Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate after the United States launched airstrikes on targets in southern Iran following the crash of an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the incident. Both crew members were rescued safely in what US military officials described as the first known drone-assisted rescue at sea by American forces.In response to the US strikes, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it launched retaliatory attacks on American military assets across the region. Tehran said it targeted the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, struck sites linked to the Al Azraq airbase in Jordan, and carried out operations against multiple US air and naval facilities. Bahrain sounded missile alert sirens, while Kuwait said its air defence systems intercepted hostile aerial targets. Jordan also confirmed it shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards the Al Azraq area.The US strikes targeted air defence systems, radar sites and command infrastructure in southern Iran, according to US Central Command. Iran, however, accused Washington of attacking civilian infrastructure in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm, claiming telecommunications facilities and water storage tanks were damaged.The latest escalation comes against the backdrop of the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict and a fragile regional ceasefire that has repeatedly come under strain. The Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes, remains at the centre of growing military tensions, raising concerns over global energy security and the risk of a wider regional confrontation involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

Returns on midcaps were backed by stronger earnings growth, while small-cap performance relied more on investor optimism. That may now be changing .

A significant internal rebellion is shaking the Trinamool Congress, with 19 MPs reportedly forming a separate faction, pushing the party towards a potential split. Rebel leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar stated they will support the NDA but not join the BJP. MP Mahua Moitra, however, dismissed the rebellion, calling the MPs 'traitors' and citing a court verdict on party splits.

Stokes has been left out of the squad along with fast bowler Gus Atkinson after the pair breached the team's midnight curfew in the early hours of Monday.