Conversations with Iran to continue: Jaishankar

 The Indian government tried reaching out to the Iranian leadership after the U.S.-Israel attack on February 28 killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but could not establish contact because of the ongoing conflict, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told Parliament while making a suo motu statement on Monday. He said Iran had sought "per-mission... for three ships in the region to dock at our ports" before the U.S. torpedoed IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka.

West Asia dominates LS; resolution on Speaker's removal not taken up

As the Budget Session resumed, the Lok Sabha on Monday failed to take up a resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla amid repeated adjournments with the Opposition insisting on a full-fledged discussion on the West Asia crisis and its impact on nearly 10 million Indians living in the region.

Rajasthan House passes Bill to scrap two-child norm for panchayat polls

The Rajasthan Assembly on Monday passed a Bill to scrap the provision for dis-qualifying the candidates with more than two children from contesting the Panchayati Raj elections. The legal provision was introduced in the State in 1995 during the government led by the then Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The Iran war intensifies India's strategic challenge

The ongoing war will have a much greater impact on India than it had anticipated, forcing New Delhi to navigate complex regional dynamics

Why algorithmic sovereignty should be India's top priority

A day after a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena inside Sri Lan-ka's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), I posed a straightforward question to an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) system: "Was the sinking legal under international law?" The reply was instant: "It was not illegal." No qualification, no reference to the deeply contest-ed nature of military activities in an EEZ, and no mention that India and most Global South nations interpret the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) very differently from the U.S. and its allies.

What is the Musi riverfront development project?

The story so far:

Musi River flows through Hyderabad for 55 km and looks like an open sewage channel most of the year, except during the monsoon. Now, the Telangana government wants to turn the seasonal river into a perennial one by ensuring year-long flow, and develop leisure spaces, shopping areas, and heritage structures on the river's banks. But for people who have been living on the river bank for decades, this spells displacement.

INDIA bloc may move impeachment motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties are likely to move an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in the coming days.

India's cheetah population hits 53 with new litter at Kuno

India's cheetah population has crossed 50 since the launch of the Centre's reintroduction programme for the species, after a Namibian cheetah gave birth to five cubs at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, taking the total tally to 53. 

'India not to raise petrol prices despite global headwinds'

India will not be raising the retail price of petrol, despite benchmark crude oil prices breaching $100 per barrel on Monday, said a highly placed source in the Union Government.

31.2% of Al learners in India are women: study

Women accounted for 31.2% of those taking AI courses online in India last year, according to a new report by the online learning platform Coursera.

The findings represent a snapshot of how the digital divide across gender lines is also mapping on to Al access and use. The global share of women taking up Al courses is 36%. In 2024, women as a proportion of course takers was 2.2 percentage points lower.

Iran picks Mojtaba Khamenei as new leader

Iran's Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body, announced on Sunday night that it had chosen Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader who was assassinated by a joint American-Israeli strike on February 28, as the country's new leader.