Morning Digest: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dead; Flights to remain out of West Asia airspace, and more

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader dead at 86 as Israel-Iran conflict spirals

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died following a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early on Sunday (March 1, 2026). President Donald Trump previously announced the death, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.

Iran Guards say targeted Israeli bases, Defence Ministry in new wave of attacks

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the Israeli Defence Ministry and military bases among other targets with a fresh wave of strikes late on Saturday (February 28, 2026).“The Israeli army naval base in Haifa Port, the regime’s warship dock in Haifa, the Ramat David air base, the regime’s Ministry of War in the Hakeryat area, the Beit Shams military-industrial complex and the Ishtod military industrial complex are among the targets during the third and fourth waves,” the Guards said in a statement on Telegram

Iran-Israel conflict: India calls for respecting ‘sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states’

India on Saturday (February 28, 2026) issued a series of advisories for citizens as a regional conflict started with the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran and the subsequent Iranian retaliation that hit several military and commercial hubs in the Gulf states. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, called upon all sides to resort to “dialogue and diplomacy” and said “safety of civilians” should be prioritised.

Flights to remain out of West Asia airspace after conflict breaks out; DGCA issues urgent safety advisory valid until March 2

With tensions escalating across West Asia, large swathes of its airspace became a no-go zone forcing global and Indian airlines to cancel flights to the region and reroute several others to avoid the affected corridors on Saturday (February 28, 2026). India’s aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) too issued an urgent safety advisory valid until March 2 for all airlines to avoid 11 countries in the region comprising Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

AAIB releases preliminary report on Ajit Pawar plane crash

The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday (February 28, 2026) released its preliminary report into the crash that claimed the life of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, recommending tighter regulatory oversight of operations at smaller airfields, including Baramati; urgent upgrades to deficient landing and meteorological infrastructure; and a comprehensive review of the licensing of such airstrips.

Centre suspends rice fortification scheme citing IIT study; activists welcome move

As the Union Food Ministry decided to temporarily discontinue the process of rice fortification “until a more effective mechanism for delivery of nutrients to beneficiaries is identified”, activists who had challenged the scheme in the Supreme Court welcomed the move and said fortification is not a scientific method to curb anaemia.

West Bengal electorate drops 8.09% to 7.04 crore after SIR

After four months of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the number of electors in West Bengal stands at 7.04 crores on Saturday (February 28, 2026), marking an 8.09% decline from 7.66 crore—the total electorate in the State before the SIR began in October 2025. The 7.04 crore also includes approximately 60 lakh electors whose status remains under adjudication by 501 judicial officers, in compliance with a recent order of the Supreme Court.

‘Constitutional thinking has to start from home’, says S. Muralidhar at Justice Unplugged 2026

We are in a country where we do not allow the provisions of the Constitution to influence our personal behaviour, S. Muralidhar, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and now a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, said at The Hindu Justice Unplugged on Saturday (February 28, 2026). In a conversation with Krishnadas Rajagopal, Legal Correspondent at The Hindu, the eminent jurist and author said change comes from the social milieu where you grow up in your houses, in your homes and talks of how constitutional thinking has to start from home.