Morning Digest: Fire near U.S. consulate in Dubai after drone attack; Congress and DMK fail to seal T.N. seat-sharing pact, and more

Fire near U.S. consulate in Dubai after drone attack: govt statement

A drone attack caused a fire near the U.S. consulate in Dubai on Tuesday (March 3, 2026), a government statement said, after the U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by an Iranian strike. Nearby residents told AFP they heard a loud bang, and one person said she then saw a fire at the consulate.

Government sets up inter-ministerial panel to monitor and take action on Iran war trade impact

The government has created an Inter-Ministerial Group to “facilitate effective coordination, monitoring and follow-up” of the events unfolding in Iran and the region, and their impact on India’s exports and imports, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday (March 3, 2026).

Congress, DMK stand their ground, fail to seal pact

Despite senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram stepping in and holding an hour-long meeting with DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, on Tuesday to break the ice over seat-sharing for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, the gap between the Congress’s expectations and the DMK’s offer persisted, preventing the two parties from finalising a pact. Sources said the DMK raised its offer from 25 to 27 Assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha seat, while the Congress leadership is demanding 30 Assembly seats and a Rajya Sabha seat.

Indian airlines plan to operate 58 flights to West Asia on March 4: Govt

“Special arrangements are being made to facilitate the movement of stranded passengers, with airlines deploying additional capacity where required and coordinating closely with foreign aviation authorities and Indian missions abroad to ensure safe and orderly passenger movement. A total of 24 flights are being operated by Indian carriers today. In addition, Emirates and Etihad have operated 9 flights from the Gulf in the last 24 hours,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement.

‘India has 25 days of crude oil in reserve and 25 days of petrol, diesel stock’

India has sufficient stocks of crude oil and energy products (petrol and diesel) for the next 25 days each, cumulatively accounting for 50 days of sufficiency, sources in the government said on Tuesday (March 3, 2026). “We are in a reasonably comfortable position as far as crude oil is concerned,” a source said, adding, “We have crude oil in reserve for 25 days, alongside energy products for 25 days as well.”

Iran-Israel war: India cannot remain ‘impervious’ if Indians are hurt in the Gulf conflict, says MEA

The safety of nearly one crore Indian citizens in the West Asian region is of “utmost priority” to India, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday (March 3, 2026), expressing “grave anxiety” about the unfolding conflict between Israel-U.S. and Iran.Given its “critical stakes” in the region, India cannot remain “impervious” if Indian nationals in the region are “negatively” affected, the MEA said in a statement, also warning of the impact on trade and energy supply chains.

Election Commission set to announce poll dates for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry after panel’s Bengal visit

The Election Commission of India will visit Kerala and West Bengal on March 6-7 and March 9-10, respectively, to review preparedness for the upcoming Assembly polls. Sources said the poll schedule can be announced any time after the West Bengal visit. The Commission has already visited poll-bound Tamil Nadu, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Rural jobs scheme workers flag glitches in monitoring app

Several workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) have complained about glitches following the latest update to the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), the mobile application used to record their attendance.

Mamata stresses on secularism; Suvendu raises Hindutva pitch

Ahead of the Assembly polls in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) used the birth anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to stress the State’s tradition of secularism, while Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari raised the pitch of hindutva.

Meta takes down social media handles of prominent Jammu and Kashmir news outlets

Social media handles of several news outlets based in Jammu and Kashmir were taken down on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) by Meta, which runs Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The move came in the wake of widespread protests in J&K for the past three days over the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on February 28.