US pet market hits record levels, but faces rising costs, regulatory challenges

IANS | March 12, 2026 7:53 AM

Washington, March 12 (IANS) The US pet industry has reached a record $157 billion in spending, but small business owners told senators that rising healthcare costs, regulatory hurdles, labour challenges, and financing constraints are making it harder for many companies to keep pace with the sector’s rapid growth.

US launches trade probe on India, 15 others

IANS | March 12, 2026 7:48 AM

Washington, March 12 (IANS) The United States has launched a sweeping trade investigation targeting India and 15 other economies over alleged excess industrial capacity in manufacturing sectors, a move that could eventually lead to tariffs or other trade measures.

US dependence on China for medicines faces scrutiny

IANS | March 12, 2026 6:59 AM

Washington, March 12 (IANS) The United States has become dangerously dependent on China for the raw materials and ingredients used in many of its most common medicines, lawmakers and expert witnesses warned at a Senate hearing, casting the problem as both a national security threat and a looming public health crisis.

Trump links Iran strikes to lower oil prices

IANS | March 12, 2026 6:37 AM

Washington, March 12, (IANS) President Donald Trump has said that US military action against Iran would help bring down global oil prices, telling supporters in Kentucky that a coordinated release of emergency crude reserves and continued pressure on Tehran would stabilise energy markets.

Trump says Iran's navy and air defences destroyed

IANS | March 11, 2026 11:03 PM

Washington, March 11 (IANS) President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that American forces have inflicted devastating damage on Iran’s military infrastructure, claiming that Tehran has lost much of its naval and air defence capability as US strikes intensified during the ongoing conflict.

Sanitation workers in Pakistan face institutional neglect and discrimination: Report

IANS | March 11, 2026 9:24 PM

Islamabad, March 11 (IANS) Pakistan’s sanitation workers endure hardship driven by entrenched caste hierarchies, discriminatory hiring, absence of legal protections, institutional neglect, social stigma, gendered exploitation, and economic injustice. Their suffering is deeply embedded in the fabric of the state and society, rendering it largely invisible, a report said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh's newly-formed Parliament may face constitutional crisis amid conflicting perspectives: Report

IANS | March 11, 2026 9:23 PM

Ankara, March 11 (IANS) With its first session scheduled for March 12, Bangladesh’s newly-elected parliament will confront two competing mandates - one rooted in the existing constitutional framework and the other guided by the political commitments of the July Charter. Experts warn that such a dual arrangement may trigger institutional friction as the new parliament convenes, a report has highlighted.