Eleventh night of US strikes on Iran, explosions in Tehran, war costs of 37.5 billion dollarsZelensky dismisses army chief Syrskyi and appoints DrapatyiUkrainian drones hit Russia's economy as the Kremlin hardens territorial demandsOpenAI AI agent hacks Hugging Face on its own during a testChina pushes an open-source offensive at the World AI ConferenceFrance becomes the first EU country to ban social media for under-15sTrump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow enrichmentTrump announces tariffs on generic drugs from 2028Trump imposes 50 percent tariff on Canadian goods, joint bridge ceremony cancelledJapan's bond market under pressure: strong demand for 40-year bonds, weak yenIndia's cockroach protests continue, Rahul Gandhi briefly detainedNew British Prime Minister Burnham promises relief on the cost of livingNew tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China SeaNicaragua's President Ortega cancels future electionsCyberattack paralyzes Romania's land registry and property marketNew York Mayor Mamdani admits he cannot arrest NetanyahuEleventh night of US strikes on Iran, explosions in Tehran, war costs of 37.5 billion dollarsZelensky dismisses army chief Syrskyi and appoints DrapatyiUkrainian drones hit Russia's economy as the Kremlin hardens territorial demandsOpenAI AI agent hacks Hugging Face on its own during a testChina pushes an open-source offensive at the World AI ConferenceFrance becomes the first EU country to ban social media for under-15sTrump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow enrichmentTrump announces tariffs on generic drugs from 2028Trump imposes 50 percent tariff on Canadian goods, joint bridge ceremony cancelledJapan's bond market under pressure: strong demand for 40-year bonds, weak yenIndia's cockroach protests continue, Rahul Gandhi briefly detainedNew British Prime Minister Burnham promises relief on the cost of livingNew tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China SeaNicaragua's President Ortega cancels future electionsCyberattack paralyzes Romania's land registry and property marketNew York Mayor Mamdani admits he cannot arrest Netanyahu

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India's cockroach protests continue, Rahul Gandhi briefly detained

The youth-driven cockroach movement is continuing its protests against head of government Modi despite police violence. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained during a sit-in in front of Modi's residence. He is demanding Modi's resignation.

Protests in India Modi

The cockroach movement (Cockroach Janta Party), which emerged about two months ago as satire, has grown into a nationwide challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A day after police used tear gas and batons against thousands trying to march to parliament, the demonstrators announced they would continue their sit-in strike, as the Guardian reports. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress party lawmakers held a sit-in in front of Modi's residence; Gandhi was briefly detained, according to Deutschlandfunk, and accused Modi of destroying the future of the country's youth. Business-minded observers such as Bloomberg see Modi in a difficult position with few good options. The movement targets corruption, an examination system perceived as unfair and a lack of prospects; the hunger strike of activist Sonam Wangchuk became its symbol. The government points to law and order, the opposition to the failure of education policy. How far the protests will carry is open.

Sources

The GuardianDeutschlandfunkBloomberg

Forecast · Assessment

Most likely55%
The protests persist and put Modi's government under pressure without toppling it.
Worst case20%
Harsh repression escalates the situation and leads to widespread violence.
Best case25%
The government relents with reforms to the education system and defuses the conflict.