Morning Digest: U.S.-Iran hostility flares up again, PM Modi urges SCO to dismantle terror ecosystem, and more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: ANI U.S. and Iran trade strikes as hostilities flare againThe U.S. military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday (September 1, 2026), and Tehran fired missiles and drones in response as hostilities flare once again in an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. The U.S. strikes followed others on Sunday that abruptly ended a month without military action and threatened to fully reignite a conflict that has spiked global oil prices and posed political problems for Republicans in November’s midterm congressional elections. The renewed fighting comes after President Donald Trump had appeared to pivot toward trying to bend Iran to his will through economic sanctions.SCO must dismantle ecosystem of terror financing, recruitment, radicalisation, and safe havens: PMThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) “must dismantle” the ecosystem of terrorism and send a strong message to countries that practise terrorism as a state policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) in his remarks at the 26th SCO summit in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic.Three candidates shortlisted for Ram Janmabhoomi Trust’s first CEOThe search committee constituted to select the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust (SRJTKT) has shortlisted three candidates and submitted their names to the Trust, the committee said on Tuesday (September 1, 2026). The Trust, which oversees the Ram temple in Ayodhya, is expected to choose one of the three candidates at a meeting on Wednesday (September 2, 2026).Avoid ‘unfamiliar, unusual’ fish from Nepal’s flood waters, Bihar govt. advisory cautionsAgainst the backdrop of the devastating flash flood in Nepal, which has left hundreds dead and many more missing, the Dairy, Fisheries and Animal Resources Department of Bihar on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) issued a public advisory cautioning against the consumption of “unfamiliar and unusual” fish caught from the flood waters flowing into the State’s rivers from Nepal.Supreme Court quashes FIRs against against Gen Z NEET-UG protesters under Article 142The Supreme Court, on the urging of the Union government, took a rare and extraordinary step on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) to quash criminal cases registered against Gen Z protesters involved in nationwide protests linked to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) following the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak.7,229 CBI cases under Corruption Prevention Act pending trial; 409 for over 20 years: CVC reportMore than 7,200 cases probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act were pending trial as on December 31, 2025. Of these, more than 400 cases were pending for over 20 years, according to the annual report of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).Mamata Banerjee’s niece found dead at home in BirbhumThe 31-year-old niece of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was found dead at her residence in West Bengal’s Birbhum on Tuesday (September 1, 2026). Police said she was the daughter of one of Ms. Banerjee’s maternal cousins, who was also a local Trinamool Congress leader in Birbhum’s Kusumba village under the Rampurhat police station. Zelenskyy warns ‘safe days in Russian skies are over’Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) warned airlines, insurance firms and passengers that Russian airspace would be “completely unsafe” and filled with Ukrainian drones for the duration of the war. “Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” he said in his nightly address.Former U.K. PM Starmer to step down as MPFormer British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would step down as MP and focus on “international affairs” among other areas, even as his successor, Andy Burnham, faced lawmakers for the first time in the House of Commons since ousting Mr. Starmer from office in July. Published - September 02, 2026 06:47 am IST