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Houthi rebels. The Yemen authorities have now vowed vendetta, saying “America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price". The attack by the US and UK on Yemen comes weeks after the Houthi rebels allegedly unleashed disruptive attacks on Red Sea hurting commercial shipping on the trade route.

This year’s scores on the Henley Passport Index, which tracks how easily people can travel abroad, are out. For the past five years, Singapore and Japan have been contenders for the honour of issuing the most powerful passports, granting their holders access to more of the world’s countries without a prior visa than others.

₹400 crore in India. Film Salaar, featuring Baahubali-famed actor Prabhas, earned ₹90 crore on its opening day. Salaar: Part I Ceasefire was released on 22 December 2023, a day after Shah Rukh Khans's film Dunki.

Indian commandos hunting pirates after an attack in the Arabian Sea illustrates New Delhi's «significant» expansion of a muscular maritime force reflecting global ambitions, analysts say. The commandos, deployed this month from an Indian-built warship after an attempted hijacking of a merchant bulk carrier, are part of a major increase of naval forces in seas where rival neighbour China has already long expanded its reach. «It's significant given the geopolitical context» and the aggressive «use of naval assets», said Uday Bhaskar, head of the New Delhi-based Society for Policy Studies think tank. In recent years Beijing has negotiated infrastructure deals with countries around the Indian Ocean as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Djibouti, where it opened its first overseas military base in 2017, raising concerns among Indian officials. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expected to be re-elected later this year, is looking to raise the global heft of India, the world's fifth-largest economy, which last year displaced China as the most populous country.

India in defending freedom of navigation in the Red Sea as the two countries discussed «shared concerns» over the reckless Houthi attacks in the region. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Thursday and «discussed the United States and India's shared concerns over the reckless Houthi attacks in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which threaten the free flow of commerce, endanger innocent mariners, and violate international law». State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken emphasised the Red Sea is a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade and «welcomed increased cooperation with India in defending freedom of navigation in the region».

BEIJING — China's exports rose more than expected in December, but failed to offset an overall decline for 2023, customs data showed Friday.

By Sudarshan Varadhan

Houthi movement in Yemen, four U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first strikes against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year. A Houthi official confirmed «raids» across the country, including in the capital Sanaa along with the cities of Saada and Dhamar as well as in Hodeidah governate, calling them «American-Zionist-British aggression.»

Atal Setu in Maharashtra today, December 12, Friday. Built at a cost of about ₹17,840 crore, Atal Setu is the longest bridge and also the longest sea bridge in the country. 1) The prime minister’s vision is to improve the ‘ease of mobility’ of citizens by strengthening urban transport infrastructure and connectivity.

Tata Consultancy Services: The country's largest IT firm's net profit improved 2.7% sequentially in the December quarter, and by 7% from a year earlier, to $1.41 billion. TCS reported revenue of $7.28 billion for the third quarter, representing a 1% sequential increase and a 2.9% increase from the same period a year earlier. Infosys: The firm's revenue totalled $4.66 billion, a 1.2% sequential decline and only a 0.1% improvement from the year-ago period.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday warned financial institutions against the potential risks of relying on algorithm- or model-based lending. Lenders must continuously maintain a vigil on the efficiency of such models, he said at an event organised by Mint.

As of September 2014, India approved creation of real estate investment trusts in the country. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) can invest in real estate assets located in India, either directly or through holding companies and/ or special purpose vehicles (SPVs).

India, being the world’s fastest-growing economy for a decade now, has been bringing transformational changes in the lives of millions of its citizens, particularly its seniors. This assumes significance as India’s demographic landscape is undergoing a profound shift, with the share of elderly people aged 60 and above expected to surge from 8.6 percent of the population in 2011 to 19.5 percent by 2050, according to the Population Division of the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In this backdrop, the country’s senior citizens are experiencing improved life expectancy to higher purchasing power parity and better awareness about investments which have led to a better quality of life post retirement for India’s nearly 14 crore senior citizens.

Argentina's statistics agency says the country has registered a monthly inflation rate of 25.5% in December and closed 2023 with an annual inflation of 211.4%

An industry association reports that China’s auto exports surged 63.7% in 2023 while sales at home rose 4.2%

The amount of renewable energy installed around the world last year grew at its fastest rate in the past 25 years

Tons of garbage floats down a river at least twice a year and ends up near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad behind a barrier installed by a local hydroelectric plant

Red Sea crisis on India's trade and thrash out a strategy to minimise impact. Officials are looking at the possibility of diverting some inventories to Australia and other countries to minimise this impact.

data related to its various social security schemes such as Employee Provident Fund Organisation, National Pension Scheme and Employee State Insurance Corporation, eyeing a totalisation agreement with Washington. New Delhi, will this week, push for a totalisation pact to do away with dual social security taxation for its workers, with US trade representative Katherine Tai under the India-US Trade Policy Forum. «They wanted data on social security.

withholding tax provisions in line with the country's overall thrust to simplify the tax structure to make it easier for businesses and reduce disputes. There are several tax deducted at source (TDS) provisions with different thresholds and multiple rates. This has created a TDS maze that leads to frequent disputes as well as the blocking of working capital at businesses. «There is a need to simplify the regime in view of the complexities that have crept in over time,» said a government official, explaining the need for the review. The cleanup of the withholding tax regime could take place in the February 1 interim budget if the review is completed in time. There are about 33 sections in the Income Tax Act dealing with TDS rates that range from 0.1% to 30%. For example, before 2020, fees for technical services (FTS) and fees for professional services (FPS) were subject to 10% TDS.