U.S. violated truce, says Iran as uncertainty clouds talks

With the two-week truce in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran due to expire on Wednesday, Iran said on Tuesday the U.S. blockade of its ports and the seizure of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman amounted to violation of ceasefire. Iran added that it has yet to decide whether to join a new round of talks with Washington in Islamabad, even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that his team would "soon" hold negotiations with Tehran.

Can we expect a devotee to follow any age-old practice in today's era, asks SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Sabarimala tantri (chief priest) if a believer can be expected to shed his sense of rationality and believe any age-old religious practice in the modern era.

The question came during the hearing of the Sabarimala review case by a nine-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in the backdrop of the exclusion of menstruating women from the temple in Kerala. 

Lustre or bluster?

Data are now beginning to accumulate, revealing the slowdown in the Indian economy brought on by the crisis in West Asia. The latest is the Index of Eight Core Industries. The data for March, the first month since the war broke out, show that these eight key industrial sectors together contracted by 0.4% over their level in March last year. This was the worst performance in 19 months but was not unexpected. The supply constraints, fuel shortages, and general subdued economic sentiments due to the conflict were bound to take a toll on the economy, especially given India's dependence on imports. 

India must draw a red line on U.S. unilateral sanctions

For India to launch a new Green Revolution in energy independence, it must first rebuff U.S. sanctions.

The cost of bringing down inflation in India, U.S. and U.K.

In India, the Monetary Policy Committee raised the repo rate - the rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks - from 4% to 6.5% between May 2022 and February 2023, and held it there until early 2025. Through FY26, it cut rates by a cumulative 125 basis points. But at its April 2026 meeting, with the West Asian conflict pushing oil prices above $120 a barrel, the RBI paused the repo rate at 5.25% signalling that the easing cycle was on hold. 

On the Yashwant Varma probe's future

Justice Yashwant Varma's resignation raises questions over the fate of the statutory inquiry against him. The Constitution asks Parliament to enact a law regulating the investigation of allegations against a judge and an address for seeking removal. The key issue is whether the inquiry's survival can hinge on the judge's continued tenure. 

Challenges for India's informal urban workforce

The informal workforce constitutes around 90% of India's total employment. In urban areas, according to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), regular wage or salaried employment remains low, which means that a vast majority of the workforce operates in informal roles.

India-Africa Summit to focus on development initiatives

Development initiatives, education, capacity building, expansion of diplomatic footprint, and defence cooperation are expected to be on the agenda when New Delhi hosts the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) 2026 in May-end, official sources said on Tuesday. Plans for the summit will be presented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced. 

Govt. moots stricter norms for content generated using Al

The Union government on Tuesday mooted stricter disclosure norms for AI-generated content, proposing tweaks to IT rules that would require clear and continuous labels identifying synthetically generated information to be visible throughout the entire du-ration of the visual display. 

SC directs committee to formulate plan for disabled-friendly prisons

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked a high-powered committee, tasked with streamlining and improving open correctional institutions across the country, to expand its ambit and formulate a comprehensive plan to make prisons disabled-friendly while taking into consideration security requirements. The panel is chaired by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat (retd), former Supreme Court judge.

Prices of cotton increase 8.5% in April on lower production

The price of widely-used Shankar 6 variety of cotton, grown largely in Gujarat, touched ₹60,500/ candy or about 8.5% higher than a month ago.

The Committee on Cot-ton Production and Consumption in India estimates Indian cotton output in the current cotton marketing season ending September 30 at almost 291 lakh bales or 0.42% lower than in the 2024-2025 season.

'March oil imports dip on war, Russian volumes hit record'

India's crude oil imports fell 13% in March from prewar levels in February, with half coming from Russia, after the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran halted Middle Eastern shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed.

The world's third-largest oil importer and consumer imported 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in March, the data showed.

Myanmar's junta leader proposes new peace talks

Myanmar's new military-backed government wants to hold peace talks with armed groups by the end of July, the country's junta leader-turned-president said, but two key rebel groups rejected the offer on Tuesday. State media reported that President Min Aung Hlaing wanted rebel groups that were not part of a ceasefire deal to join talks to be held within 100 days. 

Japan opens doors to global arms market in a change of its post-war pacifist policy

Japan on Tuesday scrapped a ban on lethal weapons exports, a major change in its postwar pacifist policy as the country seeks to build up its arms industry amid worries over Chinese and North Korean aggression.

The approval by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet of the new guide-line clears a final set of hurdles for many arms sales, including of Japanese-developed warships, combat drones and other weapons.

Peripheral neuropathy: why only some mutations cause disease

Long nerves in our limbs may be particularly sensitive to even slight interference from particular mutations; if researchers can find ways to target and block the mRNA or protein made from the mutant genes, it might be possible to treat inherited peripheral neuropathies.