Intense mediation: Signs of progress amid efforts to reach US-Iran deal

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A new opinion poll in the US suggests that 60 percent of Americans now oppose President Donald Trump’s war on Iran.

Published On 22 May 2026

Iran’s ISNA news agency says mediated discussions between Tehran and Washington are ongoing, with the two sides exchanging messages and draft texts in an effort to establish a formal framework for an agreement to end the conflict.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tehran reports that Pakistani officials are engaged in intense mediation activity, while a senior Iranian official said a deal was close, though a second Iranian source said it was too early to say whether a final agreement could be reached.

Man caught on CCTV throwing packet-like object at Kolkatas Howrah station which sparked fire; probe on

Security agencies have launched a probe after CCTVs, installed at Kolkata’s Howrah station in West Bengal, showed a man dumping an object near the cab road, which caught fire on Tuesday afternoon.

Howrah station is the country’s oldest and busiest railway station. The station complex, with its 24 platforms, registers more than a million passengers every day.

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a high-level security review meeting at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday.

It was noted during the meeting that in the last few days, the involvement of anti-social elements has emerged during the initial probe into multiple incidents, including some recent fire incidents. Indian Railways has taken these incidents seriously, and the RPF is actively probing them,” the Railways said in a statement.

“In several cases, prompt and proactive action by Railways helped avert major eventualities. It was also felt that, besides strengthening intelligence systems and the use of technology to process inputs faster, Railways will further encourage passengers to actively support efforts in containing anti-social activities during their journey and while waiting at station premises. Railways has thus urged passengers to remain alert and vigilant while travelling. Any suspicious activity or suspicious person noticed on railway premises should be immediately reported on the Railway helpline number 139, it added.

Politics

Gaza sisters win Earth Prize for turning war rubble into bricks

NewsFeed

Palestinian sisters Tala and Farah Mousa turned the rubble of their bombed Gaza home into reusable bricks for reconstruction. The pair became the first Palestinian team to win the 2026 Earth Prize Middle East award.

Published On 21 May 2026

Politics

Wes Streeting pledges wealth tax that works

Politics

Who gets what in Vijays new Tamil Nadu cabinet? Full list of names

Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led TVK Cabinet was expanded on Thursday with the inclusion of 23 MLAs in the Council of Ministers, and the Governor has proved their pointment as ministers.

2 Congress MLAs, 21 from CM Vijay's TVK take oath in historic Tamil Nadu cabinet expansion. ()

The swearing-in ceremony of the ministers-designate took place on May 21, at 10 am at Lok Bhavan in Chennai.

Who gets what in new cabinet?

Vijay also revised several ministerial portfolios following the Cabinet expansion. Congress leaders S Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan have been assigned the Tourism and Higher Education portfolios, respectively. K A Sengottaiyan, who earlier handled Finance, has now been allocated the Revenue and Disaster Management department, while TVK leader N Marie Wilson has been named Minister for Finance, Planning and Development. TVK’s Mohamed Farvas has been given the Labour Welfare and Skill Development portfolio.

Also read | 2 Congress MLAs, 21 from CM Vijay’s TVK take oath in historic Tamil Nadu cabinet expansion | TN ministers list 2026

Full list of 23 MLAs

Congress MLAs who took oath

S Rajesh Kumar, a seasoned politician and a three time legislator for Killiyoor constituency in Kanyakumari district took oath on Thursday to join the Tamil Nadu cabinet. Rajesh Kumar, 51, is also the former District Congress Committee President of the Kanyakumari west.

In the 2026 assembly elections, he secured 66,434 votes defeating Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate S Sabin by a margin of 1,311 votes.

P Viswanathan, another seasoned politician elected from the Melur constituency in Madurai, is the second Congress leader who joined the Vijay-led cabinet on Thursday. Viswanathan, 61, is a post graduate and is also a practicing advocate. He has held various responsibilities in the Congress and had also been elected as an MP from Kancheepuram constituency in 2009. He is also the All India Congress committee in charge for Telangana.

He secured 60,080 votes in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections defeating TVK candidate A Maduraiveeran by a margin of 2,724 votes.