Trump greenlights Bill proposing 500% tariff over Russia oil trade...

India is once again in the crosshairs of a proposed US law that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil.

"This Bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's bloodbath against Ukraine," Graham said.

...And pulls US out of 66 global bodies, opening door for China

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from 66 international organisations, including UN bodies and the International Solar Alliance led by India and France, saying these institutions were "redundant" and "contrary" to his country's interests.

Scientist, 'people's ecologist', voice of Western Ghats, forests, rivers, communities

A pioneer in ecological sciences, Madhav Gadgil, 83, died late Wednesday night in Pune after a brief illness. He was one of India's foremost voices on ecology and environment protection.

Gadgil was born in 1942 in Pune to Pramila and Dhananjay Gadgil. Decades later, following long years of service at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, Gadgil returned to the city after retirement. He continued to engage widely with people and wrote regularly about the pulls and pressures of India's growth trajectory on its ecology.

ESA-NASA Mars Return Sample mission called off

The first-of-its kind Mars Return Sample mission, planned between Europe and the US, has been officially called off.

The cancellation of this collaborative mission between ESA and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) comes in the aftermath of the Donald Trump administration's heavy budgetary sanctions imposed on NASA since the return of the Republicans in 2025.

Need to balance rights of judge and MPs, says SC

Declining to grant Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma more time to respond to a notice by a Parliamentary committee inquiring into allegations of recovery of burnt cash from his Delhi residence last year, the SC Thursday reserved its decision on his plea challenging the legality of the panel constituted by the Speaker under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.

As monument conservation opens up to pvt sector, ASI's sole mandate ends

In less than two weeks, the conservation of monuments will open up to private sector, allowing corporate donors to directly engage conservation agencies - a responsibility that so far only rested with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Translation to paperwork: How Al is making its case in courts, trimming trials & errors

While The Union Ministry of Law and Justice told Parliament in its last Session that Artificial Intelligence was being "explored" in courts, it has been expanding its footprint-from courtrooms to lawyer chambers.

A transcription system called 'TERES (or Technology Enabled ReSolution)' is now used during Constitution Bench hearings to convert oral arguments into text in real time, addressing a longstanding bottle-neck in recording fast-paced hearings accurately. Developed in India, TERES is also being used by dispute resolution institutions outside the country now, including courts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

Exploitation is built into gig work

In a country with a significant population living in precarious conditions and with a huge unemployment problem, gig work is unlikely to disappear. These are the new casual workers disguised as self-employed and partners, but their condition is as bad as, if not worse than, that of casual manual labourers. While there is no social security, the uncertainty in case of sickness or accidents is also structured in a way where they bear the entire risk.

Is China's grip on Nepal loosening?

Ever since India-Nepal relations soured in 2015, leaving a vacuum, China engaged Nepal more aggressively, which was a departure from its traditional "low-profile" diplomacy and in line with the broader Wolf Warrior diplomacy. During this time, China's role and involvement in Nepal's infrastructure landscape increased significantly, with Chinese companies and contractors securing most large projects in hydropower, roads and aviation and telecommunication.

Countries spending more on 'instruments of war than on - investments in peace': UN

Even As US President Donald Trump called for a more than 50 per cent increase in the US' military budget, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that increasing expenditure on arms and ammunition by governments across the world was taking away money from social spending, with global growth remaining "subdued, far below pre-pandemic levels".

PRAGATI: Of 53 power projects reviewed by PM, 43 commissioned so far

Under the multi-purpose, multi-modal PRAGATI plat-form, 43 out of the 53 power sector projects worth Rs 3.02 lakh crore reviewed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been commissioned as of December 31, 2025, officials said. The remaining 10 projects, worth about Rs 1.1 lakh crore, are at advanced stages of completion, they added.

US oversight of Venezuela may last yrs, says Trump

President Trump said on Wednesday evening that he expected the United States would be running Venezuela and extracting oil from its huge reserves for years, and insisted that the interim government of the country - all former loyalists to the now-imprisoned Nicolás Maduro - is "giving us everything that we feel is necessary."

Despite patchy record, US climate exit will still pinch

THE US Thursday said it was pulling out of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and more than 60 other international treaties and organisations that "no longer serve American interests". On the long list are several climate-related entities, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), International Solar Alliance (ISA), and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).