Author: News Desk

New Delhi: India is preparing to implement sweeping tax reforms under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, with plans to slash goods and services tax (GST) rates on small cars and insurance premiums. According to a government source, the reform, touted as the most significant overhaul since the GST rollout in 2017, aims to stimulate consumer demand, strengthen the automobile and insurance sectors, and simplify the tax structure. The federal government has proposed lowering the GST on small petrol and diesel cars to 18 percent from the current 28 percent, while health and life insurance premiums may see tax reduced to…

Miami, Florida: Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, has been downgraded to a Category 3 storm from Category 4, according to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), as wind speeds eased slightly. Early Sunday, Erin was located about 330 miles (530 km) southeast of Grand Turk Island, packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph). Hurricane Erin had previously reached a catastrophic Category 5, with winds up to 160 mph (240 kph), before being downgraded to Category 4. It had been forecast to strengthen further during the week. Erin is moving west-northwest at nearly…

Paris: France is facing a growing debate over the rise of child-free resorts and adult-only hotels, with Socialist senator and former families minister Laurence Rossignol declaring that such venues are discriminatory, encourage intolerance, and should be banned. Rossignol compared the exclusion of children from holidays to establishments refusing pets, insisting that children must not be treated as inconveniences. “We can’t organise society by separating children off from ourselves in the same way some establishments don’t take dogs. Children aren’t troublesome pets,” the Minister said. The controversy intensified after Sarah El Haïry, France’s high commissioner for childhood, condemned adult-only holiday resorts…

London: Blackpink cemented their position as the world’s leading girl group with a historic and high-energy performance at London’s Wembley Stadium, becoming the first-ever K-pop girl band to headline the venue. The two-and-a-half-hour concert placed the quartet alongside an elite lineup of global icons, including Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, BTS, and Oasis. The members, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa, delivered an unforgettable night featuring flawless choreography, dazzling visuals, and fan interactions that showcased their unity and connection with the audience. “What an absolute honour to be performing here at Wembley Stadium,” Lisa told the 70,000-strong crowd. Jennie described the evening…

Anchorage, Alaska: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a highly anticipated Alaska Summit, which lasted more than two and a half hours, focusing on the war in Ukraine. Despite both leaders describing the talks as positive and constructive, no breakthrough was achieved. At a short media conference following the Alaska Summit, where no questions were taken, President Trump called the discussions ‘very productive,’ noting that there were “many points that we agreed on… I would say a couple of big ones.” However, the US President admitted some issues remained unresolved, with one described as the most…

London: Travellers to the UK are being warned about mosquito-borne illnesses after a rise in chikungunya infections among those returning from abroad, alongside the first confirmed cases of the emerging Oropouche virus, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported. Chikungunya causes sudden fever and debilitating joint pain, which can last from a few days to several weeks, and in some cases even months or years. Its name comes from a Tanzanian word meaning ‘that which bends up,’ referencing the severe joint pain it can induce. Most people recover fully, but the disease can occasionally lead to prolonged symptoms. So far…

Moscow: Russia has imposed restrictions on voice calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned messaging services of refusing to share information with law enforcement in investigations related to fraud and terrorism. The measure marks the latest escalation in Moscow’s long-running disputes with global tech platforms over content control and data storage, tensions that have intensified since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The communications regulator Roskomnadzor said that the move was aimed at ‘counteracting criminals’ and confirmed that only the calling functions were affected, with other features remaining operational. Russia’s digital ministry stated that call access would…

London: The UK government is set to significantly expand police use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology to apprehend more serious offenders, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced. Ten LFR vans will be deployed by seven police forces across England, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex (jointly), and Thames Valley and Hampshire (jointly), to identify suspects such as sex offenders and individuals wanted for the most serious crimes. According to the Home Office, the vans will only be deployed based on ‘specific intelligence’ and will operate under strict guidelines set by the College of Policing. Each operation will…

Taitung, Taiwan: Thousands of people have been evacuated, schools closed, and hundreds of flights cancelled as Typhoon Podul approaches southern Taiwan, packing wind gusts of up to 191kph (118 mph). The mid-strength typhoon Podul, which is gaining strength, is forecast to make landfall near the southeastern city of Taitung around noon local time (04:00 GMT) on August 13, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) reported. After striking the sparsely populated Taitung County, the Typhoon Podul is expected to move across Taiwan’s more densely populated western coast before entering the Taiwan Strait and heading towards China’s southern Fujian province later this week.…

New York: Taylor Swift has revealed her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, announcing it at exactly 12:12 am eastern time on 12 August after a countdown, cryptic online teasers, and hints of an upcoming appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast. The buildup included her website turning glittering orange, a 12-image Instagram carousel from the Eras Tour by her marketing team, Taylor Nation captioned, “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era … ’,” and fans spotting a silhouette of Swift linked to her 2022 Variety interview about All Too Well: The Short Film.…