Independent News & People Network Desk of News

Insuring the gift of longevity with dignity

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T14:17:48+00:00

As India’s elderly population is set to surge by 2050, the time is now to build the financial backbone of a silver economy

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This war will inflict severe economic pain

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T14:15:05+00:00

The government now needs to prepare the country for a period of erratic and limited supplies. Direct supply management poses an administrative challenge

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Blackstone-backed EPL, Indovida to merge to create $2 bn packaging firm

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T14:13:39+00:00

Under the deal, EPL is valued at around $1.2 billion, implying a price of ₹339 per share—about 70 per cent higher than its previous closing price—while Indovida is valued at roughly $0.7 billion, at a 35 per cent discount to EPL’s valuation multiple

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US abortion rate holds steady largely due to travel and telehealth availability – report

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T14:00:05+00:00

Shift seen away from from traveling to states with legal abortion in favor of telehealth and mail-order pillsThe abortion rate is holding steady in the US despite total and partial bans in some states – largely because of travel across state lines and a significant increase in telehealth appointments, a new report says.US regulatory officials are weighing changes to the ways mifepristone, an abortion medication, may be dispensed, but they have reportedly pushed their review until after the midterm elections, given the widespread support for abortion across the US. Continue reading...

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Farmers plead for tax breaks, diesel guarantees and help buying fertiliser as national cabinet meets on fuel crisis

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T14:00:05+00:00

State and federal leaders due to discuss assistance for business sectors but petrol rationing not expected to find backingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFarmers say the federal government must help them with tax breaks and underwriting fertiliser purchases to survive the fuel crisis, with Monday’s national cabinet expected to discuss more assistance to businesses amid ballooning petrol prices.Federal and state governments have remained tight-lipped about what would be on the meeting’s agenda but state premiers ha

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L’affaire HDFC: The curious case of a resignation

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T13:48:52+00:00

Director’s cut. The premature exit of a board member puts India’s largest private bank under the lens like never before

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Le patriarche latin de Jérusalem empêché d’accéder au Saint-Sépulcre pour la messe des Rameaux, Rome dénonce une « offense aux croyants »

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-03-29T13:38:53+00:00

Le cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa et le Custode Francesco Ielpo « ont été arrêtés en chemin et ont été contraints de rebrousser chemin », a annoncé, dimanche, un communiqué conjoint du patriarcat latin de Jérusalem et de la custodie de Terre sainte.

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Insight into a historian’s method

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T13:34:44+00:00

Romila Thapar challenges inherited narratives and demystifies some stereotypes about early India

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‘SME IPO momentum surges in India, but Telangana yet to tap the opportunity’

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T13:30:57+00:00

“India’s IPO ecosystem is at an inflection point. While initial public offerings (IPOs) by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are gaining momentum, many businesses still perceive them as complex,” said President R Ravi Kumar.

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Third No Kings protest draws 8 million worldwide to push back on Trump administration

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T13:26:32+00:00

Anti-authoritarian rallies, in all 50 states plus more than a dozen countries, were the largest number of protests in a single day in US historyMore than 8 million people protested against the Trump administration at more than 3,300 No Kings events across the US and in more than a dozen countries on Saturday, according to organizers. It’s the greatest number of protests in a single day in US history, said Britt Jacovich, the deputy communications director for Move On, one of the organizers behind No Kings.Saturday’s protest was the third No Kings, organized by a coalition that also includes “a

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Delhi’s green heritage

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T13:24:07+00:00

A voyage of discovery into the city’s flora and fauna

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Bitcoin dips after steadying over last week

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-29T13:10:00+00:00

The near-term outlook remains highly sensitive to global cues, with Bitcoin continuing to track broader financial conditions and investor risk appetite

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One in five UK hospitality businesses fear collapse as costs surge

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T13:07:27+00:00

Exclusive: Pubs, restaurants and hotels warn of mounting pressure days before rates rises and higher wage bills take effectOne in five hospitality businesses fear collapse in the next 12 months, according to an industry-wide survey that comes days before rises in tax and employment costs kick in.From Wednesday, many pub, restaurant and hotel companies face the prospect of a higher bill for business rates paid to their local authority, while an increase in minimum wage thresholds takes effect on the same day. Continue reading...

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Pierre Duquesne, ancien ambassadeur : « L’assaut d’Israël compromet le redressement du Liban et y renforce ses ennemis »

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-03-29T13:00:11+00:00

Depuis le début de 2025, Beyrouth était dans une phase de stabilisation, sinon de progression, sur les plans politique, économique et sécuritaire. Tout cela est mis à bas par la réplique disproportionnée d’Israël aux frappes du Hezbollah, regrette l’ancien ambassadeur Pierre Duquesne dans une tribune au « Monde ».

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A costly plan will keep a steel plant in JD Vance’s hometown running. Locals are aghast: ‘It’s horrible’

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T13:00:03+00:00

Fossil-fuel burning at Ohio facility could burn longer, leaving Middletown residents to face environmental risksSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxIt was just a few months after moving from Louisville to Middletown, Ohio, four years ago that Vivian Adams’s six-year-old daughter’s asthma problem worsened.“My daughter was born prematurely so she already had lung issues,” she says, “[but] it’s gotten worse. She stays sick and coughing and can’t breathe. She’s had to go on everyday medication for her asthma, plus she has a rescue inhaler.” Continue reading

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Americans struggle as Iran war puts strain on everyday costs: ‘I’m worried we won’t make it through’

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T13:00:03+00:00

Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, gas prices, grocery bills and mortgage rates have all climbed The US-Israel war against Iran has sent shockwaves through global markets, leaving many Americans grappling with a growing financial squeeze on everyday living costs.Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran – prompting retaliatory attacks on US allies in the region and Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passage – costs have surged across the US. Gas prices, in particular, have spiked sharply, with the national average rising by roughly 30% over the past month.

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‘It’s biblical’: Maga anxiety over Iran war on display at CPAC as Trump skips event

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-29T12:52:32+00:00

Attendees at Conservative Political Action Conference express support and concerns amid rift over Trump’s action Wherever you go, there you are, the saying goes. It was a lesson Donald Trump’s Maga faithful may have been reminded of last week when they gathered in a convention center near Dallas for a revival of the president’s political movement, only to find that there was no escape from the problems it faces.The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is usually a place of optimism, if not, triumph. It was on its stage last year that Elon Musk pumped a chainsaw in the air ami

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