Live! Trump posts expletive-ridden threat for Tehran; Iran strikes Kuwait oil sites
The Revolutionary Guards claim a US C-130 transport plane and two Black Hawk helicopters were taken down amid a mission to locate a stranded American airman
Here is the top, trending news of Sunday, April 5, 2026, including Iran war, Indian politics, states' politics, geopolitics, federal issues, economics, development issues, sports, entertainment, and so on.
Scroll below for Live updates.
Live Updates
- 5 April 2026 6:13 PM IST
CII outlines 20-point agenda to mitigate impact of West Asia crisis
Industry lobby CII on Sunday outlined a 20-point agenda to mitigate the impact of the West Asia crisis. This agenda blends fiscal and monetary measures, aiming to cushion MSMEs, exporters, and energy-intensive industries against the ripple effects of the crisis. The 20 points are:
- Temporary exemption from long-term capital gains tax for foreign investors in primary markets.
- Extend qualifying holding period for such investments from 2 to 3 years.
- Introduce a time-bound Conflict-Linked Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (CL-ECLGS).
- Provide collateral-free working capital backed by government guarantees, especially for MSMEs, exporters, and gas-dependent sectors.
- Allow a temporary three-month moratorium and restructuring window for MSMEs.
- Calibrated flexibility in asset classification norms before SMA/NPA recognition.
- RBI institute a Special Refinance Window for MSMEs and affected sectors.
- Targeted liquidity support via instruments like Targeted Long Term Repo Operations.
- Extend delivery timelines for PSU contracts by 3–4 months without invoking Liquidated Damages.
- Reduce Performance Bank Guarantee and Security Deposit requirements to minimal levels.
- Offer temporary relief in electricity tariffs to ease input costs.
- Enable banks to reassess and enhance working capital limits for stressed units.
- Allow calibrated increase in cash credit limits up to 20 per cent with concessional lending terms.
- Temporarily reduce or waive administrative banking charges (loan processing, forex handling, documentation).
- Expand Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) across affected clusters.
- Fast-track settlement of pending GST refunds, duty drawback claims, and RoDTEP dues.
- Rationalise tax and duty structure on energy inputs.
- Temporary waiver of ~2.5 per cent customs duty on LNG imports.
- Revisit Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for flexible sectoral response.
- Provide immediate contractual and operational relief to industry in coordination with RBI and Finance Ministry.
- 5 April 2026 5:56 PM IST
Trump posts expletive-ridden threat for Iran
US President Donald Trump posts an expletive-ridden post on Truth Social warning Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP," read his post. - 5 April 2026 4:31 PM IST
Iran strikes oil sites in Kuwait
An Iranian drone strike triggered a fire at Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Oil Sector Complex on Sunday (April 5), authorities confirmed, adding that no casualties were reported. According to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the site houses the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Oil Ministry headquarters.
In a separate statement, Kuwait said two power plants and water desalination facilities were damaged in what it described as “hostile Iranian aggression.”
In Bahrain’s Bapco Energies reported that a storage tank caught fire following an Iranian attack, though no injuries were recorded.
Meanwhile, in the UAE, authorities in Abu Dhabi responded to multiple fires at the Borouge petrochemicals plant, caused by debris from air defence interceptions. Operations at the facility were suspended as damage assessments began, with no casualties reported.
- 5 April 2026 4:09 PM IST
After US rescues pilot, Iran claims several American aircraft downed
Iran has asserts that it has shot down a C-130 aircraft along with two Black Hawk helicopters that are owned by the United States.
Tehran's assertion follows shortly after US President Donald Trump stated that the American officer, who had been unaccounted for in Iran following the downing of his F-15E fighter jet, has been successfully rescued and is now "safe and sound".
"Additional investigations by experts on the ground revealed that two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters of the US army were destroyed by our forces," the spokesperson of the unified command of Iranian armed forces said.
- 5 April 2026 4:04 PM IST
CIA deception campaign aided downed US pilot's rescue in Iran: report
The United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) engaged in a deception campaign in Iran to aid the rescue of the American pilot who fell into that country after his F-15 jet was shot down by local forces. According to a report by CBS, the US agency tracked the pilot in a mountain area and informed the Pentagon about his location.
It reported that the CIA engaged in a deception campaign. While the rescue mission was still underway, it announced that the airman had already been located and was in the process of being extracted from Iran. The CBS report cited a senior White House official as saying that President Donald Trump ordered an immediate rescue of the air personnel.
He later said on Truth Social: "At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine.”
- 5 April 2026 3:55 PM IST
Oman holds talks with Iran over Strait of Hormuz transit
Oman and Iran have held discussions at the deputy foreign minister level to weigh options for ensuring the smooth transit of vessels through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, Oman's foreign ministry announced on X on Sunday.
"The Sultanate of Oman and the Islamic Republic of Iran held a meeting on Saturday, April 4, 2026 CE, at the level of deputy ministers in the foreign ministries of the two countries, attended by specialists from both sides. The meeting discussed possible options for ensuring the smooth flow of transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid the circumstances currently prevailing in the region. During the meeting, experts from both sides presented a number of visions and proposals that will be studied," it was said on the social media platform.
The discussions follow a statement made by an Iranian official earlier this week, indicating that Iran is in the process of formulating a protocol with Oman to oversee the traffic in the strait that facilitates the passage of approximately one-fifth of the world's oil supplies.
- 5 April 2026 12:40 PM IST
Iran says it downed US C-130, 'flying objects' in airman rescue operation
Iran said on Sunday that it had shot down an American C-130 aircraft and also destroyed several “flying objects” during a US operation aimed at locating a stranded airman.
Several "flying objects" were destroyed during the US mission to find a stranded airman in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday according to Tasnim news agency.
"During a joint operation (Aerospace, Ground Force, Popular Units, Basij and Police command), enemy flying objects were destroyed," the group said after Iran's police command announced an American C-130 aircraft had been downed in the south of Isfahan.
The spokesperson of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified command of the Iranian armed forces, said the downed aircraft included a C-130 military transport plane as well as two Black Hawk helicopters.
- 5 April 2026 12:05 PM IST
Amit Shah holds roadshow in Kerala's Beypore
Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday held a roadshow in Beypore assembly constituency where thousands of people turned up to greet the BJP leader on the campaign trail for the NDA ahead of the April 9 elections in the state.
Shah, who arrived at the Calicut airport on Saturday evening, held the roadshow from Mathottam Bijith Junction to Naduvattom here as hundreds of BJP workers and supporters lined both sides of the route carrying party flags and wearing saffron coloured headgear.
The people, of all ages, were waiting for Shah's roadshow since early morning, according to visuals on TV channels.
Shah, who arrived at Mathottam Bijith Junction around 11.20 am, climbed onto an open-top vehicle decked with flowers and waved to the crowd thronging both sides of the road carrying cutouts of the senior BJP leader.
As the roadshow commenced, to the tune of drum beats, the home minister showered flowers on the people on the roadside as they shouted slogans in favour of BJP, Shah and other party leaders.
The senior BJP leader was accompanied by advocate K P Prakash Babu, the party's candidate from Beypore constituency.
- 5 April 2026 10:54 AM IST
Kerala polls: Illegal kit distribution in Thrissur; police register, start probe
Police have registered a case and launched an investigation in connection with illegal distribution of household kits in parts of Thrissur city on April 4, the Election Commission said on Sunday.
The case was registered after an Election Flying Squad intercepted the unauthorised distribution of household kits near Olari Parthasarathy Temple and Karthika Super Market here, an EC statement said.
The incident occurred with just days remaining for the Assembly polls in Kerala on April 9.
The enforcement team, operating under the supervision of Executive Magistrate Dr Bindu T N, discovered that 26 kits, each valued at approximately Rs 900 and containing various miscellaneous household items, were being distributed, it said.
"Investigations conducted at the scene indicated that the distribution was carried out under the instructions of an individual identified as Radhakrishnan, and revealed that an additional 75 kits had already been distributed prior to the arrival of the authorities," it said.
The EC said that the alleged acts constitute offenses under sections 170(1)(i)(bribery in elections) and 173 (punishment for bribery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 123(A)(1)(corrupt practices) of the Representation of the People Act.
- 5 April 2026 10:53 AM IST
MP lodge collapse toll rises to two; NDRF continues rescue ops
The death toll from the collapse of a four-storey lodge in Madhya Pradesh’s Anuppur district rose to two, as NDRF teams continued their operation to rescue those trapped under the debris, police said on Sunday.
‘Aggarwal Lodge', a building located near a bus stand in Kotma town, collapsed around 5.30 pm on Saturday, trapping several people in the vicinity. An official said the death toll has now risen to two, and five others are injured, of whom two are in a critical condition and have been sent to Shahdol for treatment.
The deceased were identified as Hanuman Deen Yadav (55) and Ramkripal Yadav (50), Anuppur Superintendent of Police Moti Ur Rahman said. He said that the rescue teams, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), conducted an overnight operation, and a search is underway for others trapped in the debris.
The ongoing construction work near the 10-year-old building is suspected to have contributed to the collapse, the SP said.
Anuppur Collector Harshal Pancholi said that five people were extricated from the debris, of which two have died.
According to eyewitnesses, a loud explosion sounded as the building collapsed, sending a cloud of dust engulfing the area. The bus stand area was teeming with commuters at the time of the incident, and construction work was underway on a nearby plot of land, they said.
