INTERNATIONAL

  In a major escalation of trade tensions, former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on Indian exports starting August 1, citing India’s “high trade barriers” and continued defence and energy ties with Russia. “Remember, while India is our friend, they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “They have always bought most of their military equipment from Russia... India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 percent, plus a penalty... starting on August 1.” Trump did not specify details of the “penalty” beyond the tariff. The move comes amid stalled talks for a bilateral trade deal. India-US trade reached $130 billion in 2024, with India enjoying a $45 billion surplus. Key e...

The United States government on July 30 imposed sanctions on thirteen entities accused of engaging in the trade of Iranian-origin petrochemical products, including six companies based in India. The announcement, made by the Trump administration, marks a significant escalation in U.S. efforts to clamp down on Iran’s energy exports and comes shortly after Washington slapped tariffs on Indian exports amid growing trade tensions. According to the U.S. State Department, the sanctioned entities were involved in the trans-shipment, sale, and purchase of Iranian petrochemicals, in violation of Executive Order 13846. Alongside the Indian firms, the sanctions target companies operating out of China, Indonesia, Turkiye, the UAE, and Iran itself. The U.S. has also identified and blocked 10 ve...

A new study based on data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) suggests that the universe may stop expanding and collapse much sooner than previously thought. Scientists analyzing this fresh data propose that dark energy, the force responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe, might not be constant, as previously believed. Instead, it could be changing over time. The implications of this shift are profound. Researchers say the universe might not expand forever but could instead reverse course and head towards a "Big Crunch", a collapse of all matter back into a dense, hot state. The theory, which is still awaiting peer review, posits that the universe’s current expansion is temporary, driven largely by a mysterious fie...

Syrian officials and Druze community leaders have announced a fresh ceasefire in the southern city of Sweida following days of violent clashes and Israeli airstrikes. However, doubts remain over its durability as Israeli strikes continued even after the announcement. Convoys of government troops began withdrawing from Sweida after the agreement was announced via a Druze cleric’s video message and a statement by Syria’s Interior Ministry. But prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri distanced himself from the deal, adding to the uncertainty. The escalation began with tit-for-tat violence between Druze factions and Sunni Bedouin groups. Government intervention, which allegedly included attacks on civilians, further inflamed tensions. Israel launched rare airstrikes in central Dama...

In a discovery that could bring scientists closer to understanding how life might form beyond Earth, researchers from NASA and Germany have suggested that Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may naturally produce tiny bubble-like structures similar to cells. These structures, called vesicles, could form in Titan’s cold, methane-rich lakes and may help support the kind of chemical reactions needed for life. The study was published on July 10 in the International Journal of Astrobiology. Scientists involved in the research say these vesicles might emerge from a unique interaction of special molecules on Titan’s surface. These molecules, called amphiphiles, have two sides, one that mixes well with methane and another that avoids it. When these molecules interact with droplets formed during metha...

A harrowing video circulating widely on social media shows the bloodied bodies of patients, doctors, and nurses piled atop one another inside Suwayda National Hospital, their white uniforms soaked in blood, their faces eerily still. The viral clip, whose authenticity is yet to be independently verified, has sparked outrage across Syria and beyond, highlighting the horror that unfolded over the past four days in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda. According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 248 people have been killed in Suwayda since July 13 in intense clashes involving Druze militias, Bedouin tribal fighters, and Syrian regime forces. Among the dead are civilians, children, patients, and medical staff , many reportedly killed in or near the National Hospital, ...

Iran has strongly condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes on Syria’s capital, Damascus, and the southern Suwayda region, calling them a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, in an official statement on Tuesday, said that “armed groups resumed attacks with support from the Israeli air force,” and accused Tel Aviv of deliberately undermining a fragile ceasefire that had been announced a day earlier. The ministry denounced the strikes as “illegal interventions” by the “Zionist regime” and urged the international community and Islamic nations to act swiftly to prevent further aggression. In a parallel message delivered hours after the attack, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stern warning, suggesting that Israel’...

The Syrian government has launched a sweeping military intervention in the southern province of Suwayda, targeting areas home to both Druze and Sunni Bedouin communities. The operation began in the early hours of July 14 and followed several days of violent clashes between local Druze fighters and armed Bedouin tribesmen. The military deployment, which the government describes as a security operation, has resulted in dozens of deaths and has been condemned by local leaders as a brutal crackdown. According to the Syrian Interior Ministry, the military was deployed “to resolve the conflict, stop clashes, impose security, prosecute those responsible for the events, and refer them to the competent judiciary.” Interior Minister Anas Khattab stated, “There is no solution to this except imposi...

In one of the most haunting tragedies to emerge from Pakistan’s entertainment industry, the body of actress and model Humaira Asghar Ali was discovered in her Karachi apartment nearly nine months after her death. The 32-year-old was found on July 8 during a court-ordered eviction carried out due to unpaid rent. When court officers entered her apartment in Defence Housing Authority Phase V, they were met with a scene that was difficult to process. As per Pakistani media, her body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, and no one had noticed her absence for months. Forensic experts and investigators later concluded that Humaira likely died in October 2024. This estimation was based on several findings inside the flat. The electricity had been disconnected for months, the food...

The US State Department on Tuesday (local time) criticised India's stance on the US playing no role in the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, describing such claims as potentially misguided. During a press briefing, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce responded to questions about the diverging narratives from Indian and Pakistani officials regarding US involvement in brokering a peace deal after escalated tensions between the two nations following the April 22 Pahalgam Terror Attack and India's retaliation through 'Operation Sindoor' that targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Bruce offered a nuanced response to the question, emphasising transparency in the modern era and suggesting that the factual record is accessible a...