Image source: The Federal, Civils Daily, Shutterstock and NASA; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla (Shux) ended his space mission with spacecraft Dragon Grace’s gentle splash into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 3.02 pm (IST) Tuesday, wrapping up months of training, experiments in orbit, and India’s latest stride in human spaceflight participation. Hot Off the Press Grace had undocked from ISS at 4.45 pm on Monday, carrying, besides Shux, mission commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu and Slawosz Uznanski. As part of the re-entry and splashdown operations, Grace began the 18-minute de-orbit burn around 2.07 pm (IST) on Tuesday. By 2.27 pm, Grace jettisoned the trunk, and the nose cone was closed by 2.33 pm. Shux’s Axiom-4 mission comes at a time India is making a deeper entry into human spaceflight, expanding ambitions beyond satellites & rockets, reported Chethan Kumar for The Times of India. And this ha

A special delicious. gloss lift-out in The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail and The Advertiser, on sale Wednesday, August 27 will feature winners of the delicious. and Harvey Norman Produce Awards, which are celebrating 20 years of championing Australia’s finest producers.  delicious. Content Director Krysia Bonkowski said: “For two decades, the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards have done what no other food industry awards program has done – acknowledge Australia’s finest producers; the quiet champions behind our leading chefs and restaurants.  “Our aim is to unearth the producers leading the way and driving progress. Despite the challenges facing their industry, these producers demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, quality and community in everything they do.  “We are thankful to have a partner like Harvey Norman for eight consecutive years; their continued support and collaboration is integral. I also thank each of our judges for the

THE BRIEF - 'MARK OF DEPRAVITY' The coverage of Mark Latham’s latest albeit very serious scandal is already threatening to be a masterclass in pearl-clutching moral outrage laced with titillation. The Daily Telegraph screams MARK OF DEPRAVITY, recounting a sordid tale of alleged emotional abuse, intimidation, and yes, sexts sent from the floor of NSW Parliament. Former partner Nathalie Matthews alleges that Latham manipulated and abused her during a chaotic relationship that saw them break up five times in a year. The allegations include coercive behaviour, financial control, and public humiliation. Latham, for his part, admits to some “salty” messages and insists her claims are “complete rubbish.” The SMH manages to keep its palms dry with a cooler take from Alexandra Smith Perry Duffin, and Jessica McSweeney noting the disturbing pattern of control Matthews describes—but staying well clear of panting headlines Meanwhile, The Australian’s Liam Mendes, who bro

Sharada Balasubramaniam didn’t walk into journalism through a media school or newsroom placement. She stepped into it from the ground, driven by instinct, shaped by urgency.  Back in 2003 or 2004, journalism wasn’t a degree you collected. It was something you did. And that’s exactly what she began doing after a brief stint at Greenpeace, where she first saw how climate issues were ignored in mainstream media. That early exposure would shape her life’s work: telling stories that connect people to the ecological emergencies unfolding around them. Her first newsroom job was at The Asian Age in Mumbai, not as a reporter but as a sub-editor on the business desk. It wasn’t the dream beat. But it gave her something just as valuable, an understanding of how newsrooms work. Sharada tells young journalists to start here: “Find your niche, yes, but learn the craft first. Understand how the machine runs before you try to change its course.” It would be years before she reported

Behind the news bulletins, headlines, and breaking alerts, a quieter story is playing out, one of journalist mothers balancing deadlines and diapers, live reports and lullabies. While the profession demands speed, stamina and stoicism, it rarely pauses to consider what it means for those producing the news while carrying new life, literally and emotionally. "Motherhood didn’t dull my passion" Laasya Shekhar, an independent journalist, laid it bare. During her first trimester at south-based digital publication, she struggled with relentless nausea and fatigue. There were no naps, no concessions, and certainly no slowing down. “In my sixth month, I was on the ground covering the 2023 Chennai floods,” she said. “Soon after, I was fired for ‘underperformance’, despite informing the organisation about my pregnancy.” After childbirth, Laasya pushed through sleepless nights and two-hour feeding cycles while continuing to write stories as an independent reporter. The passion

Image source: Al Jazeera, Business Today and TOI; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171 — a Boeing 787 Dreamliner — plunged into tragedy shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 270 people. Now, a preliminary investigation has drawn attention to a rarely discussed cockpit component: the fuel control switch. Hot off the Press According to The Times of India’s Saurabh Sinha and Manju V, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered immediate inspections of all Boeing 737 and 787 jets in Indian fleets, demanding checks of the fuel switch locking mechanisms by July 21. This follows findings in the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)’s report that both switches had moved from RUN to CUTOFF just seconds after take-off. The Hindu’s Jagriti Chandra and Hindustan Times’ Neha LM Tripathi further noted that the DGCA directive came even as the AAIB report explicitly stated there was “no urgent safety concern” or syst

Benjamin Veress hopes to explore his passions much more after departing as Native Content Writer at Pedestrian TV earlier this month.  However, after just one week off, Veress is already back at the keyboard, joining Blunt Magazine as a freelance news writer last Thursday.  Veress told Influencing, “I've been in the same role for under three years and decided it was time to move on…After so much change and being in the native content role for so long, I decided I want to take a step back, pursue other opportunities, and focus more on my passions for writing, too. “I stream on the side, I do content creation on the side, and I also love doing that.” Veress added the decision to change roles was “a culmination of things” and that he hopes to focus on “music, gaming, and tech news” going forward. The opportunity to write for Blunt Magazine came from an informal discussion with his former Pedestrian colleague and now editor of Blunt Magazine, Emily Spindler.  “I