News Dabba for 18 March 2026: Five stories for a balanced news diet

Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from Israel striking Beirut, Air travel getting a flyer-first push, to the end of Cuba's 29 hour blackout.

7 dead after short circuit at Indore EV charging station sparks blast, NDTV

NDTV reports that seven people were burnt alive after a massive fire engulfed a residential building near Bengali Square in Indore early Wednesday morning. The incident occurred around 4:00 am in the Tilak Nagar police station area, when a suspected short circuit at an electric vehicle (EV) charging point triggered a fire outside the house of the Pugalia family. Within minutes, the flames spread rapidly from the vehicle into the three-storey residential building, turning it into a death trap for those inside. Read the full report here.

Air travel gets a flyer-first push, Indian Express reports

In a fresh push to improve customer comfort, transparency and consistency in airline operations, Indian Express reports that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued new directions through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Under the revised norms, airlines must keep at least 60% of seats on every flight free of charge to ensure equitable access. Travellers booked under the same PNR are to be seated together, preferably in adjacent seats. The regulator has also asked carriers to make the transport of sports gear and musical instruments more transparent and passenger-friendly, while continuing to follow safety and operational rules. Read the full report here.

Israel strikes central Beirut as US targets Iran's missile sites, BBC reports

Israel launched a series of strikes on Lebanon's capital Beirut and orders evacuations in the country's south, BBC reports, as it continued its offensive against Hezbollah. One blast flattened a building in the city centre - this isn't the so-called Hezbollah heartland of southern Beirut, but an area surrounded by businesses and hotels, writes the BBC's Wyre Davies from the scene. Meanwhile, the US military said it has used powerful "deep penetrator" bombs to hit Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz; the vital waterway for transporting oil has been effectively blocked by Iran since the war began. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times: Russian oil tanker ditches China, ‘hurries’ to India

A Russian oil-laden tanker originally bound for China has reversed course in the South China Sea and is now heading to India. Hindustan Times reports that the move comes amid a global energy crisis caused amid the US-Iran war. Ship-tracking data show that the Aframax tanker Aqua Titan is expected to arrive at the port of New Mangalore on March 21 carrying a cargo of Russia's Urals crude. The vessel had loaded the oil from a Baltic Sea port in late January and initially signaled the Chinese port of Rizhao as its destination, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Cuba restores power after 29-hour blackout amid US oil blockade, Al Jazeera

Cuba has reconnected its power grid and brought online its largest oil-fired power plant, energy officials said. Al Jazeera reports that this put an end to a nationwide blackout that lasted more than 29 hours amid a United States move to choke off the island’s fuel supply. After the country’s 10 million people had been plunged into darkness overnight, the Caribbean island’s national power grid had fully come back online by 6:11pm local time on Tuesday. Read the full report here.