In West Asia, Trump’s five-day pause offers first signs of de-escalation

Now that some room has opened up for diplomacy, Washington and Tehran must seize the opportunity to work towards a ceasefire

Banksy is unmasked. And, art is poorer

For an artist who uses a pseudonym in order that he may freely create, the unmasking imposes new constraints, and for art lovers, it diminishes the mystery that gives art its power

Surplus heat is the new climate challenge

The results of energy imbalance could unfold over decades. Policies must, therefore, be stable enough to guide investments and research over long time-scales

As West Asia war continues, the zone of uncertainty expands each day

Internal adjustments will be needed. The PM's message should go down to all who will bear the costs: Households, firms and the government

From Delhi to Odisha, the fire tragedies that repeat the same lessons

Beyond fixing individual culpability, it is high time that larger systemic failures that lead to avoidable fatalities are confronted

For India, the costs of the Iran war beyond LPG

The war’s downstream effects on smartphones, consumer electronics, automobiles, and artificial intelligence are a matter of time.

Ganga belongs to all, don’t discriminate

The attempt to divide the Ganga, to claim that only one community owns it, is jarring and out of place in Kashi

In North Korea, the .07 per cent opposition

In a recent election, the Workers’ Party of Korea won all 687 seats in the Supreme People’s Assembly, but only 99.93 per cent of the vote, down from 99.99 per cent in 2019

What makes GLP-1 drugs transformative also make them susceptible to misuse

Tighter prescription protocols, robust pharmacovigilance systems and clearer eligibility criteria are essential guardrails

The languages that cannot be found

A new paper uses genomic studies to pinpoint the earliest divergence in modern human populations

Af-Pak ‘open war’ risks becoming an intractable conflict

The countries that could exert pressure on Pakistan to work towards meaningful progress rather than just a temporary ceasefire remain engaged in their own conflict

Attacks on energy infrastructure bring the war in West Asia closer home

It raises the risks of prolonged disruptions in supplies, further straining global energy markets. The ripple effects will be felt across the world

Remembering Len Deighton, spy writer who taught young men to cook

Deighton wrote more than two dozen books, bringing his storytelling skills to works on popular history

Proposed changes to Transgender Persons Act turn back the clock on rights and dignity

While the larger objective of the Bill — wider implementation of protections and welfare measures — is worthy, the solution cannot be a narrowing of categories

Killing Iran’s leaders is fraught and escalatory

Israel’s leadership may well view a prolonged war and an unstable Iran as favourable outcomes, not least in an election year for Netanyahu

In Britain, Churchill out, badger in

The Bank of England’s proposed shift from historical figures to wildlife in their next series of banknotes has been framed as a design refresh which can also be read as a cultural recalibration

Granting of bail en masse in dowry death cases by an Allahabad HC judge is troubling

When judicial scrutiny seems to be brought to bear on these cases by rote, it threatens to leave women disproportionately exposed to systemic injustice

New uncertainties over US trade deal and India’s challenge

While the 18 per cent tariff rate had meant that India was placed favourably compared to some of its competitors, post the US court ruling, that relative advantage has disappeared

The mood at the Oscars? Urgent, anxious

If this year felt different — more charged with meaning and emotional heft — it comes down to the films themselves, many of which captured the uncertainties and ruptures of the past few years

Wangchuk’s release is welcome, a sobering moment for Centre

By all accounts, the Centre’s use of this harsh law, which empowers it to detain a person without formal charge and trial, against Wangchuk, was a case of the state using its strong arm to curb political dissent.

Four state arenas and poll dust that will travel beyond boundaries

Opposition parties are the incumbents in three of the poll-bound states: TMC in Bengal, DMK in Tamil Nadu, CPI(M) in Kerala. The outcomes in these polls will decide whether, and how strongly, the national Opposition can re-invigorate itself

Return of Russian oil signals US pragmatism

By letting Russian oil flow into the markets, Washington hopes to ease prices without formally dismantling the broader sanctions regime built since Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Delhi’s new Water Plan confronts old failures

Addressing the decade-long deficit in fixing the problem of sewage in the Yamuna will be among the many challenges

On climate change, mind the science-policy gap

Public health experts, agricultural scientists and energy specialists do have blueprints to increase people's resilience. It's up to policymakers to make optimum use of their inputs

Tariffs to LPG, crisis spillover sharpens policy challenge

Unlike ‘financial’ crises such as the 1997 Asian Contagion and the global Great Recession from late-2007 to mid-2009, the ‘real’ crises of this decade have more to do with geopolitics