What happens to the FIFA World Cup if Iran were to withdraw?

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just months away, an escalating war in West Asia has put FIFA in an unprecedented bind. With co-host United States directly involved in the conflict, uncertainty now surrounds the participation of the Iran national football team. Iran’s request to move its matches to Mexico underlines how deeply geopolitics is beginning to affect the tournament. If Iran is forced to withdraw, it would be the first such instance since 1950, raising serious questions about precedent, fairness and the limits of sporting neutrality. In this episode of In Focus, we examine what this means for FIFA, the host nations and the World Cup itself. Guest: Vijay Lokapally, veteran sports journalist Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump’s five-day pause on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure does appear like a tactical U-turn—but not a full reversal. Just days after issuing a 48-hour ultimatum, he cited “productive” talks and stepped back, signalling possible de-escalation. However, U.S. attacks on other Iranian military targets continue, suggesting this is a limited pause rather than a policy shift. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Smriti Sudesh Edited and produced by Sharmada VenkatasubramanianCamera: Thamodharan B Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Iran–Israel conflict intensifies, a deeper question emerges: can the United States and its allies sustain this war? In this episode, The Hindu’s data team examines the hidden economics and industrial limits behind modern warfare. From the cost mismatch between Iranian drones and U.S. interceptor missiles, to the strain on American stockpiles, the numbers tell a story of a conflict that may be harder to sustain than it appears. Are U.S. weapons systems being used faster than they can be replaced? And could these vulnerabilities have wider geopolitical consequences, especially with China controlling key resources used in missile production? Host: Nitika Francis Guest: Air Marshal Ravi Kapoor (Retd.), former AOC-in-C of the Indian Air Force’s Central Air Command, to unpack the data, the strategy, and the risks ahead. Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The war in West Asia has now entered its fourth week. US and Israel have continued their aerial bombings of Iran, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Israel and the GCC countries are ongoing.  This is a war of choice for US and Israel, but a war of survival for Iran. So far, much of the commentary on the conflict has been coming from Western sources – and even in India, it’s largely been from the perspective of energy security – India’s and everyone else’s.  In this podcast, we try and understand the conflict at the level of the people, the situation, the mood, and the thinking within Iran – as it endures daily, and unrelenting, attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, and political assassinations. Also, how can India secure safe passage of its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz?  Guest: Mehdi Razmahang, Assistant Professor with the Parliamentary Research Center of Iran Host: G. Sampath Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Transgender Persons Amendment Bill 2026 has sparked nationwide protests and a constitutional debate. In this exclusive interview, Kalki Subramaniam, Southern Regional Representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons, reveals how the Union Government drafted these changes without consulting the council itself. We dissect the "red flags" of the amendment—from the removal of self-identification in favor of mandatory medical exams to the disproportionate sentencing for crimes against the community. Kalki explains how these regressive changes ignore the realities of poverty and healthcare access, effectively stripping away rights granted by the landmark NALSA judgment.From the exclusion of trans men to the "symbolic" nature of current policy-making, this discussion covers why Kalki is prepared to resign if this bill becomes law and her urgent plea to Members of Parliament to reject it. Guest: Kalki Subramaniam, Southern Regional Representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons. Host: Ragavi M Edited and produced by Ragavi M and Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As governments begin deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in public administration, national security and policymaking, questions about its safe usage and accountability have taken centre-stage. The issue came into focus in the U.S. after reports revealed a dispute between the Pentagon and AI company Anthropic, which refused to remove safeguards that were in place to prevent mass surveillance and the usage of autonomous weapons. The incident underscored a deeper tension between governments seeking to deploy AI systems and the companies that control them. As states collaborate more closely with AI companies, who ultimately governs the systems that govern us? Guests: Isha Suri, Research Lead at the Centre for Internet and Society, and Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director and Senior International Counsel at Access Now, a nonprofit committed to defending digital rights Host: Areena Arora Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BJP has been in power in Assam for ten years. As the state goes to the polls, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is looking for a second term. Surprisingly, there has been little talk of anti-incumbency. Will the elections pivot on identity politics, or will economic issues take centrestage? How will the 2023 delimitation exercise impact the elections? Will the death of Zubeen Garg be a factor? Will the Congress’s focus on personal corruption of the state CM pay off?  Guest: Angshuman Choudhury, Researcher and writer from Assam, currently undertaking doctoral research jointly at the National University of Singapore and King’s College London. Host: G. Sampath Edited by Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rapidly escalating crisis in West Asia has sent shockwaves through the world's energy supply. Iran has effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel through which nearly a third of the world's LPG passes, after joint strikes by the U.S. and Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other leaders. The West Asian country has also hit Israel and American bases in the Persian Gulf, and also targeted oil and gas facilities in the region. The conflict has hit India particularly hard. The country imports a majority of its crude oil needs and nearly 90% of its LPG from that region and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has hit supply of all crude oil products. LPG has been the worst hit, as India does not hold a strategic reserves of the product. From commercial LPG shortages hitting restaurants and industries, to long queues at cylinder distribution centres, the crisis is playing out in real time. The government has moved fast, invoking the Essential Commodities Act, ramping up refinery production, and reaching out to alternative suppliers.  In this episode, we go beyond the immediate shortage and ask the harder questions. Why does India's storage infrastructure leave it so exposed to disruptions like this? Was the decision to reduce Russian oil purchases, widely seen as a concession to secure a US trade deal, a miscalculation that made this crisis worse? And with the government likely to absorb all additional costs, what kind of pressure does that put on India's finances? And, what would happen if crude hits $200 a barrel and the Hormuz disruption runs for months? Guest: Narendra Taneja, Energy expert  Host: Nivedita V Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the war between the United States, Israel and Iran enters its third week, the conflict is widening with rising casualties and growing regional risks. With more than 2,100 people killed and American troops also targeted, the stakes are escalating. What options does America have now? Smriti Sudesh speaks with The Hindu’s International Affairs Editor Stanly Johny on where the war could be heading. Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indians by and large are a highly religious people. But there are many other cultures that are as religious, if not more. What makes India unique in this regard is perhaps the abundance of self-styled godmen, and the mass followings they rapidly acquire.  Many of these godmen, or ‘gurus’, exploit the psychological and emotional vulnerabilities of their followers to amass massive wealth and political power. They operate like cult-leaders, and control every aspect of their followers’ lives. And a cult is a very different animal from a faith-based congregation – it initiates a total erasure of personality, and the follower becomes almost like a human version of AI, pre-programmed to obey the cult leader’s bidding, no matter how harmful it might be.  In her riveting memoir, ‘The Cost of a Promised Afterlife’ Priyamvada Mehra narrates the painful saga of growing up in a family torn apart by their blind devotion to a godman, and how she managed to liberate herself from the cult and brainwashing, and chart her own course in life.  In this episode of InFocus-Weekend, we discuss her book, her journey of self-healing from the trauma of being in an abusive cult, and why so many Indians continue to fall for unscrupulous godmen. Host: G. sampath Edited and produced by Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices