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Actor-turned-politician Vijay, who made a memorable debut in politics by breaking the (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) DMK and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) traditional duopoly in the Tamil Nadu state, is likely to form a government as early as May 7, sources said.

The TVK emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, falling short of the majority mark of 118.

Congress (which has 5 seats) has now decided to back Vijay - taking the seat count to 113. TVK insiders had told NDTV that they are counting on backing from other key DMK allies - CPI (two seats), CPM (two seats), and VCK (two seats).

While DMK won only 59 seats, Chief Minister MK Stalin lost his stronghold, Kolathur seat, to TVK. The AIADMK won 47 seats.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundarajan said Vijay’s big win in Tamil Nadu is not only an effect of a ‘Vijay wave’ but also an “anti-wave against MK Stalin, the misgovernance of the DMK, and the highly disturbed law-and-order situation”.

“Vijay has made his mark in one shot. He achieved significant numbers, even though he fell short by 10. He will receive support, and he should run a good government,” he said.

Source: NDTV

Norway said on Friday it would present ​a bill in parliament by year-end ‌to ban children from using social media until they turn 16, making technology companies responsible ​for the task of age verification.

Several ​European nations seeking to rein in ⁠children's use of social media after Australia ​took the lead with a world-first ban on ​under-16s last December.

"We are introducing this legislation because we want a childhood where children get to ​be children," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr ​Stoere said in a statement.

"Play, friendships, and everyday ‌life ⁠must not be taken over by algorithms and screens. This is an important measure to safeguard children's digital lives."

The government ​did not ​say which ⁠applications would be targeted.

Australia's ban covers Meta (META.O), apps such as ​Instagram and Facebook as well as ​TikTok, ⁠Snapchat (SNAP.N), Google's (GOOGL.O), YouTube and Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter.

Norway will introduce its bill in ⁠parliament ​by the end of ​2026, the minority Labour government said.

(Reuters)

DMK president M.K. Stalin has resigned as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. A communication in this regard was sent to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Monday (May 4, 2026) night.

Mr. Stalin’s resignation was sent to the Governor’s office in Lok Bhavan on Monday night, an informed source said. As per convention, the Governor is expected to request the incumbent Chief Minister to continue as interim Chief Minister, until the new government assumes office.

Source:The Hindu 

Lebanon and Israel extended their ceasefire for three weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House, U.S. President Donald ​Trump said on Thursday.

Trump hosted Israel's ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the U.S. Nada Moawad in the Oval Office for a second round of U.S.-facilitated talks, a ‌day after Israeli strikes killed at least five people including a journalist.

"The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned armed group that is fighting Israel, was not present at the talks. It says it has "the right to resist" occupying forces.

Trump added that he looked forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future.

Trump also spoke to reporters in the ​Oval Office alongside the participants in the meeting, saying he hoped the leaders would meet during the three-week cessation of hostilities. He said there was "a great chance" the two countries would reach a peace ​agreement this year.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa also attended the meeting.

The ⁠ceasefire, reached after talks between the two nations' ambassadors to Washington last week, was set to expire on Sunday. It has yielded a significant reduction in violence, but attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops ​have seized a self-declared buffer zone.

Ambassador Moawad, who went into the meeting seeking an extension of the ceasefire, thanked Trump for hosting the talks. "I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great ​again," she said.

A Lebanese official earlier said Beirut would push for an Israeli withdrawal, the return of Lebanese detained in Israel and a delineation of the land border in a next phase of negotiations.

(Reuters) 

In Tamil Nadu, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, led by actor Vijay, is making significant gains, overtaking the ruling DMK. Early results show TVK leading in 66 constituencies, with the DMK ahead in 49 and AIADMK in 45.

Vijay himself is leading in both of the constituencies where he is contesting—Perambur and Trichy East—highlighting his growing influence in the state’s politics. The surge by TVK has positioned it as the single largest party in the ongoing assembly elections, reshaping the traditional political landscape.

While projections remain provisional, the rising popularity of Vijay’s party indicates a shift in voter sentiment, with the actor-politician’s entry adding a new dynamic to Tamil Nadu’s political scene.

Source: Hans India

This live blog is now closedPolling to elect the 17 th Tamil Nadu Assembly was held on Thursday (April 23, 2026) from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m.

The total electoral strength of Tamil Nadu stands at 5.73 crore, comprising 2.93 women, 2.83 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender persons. It includes 14,59,039 first-time voters.

As of 8.50 p.m. on Thursday, 85.05% of Tamil Nadu’s electorate cast their votes in the Assembly election, which will decide the electoral fate of 4,023 candidates in the fray. For the first time in Tamil Nadu since Independence, the State touched 85% voter turnout and the final data from the Election Commission of India is yet to be released. 

Travel across the State saw disruptions, with many commuters facing delays and difficulty in accessing bus services while trying to reach their hometowns to cast their votes. 

While largely peaceful, voting day was marked by some untoward incidents, chief of them being the stabbing of a head constable at a polling booth in the Poompuhar Assembly constituency of Mayiladuthurai district. In Harbour constituency, an altercation over alleged ‘booth rigging’ broke out between Minister and DMK candidate P.K. Sekarbabu, along with his supporters, and TVK candidate Ashok and his supporters. 

Some poll boycotts were also reported across the State. Residents of the Scheduled Caste hamlet of Vengaivayal – where an overhead tank for supplying drinking water was allegedly contaminated with human faeces in 2022 – stayed away from the elections in protest. 

The high-stakes contest primarily pits the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance against the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin seeking to retain power and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami fighting to return to the treasury benches after five years.

THE HINDU

Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to ‘get smart soon’ and sign a deal.

The talks with oil executives on Tuesday followed days of deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran’s oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday before details of the meeting emerged, Trump, who has said Iran can call if it wants to talk, said the country “couldn’t get its act together”.

Trump’s talks with energy executives addressed potential steps to calm oil markets if it is necessary to continue the blockade of Iranian ports for months, a White House official said, adding they discussed U.S. oil production, oil futures, shipping and natural gas.

Oil prices rose almost 4% on Wednesday, with the Brent contract hitting a one-month high, after an initial report in the Wall Street Journal said the U.S. may ⁠extend its blockade.

Iran has pledged to continue disrupting traffic through the strait as long as it is threatened, which may mean more Middle East oil supply disruptions from the conflict, which has killed thousands and caused global economic upheaval.

Tehran warned on Wednesday of “unprecedented military action” against continued U.S. blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has stressed repeatedly that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran denies pursuing such a goal and insist on its right to a civilian nuclear programme.

“They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They’d better get smart soon!” Trump said in the post, without explaining what such a deal would entail.

It featured a mock-up image of him in dark glasses and wielding a machine gun with the caption “No more Mr. Nice Guy.”

IRAN’S ECONOMY UNDER PRESSURE AS CURRENCY PLUMMETS

Iran wants U.S. acknowledgment of its right to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful, civilian purposes. It has a stockpile of roughly 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60%, material that could be used for several nuclear weapons if further enriched.

Iranian officials said on Tuesday the country could withstand the blockade as it was using alternative trade routes, and the Islamic Republic did not consider the war over.

In a sign of the economic toll the war is taking on Iran’s economy, its currency fell to a record low of 1,810,000 rials to the ⁠U.S. dollar on Wednesday, the Iranian Students’ News Agency said, as demand for foreign currency that built up during six weeks of fighting is now flowing into the open market.

The rial has seen its value fall by nearly 15% in the last two days alone, ISNA reported.

Inflation for the Iranian month running from March 20 to April 20 was 65.8%, the central bank said, a trend which is likely to be exacerbated by the currency’s plunge.

IRAN WANTS FORMAL END TO CONFLICT FIRST

Iran’s latest offer for resolving the war, suspended since April 8 under a ceasefire agreement, would set aside discussion of its nuclear programme until the conflict is formally ended and shipping issues resolved. However, this did not meet Trump’s demand ⁠to address the nuclear issue at the outset.

U.S. intelligence agencies, at the request of senior administration officials, are studying how Iran would respond if Trump were to declare a unilateral victory, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Tehran has largely blocked all shipping apart from its own from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global energy supplies, since the war began on February 28. This month, the U.S. began blockading Iranian ships.

PRESSURE ON TRUMP ⁠TO END COSTLY WAR

Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power since several senior Iranian political and military figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The elevation of Khamenei’s wounded son, Mojtaba, to replace him has handed more power to hardline commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian officials and analysts say.

Meanwhile, Trump is under domestic pressure to end a war for which he has ⁠given shifting rationales to a U.S. public struggling with surging gasoline prices. His approval rating fell to the lowest level of his current term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed 34% of Americans approve of his performance, down from 36% in the prior survey.

Governments, particularly in Asia, are looking to conserve fuel and spending billions of dollars in subsidies. The European Union loosened state aid rules to let member states compensate agriculture, fisheries and transport firms for extra fuel and fertiliser costs till the end of 2026 but has yet to curb use.

Source: Reuters

Children aged 17 or younger will face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes in UK, as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill clears British Parliament.

Both the Commons and Lords have settled on a final draft of the “landmark” legislation that aims to stop anyone born after 1 January 2009 from taking up smoking by making it illegal for shops to sell them tobacco, to create a smoke-free generation.

When it gets royal assent, ministers will also have new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including their flavours and packaging.

It is part of a series of measures aimed at tackling the health effects of smoking, one of the UK’s leading causes of preventable death, disability and ill health.

Vaping will be banned in cars carrying children, in playgrounds and outside schools and at hospitals, expanding smoke-free laws.

Vaping would still be allowed outside hospitals in a bid to support those trying to quit.

Outdoor hospitality venues like pub gardens and wider open spaces such as beaches and private outdoor spaces are not included in the plans.

People will also be able to continue smoking and vaping in their homes.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, called it an historic moment for the nation’s health, adding: “Prevention is better than cure – this reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain.”

Health minister Baroness Merron told the Lords on Monday: “It is, in fact, the biggest public health intervention in a generation and I can assure all noble Lords it will save lives.”

Lord Naseby, a Conservative former MP, said the Tobacco and Vapes Bill “does upset a great many people in that industry”, including retailers.

“What we really need is a proper understanding of how we educate people not to take up smoking,” he said.

Responding to Lord Naseby, Lady Merron said: “I can overall assure Lord Naseby, as I’ve done on a number of occasions, about how closely we have worked with retailers, and we will continue to do so.”

Sarah Sleet from Asthma + Lung UK said the legislation promised to transform the nation’s health.

“Now that this groundbreaking bill is finally over the line, we have a chance to go further to protect public health and hold the tobacco industry to account.”

She urged the government to provide widespread smoking cessation support, to ensure existing smokers are not left behind.

“Right now we have a postcode lottery, which is why the tobacco industry should pay through a levy to reduce the harm they cause by funding these crucial services across the UK,” she said.

Source: BBC

According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Shake Hands-II is a joint counter-terrorism exercise conducted between the armies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“The two-week exercise commenced on April 27 at Tarbela, with the participation of Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group and Special Forces from the Sri Lankan Army.”

The statement said the exercise aimed to enhance professional capabilities through joint training while further strengthening the longstanding military-to-military relations between the two friendly nations.

“Participating troops will benefit from the exchange of operational experiences and expertise in counter-terrorism operations, contributing to improved interoperability and mutual understanding,” it added.

Pakistan’s armed forces regularly conduct joint exercises with foreign militaries to exchange professional expertise and strengthen combat readiness.

Last week, the Pakistan–Turkye Joint Commando and Special Forces Exercise Jinnah-XIII was successfully conducted in Turkiye, focusing on counterterrorism operations.

Earlier in April, Pakistan and Egypt commenced their joint exercise, Thunder-II, at the Special Operations School in Cherat.

In January, the Pakistan and United States armies conducted a joint military exercise titled ‘Inspired Gambit–2026’ aimed at enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two forces.

Source: The Express Tribune 

US President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations with Iran will be finalized “and everybody’s going to be happy,” amid an apparent impasse in the talks.

“We’ve done a great job, and we’ll get it closed out, and everybody’s going to be happy,” Trump said during a phone interview with a conservative radio host.

The comments came just hours after Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran rejects negotiations with the US “under the shadow of threats.”

Ghalibaf, who has played a key role in the talks, roundly criticized Trump for his decision to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has maintained is a violation of an already-fragile ceasefire.

The parliament speaker said on the US social media company X’s platform that Trump has sought to use the threats to turn the talks “into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.” He said Iran has prepared new military options should a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire lapse this week.

Asked about Iran’s opposition to the talks, Trump said “they’re going to negotiate, and if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”

“And hopefully they’ll make a fair deal, and they’ll build their country back up, but when they do it, they will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “They will have no access to, no chance of having a nuclear weapon.”

Trump announced Sunday that US representatives would fly to Islamabad for negotiations, though Tehran has yet to officially confirm its participation and demanded the lifting of the blockade.

The comments came as the US has maintained a naval blockade on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports since last week. Tehran has described the blockade as a violation of the ongoing ceasefire.

Trump also warned Sunday that the US would target Iran’s infrastructure if Tehran failed to accept US terms to end the conflict, adding to market unease as the ceasefire is set to expire Tuesday evening Washington time.

Shipping concerns intensified after Iran, which had declared on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was reopened to maritime traffic, reversed course on Saturday and again restricted vessel movements through the strategic waterway, with state media saying the US had not met its obligations.

Pakistan hosted the first direct high-level US-Iran engagement in Islamabad on April 11-12, the first such contact since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1979, but the talks ended without a breakthrough.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook part of northern Japan early Monday, but no damage or casualties have been reported.

No tsunami advisory was issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The quake struck 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of the small town of Sarabetsu on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido at a depth of 81 kilometers (50 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It measured the quake’s strength at 6.1 magnitude.

A week ago, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake prompted Japan to issue an advisory of a slightly higher risk of a possible megaquake for the nation’s northeastern coastal areas.

Source: AP

Officials in Japan have warned of an increased risk of a ‘‘huge’’ earthquake in the next week after a 7.7 magnitude quake struck off the north-east coast, triggering an evacuation order and warnings of 3m (10ft) tsunami waves.

Thousands of people were told to leave coastal areas for higher ground after the quake in waters off Iwate prefecture, 530km (330 miles) north of the capital Tokyo.

The biggest tsunami waves measured 80cm. Tsunami warnings and advisories were lifted hours after the quake on Monday.

But Japan’s meteorological agency has warned that quakes ‘‘causing even stronger shaking’’ could occur in the next week, producing bigger waves.

Authorities said the risk of a quake measuring 8.0 magnitude or higher was ‘‘relatively higher than during normal times’’.

People in Japan are still scarred by memories of a huge quake in 2011 that triggered a tsunami which killed more than 18,000 people and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

After Monday’s undersea quake, recorded at a depth of 10km, warnings of possible bigger waves were issued to residents in areas nearest the epicentre - in Japan’s main island, Honshu, and the northern region of Hokkaido.

Tremors were felt as far away as Tokyo.
In Hokkaido tsunami alerts remained in place hours after the quake struck at 16:52 local time (08:52 BST).

‘‘As soon as we heard the earthquake alert, everyone ran downstairs,’’ Chaw Su Thwe, a Myanmar national living in Hokkaido, told the BBC. ‘‘However, this time the shaking was relatively mild.

‘‘Right now, local authorities are using loudspeakers in the neighbourhood to warn people about a possible tsunami and to stay alert,’’ she added. ‘‘Office workers have been allowed to leave work early.’’

A number of bullet trains were affected, and 100 homes were without power, Japan’s Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters. He said there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

Train services resumed on Monday night.

More than 170,000 people across several prefectures were ordered to evacuate after tsunami warnings were issued across parts of Japan’s east coast.

The warning was the second-highest of three levels of alert, with people being told to leave coastal and riverside areas and move to higher ground or an evacuation building.

‘‘Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly. Do not leave safe ground until the warning is lifted,’’ Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) told reporters in the hours after the quake - a plea echoed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who urged people to get to ‘‘higher, safer places’’.

It was later downgraded to a tsunami alert, before being removed entirely shortly before midnight local time.

Japan’s precarious location on the Ring of Fire means it experiences about 1,500 earthquakes a year, and accounts for 10% of quakes measuring 6.0 magnitude or higher worldwide.

In March 2011, Japan was hit by the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast to the south of Iwate province, the most powerful earthquake it had ever recorded.

The meltdown at Fukushima was one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Since then, the government issues warnings and advisories for people to get to higher ground.

Source: BBC