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Israel’s strike on Hamas targets in Qatar in September, the United States began pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza. But with or without one, Israel will continue to pursue expansive goals, redrawing borders in the West Bank, southern Lebanon, and southwestern Syria in ways that could further fracture its neighbors.

John Lennon wrote and recorded a song in 1975 with these evocative lyrics: So this is Christmas/ What have you done?/ Another year over/ And a new one just begun. This song was part of his anti-war activism, but the words could apply to various causes.As the sun sets on 2025 and the calendar gets reset for 2026, it might be worthwhile to take a moment to reflect upon what whizzed past as a means of getting a better handle on what awaits us.

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—Beachside luxury resorts. High-speed rail.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In September last year, more than 1,400 people filled the streets in Sydney’s world-famous Bondi Beach neighborhood to celebrate the opening of a new synagogue and community center. It was a different scene on Tuesday, just days after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured more than three dozen people at a nearby Hanukkah festival, including two rabbis affiliated with the Chabad of Bondi center.

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. SYDNEY—Arsen Ostrovsky’s wife and two young daughters were getting ready for the lighting of Hanukkah candles at Sydney’s scenic Bondi Beach on Sunday evening when Ostrovsky wandered off to get some food from a nearby stall. Then, at around 6:45 p.m., shots rang out.

Modi will hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also the PM of Saudi Arabia. Both sides will look to take forward agreements finalised during the crown prince’s trip to India in 2023. The protracted Israel-Hamas crisis and tensions in the Red Sea besides the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) are likely to figure in the discussion agenda, it has been learnt. Saudi Arabia plays a critical role in the proposed IMEEC connecting India with Europe through UAE and Saudi Arabia. Ahead of the PM's trip to Riyadh, Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also the Defence Minister of UAE, is expected to visit New Delhi next week in yet another display of special ties. Sheikh Hamdan will meet defence minister Rajnath Singh as India moves to step up engagements with UAE’s next generation leadership. Last year, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi was hosted by the Modi government.

In a message addressed to Donald Trump, he states that only immediate action can prevent a global catastrophe.

These negotiations come just days after the US imposed a series of new tariffs affecting several nations, including a levy of 26% on India. According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the levies with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A State Department readout of their meeting confirmed that the tariff discussions are part of a broader diplomatic effort. The talks are centered on a relatively small subset of the countries impacted by the new tariffs, with both parties looking to strike deals. This is seen as the first phase of a larger set of negotiations, as countries begin to assess their next steps and responses to the tariff changes. On Friday, Vietnam, which is facing a 46% tariff on its exports to the US, announced that it intends to reduce its tariffs on US goods to zero, pending an agreement with the US.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On Thursday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published the formula by which US reciprocal tariffs are to be calculated. The New York Times also published what calculation resulted in country-wise tariffs from 9 April onwards that range in a wide band.

non-reciprocal trading arrangement. Here, India has an early mover advantage that it needs to drive home at the earliest. India is among the few countries with which the Trump Administration has already announced and progressed talks on a trade deal. It’s probably the first country to which the USTR has sent delegation to negotiate and by all accounts, the conversation is now at advanced stage. From Trump’s perspective the modification authority clause — Section 4 of the tariff order under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act – provides him with an effective bargaining chip in a trade negotiation. It allows to him raise tariffs and deploy other remedies in case a trading partner were to deploy retaliatory measures. At the same time, it gives him the power to reduce tariffs or limit the scope of duties imposed if the country aligns itself to the US on economic and security matters. Israel, which too has got hit with 17 per cent tariffs despite being among the first to officially cut duties for the US, falls in this category and is likely to benefit from this clause. As for India, a trade deal will open the doors for Trump to make that exception, counting on the overall strategic convergence between both countries across a range of national security issues including critical and sensitive technologies. More importantly, it’s not also in US interests to allow tariffs to impact cooperation in other areas like defence, space and nuclear sectors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Plans to upgrade India’s lone state-owned chip fabrication unit have picked up pace, with the Centre meeting 35 companies last month in a bid to evaluate their roles in a potential deal that is worth ₹4,000 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Just a few months before President Trump took office, families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza started lobbying him to their cause. In one meeting in New York in 2024, Adi Alexander was surprised to realize Trump thought most of the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas were dead.

The women student protest leaders of Bangladesh will be honoured with the 'Madeleine Albright Honorary Group Award', named after the first woman to serve as US Secretary of State. «A valiant group of women were key drivers in the student protest movement against violent repression in Bangladesh in July-August 2024. They demonstrated extraordinary bravery, including standing between security forces and male protestors in spite of threats and violence,» the State Department said in a statement. «When their male counterparts were arrested, these women found innovative ways to continue communication and lead the protests, defying censorship efforts, even during the complete shutdown of the Internet. The bravery and selflessness of these women amid uncertainty was the very definition of courage,» it said. However, the State Department did not name any particular individual for the award.

However, such talks have made no progress since Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. In the years since, regional tensions have boiled over into attacks at sea and on land. Then came the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, which saw Israel target militant group leaders across Iran's self-described «Axis of Resistance». Now, as the US conducts intense airstrikes targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen, the risk of military action targeting Iran's nuclear programme remains on the table. «We don't avoid talks; it's the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,» Pezeshkian said in televised remarks during a Cabinet meeting. «They must prove that they can build trust.»

«We are negotiating under fire… We can see cracks beginning to appear» in what the group demanded in its negotiations, Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting. Netanyahu's remarks came as mediators — Egypt, Qatar, and the United States — continued efforts to broker a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators and urged Israel to support it. Netanyahu's office confirmed receipt of the proposal and said Israel had submitted a counterproposal.

Under the mission, India has launched initiatives addressing various aspects of the Innovation landscape, from infrastructural capacity building to spurring innovation. India has allocated approximately 10,300 rupees under this mission over the coming five years. A major focus of the mission is to build high-end common computing facilities equipped with 18,693 Graphics Processing Units.

Early in the week, an Egyptian official described the proposal to The Associated Press, saying Hamas would release five living hostages, including an American-Israeli, from Gaza in return for Israel allowing aid into the territory and a weekslong pause in fighting. Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the closed-door talks. On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave no details about Israel's counter-proposal, which it said was offered after Netanyahu held consultations on Friday. Israel a week and a half ago ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. The White House blamed Hamas for the renewed fighting. Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it still holds — 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel also wants Hamas to give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile. On Saturday, Israel widened its ground operations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt.