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Planet Hollywood in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) had become second nature. He had spent years in the service industry, ensuring that customers had a pleasant dining experience before catching their flights. But on March 21, what started as a routine shift took an unexpected and disheartening turn. According to a report from KTLA, toward the end of his shift, Ortiz was serving a couple who, at first, seemed no different from any other travelers passing through the bustling airport restaurant. He greeted them with his usual warmth, took their order, and provided the kind of attentive service he had perfected over the years. But something about their demeanor felt off. “The way they were looking at me—you can tell when something isn’t right,” Ortiz later recalled.

Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and called for urgent reforms in the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) to ensure better support for vulnerable sections of society. The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in its eighth report on MGNREGA that was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, highlighted that delays in wage payments continue to be a significant issue, affecting lakhs of rural workers dependent on the scheme for livelihood. It noted that despite digital advancements, workers often face long waiting periods for their wages, exacerbating financial distress. The report urged the government to address systemic bottlenecks, improve fund allocation, and ensure timely payments. Additionally, the panel expressed concerns over the declining budgetary allocation for MGNREGA and the increasing demand for jobs under the scheme. It recommended revising the wage structure to match inflation and strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms to protect workers' rights. The report also pointed out issues such as the lack of proper job card issuance, the need for better social audits, and the importance of including more women beneficiaries in MGNREGA employment.

Norfolk Island has a population of over 2,000 people and lies 1,600km (1,000 miles) north-east of Sydney and its economy revolves around tourism. The 29% tariff is 19 percentage points higher than the rest of Australia. In 2023, Norfolk Island exported US$655,000 (A$1.04m) worth of goods to the US, with its main export being US$413,000 (A$658,000) worth of leather footwear, according to Observatory of Economic Complexity data. ALSO READ: 'Such an old-fashioned term but beautiful': Trump was mesmerized by THIS word in 'Liberation Day' speech

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the middle of a hectic news cycle, I once managed to get about six byline credits in the newspaper I worked for. Elated, I took screen grabs of the articles that had my name and shared them with my family in the hope that the word spreads.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners on 2 April, a move aimed at reducing the country’s dependency on foreign products amid its ballooning trade deficit. Trump announced a 26% tariff on imports from India, effective 9 April.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump will disrupt Indian exports in key sectors like engineering and electronic goods, potentially reshaping supply chains and cutting export revenue as businesses brace for the impact.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Kissht, an online lending platform, is preparing to tap the capital markets with an initial public offering and has hired investment bankers for the process, two people aware of the development told Mint. The company hired ICICI Securities, UBS Securities India Private Limited and Motilal Oswal Investment Banking and is finalising a fourth banker, one person said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Indian capital market’s regulatory regime has seen fast-paced reforms in areas of operational-risk management such as contract settlement cycles, public offer processes, and so on. In several areas, the market has moved appreciably ahead of the expected curve of evolution, even if compared to capital markets in developed economies.

In his Rose Garden speech at the White House on Wednesday (2 April), Trump pledged 20% levies on European Union imports and 10% on imports coming from the UK. «European Union, they are very tough…traders. And you think of European Union [as being] very friendly, they rip us off, it is so sad to see. It is so pathetic,» Trump told reporters. Trump trade war could lead to $1.4trn global welfare loss as 'Liberation Day' looms In addition, the US president slapped another 34% tariff on China, bringing the total to 54% after another 20% previously imposed, while Japan was dealt wit...

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, this chatbot has wormed its way into every other conversation with its wonders of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Over the past week, an online frenzy to post photos in the animation style of Japan’s Studio Ghibli has seen this tool’s usage surge.

Trump began speaking after Wall Street closed, and both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures reversed gains as investors blanched at his sweeping tariff plans. S&P 500 futures were 1.6% lower as he spoke, with Nasdaq futures down 2.4%.

The Trump administration imposed a 26% tariff on imports from India, which is slightly higher than the 20% levy for the European Union, the 24% for Japan and the 25% for South Korea. China was hit with one the highest rates for a major US trading partner and now faces a tariff of at least 54% on many goods. The tariffs are a setback for the Indian government, which had sought to ward off the new levies by rolling out sweeping concessions on issues central to Trump’s agenda. During a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February, the two nations agreed to work toward a trade pact this year. ALSO READ: India to face 'discounted' 26% tariff from US; Trump slaps 34% on China “India, very, very tough. Very, very tough,” Trump said at a news event at the White House on Wednesday to announce the tariffs. “The prime minister just left, and he’s a great friend of mine. But I said, you’re a friend of mine, but you’re not treating us right. They charge us 52%.”

In comments outside the White House, Trump singled out Australian beef, which saw a surge in exports to the United States last year, reaching A$4 billion amid a slump in U.S. beef production. «They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and you know, I don't blame them but we're doing the same thing right now,» Trump said in an event in the White House Rose Garden announcing tariffs on a wide range of U.S. trading partners. Australia banned U.S. fresh beef products in 2003 due to the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, otherwise known as mad cow disease, in U.S. cattle. BSE poses a risk to human health and has never been detected in cattle in Australia. Albanese said Trump had imposed a 10% duty on all Australian goods entering the United States, equivalent to the U.S. baseline tariff on all imports, despite U.S. goods entering Australia tariff free.

Google is replacing Sissie Hsiao, who led the development of the artificial intelligence chatbot Bard, now known as Gemini, the company told staff in its AI division on Wednesday. Hsiao will step down immediately, a company spokesperson confirmed. Josh Woodward, who leads Google Labs and oversaw the launch of NotebookLM — the company's popular tool that can turn text into a podcast-like show — will replace her. Hsiao plans to take a short break and return to Google in a new role, the spokesperson said. She did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

OnlyFans, has partnered with a cryptocurrency foundation to submit a late-stage plan to acquire short video app TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance, the two said on Wednesday. The intent to bid was sent this week to the White House by Zoop, billionaire Stokely's new company, and the Hbar Foundation, which manages the Hedera cryptocurrency network's treasury. While OnlyFans is known mainly for pornography, Zoop is mainstream and family-friendly, and gives back the majority of its revenue to those who post on the site, rewarding them for driving up user engagement.

Myanmar's ruling military declared a temporary ceasefire in the country's civil war Wednesday to facilitate relief efforts following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people. The surprise announcement by military leaders who also head the unelected government came late Wednesday on state television MRTV, which said the halt in fighting would run until April 22 to show compassion for people affected by Friday's quake. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule, and the military warned that those groups must refrain from attacking the state and regrouping, or else face «necessary» measures. The resistance forces have also reserved the right to fight in self-defense. Earlier Wednesday, rescuers pulled two men alive from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar's capital, a third from a guesthouse in another city, and another in the country's second city, Mandalay, five days after the quake. But most teams were finding only bodies.

Airtel, HDFC Bank, Macrotech Developers, Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Zinc among others will be in focus due to various news developments. SpiceJet SpiceJet, which had regular flights to Nepal before the Covid pandemic, has received scheduled approval and slots from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai/Bengaluru: A stock price plunge and, in some cases, a cash crunch has prompted creditors to take control of shares pledged by promoters of at least 15 small-cap companies over the past six months. Solar project consultant and contactor Gensol Engineering Ltd and payment solutions provider AGS Transact Technologies Ltd, two companies that recently defaulted on loans, are among the small-cap firms that reported invocation of pledged shares, according to Prime Database, a Mumbai-based markets data tracking firm.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The first quarter of 2025 hasn’t been kind to the world’s billionaires. Among the top 10 richest people in the world, only Bill Gates and Warren Buffett added to their fortunes in this period, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) is scouting for fintechs which can help it gain an edge over competitors with debt card solutions, including an option for customers to print their own cards at kiosks. The bank is looking to partner with fintechs who can provide services for these kiosks, allowing customers to upload photos or select from design templates, according to a document seen by Mint.