Top news of the day: April 29, 2026

Around 91.41% of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 7 p.m. of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence. Meanwhile, West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal has said that repolling is likely to be announced in booths where EVMs are found to have been tampered with. The second round is widely seen as the “litmus test” for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), as voting moves into the party’s traditional fortresses in South Bengal and Kolkata.

U.S. President Donald Trump has told U.S. national security officials to prepare for a long blockade of Iran’s ports to compel Tehran to give up its nuclear programme, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Trump, according to the report, does not believe that Iran is negotiating in good faith and hopes it can be forced to suspend uranium enrichment for 20 years and accept tight restrictions thereafter. This comes as U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to face questioning from lawmakers on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) for the first time since the Trump administration launched the war against Iran, which Democrats have contested as a costly conflict of choice waged without congressional approval.