TransUnion Cibil CEO Bhavesh Jain highlights the improved retail portfolio quality in January but stresses the need for lenders to continuously engage with borrowers on credit usage and repayment, similar to the approach taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the impact of the Iran war on credit quality is still being assessed.
Iran has reiterated that key preconditions must be met before negotiations with the United States can begin to resolve the conflict in West Asia, including a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets.
World leaders have expressed their relief and condemnation following a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, emphasising that political violence has no place in a democracy.
Iran's national football team is training in Turkey for upcoming friendlies as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup, facing heightened attention due to geopolitical tensions.
World leaders have expressed their relief and condemnation following a shooting incident near the White House Correspondents' Dinner, emphasising that political violence has no place in a democracy. Leaders including Narendra Modi, Mark Carney, and others have voiced their support and concern for President Trump and all attendees.
Israel will continue its offensive in South Lebanon aimed at neutralising the threat from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
As the negotiations continued, the Iranian government said on social media that "talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad entered the expert-level stage as economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees joined in".
The Lebanese army has begun evacuating some of its forward positions along the border with Israel and redeploying troops to other posts, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday, amid intensified Israeli military activity in the area.
India's handling of the Iran crisis reflects a growing strain between strategic autonomy and geopolitical alignment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India has welcomed the ceasefire between the US and Iran, advocating for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy to secure lasting peace in West Asia.
An Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, concluded high-level meetings in Islamabad, delivering an 'official list of demands' to Pakistani leaders for the US and Israel. This comes as President Trump cancelled his envoys' visit to Islamabad amid ongoing efforts to facilitate peace talks between Iran and the US.
A senior Iranian legislator has suggested that Tehran could further escalate pressure on its adversaries by targeting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising concerns about global supply chain vulnerabilities.
India is one of the few nations, and perhaps the only nation, that has good relations with America, Israel and Iran. Knowing that a war in the Gulf would damage our economy, hurt supply of fertilisers and fuel, and cause general chaos, we should have tried to ensure this war did not begin, asserts Aakar Patel.
Tensions escalated dramatically on March 5, 2026, as the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, triggering retaliatory explosions across Tehran, Sanandaj, and beyond.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
US President Donald Trump and other top officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the hotel ballroom.
'Even if the war ends tomorrow, which is unlikely, and we go back to the pre-war status quo, the world will still need some time to get over the sudden shock of oil price increases.'
After the Israeli attack on Iran's South Pars Gas Field on Wednesday night, in retaliation, Iran struck Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, resulting in extensive damage, as per the country's Ministry of Defence.
Authorities are urging the public to rely on official sources for information and avoid spreading rumours.
The Metropolitan Police in London are increasing patrols and resources following a series of antisemitic attacks, including an incident targeting a Jewish charity. Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the attacks, which are suspected to be linked to an Islamist group with ties to Iran.
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Islamabad's attempt to position itself as a mediator in the West Asia conflict has come to naught with the Iranian side refusing to meet any US-led delegation in Pakistan, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Former Central Command chief David H Petraeus suggests the US and Iran are likely to extend their ceasefire beyond the initial two-week period, citing willingness from both sides to continue negotiations.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Beijing to discuss the West Asia conflict, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and bilateral relations with Chinese leaders.
The Israeli Air Force has destroyed an aircraft used by Iranian leadership at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, along with striking over 200 targets across western and central Iran, significantly impacting Iran's strategic capabilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts that the joint US-Israel campaign against Iran is progressing successfully, highlighting Israel's strengthened position and hinting at new regional alliances.
Delegations from the US and Iran have arrived in Islamabad for talks aimed at resolving the conflict between the two nations, following a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. The negotiations are being closely watched due to their potential impact on regional security and global diplomacy.
Iran has launched a fresh wave of missile attacks against Israeli and United States-linked targets as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired some of its heaviest missiles in the latest phase of its retaliatory campaign, while Israel Defence Forces alleged that many of the projectiles carried cluster bomb warheads.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's Supreme Leader, is reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in an attack. Reports indicate he is participating in meetings and decision-making despite his condition.
The operation reportedly extended to American assets, with the IRGC claiming that "US military bases in the region, namely Ali al-Salem in Kuwait, as well as al-Minhad and al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, were also targeted."
'It was diminishing even before Trump came to power.' 'The US was at the centre of the global economy. That position is going to become less and less important and less central.'
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have conducted a massive military operation targeting more than 200 infrastructure sites within Iran and an additional 140 Hezbollah assets across Lebanon.
A second United States fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet was struck and downed over central Iran by a modern air-defence system of the Islamic Republic's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with officials saying the pilot is unlikely to have ejected, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
The Israeli military said the strike dismantled the bunker during ongoing operations against Iranian military infrastructure.
...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.
Despite disagreements over nuclear ambitions, recent US-Iran peace talks led by Vice President JD Vance have fostered crucial goodwill and a deeper understanding between the two nations, potentially paving the way for future negotiations.
IDF chief stressed the urgent need for legislative measures, including a conscription law, a reserve duty law, and an extension of mandatory military service.
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