US defence officials confirmed that an F-35 did perform an emergency landing after an Iranian surface-to-air missile (SAM) barrage, with the pilot safe and an investigation underway.
India possesses two months of fuel stockpiles and faces no supply concerns despite global energy disruptions, according to Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. However, state-run fuel retailers are incurring losses of up to Rs 1 lakh crore in a single quarter due to elevated crude prices and unchanged retail fuel prices, raising questions about the sustainability of these losses.
Beijing has been wary of Sanae Takaichi's efforts to boost Japan's military profile since taking office six months ago, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised India's concerns with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding changes to US visa and immigration policies, emphasising that legal mobility should not be negatively affected. Rubio acknowledged potential 'bumps' during the transition as the US aims to improve its immigration system.
Iran was the chance to arrange a concert of nations, to actually be a Vishwaguru. Instead, we are watching from the sidelines as Pakistan, the same country that is apparently still at war with Afghanistan, hosts talks between US-Israel and Iran. The irony is hard to miss, points out Amberish K Diwanji.
'In all these years of rupee depreciation, of rising oil prices, of inflation caused by import dependence, not one leader had the courage to look the people in the eye and say: Please do this for your country.'
The escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on the global energy supply chain are expected to dominate deliberations at a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers to be hosted by India.
Market maven Andrew Holland on why India missed the AI wave, why FIIs are leaving, why he personally invests in cryptocurrencies and why he's still betting big on the country.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in India for a BRICS foreign ministers' meeting, where discussions will focus on the escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on global energy supply chains.
'Even last year, when India bought gold, the physical quantity was much less than the previous years.'
Iran has presented a multi-layered proposal to the US in an attempt to break the deadlock in peace talks, focusing on de-escalation and nuclear programme discussions.
'You set up your SIPs and you do not touch them. Not during COVID, not during a war scare, not when your neighbour tells you the market is finished. You let the noise pass over you.' 'The beauty of this approach is that it does not require courage or conviction in the moment. It just requires inertia -- keep the SIP running and do not look at your portfolio too often.'
Mumbai-based menswear designer Priya Patil who recently showcased at Paris Fashion Week 2026, talks about her inspiration to design and transform menswear fashion in India.
'What exactly is on the prime minister's mind, we do not know. But it feels like the government wants the country to be prepared for unseen challenges ahead.'
He was childlike with a camera in his hands -- not nave, but wonderstruck, as though the world were always on the verge of delivering something unrepeatable. Pulitzer Prize nominee Namas Bhojani recalls his long association with Raghu Rai, the legendary photographer who passed into the ages on Sunday.
Petrol and diesel prices in India have been increased by Rs 3 per litre each, marking the first rate hike in over four years. This decision follows a period of stable prices during recent state elections, despite rising global crude oil prices and significant losses for fuel retailers.
Occasionally, the silence of the night shift would be shattered by an ear-splitting alarm: 'ALERT, ALERT... This is a security warning.' We were drilled to move away from the windows and avoid the lifts, recalls Krishna Kumar NP, a veteran Dubai-based journalist.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Aseem Chhabra lists his top 10 films from this year's Sundance festival, a blend of narratives and documentaries made in the US and other parts of the world.
Delhi must now purge the delusional hopes of being a 'counterweight' to China in the US calculus, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iran's participation in this year's World Cup has been called into question after co-hosts the United States launched joint air strikes at the country along with Israel at the weekend.
Far from it; the country's resistance to the US, its nuclear ambitions, and its pursuit of influence and proxies across the Middle East are driven by a constant search for independence and security. Thus, Iran will never capitulate. Trump will learn this home truth ultimately, and it is going to be a humbling personal experience that may even destroy his presidency, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
The Americans can occupy Bab el Mandeb, claim to have 'solved' the Strait of Hormuz crisis, declare victory that President Trump so desperately needs, points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Srivastava warned that continued bombing of Iran by the US and Israel could severely undermine any prospects of reopening critical maritime routes through negotiation with Tehran.
The United Nations has commemorated the centenary of World War I, lauding the courage and sacrifice of soldiers including over a million from India, and underscored the importance of reconciliation through diplomacy.
China's latest defence budget surges to $275 billion, fueling its ambitious military modernisation program and intensifying geopolitical dynamics in the region.
...is a way out, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War. What the indefinite extension produces is a prolonged condition of not-war-not-peace, in which oil markets cannot stabilise, Asian refineries cannot plan, European governments cannot stop subsidising consumption they cannot afford, and the next flashpoint -- a seized tanker, a miscalculated drone strike, a Truth Social post that claims too much -- is one news cycle away.
The escalating conflict in West Asia has resulted in 19 ships carrying essential energy resources for India being stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about potential disruptions to the country's energy supply.
'As result, Netanyahu 'convinced' Trump to go to war with the help of overoptimistic Israeli intelligence assessments, essentially explaining to him that they only need to bomb Iran for 3-4 days, and the regime would then collapse.' 'Rather unsurprisingly, Netanyahu is ever since blaming his own intel service for the entire operation failing.'
Pakistan's skewed foreign reserves got a major boost after Saudi Arabia pledged an additional $3 billion in deposits while extending its existing $5 billion facility for a further three years.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
India emerged from the war militarily bruised and strategically altered. The United States, under the guise of friendship, had succeeded in achieving what open alignment never could: The psychological and political repositioning of India within the Cold War order, points out Dr Kumar.
Modi said that the West Asia crisis has been going on now for more than three weeks and is having a very adverse impact on the global economy and on people's lives. He said the entire world is urging all parties for the earliest resolution of this crisis.
Sri Lanka's response to the Easter attacks has been slow and politically contested, unlike India's swift institutional reforms after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
Raghu Rai, one of India's most celebrated photographers, passed away at a private hospital in New Delhi at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, son, and three daughters.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
