The Pentagon has told lawmakers in the United States that the first six days of the Iran war cost the exchequer about $11.3 billion, a sum that could theoretically fund basic food assistance for around 18–20 million people for an entire year. The spending is likely to rise sharply in the coming weeks and months, and much of that spending will flow to a small circle of industries, while ordinary citizens in many countries will carry the economic shock.

Scientists studying urban sewage in India have found that wastewater flowing through city drains carries large numbers of bacteria that can survive treatment with many antibiotics. The finding suggests that sewage systems, which often flow into rivers, agricultural water, floodwater and soil, may allow these resistant bacteria to spread through the environment and eventually reach people, making some infections harder to treat.

For decades, many scientists, doctors and members of the public have believed that ageing inevitably brings physical and mental decline. However, a new study has found that a large share of older adults actually experience improvement in physical or cognitive function over time, and that people who hold more positive beliefs about ageing are more likely to experience such improvement.

An independent U.S. government advisory body on international religious freedom said in its 2026 annual report that India should be designated a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom violations, citing “worsening conditions” for religious minorities during 2025.

A sharp jump in global oil prices and a sudden fall in the share prices of India’s largest refining companies have followed the widening conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. The events themselves are unfolding thousands of kilometres away in the Middle East and in global financial markets. Yet the developments carry direct economic consequences for India because they affect the price and supply of energy on which the country depends.

A recent study of how young Indians spend their working time has found that only 47 percent of adults aged 20 to 29 are in paid employment, women’s participation in paid work remains extremely low, and the overwhelming majority of young workers remain trapped in informal jobs. The findings raise serious questions about how widely economic opportunity is actually distributed in the country.

Nepal’s 2026 parliamentary election has produced a major political upset, with Balendra Shah, a former rapper who rose to prominence as Kathmandu’s mayor despite having no traditional political background, leading his new Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) to sweeping gains. The surge suggests that Gen Z voters have finally disrupted the long-standing cycle of “elite circulation” through which Nepal’s political leadership has rotated among the same parties for decades.

Karnataka has banned social media use for children under the age of 16, becoming the first state in the country to do so, according to Reuters. The move responds to real psychological concerns about how social media platforms are designed to keep young users hooked, but can age-based bans alone address the deeper forces that shape children’s online behaviour?

A large technical study has found that at least 43,083 websites were blocked through Indian internet service providers in the measurement carried out for the research. The findings draw attention more to a system marked by uneven enforcement and limited transparency than to the type of content being restricted.

A new analysis projects a jump in breast cancer cases among women worldwide from about 2.3 million in 2023 to over 3.5 million a year by 2050, while India has already recorded a several-fold rise since 1990. People in India can act through early recognition of symptoms, timely diagnosis and risk reducing habits, and governments must expand screening, strengthen referral systems, ensure affordable treatment and build stronger cancer registries.

A collective of former senior civil servants has written to the Census Commissioner of India raising detailed concerns about the six year delay in the national Census, now scheduled for 2027. In their letter, they warn that the prolonged and unexplained postponement could lead the public to suspect that the exercise is being timed to facilitate the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The United States and Israel carried out large-scale military strikes inside Iran on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran responded within hours with drones and missiles aimed at Israel and at United States linked military sites across the Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The confrontation marks one of the most dangerous escalations in West Asia in recent years and carries direct consequences for countries far beyond the immediate conflict zone, including India.