By Rosamma Thomas*  On April 10, 2026, the Munsiff Court in Pala town of Kottayam district, ruling on an interlocutory application in Original Suit 165/2025 filed by this reporter, directed that an illegally operating borewell dug in Arunapuram, Pala, in March 2024 shall not function until it obtains the required licence.

By A Representative   A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.

By Vikas Meshram*  The announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran brought a palpable sense of relief across the world. For more than a month, the spectre of war had hung over West Asia, generating anxiety not only among the directly involved nations but also among billions globally. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, intense aerial bombardments, and incendiary rhetoric about destroying entire civilisations had created a deeply unsettling atmosphere. While the ceasefire offers temporary respite, its durability remains uncertain.

By Jag Jivan  A new report, Toxic Finance , has sought to expose the critical role of the global financial sector in driving a massive and controversial expansion of the petrochemical industry across the United States. The analysis, compiled by a coalition of environmental and human rights organizations including the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Break Free From Plastic , claims that banks and investors have provided the vast sums of capital necessary to build over 100 new facilities or expansions, despite significant risks to human health, the climate, and the financial system itself.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Sad to witness the continuous degradation of the language used by American President Donald Trump. It is unprecedented. The fact remains that Iran has bruised the megalomaniac ego of the occupant of the White House. Both Israel and the United States have rarely adhered to the rule of law they so often preach. The destruction and devastation inflicted on civilian infrastructure—including schools, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, power plants, and nuclear sites—in Palestine as well as in Iran is unprecedented and constitutes a war crime.

By Julián Bokser   It has been fifty years since the coup d’état of 24 March 1976, one of the most tragic chapters in Argentina’s recent history: a dictatorship that combined state terrorism with a structural transformation of its economy. Throughout the 20th century, the country experienced six interruptions of its democratic order—in 1930, 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966, and 1976—but the last coup ushered in the most violent cycle. In coordination with other dictatorships in the Southern Cone and with the backing of the United States government, the military regime carried out a systematic plan of repression, disappearance, and social discipline.

By Jag Jivan   M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

By Carlos Ron, Vijay Prashad   The United States has agreed with Iran to cease hostilities for two weeks. The illegal US and Israeli imposed war has not ended but has a break, although not in Lebanon which was supposed to be part of the deal. Just before the ceasefire was announced, the Iranian authorities released a ten-point peace plan that promises far more than a cessation of hostilities; it is, in fact, a grand bargain for peace across West Asia (US President Donald Trump initially said of this plan that he believes “it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” and then supposedly threw 'it in the garbage' a few hours later). The United States has, apparently, drafted a fifteen-point plan, but this has not been released to the public.

By A Representative   The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), Indian chapter of the People’s Health Movement , has issued a revised approach paper on HPV vaccination in India, calling for “evidence-based, ethical, and people-centred policy and implementation.” The paper, re-drafted after consultations on March 25 and incorporating inputs from health activists and women’s groups, stresses that while HPV vaccination has strong scientific backing, its public health value will depend on how it is implemented.