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Indian infrastructure, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the country's first vertical lift sea bridge—the New Pamban Bridge—linking Rameswaram to the mainland. The occasion, timed with the auspicious festival of Ram Navami, adds a spiritual resonance to a landmark feat of engineering. Rameswaram is not just a town. It’s a place woven deeply into India’s mythological fabric. The Ramayana describes Lord Ram beginning the Ram Setu construction from nearby Dhanushkodi, building a bridge to Lanka. Now, over a hundred years after British engineers built the first Pamban rail bridge in 1914, a bold new chapter begins.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Writer, translator and cultural critic Shanta Gokhale, 85, has often returned to the complexities of gender, power and resistance in her writing in Marathi and English, portraying the tensions and nuances of women navigating patriarchal structures while seeking autonomy and agency. Gokhale says women have “a long way to go yet" because all women still don’t have basic human rights.

Zelensky on Saturday hailed «tangible progress» after meeting British and French military chiefs in Kyiv to discuss strengthening the Ukrainian army and ways to support the war-torn country after any end of hostilities with Russia. British Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin and French counterpart Thierry Burkhard on Friday held talks with Zelensky, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. Zelensky wrote on social media on Saturday: «There is tangible progress and the first details on how the security contingent of partners can be deployed,» without giving details. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are spearheading European efforts to send a «reassurance force» to Ukraine after any end to the war sparked by Russia's invasion in 2022. Zelensky thanked «the UK and France for their leadership», saying «it is this kind of joint work, when everyone is focused on a strong result, that helps to bring a reliable and lasting peace to Ukraine.»

reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US and has a first mover advantage as compared to other countries because of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that the two are negotiating, officials said, adding that Indian exporters are better positioned to deal with the additional US tariffs as compared to their competitors. The country, they said, will take all measures to check dumping of goods from China as Beijing is slapped with steeper tariffs and work within the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework to prevent the dumping of excess capacity into its markets by countries hit by high US tariffs. “The government is there to protect domestic industry from any possibility of dumping of goods in such a situation,” said an official. New Delhi is also exploring measures to protect sensitive sectors like dairy and agriculture amid the trade war. While the reciprocal tariffs on India are 26%, those on China are 34%. India is also likely to gain from the US-China trade war.

The first, written by a broad team of authors and published in The Lancet, investigates the impact of mobile phone policies in schools on students’ mental health, academic performance, physical activity and sleep, drawing on data from over 1,200 adolescents aged 12–15 years across the UK. The second article, written by six authors in The British Medical Journal, focuses on strategies to support the development of healthy technology use among young people. Apoorva Mittal spoke to Goodyear on Zoom about the findings and their implications in a world where digital devices are deeply woven into the lives of young people, and at a time when Australia has introduced a law banning social media for minors and shows like Netflix’s Adolescence are highlighting the negative impacts of these platforms on young adults. Edited excerpts: What inspired you to undertake the study on phone use in schools and its impact on adolescents? When we started the study, we were seeing growing concerns about adolescent mental health—especially around increased anxiety and lower well-being. At the same time, there was a noticeable rise in smartphone ownership and social media use among teenagers. Many discussions were linking the two, but the evidence was inconsistent. Meanwhile, several countries were starting to consider or implement school phone bans or delay smartphone access for adolescents. We wanted to look at whether these bans were making a difference. What have you observed on the use of technology by adolescents? Adolescents use phones for all sorts of things—accessing information, playing games, staying connected with friends. But they are also spending a lot of time on these platforms throughout the day.

Is Trump actually playing a strategic ‘chess’ game—and are we all just pawns? On April 2, Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on foreign imports, calling the day “Liberation Day” for American industry. The move includes a 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars and a baseline 10% tariff on imports from every country not part of the USMCA trade deal—leaving the EU, UK, and others scrambling to respond. China, of course, fired back with a 34% tariff on U.S. goods. But as the political fallout begins to swirl, a viral social media theory is giving the chaos a dramatic twist.

Delhi court has directed Tihar Jail authorities to respond to a startling allegation from Christian Michel James — the British national accused of being a middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter case. Michel, currently held in Tihar Jail, has claimed there were attempts to poison him inside the prison in 2019. In an application moved before the court, he requested heightened security measures, citing an ongoing threat to his life, as reported by TOI. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal took the allegation seriously and ordered the Director General of Tihar Prisons to submit a detailed report. “A report be also called from the DG (Prisons), Tihar Jail on the above application of accused No 35 (James)… with directions to file a status report as to what action was taken with regard to the allegations made by the aforesaid accused… regarding the alleged attempts on his life on dates mentioned in the said application by way of poisoning,” the judge said, as reported by TOI. The court has asked for the report to be filed by 16 April.

Fake cosmetics, massage pillows and sex toys. Crude homemade explosives. A Russian known as Warrior. A code word: Mary. These are among the key elements of a suspected Russian-run sabotage plot that led to three parcels being detonated at courier depots in Britain, Germany and Poland last summer, a person with knowledge of the Polish investigation told Reuters. The pillows, packed into the parcels with the cosmetics and sex toys, contained hidden homemade incendiary devices made of a cocktail of chemicals including highly reactive magnesium, according to the person familiar with the case who provided the most granular account yet of the alleged plot. The chemicals were ignited by pre-timed detonators adapted from cheap Chinese electronic gadgets used to track items like lost keys, with the effect enhanced by the tubes of what looked like cosmetics but in fact contained a gel made of flammable compounds including nitromethane, according to the source. «The proceedings in this case concern criminal activities inspired by Russia's GRU,» this person said, referring to Moscow's foreign military intelligence agency.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The stock market has its worst day in years. Ominously, the currency also falls.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s high tariffs would make the U.S. one of the world’s most protectionist countries.

The Andaman Skies is transferring its cargo of crude oil to the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged vessel Ozanno, the sources said. While many buyers have shunned Russian oil since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India and China have remained keen buyers. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which accounted for about 35% of its crude imports in 2024. However, port authorities last week barred the more than 20-year-old Andaman Skies from entering India's port of Vadinar as its seaworthiness certificate was not issued by an Indian-approved classification agency. The Tanzania-flagged vessel, carrying about 100,000 metric tons (or some 800,000 barrels) of Varandey Russian oil sold by Lukoil from the northern port of Murmansk, is sitting off the port of Mumbai in western India, LSEG shipping data shows.

Sushant Dash, CEO, Starbucks India says «We are focussing on store count expansion. And when you are doing that, it requires investment. And that has an impact on the bottom line.» As of September 2024, the company has a new global CEO, Brian Niccol who took on the role after Laxman Narasimhan, who held the position since March 2023 and was replaced amid declining sales and stock prices, last September.

Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks to bring a halt to fighting in Ukraine and ramped up pressure on Moscow by insisting that he owes the United States an immediate answer. Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting after a Kremlin official said on Monday that Moscow views efforts to end its three-year war with Ukraine as «a drawn-out process.» «Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,» British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at NATO headquarters, standing alongside his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in a symbolic show of unity. Britain and France are helping to lead a multinational effort known as the «coalition of the willing» to set up a force to police any future peace in Ukraine. Lammy said that while Putin should be accepting a ceasefire, «he continues to bombard Ukraine. It's civilian population. It's energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin. We know what you are doing.»

Phil Goff, New Zealand's former High Commissioner to the UK, sacked for publicly questioning US President Donald Trump's understanding of history, has defended his comments. Goff stated his comments were prompted by the US President's «disgraceful bullying» of Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky, and the «untruthful statements» made by the Trump administration about Russia’s invasion. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters moved quickly to dismiss Goff, stating his position had become “untenable.” Goff, however, maintains he has no regrets and believes his actions will be viewed favorably in the future. Goff made the first comments about Trump during a live-streamed Q&A event with Finland Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on March 4. Referring to Winston Churchill’s 1938 speech to the House of Commons following the Munich Agreement, asking Valtonen, “President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?” This question, according to Goff, arose from the “dismay” shared within the diplomatic community in London regarding Trump's stance on Ukraine. “As one untruthful statement followed another like something out of an Orwell novel, I increasingly felt that the lies needed to be called out," he had said.

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Witch Watch, in April 2025. The anime is based on the manga by Kenta Shinohara and directed by Hiroshi Ikehata. The series will be available globally and will include multiple language dubs after its initial release.

toddler had done after she briefly stored some laundry items. A Lincoln resident named Natasha Emeny from the United Kingdom recorded the distressing event, which afterward became viral across TikTok. Her 1-year-old child, Koah, uncovered the ashes of her late grandfather while she was performing laundry duties, which sent her into a state of absolute shock.

Reportedly, no party is forecast to win an overall majority, and the chances of a Reform-Conservative coalition government are mounting. Nevertheless, a deal between their parties has been ruled out by both Mrs. Badenoch and Mr. Farage. As voter trust in major leaders remains low, the future remains uncertain. For the first time today, a mega-poll asserts that if a general election were held now, reform would garner the most seats, positioning Nigel Farage to become prime minister, as per reports. The new right-wing party is expected to receive 25% of the vote, according to an analysis of a survey of 5,180 people. Labour and the Conservatives are tied at 23% each.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. I first suspected artificial intelligence was eating my brain while writing an email about my son’s basketball coach. I wanted to complain to the local rec center—in French—that the coach kept missing classes.

Racing fans from various parts of the UK as well as other regions reached Aintree to witness the opening day races live as it promoted new talent in horse racing.