The Wire founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan. (Source: FB)The Delhi High Court is set to hear a plea by The Wire founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan, who has sought the conversion of his Person of Indian Origin (PIO) status to an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. Varadarajan has approached the court after his request for the status change, made following the merger of the PIO and OCI schemes, was not processIf you are just joining us, this is The Indian Express Realtime breaking news blog – where we bring you the latest news updates of the day in real time. Scan the top headlines of the day here, or keep scrolling to see the latest updates stream in. This blog is curated by Merin Varghese.After IE report, Railways moves to crack down on linen theftA day after The Indian Express revealed that nearly 1.27 crore linen items had been stolen from AC coaches over four years, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directed officials to devise a solution within two months to curb the theft. At a press conference on the Railways’ “52 reforms in 52 weeks” initiative, officials said they were considering measures such as empowering the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to arrest offenders and search the luggage of suspected passengers. The investigation found that the thefts, which rose 56% between 2022 and 2025, caused an estimated loss of Rs 104.5 crore, with much of the burden reportedly falling on bedroll contractors and coach attendants through salary deductions.Story continues below this adDehradun venue row over Rahul eventThe Congress staged a sit-in at Dehradun’s Parade Ground after the district administration revoked permission for Rahul Gandhi’s July 17 student outreach programme, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’. The administration said the venue was unavailable as a central government event at Parade Ground had been extended till July 17. Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal said the programme would now be held at Bannu School ground, while Dehradun District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan maintained that the administration was not trying to stop the event but was only responding to the venue’s unavailability.Chidambaram urges DMK, NCP (SP) to oppose Centre’s delimitation BillSenior Congress leader P Chidambaram alleged that the BJP is trying to secure the support of the DMK and the NCP (SP) for the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which the Centre plans to introduce in the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 20. Urging both parties to oppose the legislation, Chidambaram claimed that the Bill’s real objective was to pave the way for delimitation and possible electoral map manipulation of constituencies, despite women’s reservation already being guaranteed under the 106th Constitutional Amendment. He said backing the revised Bill would amount to a “betrayal” of the stand both parties had taken earlier and warned that delimitation under the existing formula would disadvantage states that had successfully controlled population growth.Sharad Pawar camp meets Fadnavis: Is an NDA shift coming?Leaders of both NCP factions held a late-night meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, fuelling renewed speculation that the Sharad Pawar camp may be preparing a political realignment toward the NDA — a move that would reshape Maharashtra’s opposition arithmetic at a particularly sensitive moment.Another Indian killed in Hormuz tanker attackA second Indian crew member has been killed in the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian attacks on UAE tankers continued, taking the Indian death toll from the ongoing maritime conflict to at least two in as many days. The attacks have intensified pressure on New Delhi, which has significant diplomatic and economic exposure to both the US and Iran.US senators propose 100% tariffs on India for buying Russian oilUS senators propose 100% tariffs on India for Russian oil purchases. Another Indian killed in Hormuz. Sharad Pawar camp meets Fadnavis amid NDA speculation. Spain beat France to reach World Cup final.Live Updates© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd