US energy secretary Chris Wright hinted on Sunday that India might help the US to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route which has been effectively closed since Washington launched strikes in Iran more than two weeks ago.. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright’s comments come as Axios reported that Trump is working to assemble a coalition of countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (REUTERS File). Addressing a press conference, Wright said that US President Donald Trump was “reaching out” to other countries to enlist help on the Strait of Hormuz issue. He further claimed that Trump told him about some countries which have “committed to aiding the United States”.. “President Trump told me on Saturday he’s reaching out to other countries to enlist their help to secure the Strait of Hormuz. And then in a post later in the day, he named some of the countries — China, Japan, the UK, France and South Korea. He told me some countries have committed to aiding the United States,” Wright told reporters.. Asked if he could give specific names of countries that would help secure the Strait of Hormuz, Chris Wright tried to dodge the question but named some nations, including India.. “So I won’t get in front of the President or make announcements on that, but I’ve been in dialogue with some of those nations, so I know that to be true. But I’m not going to leak any news in front of the President. The world depends on the flows through Hormuz, and most importantly, the Asian nations — Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, India — a meaningful part of their total energy supply comes from the Strait of Hormuz. So the whole world would be united in opening the Strait of Hormuz, and we will have the support of other nations to achieve that objective,” he said.. The comments come as Axios reported that Trump is working to assemble a coalition of countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and is hoping to announce it later this week. The outlet cited four sources for the update.. Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has told parliament that Tokyo has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.. “We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Takaichi said.. According to Reuters, experts have said that any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would restrict trade and impact worldwide oil prices. Since the war began, oil prices have soared to over $100 a barrel.. Around one-fifth of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Between the start and end of 2022, approximately 17.8 million to 20.8 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels flowed through the strait every day, data from Vortexa showed.. Members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq, export the ma 

 Days after two Indian-flagged ships were allowed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, external affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar hailed the direct talks with Tehran and said it was the most effective way to resume shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.. S Jaishankar’s remarks came days after Iran allowed two India-flagged LPG carriers to ​sail through the ​Strait of Hormuz. (REUTERS/File). In an interview with Financial Times, Jaishankar said that his talks with Iranian officials have yielded results, adding that the communication continues. “If it is yielding results for me, I would naturally continue to look at it,” he said in the interview, noting that “many more” Indian-flagged ships are yet to cross the strait.. He reportedly clarified that every vessel moved through the key waterway individually and there was no “blanket arrangement” with Iran on the matter. He further clarified that Iran received nothing in exchange for the passage of the India-flagged vessels. He cited a “history of dealing with each other . . . which is the basis on which I engaged”, the FT report said.. His remarks came even as US President Donald Trump to send warships to protect the Strait of Hormuz and ensure that the key waterway, through which a fifth of world’s oil passes, remains operational.. Last week, Iran allowed two India-flagged LPG carriers to ​sail through the ​Strait of Hormuz, hours after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a telephonic conversation, the first since the Iran-US war began. The development also followed a conversation between Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi.. What is happening at the Strait of Hormuz?. The Strait of Hormuz has been impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with Iran targeting US and Israeli vessels, affecting the passage of vessels from several other countries, including India.. According to an earlier PTI report, about 22 Indian-flagged vessels remain stranded on the west side of the Persian Gulf region. However, four such vessels have so far crossed the war zone unharmed, as reported by HT earlier.. With tensions still continuing, Trump is trying to put pressure on the US’s allies to aid the passage of its vessels through the strait. “It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said, according to an AFP report.. Also Read: Massive explosion near Dubai airport after Iran drone attack, ball of fire caught on cam. Notably, during the FT interview, Jaishankar also shared his take when asked whether European countries could replicate India’s arrangement. “Each relationship frankly, in a way stands on its own merits,” he said, adding that comparison would be difficult. However, the EAM said he would be happy to share India’s approach with EU capitals.. Also Read: Expert flags Trump’s Strait of Hormuz ‘blunder’ a 

 TDP MP from Andhra Pradesh Putta Mahesh Kumar and former BRS MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy were among several prominent people detained on Sunday following an alleged drug bust at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Hyderabad late on Saturday night, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that the MP and seven others were released hours later.. The EAGLE team found several political figures and businessmen allegedly consuming narcotics during the weekend party. (Representational Image/Unsplash). According to Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) superintendent of police R Giridhar, forces from EAGLE and special operations team (SOT) of the Cyberabad police conducted a raid at a private party in Aziznagar, Moinabad, on Saturday night, after receiving information that narcotic substances were being consumed at the party.. ALSO READ | NCB busts dark web-based drugs trafficking network; seizes ₹5-cr party drugs. “The EAGLE team found several political figures and businessmen allegedly consuming narcotics during the weekend party. In the rapid drug screening test conducted on 11 individuals at the party, six tested positive for drug consumption, including a former MLA and a sitting Lok Sabha member,” Giridhar said.. ALSO READ | Haryana: Cop who accused DSP of false implication in drugs case sacked. According to an official, those who tested positive include Putta Mahesh Kumar, Pilot Rohith Reddy, Rohith Reddy’s brother Ritesh Reddy and Delhi realtor Namith Mishra.. In a statement on social media, the MP said, “I haven’t done anything wrong. I was invited for dinner by people staying in Hyderabad, and I didn’t do anything wrong there.” 

 When Time magazine named Safeena Husain one of 16 Women of the Year 2026, she was standing outside at a Mumbai philanthropy conference, looking up at a sky so clear she could see the stars. “That almost never happens in Mumbai,” she told me later. “I felt so inspired.”. Safeena Husain. Making the impossible visible has been Safeena’s life’s work. For two decades, she has searched for the girls in India’s most forgotten villages, the ones with names like Maafi (forgive me for having a girl) and Missed Call (we asked God for a boy, but he missed the call).. I had known I would love Safeena Husain before I even met her.. As a mother of three girls — engineers, athletes, dreamers — I’ve felt deep gratitude to the women who made those futures possible. And Safeena Husain, founder of Educate Girls, is up there with the fighters.. We meet early this year at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Sitting across from me, Safeena looks elegant in a teal blue silk sari and long navy coat. She smiled when she saw me holding Every Last Girl, the book she is there to launch.. The book is full of heartbreaking stories. But it also offers hope, with many strategies to get girls into school. One innovative approach stages village plays dramatizing the life-and-death effects of illiteracy.. Safeena speaks with intensity and clarity. We talk about her childhood reading, the process of writing her book, and the impact of winning the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award. Here are edited excerpts of our conversation.. Safeena, are you a reader?. My parents divorced when I was young. My mother remarried, and my stepfather was an alcoholic. We lived in a one-room janta flat in Delhi. I was always in my own world, a girl with her nose in a book.. There used to be a mobile library outside Naoroji Nagar in Delhi that would come to our neighborhood, and I read a lot of books from there.. I read books with all sorts of titles, like Yahan Ka Vyapari, which I later realized was a translation of The Merchant of Venice. I read a lot of stuff, but I read it all in Hindi.. In Saket there was a sabzi mandi, and there was this place that rented comic books cheaply, and I read all those comic book digests—anything I could get my hands on.. You went from Hindi comic books to Nobel prize-winning Korean author Han Kang — how did that journey happen?. I shifted to reading in English, which was hard at first. I began with simpler books, like the Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew series. In high school, I moved to Oscar Wilde, G.B. Shaw, etc.. Now I’m discovering many female writers—books like The Vegetarian (Han Kang) and Butter (by Asako Yuzuki) . There’s incredible writing out there, like Bunny (Mona Awad), wildly imaginative, and Sally Rooney. I love these young women with fresh voices.. And now you are the author of a book? What prompted this decision to write?. I was in Oxford giving a talk when the moderator later told me, “So much has been written about you—I’ve 

 The Election Commission on Sunday ordered immediate transfer of top Bengal officials, including the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, hours after it announced the schedule for state elections.. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 15 announced the schedule for assembly polls in four states. (File Photo). The sweeping actions comes after the Election Commission announced the schedule of assembly elections for four states, including West Bengal, and one UT. Bengal goes to polling in two-phases on April 23 and 29, while the counting of votes will be done on May 4.. In the order released late on Sunday, the poll body said Dushyant Nariala, an IAS of 1993 batch, will be posted as Chief Secretary in the poll-bound Bengal. Nariala replaces Nandini Chakravorty who was appointed to the post on December 31, 2025.. Also Read: Election dates for Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry out | Check full schedule. The EC also announced the removal of Jagdish Prasad Meena, a 2004-batch IAS officer, as the Principal Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs in the state government. He will be replaced with Sanghamitra Ghosh, a 1997-batch officer.. The poll body said that the directions will be implemented with immediate effect and a compliance report regarding the joining of the above officers should be sent by 3pm on Monday, March 16.. The Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP in Bengal were quick to react to the poll body’s move. While the TMC took a swipe at EC, saying that it can trasfter officers to satisfy its boss, it cannot transfer Mamata from hearts of the people.. Also Read: Why West Bengal voting phases have been reduced to 2 from 8. “EC is only following orders to satisfy its boss. You can transfer officers but cannot transfer Mamata Banerjee from the hearts of the people,” TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty told Hindustan Times.. BJP, on the other hand, said that the Election Commission should ensure that no officials with links to the party should be part of the election machinery in the state.. “Around 250 of our workers and members were killed before, during and after the 2021 assembly polls. We urged ECI to ensure that no officer having links with the ruling party should be part of the election machinery,” Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said.