Explainer

Explainer

Shivaraj N, a sub-inspector in Tamil Nadu police signs his declaration form before casting his vote at a polling station a day ahead of the first phase of the election, in Tiruvannamalai, India, April 18, 2024. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

India's Lok Sabha election 2024: What are the key issues?

Here are some of the key issues in the elections to 543seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, that willbe held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June, with votecounting on 4 June

Packages made from the cellulose film are broadly compostable. Photo: Mehedi Hasan

Bioplastics: What they are, and are not

A female supporter smiles while holding a banner in support of the Senior Women for Climate Protection in front of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Emma Farge/File Photo

How three European human rights cases could shape climate litigation

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (not pictured) during the trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

What US-Japan defense shakeup will involve and why

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks with the media accompanied by Yemen's Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi and Algeria's Representative to the United Nations Amar Bendjama following a meeting of the Security Council to vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

Could the Palestinians become a full United Nations member?

Signage is seen at the Apple Fifth Avenue store for the release of the Apple iPhone 14 range in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

US lawsuit against Apple could make iPhone experience more consumer-friendly

Rescuers work to extinguish fire at the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident, outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Why did ISIS-K attack a Moscow theater?

Collage of Exim Bank and Padma Bank logo

Explainer: What Exim and Padma banks have to do to execute their merger

Palestinians with children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, as the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo

Famine looms in Gaza - how will the world know it has arrived?

Russian President Vladimir Putin. File Photo: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS

What are Putin's top challenges in new six-year term?

FILE PHOTO: Military vehicles with Jordanian and US flags drive as part of the 'Eager Lion' military exercises, in Zarqa, Jordan September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Alaa Al Sukhni

What are US troops doing in the Middle East and where are they?

Black granular material containing cocaine. Photo: India Times

What is black cocaine?

FILE PHOTO: USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photo

Fire and Oil: what can be consequences of US attack on Iran