The day was dominated by the revelation that the pilot of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight, which had plunged 300 feet and injured 17 passengers, tested positive for marijuana in a second confirmatory dope test. This story broke around 13:00 and was immediately picked up by multiple outlets, shifting focus from earlier coverage of the flight's hydraulic failures and the CEO's summons. The pilot's drug use became the primary angle, with reports emphasizing the safety implications.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand student protests continued to reverberate. The BJP's state-wide bandh over the lathi charge on aspirants led to road blockades and detentions in Ranchi. In Parliament, the issue sparked confrontations between BJP and Congress MPs, with Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi drawn into the fray. The government offered an Amit Shah statement, but the opposition remained unrelenting.

Internationally, the Colombia earthquake death toll rose sharply to 213, with over 3,000 missing, while Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. The MEA firmly rejected China's objections to renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, stating the border situation would dictate bilateral ties.