India dismisses Lutnick's claim that PM didn't call Trump to seal trade deal

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday reiterated India's commitment to a "balanced" trade pact with the United States and said the latest remarks made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were not "accurate". Mr. Lutnick had earlier said that the India-U.S. trade deal did not happen be-cause Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call U.S. President Donald Trump to wrap up the final stages of the trade deal.

Enforcement directives

The BJP is weapon sing central agencies against political rivals

The Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s searches on January 8, in Kolkata, at locations linked to the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), are a development set to be repeated in the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly election. I-PAC is a political consultancy firm that spearheaded the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s election campaign in 2021. The ED said the searches were part of an ongoing money laundering investigation, unrelated to the election, and aimed at tracing the proceeds of the crime. The TMC held protests across the State on Friday. Even as the raids were on, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went to the I-PAC office and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government of using central agencies for political vendetta.

De-dollarisation fear 

U.S's moves on oil reflect its uneasiness over global trade and finance

President Donald Trump's urgency to push the Russia Sanctions Bill through Congress, granting him the power to im-pose tariffs of up to 500% on nations buying oil from Moscow, is officially framed as a punitive measure to weaken Russia's war economy. Yet, this legislative push comes just after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3. Throughout his press briefings thereafter, Mr. Trump emphasised Venezuela's vast oil re-serves as America's underlying strategic interest. This twin focus on Russian sanctions and Venezuelan oil assets suggests that both measures are less about geopolitical 'penalisation' and more about protecting the petrodollar's dominance at a time when its hegemony is eroding.

The Phaltan case is also about a victim's dignity

Secondary victimisation, or the culture of questioning a victim and her behaviour, persists in India, even among those who are committed to protecting women's rights

Somaliland is no longer a diplomatic endnote

Israel's decision, in December 2025, to recognise Somaliland as an independent sovereign state marks a significant diplomatic rupture in the Horn of Africa. Beyond the immediate diplomatic fallout, the move carries wider risks. It may intensify Cold War-style proxy conflicts, provoke economic and political coercion, and further militarise an already volatile maritime corridor of the Red Sea and beyond.

Taliban diplomat to take charge of Afghan embassy

Nearly five years after the Taliban wrested control of Kabul, the first Taliban-appointed diplomat arrived in India to take charge of the Afghanistan Embassy in Del-hi, sources confirmed to The Hindu.

Shah launches database on bomb blasts in India

Union Home Minis-ter Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated the National Improvised Explosive Device Data Management System (NIDMS), a first-of-its-kind platform that contains de-tails of every bomb blast that has occurred in the country since 1999.

Gold ETFs score over equities in Dec.

Net inflows into gold exchange traded funds tripled to a record high of ₹1,16,467 crore in Dec. 2025 from the month earlier, according to AMFI data; surge due to 'sustained demand for gold-backed products amid elevated macro uncertainty