Speaking before greeting Charles and Queen Camilla at a 9/11 memorial event in New York, Mamdani said he would urge the king to return the historic gemstone, which was taken from the Indian subcontinent during British colonial rule in the 19th century.

“If I was to speak to the king, separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond,” Mamdani said, while adding that the focus of the event remained honoring those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.It was not immediately clear whether Mamdani raised the issue directly during his brief exchange with Charles, who was seen speaking and laughing with the mayor after the two shook hands at the memorial ceremony.

The Koh-i-Noor, a 106-carat diamond housed in the Tower of London, is among the most prominent jewels in Britain’s Crown Jewels and is mounted in the crown made for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.The gem’s ownership has been disputed for generations.

It passed through the hands of Mughal emperors, Persian rulers and Sikh maharajas before it was ceded to Queen Victoria in 1849 under the Treaty of Lahore following the annexation of Punjab by the British Empire.India has repeatedly sought the return of the diamond, arguing it was taken under colonial rule, though British governments have consistently rejected those requests.

Other countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, have also laid claim to the stone, citing historical ownership ties dating back centuries.The comments quickly drew criticism from Britain’s anti-immigration Reform UK party, whose home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf described Mamdani’s remarks as an insult to the monarch.

“This beautiful diamond is currently on display in the Tower of London,” Yusuf wrote on X. “That is where it will stay.”Debates over colonial-era artifacts have intensified globally in recent years, with former imperial powers facing growing pressure to return culturally significant objects to their countries of origin.

Charles’ visit to New York included a memorial tribute to victims of the 2001 attacks and meetings with local leaders, amid broader efforts to strengthen diplomatic and symbolic ties between Britain and the United States.

Voting took place throughout April in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and the union territory of Puducherry, with attention centered on whether the BJP could expand its footprint in major opposition-held regions ahead of future national political contests.

Exit polls, while often used as early indicators in India, have a mixed record and final outcomes can differ significantly from projections.The most closely watched contest is in West Bengal, where the BJP mounted an aggressive campaign to unseat Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has governed the state since 2011.

Several exit polls suggested the BJP held a narrow advantage over the TMC, raising the possibility that Modi’s party could take power in the state of more than 100 million people for the first time.Banerjee’s TMC won 213 of the 294 seats in the 2021 assembly election, and the state has a history of electoral violence and intense political rivalry.

This year’s campaign was also marked by controversy over a Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls, a process authorities said was intended to remove ineligible voters, but which critics argued disproportionately affected marginalized and minority communities.

Political activist Yogendra Yadav said there was “no way” the TMC would lose in what he described as a fair election, alleging that the BJP could only prevail through manipulation of voter lists or counting irregularities.The BJP has denied opposition allegations of electoral malpractice.

In Assam and Puducherry, the BJP-led alliance was widely projected to retain power, reinforcing the party’s hold in regions where it already governs.In Tamil Nadu, one of India’s largest industrial states, exit polls indicated the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin was likely to remain in office.

The polls also suggested actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay, leading the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party, could emerge as a significant new challenger to the state’s established political parties.In Kerala, India’s only communist-ruled state, projections indicated a closely fought contest, with a Congress-led alliance expected to challenge the ruling Left Democratic Front.

Strong results for the BJP in the state elections would strengthen Modi’s political position as his government navigates economic pressures including high unemployment and negotiations over a pending trade deal with the United States.

In its Global Hepatitis Report 2026, the United Nations health agency said hepatitis B and C, which account for 95% of hepatitis-related deaths worldwide, caused 1.34 million deaths in 2024, while more than 1.8 million new infections were recorded during the year.

WHO estimated that 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C infections in 2024, despite the availability of vaccines and highly effective treatments.“Progress is too slow and uneven,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.“Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care.

While we have the tools to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat, urgent scale-up of prevention, diagnosis and treatment is needed,” he said.Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by infectious viruses and other agents, often leading to severe complications including liver failure, cirrhosis and cancer.

Of the five main viral strains, hepatitis B and C are the deadliest and remain among the world’s leading infectious disease killers.The WHO said fewer than 5% of the 240 million people living with chronic hepatitis B in 2024 were receiving treatment. For hepatitis C, only 20% of infected people have been treated since 2015.

In Africa, which carries the heaviest burden of hepatitis B infections, only 17% of newborns received the recommended birth-dose vaccine in 2024, raising concerns about continued mother-to-child transmission.

Six countries China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa and Vietnam are among the top 10 globally for deaths linked to hepatitis B and C, the report said.“Every missed diagnosis and untreated infection due to chronic viral hepatitis represents a preventable death,” said Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO department overseeing hepatitis programs.

The agency said proven medical tools are already available. The hepatitis B vaccine protects more than 95% of recipients from both acute and chronic infection, while long-term antiviral treatment can help prevent severe liver disease in chronic cases.

For hepatitis C, short-course curative therapies lasting eight to 12 weeks can cure more than 95% of infections, WHO said.The agency pointed to United Kingdom, Egypt, Georgia and Rwanda as examples of countries demonstrating that hepatitis can be eliminated as a public health problem through sustained policy action and financing.

“Eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream: it’s possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing,” Tedros said.Since 2015, annual new hepatitis B infections have fallen by 32%, while hepatitis C-related deaths have declined by 12%, according to WHO data.

India’s gross domestic product is expected to grow 6.7% in the fiscal year ending March 2027, unchanged from the March forecast in a Reuters poll conducted between April 20 and April 27 among 54 economists. That would mark a slight slowdown from the 7.0% growth estimated for the year ended March 31, 2026.

Forecasts for fiscal 2026-27 ranged from 5.9% to 7.5%, while growth was projected to edge up to 6.8% in 2027-28.Economists said the headline outlook masks deeper strain in the informal economy, where businesses and workers are more vulnerable to higher fuel costs, supply disruptions and weaker demand.

India’s shadow economy has previously accounted for nearly half of official GDP readings, although real-time data on its performance remains limited.In urban areas, which generate roughly 60% of India’s GDP, restaurants and hotels have reportedly shortened operating hours, reduced menus or shifted to alternative fuels such as firewood as conflict-related disruptions in the Middle East affect liquefied petroleum gas supplies.

“The informal segment is the worst hit and its ability to absorb shocks is very low. So we will see a ripple effect on jobs and demand,” said Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank. “All of that is going to play out if this problem persists beyond the near term.”India revised its GDP data methodology in recent years to improve the capture of informal sector activity, but economists said gaps remain substantial.

Yes Bank Chief Economist Indranil Pan said the disruption to the informal sector would not be reflected significantly in headline GDP figures.“That’s also the reason why we have not really changed our GDP much at this point in time,” he said.Inflation is expected to average 4.5% this fiscal year, according to the poll, remaining within the Reserve Bank of India’s 2% to 6% target range but more than double last year’s pace.

Despite higher price pressures, economists expect the RBI to keep interest rates unchanged through the end of 2027, reflecting concerns over balancing inflation control with growth stability.

Analysts said the government has attempted to cushion the impact of higher energy prices by cutting fuel duties, but a prolonged Middle East conflict could strain public finances and force a reallocation of spending away from infrastructure investment toward subsidies.

Capital expenditure has been a key growth driver in recent years amid weak private-sector investment, and any shift away from it could weigh on medium-term expansion.Aditya Vyas, chief economist at STCI Primary Dealer Ltd, said uncertainty linked to external shocks made a strong recovery in private investment unlikely in the near term.

“If push comes to shove, there could be a situation where a material diversion of funds from capex to subsidies happens,” Vyas said. “Price pressures are imminent and will in the medium term affect the fiscal front.”

Trivedi, 75, a former railways and health minister and a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is expected to take up the assignment shortly, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The appointment comes as India seeks to restore trust with Bangladesh after bilateral relations deteriorated in 2024, when a popular uprising forced then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to New Delhi, where she remains.

Her removal strained ties during the tenure of Bangladesh’s interim administration, which Indian officials viewed as moving closer to China, raising strategic concerns in New Delhi over Beijing’s expanding influence in South Asia.

Relations began improving after February elections brought Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to power, replacing the interim government and opening space for renewed diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

Trivedi’s appointment is seen as politically significant because India typically appoints senior career foreign service officers to such diplomatic posts. His political background and long experience in national and regional politics suggest New Delhi is seeking a more direct political channel in managing relations with Dhaka.

He joined the BJP in 2021 after leaving a regional political party in West Bengal, the Indian state bordering Bangladesh that plays a central role in cross-border trade, migration and security issues.West Bengal is also strategically important for Modi’s party as it seeks to expand its electoral footprint in ongoing state-level political contests.

Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, was part of British India before partition in 1947 and became independent in 1971 with military and political support from India, making the bilateral relationship historically sensitive and strategically significant.

Bangladesh’s foreign minister visited New Delhi earlier this month seeking increased fuel and fertiliser supplies, stronger energy cooperation and relaxed travel restrictions for Bangladeshi citizens.

However, one of the most sensitive unresolved issues remains India’s refusal so far to extradite Hasina, a point of friction in the relationship despite the broader diplomatic thaw.India has not publicly indicated any change in its position regarding Hasina, whose continued stay in New Delhi remains politically contentious in Bangladesh.

The appointment of Trivedi underscores India’s effort to preserve its influence in Dhaka at a time when Beijing continues to expand economic and strategic ties across the region through infrastructure investment, trade and defense cooperation.

The latest violence occurred in Mullam village in Ukhrul district, where armed confrontations broke out between opposing groups amid longstanding tensions between the predominantly Hindu Meitei community and the mainly Christian Kuki population.“In a heavy exchange of fire, three individuals sustained fatal bullet injuries,” Manipur police said in a statement issued late Friday.

Authorities did not specify which community the victims belonged to, but said security forces had intensified deployments in the area to prevent further escalation.“Security measures have been enhanced in the area,” police said, adding that operations were continuing.Manipur has remained deeply unstable since large-scale ethnic violence erupted in 2023, triggering one of India’s most serious internal security crises in recent years.

More than 250 people have been killed and around 60,000 displaced since clashes first intensified between the Meitei majority and Kuki tribal groups, according to official figures.The conflict centers on disputes over land ownership, political representation, and access to public sector jobs, with both communities accusing each other of discrimination and encroachment.

Rights groups and civil society activists have also accused local political leaders of inflaming ethnic divisions for electoral and strategic advantage, further complicating peace efforts.Although violence had eased in recent months, tensions have remained fragile.

Earlier this month, four people, including two children, were killed in an attack blamed on a Kuki armed group, triggering retaliatory anger among Meitei groups.In the aftermath, a Meitei mob stormed a paramilitary camp, raising fresh concerns over the state’s ability to contain unrest despite heavy federal security deployment.

The violence in Manipur has drawn national attention not only because of its scale but also because of its impact on minority communities, migration patterns, and regional security along India’s sensitive northeastern frontier.

Separately this week, 249 Indians from Manipur and neighboring Mizoram belonging to the Bnei Menashe community arrived in Tel Aviv after Israel approved funding for the immigration of around 6,000 members of the group.

The Bnei Menashe claim descent from one of the “lost tribes” of Israel and have long sought recognition of their Jewish ancestry, adding another layer to the region’s complex identity politics.

Their oral history traces a migration across Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet, and China before settlement in northeast India, where many later converted to Christianity under 19th-century missionary influence.

As fresh violence returns to Manipur, security officials remain on high alert over the possibility of wider reprisals in a state where ethnic mistrust continues to challenge political stability and peacebuilding efforts.

Police said the former insurgents had chosen to abandon armed struggle and rejoin civilian life as part of an ongoing nationwide effort to dismantle the final remnants of the Maoist movement.

The Telangana police said in a statement that 47 Maoist members had “chosen to join the mainstream,” adding that “almost all remaining underground key leaders have now been neutralized.”The surrender follows Home Minister Amit Shah’s declaration on March 30 that India had become “Naxal-free,” marking what the government described as the effective end of an insurgency that began nearly six decades ago.

The rebellion traces its origins to 1967 in Naxalbari, a village in West Bengal’s Himalayan foothills, where a peasant uprising inspired a Maoist movement that later spread across large parts of central and eastern India.

At its peak in the mid-2000s, the insurgency operated across what officials called the “Red Corridor,” stretching through mineral-rich and forested regions, with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters active across multiple states.

More than 12,000 people, including rebels, security personnel, and civilians, were killed during the conflict, according to official figures.The government intensified military and intelligence operations over the past two years, targeting the final strongholds of the insurgency in remote forest regions, particularly in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha, and parts of Maharashtra.

Authorities said surrendered rebels were being provided rehabilitation packages that included vocational training, financial support, and new civilian identities to facilitate reintegration into society.Police said the 47 former rebels would receive a combined rehabilitation package worth about $159,000, or roughly $3,400 each.

Officials have also appealed to remaining underground cadres to lay down their arms and take advantage of state rehabilitation schemes.Despite the decline of the insurgency, authorities face the continuing challenge of clearing hundreds of improvised land mines and explosive devices planted by Maoist groups along forest routes and remote villages.

The rebels had long claimed to be fighting for the rights of marginalized Indigenous communities in central India’s resource-rich tribal belts, where disputes over land rights, mining, and displacement remain politically sensitive.

Security analysts say that while organized armed resistance has sharply weakened, the social and economic grievances that originally fueled the movement continue to persist in several regions.

The latest surrenders reflect the government’s effort to convert military gains into long-term stability while preventing the possibility of renewed underground mobilization.

The initiative centres on the e-rupee, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) being tested across roughly 10 pilot projects nationwide, where welfare payments are transferred directly into digital wallets for targeted use in sectors such as agriculture and food distribution.

In one case in Maharashtra state, farmer Samadhan Sonawane used CBDC-linked subsidies to install a drip irrigation system on his onion farm, with funds transferred directly from the central bank and covering about 80% of equipment costs.

The remaining balance is paid through approved vendors under the programme’s rules.The system is part of a broader effort by the Reserve Bank of India to streamline India’s estimated $80 billion welfare payment system, which authorities say has historically faced inefficiencies and leakages.

Officials involved in the programme say programmable features in the CBDC allow authorities to restrict how funds are spent, ensuring subsidies are used only for approved goods and services. The pilot is being run in coordination with state governments and financial institutions, including Punjab National Bank.

The approach is also being tested in food subsidy programmes, including a rollout in Gujarat state where about 15,000 beneficiaries are currently enrolled, with plans to scale up to millions of eligible households.

Globally, central bank digital currencies remain in early stages, with dozens of countries running pilot projects, though only a few have launched fully operational systems. India’s programme is among the largest in terms of potential user base.

Since its launch in 2022, India’s e-rupee has seen limited uptake compared with the country’s dominant digital payments platform, the Unified Payments Interface, which processes hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions monthly.

Total e-rupee transactions have reached about $3.6 billion, underscoring both the scale of experimentation and the gap between pilots and mainstream adoption.Supporters of the programme argue that direct digital transfers can reduce fraud, improve transparency and eliminate delays in welfare delivery.

However, economists and digital currency experts caution that restricting spending through programmable money could limit user flexibility and affect adoption.

Critics say that tightly controlled digital currencies risk undermining the cash-like nature of money, raising concerns about privacy and economic freedom if scaled broadly.

The visit marks the first state trip by a South Korean president to India in eight years and comes as both countries seek to strengthen supply chain resilience amid global economic uncertainty linked to the Iran conflict.Lee said the current level of economic cooperation between the two countries remains limited and called for a substantial expansion of ties.

Officials from Seoul said the two sides plan to upgrade their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to boost trade from $25.7 billion recorded last year.Discussions are expected to cover sectors including shipbuilding, finance, artificial intelligence and defence, with Lee also scheduled to attend business events alongside corporate leaders during his visit.

South Korea has increasingly looked to India as a key partner in diversifying supply chains, particularly as disruptions in the Middle East affect energy flows. Last month, Seoul sought increased naphtha supplies from India to offset potential shortages linked to regional tensions.

India accounted for about 8% of South Korea’s naphtha imports last year, and officials say expanding energy trade could also help address imbalances in bilateral commerce. South Korea recorded a trade surplus of $12.8 billion with India, exporting $19.2 billion worth of goods while importing $6.4 billion, according to Korea International Trade Association data.

Analysts say closer cooperation in shipbuilding could emerge as a focal point, aligning India’s employment priorities with South Korea’s industrial strengths. Consumer goods and food sectors tied to the global popularity of Korean culture are also seen as potential growth areas.

Lee is expected to travel to Vietnam after concluding his India visit, as part of a broader regional outreach strategy.

Addressing the lower house, Modi said the measures, which include increasing the number of legislators, extending quotas for women to state assemblies and redrawing constituency boundaries, would move India in a “new direction.” He said greater representation of women would bring “new strength, fresh thinking, and a greater sense of sensitivity” to governance.

The government said the proposed boundary changes reflect population shifts since constituencies were last fixed following the 1971 census, arguing the reforms are necessary to align representation with demographic realities.

The proposals come from the ruling National Democratic Alliance, which does not hold the two-thirds majority required to pass constitutional amendments in both houses of parliament, and is seeking support from smaller parties and opposition groups ahead of a vote expected this week.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, said they support the principle of women’s reservation but accused the government of attempting to use constituency redrawing to its political advantage. They called for immediate implementation of the quota without linking it to broader structural changes.

The bills propose increasing the strength of the lower house by about 55% to around 850 members, alongside proportional expansion in state legislatures, by the next general election scheduled for 2029.They also aim to operationalise the one-third reservation for women in both parliament and state assemblies by that timeline.

The quota was approved in legislation passed in 2023 but tied to a future census, delaying its implementation beyond the next election cycle.The proposed changes require ratification by at least half of India’s state legislatures before becoming law.

India currently does not reserve seats for women in parliament, despite women comprising nearly half of the country’s 968 million voters.

Women account for about 14% of members in the lower house and 17% in the upper house, while representation in state legislatures stands at roughly 10%.