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U.S. nuclear deterrence is crucial to the country's security and that its participation would send the «wrong message.» Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan's national security is the primary reason it will not participate as an observer at the conference, which starts Monday in New York. «Under the severe security environment, nuclear deterrence is indispensable to defend the people's lives and assets, as well as Japan's sovereignty and peace,» Hayashi told reporters. Japan's participation as an observer at the conference would «send a wrong message about the Japanese policy (supporting) nuclear deterrence and interfere with our effort in security, peace and safety.»

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Monday said the state is a preferred destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) and contributes more than 14 per cent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The governor, addressing the joint session of the state legislature on the first day of the budget session, asserted that Maharashtra was one of the leading industrial states in the country. He said the state government has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth approximately Rs 15.72 lakh crore with 63 national and international companies during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, and these investments will generate more than 15 lakh employment opportunities. Radhakrishnan said the state government is committed to resolving the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and has appointed expert advocates to represent Maharashtra before the Supreme Court.

Bond villain lair in the rugged heights overlooking Damascus, the all-seeing eye of a notorious Syrian military unit gazed down on a city it bled dry. Many of the bases of the elite Fourth Division formerly run by toppled president Bashar al-Assad's feared younger brother Maher now lie looted. But papers left strewn behind reveal how the man they called «The Master» and his cronies wallowed in immense wealth while some of their foot soldiers struggled to feed their families and even begged on the streets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It sells ice cream and sugary drinks for under $1. Its mascot looks like the love child of Frosty the Snowman and the Michelin Man.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Centre has engaged its top disaster management agency to carve out an insurance product to mitigate the impact of losses from climate change-related events.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Luxury watchmakers are keeping a close eye on India as demand for premium timepieces rises, with several global watch company heads doing the rounds of the country in the past year or so. From Panerai to Rado to Hublot, India is becoming the new playground for luxury brands, driven by a rising class of affluent consumers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s share markets are reeling from a significant sell-off, just completing a disastrous week and the fifth straight month of free fall. The decline is fuelled by global headwinds and a palpable sense of investor panic.

Retail Kaleidoscope' prepared jointly by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Retailers Association of India (RAI). The Indian retail market is expected to reach over ₹190 lakh crore by 2034 and retailers capable of embracing the country's diverse demographics and contrasting consumer behaviours stand to gain the most, according to the report With distinct consumer groups, each with their own unique needs even within a city, retailers will need to recognise the different opportunities and pick sharply where they want to play to be successful in 'Bharat' and 'India', said the report.

above normal temperatures in March through May summer is likely to adversely affect India's wheat crop. Inflation in wheat has remained high for the past four years mainly due to the adverse impact of weather conditions. After having witnessed the hottest February on record in 125 years, the Met department (IMD) has forecast above normal maximum and minimum temperatures over most parts of the country from March to April 2025. The number of heat waves in March, which is crucial for the grain formation stage of wheat, is also expected to go up.

ethnic wear, suits, motorbikes and staples. Listed jewellery chains, such as Tanishq, Kalyan Jewellers and Senco Gold, said same store sales growth has been strong, while the 30%-plus surge in gold prices over the past year appears to have had little impact on demand for the precious metal that has become seemingly inseparable from traditional wedding rituals in the country. «The wedding demand is very strong,» said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director, Kalyan Jewellers India. This, he said, is despite the recent «turbulence» in gold prices.

Wopke Hoekstra, the European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, feels when it comes to the India-EU partnership, «the sky truly is the limit for the future». This comes at a time when countries are grappling with challenges on multiple fronts-geopolitical headwinds, the need to secure industrial competitiveness while also tackling climate change. Bullish on India's efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy while expanding the country's economic output and bridging development gaps, Hoekstra, who was in Delhi last week, spoke of the potential for increased India-EU cooperation in areas like renewables and batteries, building the clean manufacturing industrial base in India and Europe, and delivering on the promise of carbon markets.

bilateral trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's Washington visit will begin on Monday, according to an official. Goyal is likely to hold talks with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the official said. During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, India and the US announced their commitment to more than double the two-way commerce to USD 500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025. Last month, the minister stated that India and the US are committed to increasing bilateral trade to USD 500 billion and negotiating a «strong» trade agreement within the next 6-8 months.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: When the government announced the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors in 2021, with an outlay of around $10 billion, it was perhaps fitting that it was the largest of all schemes to promote hi-tech manufacturing in India announced by the government. The world over, governments love semiconductors, as a target for industrial policy.

local value addition and this must be considered when assessing trade balances between the two countries, think tank GTRI said Sunday. iPhones, solar panels, diamonds and petrochemicals are sectors where local value addition in exported goods and contribute far less to India's economy than their headline figures suggest, it said and urged the government to convey to the US administration that India’s import duties are in compliance with the global trade rules. India has the option to retaliate to the US’ proposed reciprocal tariffs by raising duties on certain American goods, taxing their digital firms or issuing compulsory licenses for patented drugs, GTRI said but cautioned that such countermeasures would provoke further action by Washington, escalating into a trade war that could significantly hurt India.

Donald Trump administration «largely coincides» with that of Russia, a Kremlin spokesperson said, as reported by Al Jazeera. In an interview to state television aired on Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, «The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations.» «This largely coincides with our vision,» he added.

Amartya Sen said his friend Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the neighbouring country's interim government, is taking significant steps but has a long road ahead to resolve the impasse. Sen said the situation in Bangladesh had deeply affected him and he was concerned about how the country would navigate the challenges. In an exclusive interview with PTI at his Santiniketan home in West Bengal's Birbhum district, Sen emphasised that Bangladesh, which has largely kept communal forces like Jamaat in check, should continue its admirable commitment to secularism. «The situation in Bangladesh affects me deeply because I have a strong Bengali sense of identity,» Sen told PTI.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TAIPEI—In an era of brutal great-power politics, how do lesser powers get by? For this embattled Pacific island, a lifeline comes from landlocked Slavs half a world away. Taiwan and the Czech Republic, living in the shadow of China and Russia, have found common cause when small powers worry about being trampled by bigger rivals.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Chhattisgarh is courting defence firms from Russia and the US to set up manufacturing units in the state under its new Industrial Development Policy 2024-30, as it looks to position itself as a key player in India’s defence supply chain. "Numerous companies from Russia, the US, and other countries participated in our investment summit in Mumbai, and these investments will come to Chhattisgarh," chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai told Mint in an interview.

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that Indians must work hard to reach the ambitious goal of making India a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047. Speaking on the ongoing debate about work hours, he pointed out that countries like Japan, South Korea, and China achieved economic success through a strong work ethic. He suggested that India must adopt a similar mindset to build a world-class economy. “I strongly believe in hard work. Indians must work hard, whether it’s 80 hours or 90 hours a week. If your ambition is to move from a USD 4 trillion to a USD 30 trillion economy, you can’t do it through entertainment or by following the views of some film stars,” Kant said at Business Standard’s Manthan summit. Currently, India’s economy stands at around USD 4 trillion. Kant also said that India must focus on delivering projects ahead of time, maintaining world-class standards, and avoiding time and cost overruns.

Donald Trump's «common sense» aim to end the war in Ukraine, but accused the European powers which have rallied around Kyiv of seeking to prolong the conflict. Lavrov said the United States still wanted to be the world's most powerful country and that Washington and Moscow would never see eye to eye on everything, but that they had agreed to be pragmatic when interests coincided. «Donald Trump is a pragmatist,» Lavrov told the Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, according to a transcript released by the Foreign Ministry. «His slogan is common sense. It means, as everyone can see, a shift to a different way of doing things.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SOON AFTER he took power in 2012, Xi Jinping urged caution about China’s prospects. “The further our cause advances," he told fellow leaders, “the more new situations and problems will arise, the more risks and challenges we will face and the more unforeseen events we will encounter." As China’s economy flounders and social tensions increase—and with Donald Trump about to enter the White House—the coming year will be full of the kind of difficulties Mr Xi feared.