'Iran, U.S. to extend truce in tentative deal'

Negotiators from the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative agreement on Thurs-day to extend the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and launch talks on Iran's nuclear pro-gramme, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter while noting that U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on it.

Nearly 1,200 fishing harbours to be brought under CISF watch: Centre

Nearly 1,200 fishing harbours and fishing landing sites are all set to be brought under the oversight of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as part of the Union Home Ministry's plan to secure India's coastline.

Validating flaws

The Supreme Court's verdict on Wednesday upholding the ECI's SIR of the electoral rolls as "an advancement towards free and fair elections" arrives long after the SIR be-came a settled fact in Bihar and the exercise carried out in 12 other States and Union Territories in phase 2. For months, the Court refused to weigh in on the constitutionality of the exercise, in Association for Democratic Reforms vs ECI, and proceeded instead with administrative and managerial decisions. 

Brinkmanship in the age of growing conflict

Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the blockade by the United States of Iranian ports are among several recent acts of brinkmanship. A legacy of the Cold War era, brinkmanship refers to single action or a series of actions during a conflict or a short-of-war situation that forces a perilous climb up the escalation ladder to force the adversary to back down, make concessions, negotiate or even do something irrational that would justify the use of uncalibrated or widespread use of force. Coined by western political scientists in the 1950s and 1960s while analysing crises such as the Berlin Blockade (1948-49) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the term also warned of the risk of escalation spiralling out of control, particularly in the nuclear context (Armageddon).

Will increasing the strength of the SC solve the pendency problem?

On May 17, the President promulgated an ordinance increasing the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges. The move came just days after the Union Cabinet approved the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, stating that the addition of four judges would enable the top court to facilitate "speedy justice". On May 27, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the elevation of four High Court Chief Justices and senior advocate V. Mohana as judges of the top court. According to the National Judicial Data Grid, pendency before the SC currently stands at 93,966 cases. 

A revival of sedition tied to consent

The May 21 clarification allows trials, appeals and proceedings under Section 124A to go ahead for accused persons willing to face trial, even as the challenge to the constitutionality of the provision remains pending in the Supreme Court. The prolonged delay in deciding the Vombatkere petitions leaves vulnerable citizens between consenting to proceedings under a colonial-era law carrying life imprisonment or remaining in prolonged limbo.

What did the court rule on Bihar's SIR of electoral rolls?

The Supreme Court recently upheld the powers of the Election Commission (EC) to conduct special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. It also upheld the procedure followed by the EC.

Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for the conduct of elections shall vest with the EC. Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RP Act), deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls. It authorises the EC to carry out a special revision of the electoral roll, for any constituency at any time, for reasons to be recorded.

India, China hold talks on border delimitation

The 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held in Beijing on Wednesday, where India and China held constructive and for-ward-looking discussions on border delimitation and boundary management issues.

PM calls for cooperative resolution of water disputes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked States to re-solve inter-State water disputes through cooperation, timely clearances and technology-based monitoring. The Ken-Betwa project should serve as a model for the same, he said.

Chandrayaan-2 finds 'possible presence' of ice in lunar south pole

Nearly six years after it was launched, India's second moon mission Chan-drayaan-2 continues to provide valuable data on the satellite. In a new finding, scientists have found the possible presence of sub-sur-face ice in the Lunar South Polar Region. These were the findings of scientists from the Physical Re-search Laboratory (PRL) who used observations from the Chandrayaan-2's Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) payload.

Australian Deputy PM to visit India for defence talks

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles will visit India next week to hold talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as part of the second Australia-India Defence Ministers' Dialogue.

Myanmar President Hlaing to visit India; exiled govt. protests

Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing will visit India from May 30 to June 3, the External Affairs Ministry announced on Thursday. This will be the first foreign visit by President Hlaing since he won the controversial election (December 2025-January 2026) that excluded political parties of the Opposition.

National Health Accounts figures indicate high burden of health care costs on people

While India has improved public financing of health care, households and individuals still bear the heaviest burden. As per the latest figures from the National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India 2022-23, out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) is nearly half of the current health expenditure, and financial protection for health emergencies remains incomplete, though government and insurance spending has increased.

India, Korea agree to address India's growing bilateral trade deficit

The negotiating teams of India and South Korea concluded the 12th round of negotiations on upgrading the existing trade agreement between the two countries, with South Korea agreeing to address India's growing bilateral trade deficit, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Thursday.

Coal gasification can help substitute imports of up to ₹3 lakh crore, says Reddy

Coal gasification can help substitute imports of up to 3 lakh crore, Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy said, adding that the sustainable mining method also extends to ensuring self-reliance for India's industries and overall economic security.

Germany, Netherlands to set up NATO Baltic command centre

Germany and the Nether-lands will set up a joint tactical headquarters in the Baltics this year to command forces on NATO's eastern flank and help de-ter Russia, Berlin said on Thursday. The joint German-Dutch command centre known as IGNC will "assume a command role on NATO's east-ern flank, specifically in the region Estonia and Latvia" in coming months, the German Defence Ministry said in a statement.

China vows to support Cuba against 'all forms of power politics, bullying'

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi vowed to support Havana and confront "power politics and bullying" during talks with his Cuban counterpart in New York, state media reported on Wednesday, as the Caribbean island faces mounting pressure from the United States. 

One pair of feet: women, work and tuberculosis in Mumbai

The India TB Report 2023 notes that women experience diagnostic delays of up to two

to three months due to fears of stigma, and that 40% of female TB patients in an ICMR study reported facing discrimination, including job loss or family rejection. Incorrect treatment wrong drugs, improper doses, single medications instead of combination therapy can turn standard curable TB into MDR-TB.

Colour blindness: a hidden vision condition many don't realise they have

Despite being prevalent among Indians, knowledge and understanding of colour blindness in India is extremely poor. Most of the general population believes that colour blindness is when one sees the world only in shades of black and white. But this is not the case: most people with colour blindness cannot discriminate only between certain colours, namely red-green or blue-yellow combinations. The disorder is congenital and thus, many people may be unaware of their condition all their lives.