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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Farhina Ahmed, 23, looks forward to October each year, when she meets Julia, her friend from Spain. They first met in 2022, striking up a conversation by the pool of their Jaipur hotel.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI: French spirits major Pernod Ricard India is sharpening its focus on premium alcohol, exiting the mass-market whisky segment even as it launches a new India-made brand aimed at consumers trading up. The company this week completed the sale of its Imperial Blue whisky, among India’s largest-selling mass brands, to Tilaknagar Industries.

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.»

From overwhelming perfume to clumsy sunglasses, the French president's quirky habits may be more than mere personal quirks; they may be deliberate shows of strength. French President Emmanuel Macron's image management seems to be designed to reinforce charisma, control, and presence, blending political theater and personal branding in a distinctly French manner. According to a shocking new book, Emmanuel Macron makes fun of his aides by wearing «industrial amounts» of cologne and carrying a box of «ugly» sunglasses.

With this move, the two small islands off the Canadian coast have gone from relative obscurity to being the unexpected face of an escalating US-France trade clampdown. While larger countries like China and Mexico are often the focus of trade battles, this time it’s a quiet fishing outpost of under 6,000 people caught in the crossfire.

Communist Party of China (CPC) has said in a message to the CPI(M), extending wishes for the party congress underway in Madurai. According to a document shared by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), 34 Left parties from across the world have sent it messages wishing success to its 24th party congress. Besides the CPC, they include Workers' Party of Korea, Communist Party of Vietnam, Communist Party of Cuba, Communist Party of Australia, Workers' Party of Belgium, Palestinian People's Party, besides communist parties from the US, France and Germany among others. Communist Party of Bangladesh, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Nepal (United Socialist), Awami Workers' Party, Pakistan, Communist Party of Pakistan and Communist Party of Burma also sent messages wishing success to the CPI(M) congress. The CPC in its message said in the present international landscape, an improving China-India relationship serves the common interest of both countries and the region. «The international landscape and world order are now in a new round of transformation. An improving China-India relationship serves the common interests of both countries and the region,» CPC said.

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.»

Donald Trump lambasted globalization as a raw deal for the United States that has devastated US manufacturing towns. Trump left out the upside to the United States from the liberal flow of goods: a reliable supply of affordably priced appliances, clothing and electronics whose consumption has helped lift US economic growth above other developed economies in recent years. «Obviously we've benefited significantly,» said Paul Gruenwald, global chief economist at S&P Global Ratings. «We get to consume a lot of things that are produced more efficiently in other countries.» Trump's tariffs are almost certain to negatively impact this dynamic, say economists who see the levies lifting the price on everything from Gap t-shirts to the Apple iPhone to French wine. «This is very clearly going to raise consumer prices,» Michael Pearce, a US economist with Oxford Economics, said of the barrage of levies announced late Wednesday in an unveiling the White House billed as «liberation day.»

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.

Liverpool fans erupted with excitement this week when Mohamed Salah appeared with club garments and a TV production crew. Fans rapidly speculated about the situation because many believed the team might finally reveal an extended contract for Salah. The current reports show that Liverpool fans were wrong about the situation unfolding.

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.

The pan-European STOXX 600 sank 2.7%, falling back to its lowest since January. German, Italian and French benchmarks closed over 3% lower, with Italian and French stocks seeing their worst fall in over two years.

Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs, drinks industry bodies said on Thursday. Trump's latest round of sweeping global and country-specific tariffs was set to hit everything from the popular negroni cocktail, based on Italy's Campari liqueur, to Guinness beer, made by the world's top spirits producer Diageo. He also introduced a 25% levy on all beer imports and added beer cans to existing aluminium tariffs, hitting labels, such as Mexican-made Corona and Dutch Heineken. Many categories of drinks, such as champagne or Scotch whisky, have to be made in specific countries or regions and cannot move production.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Indian markets could open up to 1% lower on Tuesday after the Eid holiday, suggests weekly options data, as bears are likely to return ahead of US President Donald Trump’s 2 April deadline for reciprocal tariffs. Trump's comments on the weekend dragged South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei down by 3-4% on Monday, while Germany's Dax and France's CAC traded 1% lower at the time of writing.

Apple a 150-million-euro ($162-million) fine on Monday over its app tracking privacy feature, which is also under scrutiny in several other European countries. The watchdog said the way Apple implemented its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) software was «neither necessary nor proportionate to the company's stated goal to protect user data» and also penalised third-party publishers. In addition to the fine, Apple will have to publish the decision on its website for seven days. Authorities in Germany, Italy, Romania and Poland have opened similar probes over ATT, which Apple promotes as a privacy safeguard. «While we are disappointed with today's decision, the French Competition Authority has not required any specific changes to ATT,» Apple said in a statement.

Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday of misappropriating EU funds and the sentencing expected shortly could see her barred from the 2027 presidential race, upending politics in France. Le Pen, head of the far-right National Rally (RN), is the front-runner in opinion polls ahead of the 2027 vote. Prosecutors had asked that Le Pen face an immediate five-year ban from public office if found guilty, regardless of any appeal process, using a so-called «provisional execution» measure. Judges can adopt, modify or ignore the prosecutors' request. An automatic five-year ban would hammer Le Pen, 56, a three-time presidential contender who has said 2027 will be her final run for top office. She would retain her parliamentary seat until the end of her mandate. Le Pen, who did not speak to reporters as she arrived in court, has accused prosecutors of seeking her «political death», alleging a plot to keep the RN from power that echoes claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump about his legal woes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ABOARD THE HNLMS LUYMES—Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx was patrolling the Baltic Sea recently when he got word that a ship on NATO’s watchlist was acting in a suspicious manner. After leaving a Russian port, it had slowed down while passing near a pipeline on the sea bottom.

Rescue workers are struggling without proper equipment. «We are digging with our bare hands. It’s not enough,» a rescuer told the BBC. «People are screaming, ‘Help me!’ but we can’t reach them in time.»

As of now, over 1,000 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar, with thousands injured. In Thailand, the death toll stands at 20, with dozens still trapped under collapsed buildings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Apart from sneaky sips from my parent’s wine glasses and surreptitious glugging of Christmas wine offered in church, my real tryst with wine began years ago at a swish wine bar in Mumbai. Millennials of a particular vintage will remember IVY, the very ahead-of-its-time chain of wine bars by Chateau Indage across the country in the noughties, which served Chateau Indage’s own brands and as well as imports from Australia and South Africa.