LIVE: India deplores attack on Kandla-bound Thai ship in Strait of Hormuz

Kerala govt to boycott PM Modi

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will stay away from a function today to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi to inaugurate national highway projects in the state, with the Kerala government deciding not to participate after Public Works Minister PA Mohammed Riyas was not invited to the event.

Local Self Government Minister MB Rajesh will also not participate in the programme, according to state government sources.

The programme, scheduled as part of the Prime Minister’s visit to the state, will mark the inauguration and foundation laying of several national highway projects in Kerala. The projects are part of the ongoing expansion of the national highway network in the state.

The state government decided that its ministers will not attend the function after it emerged that Riyas, who handles the Public Works Department, was not included in the list of invitees. The department oversees road infrastructure in the state and has been coordinating with central agencies on multiple national highway works.

According to state government sources, the omission of the minister responsible for road infrastructure from the invitation list was treated as a breach of protocol. Following this, the government decided that its representatives would stay away from the event.

The decision means that members of the Kerala Cabinet will not be present at the function attended by the Prime Minister.

The highway projects to be inaugurated and launched during the visit are part of the large-scale expansion of the national highway network currently underway in Kerala. Several stretches in the state have been widened and upgraded in recent years, including six-laning of key corridors, construction of bypasses and improvement of major road links.

The projects involve coordination between the Union government and the Kerala government. Large-scale land acquisition required for the works has been carried out by the state government, while construction is being undertaken by central agencies.

The Public Works Department has been involved in facilitating the process, including administrative coordination and addressing local issues related to the projects.

The decision to stay away from the event also follows a recent incident involving Rajesh during the flag-off of the Amrit Bharat Express.

Recalling the incident, Rajesh said he faced difficulties while attempting to attend the programme.

“I was repeatedly asked by the security personnel to produce the Aadhaar card despite they clearly knowing that I was the minister. I decided to go back and then only they allowed me in. This is becoming a pattern and we are not participating,” Rajesh said.

Despite the Kerala government deciding to stay away, the scheduled programme will go ahead with the Prime Minister inaugurating the projects. The event will take place without participation from the state government.

Israel says Iran using cluster munitions

Israel says Iran has been firing cluster munitions throughout their 10-day war -- adding a complicated and deadly challenge to Israel's already-stretched air defences.

The warheads burst open at high altitudes, scattering dozens of smaller bomblets across a wide area. The smaller bombs, which at night can resemble orange fireballs, are difficult to intercept and have proven lethal.

Normally restrictive about releasing information on Iranian hits and damage, Israeli authorities in recent days have sought to educate the public about their dangers, which can persist as unexploded bombs on the ground even after civilians leave shelters. At least three people have been killed, including two at a construction site in central Israel on Tuesday.

Over 120 countries have signed an international convention banning the use of cluster munitions, although Israel, the United States and Iran are among the nations that have not joined the treaty. The weapon has been used for decades in conflicts around the world, including by Israel when it fought the Iran-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in 2006.

UN warns Hormuz closure threatens global food and energy costs

The United Nations has warned of severe risks to global trade if the Strait of Hormuz closes amid escalating conflict in West Asia. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation have already caused ship traffic through the strait to drop by 97 per cent since February 28. The waterway carries roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade — about 20 million barrels per day — along with significant volumes of liquefied natural gas and fertilisers, with 84 per cent of its crude oil shipments bound for Asia.

UNCTAD cautioned that the fallout extends well beyond the region. "Higher energy, fertiliser and transport costs – including freight rates, bunker fuel prices and insurance premiums – may increase food costs and intensify cost-of-living pressures, particularly for the most vulnerable," the report said. The agency drew a direct link between commodity markets: "When oil prices go up, food prices often go up. When gas prices go up, fertiliser prices often go up."

The report warned that developing nations are especially exposed, as many already face high debt burdens and limited fiscal space. "The current shock comes at a time when many developing economies struggle to service their debt, face a tightening of fiscal space and limited capacity to absorb new price shocks," UNCTAD said. The agency called for immediate de-escalation and the safeguarding of maritime transport, ports, and seafarers, stressing that "economic impacts, both globally and for the region, will depend on the duration, intensity and geographic scope of the tensions."

Air India, AI Express to run 58 flights to West Asia amid tensions

Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express will operate a total of 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from West Asia on Wednesday amid escalating tensions in the region involving the US, Israel and Iran.

Air India said it will continue operating scheduled services to and from Jeddah, with eight flights planned. The airline will run one round-trip each from Delhi and Mumbai to Jeddah, while Air India Express will operate round-trip services from Hyderabad and Kozhikode.

Air India Express will also operate 14 scheduled flights to and from Muscat, including round-trips from Delhi, Mumbai, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli, along with two from Kochi. In addition, both airlines will run 36 ad-hoc non-scheduled flights to and from the UAE, subject to slot availability and regulatory permissions.

About 140 US troops injured, 8 severely, so far in Iran war, Pentagon says

The Pentagon said about 140 US service members have been wounded in conflict with Iran.

"The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement. Eight are currently "severely injured", Parnell added.

West Asia crisis: Jaishankar holds 'detailed' conversation with Iran's Araghchi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi – their third such conversation since the West Asia crisis began – as New Delhi ramped up efforts to protect its energy security amid a virtual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Jaishankar also spoke to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and exchanged views on the unfolding crisis in West Asia.

“A detailed conversation this evening with Foreign Minister @araghchi of Iran on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict. We agreed to remain in touch," Jaishankar said on social media following his talks with the Iranian foreign minister.

It was the first phone conversation between the two foreign ministers after Iran announced the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new Supreme Leader, days after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint US-Israel military strike.

It is not immediately known whether the sinking of an Iranian warship by the US near Sri Lanka on March 4 figured in the conversation between Jaishankar and Araghchi.

Jaishankar and Araghchi spoke on February 28, soon after the US and Israel launched the attack on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They also spoke on March 5.

2 more members of Iranian women's football team granted asylum in Australia

Two more members of the Iranian women's football team were granted asylum in Australia before their teammates departed the country, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday.

It brings to seven the number of women granted humanitarian visas in Australia after five Iranian players sought asylum earlier, Burke told reporters in Canberra. One of those in the later group was a player and the other a team staffer, the official said, and both sought asylum before their teammates were transported to the airport.

The rest of the team's departure from Sydney to return to Iran late Tuesday local time happened during fraught and outraged protest at the delegation's hotel and at the airport. There, Iranian Australians sought to prevent the women from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.

Their flight departed late on Tuesday.

Women offered asylum as they departed The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on February 28. The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment.

US says it destroyed 16 mine-laying vessels as Iran threatens to block Gulf oil exports

The US military said it took out multiple Iranian vessels on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region's oil exports and concerns grew about the country's threats to stop tankers from using a waterway through which 20 per cent of the world's oil is shipped.

The US destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian vessels, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz.

The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels, after Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait.

Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as the war entered its 11th day, with Trump threatening to hit Iran at "a level never seen before" if the country failed to immediately remove any mines it might have deployed in the channel.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense strikes yet, while the Pentagon detailed the broader toll of injuries sustained by US troops.

The conflict's effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond. Iranian leaders ruled out talks, threatened Trump and launched new attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab countries.

In Iran, residents of Tehran said they experienced some of the war's heaviest strikes. A woman said she saw a residential building get hit. She and others reached by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity to prevent reprisals. Tens of thousands of Iranians have sought shelter in the countryside.

Lebanon reports more deaths Multiple Israeli strikes killed seven people across southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said early on Wednesday.