India and US begin work on trade draft; Goyal underlines: No deal with a 'gun to the head'

The India-US trade talks, marked by twists and turns, seems to be moving closer towards a conclusion as negotiators from both sides are said to have begun working on the language of the text but a final announcement will require "political convergence," a senior government official said here Friday. -

Victims, perpetrators of terror equated in the name of global strategy: Jaishankar

Underlining that "victims and perpetrators of terrorism" were being equated "in the name of global strategy", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday targeted Pakistan and China, saying "a sitting Security Council member" was openly protecting the very organisation which claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack. -

J&K Rajya Sabha polls: NC wins 3 seats, BJP manages to bag 1

The National Conference on Friday secured three Rajya Sabha seats, while the BJP bagged one as the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly voted to fill four vacant Rajya Sabha seats on Friday. -

Don't put out Al content without consent: EC to parties

The Election Commission on Friday directed all national and regional political parties not to publish or transmit Al-generated content depicting a person without [his or her] consent, saying it "is a deep threat and challenge because of its ability to masquerade as the truth and unwittingly trap political stakeholders into incorrect conclusions". -

V-P to attend swearing-in of Seychelles President 

In his first foreign visit since assuming office, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Seychelles President-elect Dr Patrick Herminie on behalf of India, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. -

Madhya Pradesh bans carbide guns after 200 injured on Diwali

The Carbide gun social media craze, which turned into a health crisis and left nearly 200 people injured in Madhya Pradesh during Diwali, has prompted the state to ban the devices, with officials admitting they failed to anticipate the scale of the problem despite a warning dating back to 2023.

Historian Sunil Amrith wins the 2025 British Academy Book Prize for The Burning Earth

Indian-Origin historian Sunil Amrith has been named the winner of the 2025 British Academy Book Prize for The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years, a panoramic account of how human ambition has transformed the planet, and how the planet, in turn, has shaped human history. -

TARIFF & SANCTIONS

For Several Months now, US President Donald Trump has been pushing to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Trump has not only relied upon the traditional diplomatic route, he has also deployed economic tools such as levying tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, arguing that Russia's energy exports were helping it finance the war. Russia's oil and gas revenue accounts for a sizeable share of its budget. Trump has been pressuring India - through a 25 per cent tariff penalty - to stop its energy imports from Russia. India, along with China, accounts for most of Russia's crude oil exports. But neither has cut back their purchases. The Trump administration has now gone a step further, targeting what US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says helps fund Kremlin's war machine. -

CEASEFIRE TO PEACE

On July 23, 2023, about 10,000 military reservists in Israel came out on the streets against the Benjamin Netanyahu government's impending overhaul of the country's independent judiciary. The threat by military personnel to stop serving was of a piece with months of protests against the government's plans, as well as against the prime minister himself, not least because of the corruption allegations - he has been in the dock since 2020-against him. Political instability had plagued Israel for around half a decade at the time. -

Unstable world, stable partner

The 20th East Asia Summit (EAS) will take place from October 26 to 28 at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The annual gathering of leaders from 18 countries in Asia and beyond stems from an initiative by the ASEAN leadership in 2005 to broaden deliberations on regional stability and security. -

Pendency issue in courts: Why SC flagged execution petitions

Last Week, the Supreme Court described the situation in India's lower courts as "highly disappointing", referring to numerous instances where, despite having won court cases, litigants awaited the receipt of what the court awarded them.

In an October 16 order, a Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal reviewed nationwide data collected on its direction and found the figures to be "alarming" - over 8.82 lakh execution petitions are pending across district courts. -

Makhananomics: The politics behind govt's bid to boost Bihar's makhana industry

Speaking at a poll rally in Samastipur, Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday referred to the recently inaugurated National Makhana Board as a "revolution".

Bihar contributes to roughly 90% of India's makhana (foxnut) production. In recent months, members of the ruling coalition, including the PM himself, have spoken about the government's efforts to support the makhana industry. -

Zelenskyy urges US to broaden Russian oil sanctions, seeks long-range missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday urged the United States to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia. -

Iceland was one of the only mosquito-free places in the world - not anymore

Iceland Lost the distinction this month of being one of the last places in the world without a confirmed sighting of wild mosquitoes. And their presence was discovered only because of a rope in a garden doused in sugary red wine. -

Bank funding of corporate takeovers: RBI to cap lending at 70% of deal value

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday laid down draft guide-lines for bank financing of corporate acquisitions, marking a significant policy shift that opens the door for lenders to fund takeovers, a practice long prohibited in India. -

NHAI to deploy NSVs on 20,000 km of highways: How it will scan for defects

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has announced that it will deploy Network Survey Vehicles (NSVs) in 23 states, covering 20,933 km of National Highways (NHs), for the collection, processing, and analysis of road inventory and pavement condition data.

The agency has said that these specialised vehicles will enable it to collect necessary data related to road and pavement condition, including all relevant road defects such as sur-face cracking, potholes, and patches. -

India looks to increase rice exports to 26 markets, says APEDA chair

Rice exports are growing at a healthy rate and the country looks to increase shipments to 26 global markets, including the Philippines, Indonesia, the UK and Mexico, said Abhishek Dev, Chairman, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) - a commerce ministry arm. -

EU preliminarily finds Meta, TikTok in breach of transparency obligations

The European Commission said on Friday that US Big Tech giant Meta and Chinese-owned social media app TikTok breach their obligation to grant re-searchers adequate access to public data under the Digital Services Act (DSA) according to its preliminary findings. -