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Venezuela, the brutal civil war in Sudan, and the continuous instability in the Middle East, to the war in Ukraine and the growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. All these crises have global implications.In the face of these myriad emergencies, it is no surprise that the West, broadly understood, is contending with its greatest challenge in decades. At the root of this challenge lies a sense of civilizational exhaustion, of which our adversaries have taken notice, confident that their time has come.But has it? More than 1,350 days have passed since Russia launched its three-day “special military operation”—its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression—against Ukraine.

European Union, sent a shudder through cosmopolitan elites across the West.As many rushed to stockpile goods in the event of a “no-deal” Brexit, I remember being asked whether the sight of half-empty supermarket shelves reminded me of Albania under Hoxha (they did not). Yet with hindsight—after US President Donald Trump’s first election, a global pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and Trump’s return to the White House—even die-hard opponents of Brexit might now concede that their panic was somewhat overblown.Or was it? Next year, Brexit will mark its tenth anniversary—certainly an important symbolic milestone in the current age of globalization.

Japanese businesses are pivoting towards India as an investment destination promising robust returns—but also, how Tokyo, after over three decades of diplomatic efforts, is ready to walk the talk on deepening strategic relationships with New Delhi as both countries want to develop a meaningful counter to China’s might.For India’s financial sector, the deals in 2025 mark a moment worth noting. Foreign investors are returning with conviction, and Japan—long a steady but cautious partner—appears increasingly willing to deploy serious capital.It is a striking contrast to the dismissive description of India as a “dead economy” offered earlier this year by US President Donald Trump.

Reuters report.The massive, factory-sized system has reportedly been dubbed China’s “Manhattan Project”, a reference to the top-secret US effort during World War II to develop the atomic bomb ahead of Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s.The development has profound implications for the global balance of technological and strategic power. At its core, it can dismantle the West’s near-monopoly over the production of the world’s most advanced chips—those that power AI systems, smartphones, and modern military platforms.A 2024 study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute pointed to a “stunning shift in research leadership over the past two decades towards large economies in the Indo-Pacific, led by China’s exceptional gains.“The US led in 60 of 64 technologies in the five years from 2003 to 2007.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. FRANKFURT—Across Germany, railcar factories are being retooled to build military vehicles, auto suppliers are joining with defense contractors, and former soldiers are suddenly hot commodities in the jobs market. After Berlin pledged to spend more than half a trillion dollars on defense in the next decade, manufacturers facing stubborn economic stagnation and falling exports to the U.S.

The year that’s drawing to a close will be remembered as the point at which US President Donald Trump overturned the global trading system that had been in place since World War II. India has been a major target of Trumpian whimsy. It is now hard to believe that the world will go back to the old multilateral trading system even after Trump exits office.

The new National Security Strategy of the US seeks “strategic stability” with Russia. It declares that China is merely a competitor, that the Middle East is not central to American security, that Latin America is “our hemisphere” and that Europe faces “civilizational erasure.” India barely rates a mention; one might say, as Neville Chamberlain did of Czechoslovakia in 1938, that it’s “a faraway country... of which we know nothing.” Well, so much the better for India, which can take care of itself.The realpolitik of this document is breathtaking, yet the underlying logic is not stated.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s top envoys launched two days of meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Sunday as the administration stepped up pressure on Kyiv to put aside its resistance and agree to a peace deal with Russia by year-end. The talks between Ukraine and its Western partners have become a tug of war, even without Russia at the table.

Our ambition is clear. By 2047, when India marks 100 years of independence, it must be a developed nation: A Viksit Bharat. This means moving from a $4 trillion economy to $30 trillion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : India's auto emissions roadmap is so conservative that it falls short of the industry's own targets for electric vehicle sales, two international agencies said. The US-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and the Geneva-based International Road Federation (IRF) have separately urged New Delhi to reconsider further concessions under India's upcoming Corporate Average Fuel-Efficiency (CAFE) norms.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Cricketer Virat Kohli has invested ₹40 crore to pick up a minority stake in Agilitas Sports, joining the company as an investor and business partner. As part of the deal, Agilitas has acquired One8, the cricketer’s sportswear brand.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Against the shimmering white façade of Vienna’s Rathaus (town hall) with its neo-Gothic architecture, pretty yellow lights flicker and dance. Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, who hold sway in this city of music, take a back seat for about six weeks as Christmas tunes fill the air.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUCH OF THE art of medicine involves working out, through detailed questioning and physical examination, which disease a given patient has contracted. Far harder, but no less desirable, would be identifying which diseases a patient might develop in the future.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ANIRUDH SHARMA was a computer-science undergraduate with no training in aerospace when he co-founded Digantara, which gathers intelligence on satellite movements, in 2020. Today it employs 150 people in India, Singapore and America and is valued at more than $65m.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s tax authorities have blamed Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd for the delay in its provisional assessment of $1.4 billion (about ₹11,526 crore) tax demand, saying the Indian unit of the German automaker did not provide the information needed promptly.

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.

A Minecraft Movie is off to a positive start at the box office. The movie has exceeded expectations and is on track to earn $90 to $100 million over its opening weekend. As per Deadline, A Minecraft movie earned $18.4 million in 55 offshore markets on Thursday, excluding China. The Warner Bros. film earned $10.55 million in previews domestically on Thursday, April 3.

Volkswagen, the German automaker, has told its car dealers that it plans to add an import fee later this month to the price of imported cars sold in the United States. The company's move is one of the first and clearest examples of automakers using price increases to deal with the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on car and auto parts imports. The tariffs on vehicles went into effect Thursday, and the levies on parts will become effective May 3. In a Tuesday memo to dealers, Volkswagen said that the exact fees would be determined by the middle of April. The New York Times reviewed a copy of the memo. The automaker also told dealers it planned to cut back on sales incentives and had halted rail shipments of cars to the United States from its plants in Mexico, although shipments by sea continue. Volkswagen plans to hold cars that are subject to the tariffs in port for «the near term.» It also told dealers that the price of the Volkswagen Atlas sport utility vehicle, which is made in Chattanooga, Tennessee, could be affected by the tariffs because it includes important imported components. The extent of the impact most likely will not be known until May, the memo said. The automaker, including its Audi and Porsche brands, imports almost all the cars it sells in the United States. Besides the Atlas, Volkswagen also assembles the ID.4 electric sport-utility vehicle in Tennessee.

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.

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.

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.