Foreigners seeking green cards must return to their home countries, apply: US

Foreigners Seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will have to do so from outside the country via the State Department, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) said on Friday, in a move criticized by aid groups.

Qatar team in Tehran to secure Iran-US deal

A Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran on Friday in co-ordination with United States to try to help secure a deal to end the war with Iran and resolve outstanding issues, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

'Very high': WHO raises risk of Ebola outbreak in Congo

The World Health Organization has raised the risk of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into a national out-break in the Democratic Republic of Congo to "very high".

The strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by the WHO on Sunday.

Pointing to conflicting views, SC refers UAPA bail question to larger bench

Four Days after a Supreme Court bench raised questions over another bench's January order rejecting bail to 2020 Delhi riots case accused Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, a two-judge bench Friday referred to a larger bench the conflicting views on granting bail in anti-terror cases on the grounds of prolonged delay in trial.

Rubio meets PM today, will also attend Quad huddle on May 26

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is reaching Kolkata Saturday morning, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi later in the day.

On his first visit to India as US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Rubio will also attend the meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers in New Delhi on May 26.

Rs 2.86 lakh cr: RBI clears record surplus transfer to Centre

At a time when the West Asia conflict and the surge in crude oil prices are weighing heavy on the fisc, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Central Board Friday approved a record surplus transfer of Rs 2,86,588 crore to the Central Government for the accounting year 2025-26, offering a significant boost to the Centre's finances.

The higher dividend could help improve the government's overall fiscal position and provide greater flexibility in policy spending during an increasingly tough year ahead.

'Representative administration': Centre, Leh-Kargil groups reach broad agreement

In a breakthrough after months of protests, negotiations, and political mobilisation in Ladakh, representatives of the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on Friday said they had reached "in-principle understanding" with the Centre on "restoring democracy in Ladakh" and providing "Constitutional safeguards on the lines of Article 371 A, F, and G", following talks with senior Union Home Ministry officials.

VB-GRAM G: States to get funds based on finance panel model

The Centre is set to adopt the same "objective parameters" for normative allocation of funds under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme, which will be rolled out from July 1 this year, bringing down the curtain on the two-decade-old MGNREGS.

Shah: Smart Border project soon to make frontiers impenetrable

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced a major technological and operational push to strengthen India's borders, saying the government will soon roll out a Smart Border project to make frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh impenetrable and to eliminate illegal infiltration.

India, Cyprus upgrade bilateral ties to Strategic Partnership

India and Cyprus agreed to elevate their bilateral ties to Strategic Partnership, unveiled a 5-year roadmap for defence cooperation (2026-2031), decided to establish a cyber security dialogue and strengthen cooperation on maritime transport, space and health as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met visiting President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides in Delhi on Friday.

SC: Should those who moved up due to reservation continue to avail it?

Hearing a plea on the question of creamy layer for the purpose of quota, the Supreme Court on Friday again asked why children of those who had already scaled the economic and social ladder by availing the benefits of affirmative action should continue to claim reservation.

Today, India and US interests are not easily aligned. Let's confront this

We have to return to thinking that what is good for the world will, in the long run, be good for us as well. This requires recognising the US, in the current form, for what it is-an imperial power unleashing a new and dangerous nihilism.

Putin, Xi, and a growing asymmetry

Less Than a week after Xi Jinping hosted Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing for what was his 25th official visit in the 25th year since the signing of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship. The summit celebrated a relationship with a long and turbulent past. Tsarist Russia was among the great predators of Imperial China's "century of humiliation".

Alliances are key to Delhi's deep-tech ambitions

Nordic countries have investment potential running into trillions of dollars. India has engineering talent, scale, innovation and a start-up ecosystem.

Weak monsoon and fertiliser crisis, a double whammy

India needs to source nearly four times its current urea opening stocks to meet kharif requirements, through imports purchased at crisis-level global prices.

How new Odisha Bill aims to boost sustainable marine fishing

The Odisha government this week approved a proposal to enact the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Bill, 2026, to establish a robust, modern, and inclusive legal framework for the marine fisheries sector. The legislation will repeal a 44-year-old law. According to Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg, the Bill will ensure sustainable fisheries resource development clubbed with immense economic benefit, while protecting livelihood and safety of Odisha's fishermen as well as conservation of marine ecosystems.

'For Ebola, spillover risk doesn't equal a pandemic'

With The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, expressing deep concern about the speed and scale of the Ebola outbreak, the Union Health Ministry has notified screening norms and vigilance at airports and ports for those travelling from or transiting through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and South Sudan.

Ebola is a zoonotic infection caused by the Orthoebolavirus family that can be extremely fatal in humans.

Why rising govt bond yields are bad news for people and businesses

It is becoming increasingly costly for governments across the world to borrow money. In many cases, the interest rates that lenders are charging are reaching their highest levels since the global financial crisis of 2008.

What's more, this upward shift has been quite sharp, which is a problem all by itself, regardless of the level of interest rates. Sharply rising borrowing costs for governments imply that borrowing costs for average consumers will also rise, possibly by a greater degree.

FY26 gross FDI at record $95 bn, but net inflows only $7.7 bn: RBI data

India Saw gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows rise to a new record high of $94.53 billion in 2025-26, up 17% from the previous year, although the net figure was a mere $7.65 billion, data released on Friday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.

Why India is becoming 'egocentric' data hotspot

The next big raw material in the global artificial intelligence (AI) race may not be chips or compute power, but human actions themselves.

Across factories, ware-houses, kitchens and retail floors in India, workers wearing head-mounted cameras are recording hundreds of thousands of hours of "egocentric" or first-person data that is increasingly being used to train robotics and embodied Al systems.

Near term outlook clouded by supply side pressures

The Near-Term outlook for the economy is "somewhat clouded by supply side pressures" even as domestic demand continues to be the main driver of economic growth, the Reserve Bank of India said in its State of the Economy article.

RBI must hold rates, says ASSOCHAM

India is better placed to manage retail inflation among the top 10 economies, according to an analysis by industry lobby ASSOCHAM unveiled on Friday, amidst the ongoing disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict.