(1) India finishes fourth at CWG 2026

India overcame the absence of several of its traditional medal-winning sports to surpass expectations at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, finishing fourth with 39 medals, powered by a record-breaking boxing campaign, a historic showing in judo, and another strong performance by its para athletes.

With the Games reduced to just 10 sports, excluding wrestling, shooting, badminton and hockey, India’s chances of a top-five finish looked uncertain before the competition began.

However, the 122-member contingent returned with 13 gold, 17 silver, and nine bronze medals, underlining the country’s growing depth beyond its traditional strengths.

(2) U.S. mulling fee for OPT visas

The U.S. might propose levying a fee of 1,00,000 dollars for issuing Optional Practical Training (OPT) visas, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal published on Friday last week (July 31, 2026).

This comes after an appeals court struck down an earlier proposal to levy a similar fee for the issuance of H-1 B visas for working in the U.S.

If OPTs are levied the proposed fee, it will have a significant impact on both overall U.S. international student enrollments as well as those from India specifically. Here’s a look at some numbers showing the profiles of both the U.S. international students overall as well as those from India.

Students on OPT visas have formed an increasing portion of overall international students in the U.S. over the years.

OPT visa-holders formed 39% of all students from India in the U.S., and grew by over 40% while other categories either saw a decline or a slower growth. Indian students formed 49% of all OPT visa-holders in 2024-25.

In terms of economic contribution, international students contributed around 42.9 billion dollars by spending in the 2024/25 academic year.

(3) Europe’s raging wildfires

Wildfires have raged across parts of Europe at alarming rates over the past week, with France and Spain reporting fires that have burnt close to 70,000 hectares in France and 1,50,000 hectares in Spain since January. This year, especially this month, wildfires have burnt more area than the past trend.

Climate change and increasing temperatures in Europe have made fire ignitions easier and spreads more expansive. In France, a fire in Gironde generated storm clouds that triggered lightning to cause more fires. Besides France and Spain, fires have also been reported in Italy, Greece and Portugal.

(4) Japan quake toll hits 28 as survivors struggle in heat

Japanese emergency workers battled Thursday (July 30, 2026) to rescue any remaining survivors from a devastated shopping mall, as the death toll from a major earthquake hit 28 and thousands sweltered in punishing heat.

The government issued the new tally as Kumamoto officials said they have now extracted four bodies from the mass of rubble, steel and wires of the Aeon shopping mall after a suspected gas blast following Tuesday’s (July 28, 2026) quake.

Tuesday’s (July 28, 2026) 7.1-magnitude tremor caused widespread damage, flattening homes, damaging bridges, triggering fires and leaving tens of thousands of residents without power and water in temperatures forecast to hit 38C this weekend.

(5) US economic growth slows in second quarter

The United States saw slowing growth in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday, with fallout from President Donald Trump’s Iran war weighing on the world’s largest economy.

GDP grew at a sluggish annualized rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said, missing analyst expectations of around 2.0 percent.

It had grown by 2.1 percent in the previous quarter, BEA data showed.

“Compared to the first quarter, the deceleration in real GDP in the second quarter reflected a downturn in government spending and decelerations in investment and exports that were partly offset by an acceleration in consumer spending,” the BEA said in a statement.

The economic health of US households is a key issue in November midterm elections, which will see Democrats attempt to wrest control of Congress from Trump’s Republicans.

Published - August 03, 2026 05:30 pm IST