SATURDAY 04 APRIL, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard UKRAINE 10 KILLED IN RUSSIAN ATTACKS Russian air strikes killed at least 10 people in Ukraine on Friday, officials said, as Moscow launched the latest in an increasing number of barrages PAGE 9 A photo, taken by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from a window of the Moon-bound space capsule, shows a curved slice of Earth | AP/PTI ARTEMIS II HEADS TOWARDS MOON A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 NASA’s Artemis II astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon on Thursday night, breaking out of the Earth orbit. The translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff. The Orion capsule bolted out of orbit around Earth and chased after the moon to nearly 400,000 km away | P9 First US jet downed in Iran F-15E shot down; US forces rescue one crew member; search on for the second DAY 35 A G E N C I E S @ Tehran/Dubai INS Aridhaman ahead of its commissioning ceremony | PTI With INS Aridhaman, India gets third N-sub J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi INDIA on Friday commissioned its third nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Aridhaman, in a key step towards establishing continuous at-sea nuclear deterrence and strengthening the most survivable leg of its strategic triad. With this, India has three operational SSBN fleet. INS Arihant (commissioned in 2016) and INS Arighaat (2024) are the other two SSBNs. This meets the minimum requirement for sustained deterrent patrol cycles, with at least one submarine deployed at all times while others undergo maintenance. Aridhaman can carry up to eight K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missiles or a greater number of shorter-range K-15 missiles depending on requirements. Earlier in the day, new warship INS Taragiri was commissioned at Visakhapatnam. In his address, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described INS Taragiri as a symbol of India’s growing technological prowess. China has six SSBNs, Pak none China has 6 Jin-class SSBNs and 6-8 Shangclass N-powered submarines. Pakistan does not possess any N-powered subs IN the first known loss of a US fighter jet inside Iran since the start of the war, Iran reportedly shot down an F-15E on Friday Apart from the pilot, the jet . reportedly had a weapons-systems officer on board. Iranian media said the pilot ejected. Tehran offered a bounty for the pilot, urging people to look for the “enemy”. In parallel, the US launched a high-risk search and rescue mission. Iranian media shared images of US planes, helicopters, and drones flying over Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. Multiple reports said Debris of a purported F-15E shot down in Iran. US and Iranian forces are searching for the pilot who bailed | X one crew member was rescued by the US team and efforts were on to locate the other. If Iran gets hold of the second person, it could change the course of the war as Tehran could use the US citizen as a bargain chip and extract con- cessions from Washington. The Trump administration has not officially confirmed the loss of the aircraft or commented on the fate of the crew. US Central Command, responsible for military operations in West Asia tried to play down the damage claiming all its aircraft were accounted for, but major US media outlets reported that an F-15E jet went down. F-15E Strike Eagle is a highspeed, two-seat fighter jet with increased fuel capacity for extended combat. Around the same time the US jet went down on Friday afternoon, blasts rocked Tehran. The downing of the US fighter jet comes on the eve of the UN Security Council voting on a draft resolution proposed by Bahrain on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Missile launchers: 50% intact US intelligence estimates that around half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers are still intact. Some of them are unusable as they are buried under rubble Fired: US army chief chucked US Army Chief of Staff Randy George was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Gen Christopher LaNeve will step in as acting Army chief EXPRESS READ It’s not words but power, ‘Aridhaman’ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a cryptic post on X in Hindi, hinting at the commissioning of INS Aridhaman Earthquake jolts Delhi, NCR cities Tough norms in pollution action plan Strong earthquake tremors were felt across Delhi, other NCR cities, and several other parts of north India on Friday night after a 5.9-magnitude quake struck the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. The jolts, recorded at around 9.50 pm, triggered panic among residents. Tremors were reported from multiple cities, including Noida, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Dehradun among others. Aiming to curb air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government has implemented the Air Pollution Mitigation Action Plan, 2026. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday convened a meeting, which was attended by senior officials from all government departments. She said the plan lays out a structured roadmap for sustainable urban development. P3 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS VOTE AND TAKE COW, BUFFALO, SAYS SHAH I P8 EC’S QUESTION ABOUT TAINTED POLITICIANS I P8 Naxalite-affected dists across India scaled down to two M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi AHEAD of the March 31 deadline set for eliminating the Naxal footprint, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had convened a high-level review meeting to assess the status of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) across the country . What followed was a re- Legacy & thrust vised categorisation of LWE affected districts un- SRE districts der the Security Related are bunched in Expenditure (SRE) Scheme, 3 categories: which determines the allo- ‘LWE Affected cation of Central funds Districts’, and security resources, ‘Districts of sources said. Concern’ and As per the fresh classifi- ‘Legacy and cation, only two districts Thrust Districts’. — Bijapur in Chhattisgarh 35 districts and West Singhbhum in across 9 states Jharkhand — have now have been been designated as ‘LWE classified under Affected Districts’, sources the Legacy & said, adding that Kanker Thrust category district in Chhattisgarh has been placed under the ‘District of Concern’ category . ‘LWE Affected Districts’ are areas where Maoist activity and violence persist, requiring maximum security deployment. ‘Districts of Concern’ are those transitioning out of conflict but still needing focused security and fiscal support. The ‘Legacy and Thrust’ category includes districts where insurgency has been curbed but sustained support will continue, as well as those vulnerable to potential resurgence.