be any single superintelligence in the world’ availableinthehighseas,asper trade sources and vessel tracking data. Themovewillprovideshortterm relief to India, which imports 88% of its oil needs, said experts. However, this alone may not be able to fully offset the country’s exposure to West Asianoilthatcamethroughthe critical chokepoint 9,000 Indians stuck in Iran, Centre works on plan to bring them home New Delhi, March 6 Happening today cut down significantly on its oil imports from Russia amid trade negotiations with the US, as Washington made it a prerequisite for scrapping its 25% additional penal tariff on New Delhi. But with the Strait of Hormuz—throughwhichIndia gets over 40% of its oil imports—effectively closed, refiners had already started buying more Russian oil already mission also pointed out that SC accepted the recommendathe“unsignedandundated”re- tions of the Aravalli panel that portoftheAravallipaneldidnot any landform at an elevation of have the approval of the SC’s 100 metres or more above the local relief would Central Embe considered as poweredCommitExPrEss part of Aravalli tee (CEC) and its hills along with its “exclusionary” slopes and adjacdefinition did not ent land. “sufficiently inA series of investigations by cludelandformsthatconstitute theAravallihillsinordertopro- The Indian Express during November-December 2025 tect and conserve the same.” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On November 20, 2025, the Rajasthan youth tops UPSC: ‘I put in 8-10 hours despite distractions’ A photo released by Sri Lanka’s President Media Division shows Lankan navy personnel rescuing sailors of Iranian warship Dena. PTI RASonly Kit NCERT Free Video Course Raj. Addhyan English Medium Books Prelims Practice Paper Bhunesh Sharma Amar Singh Rathore Rakesh Verma Rank-62 (RAS 2023) IAS (R) Ex. ACS (Govt. of Raj.) Current Affairs Expert 15+ Yrs. Experience What You Will Learn RAS 2026 Roadmap E M NG ED LI IU SH M BEFORE IRANIAN frigate IRIS DenawassunkbyaUSsubmarinenearSriLanka,Indiahadoffered it shelter at one of its ports, The Indian Express has learnt. The Dena, which left Visakhapatnamafterparticipatingin the International Fleet Review (IFR) and MILAN-2026 exercise, was torpedoed in the early hours of March 4. According to the Indian Navy, the warship wasoperating20nauticalmiles west of Galle. The safe harbour offer was said to have been made in view of the rising tensions between the US and Iran. Hostilities erupted on February 28 when IsraelandtheUScarriedoutthe first wave of air strikes across Iran. On Friday, government sources said a second Iranian warship, IRIS Lavan, docked at Kochi port on March 4, the day the Dena was torpedoed. Sources said that on February 28, Iran requested India to take in the Lavan since the vessel had developed technical issues. Panel led by MoEF Secretary ‘suppressed’ FSI views on Aravalli, amicus informs SC High-Scoring Tricks Rajasthan GK Strategy RAS Prelims Micro-Themes Answer Writing Hacks RAS FOUNDATION NEW BATCH STARTS FROM 9th March ONE PASS – Unlimited Practice RAS PASS Subject Wise-Topic Wise-Full Length-PYQs-Current Affairs English & Hindi Medium Validity : 12 Months interview Fee: ₹399 / ₹799 (Pass Pro) Finland President Alexander Stubb in New Delhi. ANIL SHARMA RASonly, Near Riddhi-Siddhi, Jaipur Jaipur Scan this QR Code to Get RAS PASS 9057143412