21-03-2026 BERLIN/ PARIS: For a self-described transatlanticist like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the language has been unusually blunt. When President Donald Trump asked countries to join a global effort against Iran and deploy ships to prize open the Strait of Hormuz, whose near closure has held the global economy in …

21-03-2026 JERUSALEM/ TEHRAN: Iran has ratcheted up the pressure on several Gulf nations by attacking their energy facilities in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its South Pars gasfield, as the war threatens to further ignite the entire region into an even more ominous phase, all-out conflagration. The dangerous new …

21-03-2026 MADRID: King Felipe of Spain appears to have helped thaw frosty relations with Mexico by acknowledging abuses carried out by his country during its conquest but in doing so he has reopened a fierce debate over the colonization of the New World. The arrival of Spaniards in America from …

He threatened to burn effigies of Prophet Mohammed and his companions. a, March 20 (PMI) Tensions flared in Patna after a student protest over UGC regulations led to controversy and alleged hate speech. During a demonstration at Patna College, student leader Manish Kumar reportedly burned the Manusmriti, stating that the country …

The complainant took a personal loan to invest. Hyderabad ‘ March 20 (PMI) A major online investment fraud has come to light in Hyderabad, where three individuals were duped of more than ₹30 lakh through fraudulent schemes operated on WhatsApp and Telegram. According to the Cyberabad Cybercrime Police, the incident …

The Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) under the leadership of Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, will work in close coordination with Food Safety officers. Hyderabad, March 20 (PMI)In a major step to safeguard public health, Hyderabad Police has set up a special Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) to tackle …

20-03-2026 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has declared every Wednesday a holiday for public institutions to conserve fuel as the island nation grapples with possible shortages in the wake of the US and Israel’s war with Iran. “We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” President Anura Kumara Dissanayake …

20-03-2026 PHOENIX, ARIZONA: A significant and unusually early heatwave is building across the south-western US this week, bringing temperatures more typical of early summer than mid-March. In Phoenix, Arizona, the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts temperatures could exceed 100F (38C) as soon as Wednesday, the earliest arrival of triple-digit heat …

20-03-2026 UNITED NATIONS/ BEIRUT: Israeli attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon may amount to war crimes, the United Nations human rights office says as the Israeli military pummels its northern neighbor as part of the wider war engulfing the Middle East. At a news briefing on Tuesday …

20-03-2026 TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has blamed the United States-Israel war for disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global artery through which one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments transit. In a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, Araghchi said every country …