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Israel early Sunday after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. The attack marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Condemnation from the United Nations chief and others was swift, with France saying Iran «is risking a potential military escalation,» Britain calling the attack «reckless» and Germany saying Iran and its proxies «must stop it immediately.» The Israeli military's spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Iran fired scores of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles — with the vast majority intercepted outside Israel's borders. He said warplanes intercepted over 10 cruise missiles alone, also outside Israeli airspace.

Iran launched drones into Israel in retaliation to the air strike on its embassy in Syria, the UK moved several additional Royal Air Force jets and air refuelling tankers to the region, the country's Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday. It said the deployed jets will intercept airborne attacks within range of the UK's existing mission. «In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks,» the statement read.

Iran's strikes on Israel late Saturday, warning the attack threatened to further destabilise the Middle East. Here are some of the main reactions so far:

manufacturing slump. The nascent industrial recovery is led by the world’s two biggest economies. Chinese manufacturing has made a strong start to the year, boosting the economic outlook, and US factory activity unexpectedly expanded last month for the first time since September 2022, buoyed by rising new orders and a jump in production.

West Asia. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrote, “Spoke to UK Foreign Secretary Lord@David_Cameron today. Discussed the emerging situation in West Asia as also our bilateral ties." Additionally, India has also called on Iranian authorities in Tehran and Delhi to secure the early release of 17 Indians stuck on the cargo ship ‘MSC Aries’, said sources as quoted by PTI. The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is also working closely with relevant authorities for the welfare of all 25 crew members and the return of the vessel, the company said.

Mint. The UK offers a range of financial aid and scholarships to support Indian and international students pursuing their studies in the country. Through these scholarships the UK provides students with opportunities that spark brighter futures and global careers.

Ernest Hemingway once said that he liked to look at Cezanne's paintings when he was ravenously hungry. In his 1964 memoir of his Paris apprentice days, The Moveable Feast, Hemingway writes: 'I learned to understand Cezanne much better and to see truly how he made landscapes when I was hungry. I used to wonder if he were hungry too when he painted; but I thought possibly it was only that he had forgotten to eat. It was one of those unsound but illuminating thoughts you have when you have been sleepless or hungry.' Hunger sharpens one's critical faculties. It also sharpens one's ability to feel and seek out injustice. And then, I looked at myself in the mirror. No way could someone ever mistake me for a writer. There was nothing frugal about my frame. I looked like a well-fed bulldog just awakened from his siesta.

As the Middle-East braces for potential Iranian strike, commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard today rappelled down from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel. U.S. President Joe Biden had said on Friday he expected Iran to attack Israel «sooner, rather than later» and warned Tehran not to proceed. Israel did not claim responsibility for the airstrike on April 1. But Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Israel «must be punished and shall be» for an operation he said was equivalent to an attack on Iranian soil.

Israel is panicking over a possible retaliatory response from Iran after a strike in Syria which killed members of its Revolutionary Guards. «It has been a week that the Zionists are in complete panic and are on alert,» Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel Saturday, authorities said. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the seizure after a video seen by The Associated Press showed the commandos raiding the ship Saturday, an attack a Mideast defense official attributed to Iran amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West. The attack was earlier reported by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which said it took place in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah.

As we reported yesterday, there are suspicions that now thatVis Raghavan and Achintya Manglahave left JPMorgan's investment banking business broadly and equity capital markets (ECM) business specifically, there will be a heap of other exits from the team. In anticipation of this, London headhunters have assembled some long lists of all the people they think most likely to leave in the very, very near future. 

Strait of Hormuz by helicopter Saturday, an attack a Mideast defence official attributed to Iran amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West. The video showed the attack earlier reported by the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. It had offered no details about the boarding in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah. The defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared the video with the AP. Though the AP could not immediately verify it, it corresponded to known details of the boarding and the helicopter involved appeared to be one used by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has carried out other ship raids in the past.

‘Uri is our reply’: Jaishankar affirms India's stand on cross-border terrorism "Narendra Modi came (to be Prime Minister) only in 2014, but this problem did not begin in 2014. It started in 1947, not even after the Mumbai terrorist attacks (of 26/11). This started in 1947.

Narendra Modi paid tribute to the people killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 and shared a video defining the incident and showcasing the unparalleled courage and sacrifice of the victims. In a post on X PM said, «On behalf of my family members across the country, I pay my heartfelt tribute to all the brave martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.» President Droupadi Murmu also remembered the victims of massacre and said, «My heartfelt tribute to all the freedom fighters who sacrificed everything for the motherland in Jallianwala Bagh! The countrymen will always be indebted to all those great souls who sacrificed their lives for Swaraj. I am sure that the spirit of patriotism of those martyrs will always inspire the coming generations.»

coffee industry is witnessing a windfall as robusta coffee bean prices skyrocketed to an unprecedented Rs 10,080 per 50 kg bag as of Friday. This surge marks a historic high since the establishment of coffee estates in the Western Ghats region during the 1860s by the British. Unlike the relatively stable pricing of Arabica coffee, known for its creamy layer in a shot, robusta prices have typically ranged between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 per 50 kg bag for nearly 15 years. The surge in robusta coffee prices has brought relief and joy to coffee growers, especially those with smaller holdings who primarily cultivate robusta due to its lower input costs compared to Arabica. These growers have faced challenges such as erratic rainfall, crop damage by wild animals, and rising input and labor costs over the past decade.

Apple's bid to dismiss a lawsuit valued at nearly $1 billion was rejected on Friday, with a judge ruling it must face allegations it charged more than 1,500 UK-based developers unfair commission fees on purchases of apps and other content. Sean Ennis, a competition law professor and economist, is spearheading the case, which was filed at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) last year and alleges Apple charged developers unfair commissions of up to 30%.

Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist claiming to be Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has dropped his appeal in a Norwegian defamation case against the well-known Bitcoiner Hodlonaut (a.k.a. Marcus Granath), according to a statement released on X Thursday.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), led by Sarah Cardell, has voiced its displeasure with the control of AI Foundation Models (FMs) by a small number of tech companies. This concern was outlined in a paper presented by the CEO during an Antitrust Law Spring Meeting in Washington on April 11.

The victims of an investment fraud scheme have called on China to negotiate with the UK government to recover 61,000 Bitcoin seized in a money laundering investigation, valued at $4.3 billion at the time of publication.

Bollywood directors, one observes a pattern in the sets and the costumes. You realise that there's a conflation of royal palaces and brothels. Queens, brides and prostitutes all look alike, dress alike, live in the same spaces, dance and sing for the pleasure of men. A celebrity wedding looks no different — same sets, same costumes, the same desire for glamour. This is what relationships should look like in social media discourse — instagrammable, with friends, girlfriends, wives, mistresses, ex-lovers, secret lovers and escorts. The look matters. The same look in almost all cases. The Kama Sutra draws attention to the tension between the monogamous housewife and the polygamous courtesan. The former has access to status, power, dignity and nobility while the latter has freedom, agency and enterprise. The two belong to very different worlds. This was part of Indian culture for over 2,000 years. This system was broken down brutally by the British with the support of nationalists, who saw the courtesan culture as a sign of corruption and debauchery. In this one aspect, the nationalists and the colonialists agreed.

Zodia Markets’ co-founder, Nick Philpott, praised Abu Dhabi’s crypto regulations, emphasizing the “remarkable” degree of interaction with regulatory authorities in the region.