🇺🇸🇮🇳PM Modi and Elon Musk talk India-US tech collaboration
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he discussed his country's potential to collaborate with the US on "technology and innovation" during a conversation with Elon Musk.
On Friday, Modi shared a post on X detailing his telephone conversation with the tech billionaire and said they had revisited topics from their meeting in Washington earlier this year.
Modi's conversation with Musk comes as India is working towards securing a bilateral trade agreement with the US to offset the brunt of US President Donald Trump's potential tariffs.
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🇵🇸🇮🇱Hamas formally rejects Israeli ceasefire offer
Hamas has formally rejected Israel's latest ceasefire offer, saying it is prepared to immediately negotiate a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In a video statement, Hamas' chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said: "We will not accept partial deals that serve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's political agenda."
Fifty-nine hostages remain in captivity and 24 are thought to be alive. Israel's latest offer involved a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 hostages.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was time "to open the gates of hell" on Hamas.
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🇷🇺Ex-Russian general jailed for seven years over bribes
A former top Russian general has been jailed for seven years after being accused of taking bribes.
Lt Gen Vadim Shamarin was arrested last year during a crackdown on corruption in the defence ministry launched by the Kremlin, and was accused of taking "a particularly large bribe" from a telecommunications company.
Russia's Investigative Committee said he took bribes worth 36 million roubles (£331,000) between 2019 and 2023 from a factory that produces communications equipment - and, in return, increased the size of state contracts awarded to the company.
Prior to his arrest he had served as deputy chief of the army's general staff overseeing the signals corps and military communications.
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🇺🇸🇮🇳Vance to visit India as Trump intensifies tariff war with China
US Vice-President JD Vance will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a four-day visit to India next week as their two countries negotiate a bilateral trade deal.
The two leaders are scheduled to meet on 21 April, the first day of Vance's trip, for discussions on economic, trade and geopolitical ties.
"The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review the progress in bilateral relations," India's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Vance's first visit to India since taking office comes as the countries work to conclude a trade agreement by fall.
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🇺🇸🇪🇺US to hold talks on Ukraine with European allies
Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and top diplomat Marco Rubio will hold talks with European counterparts in Paris later on Thursday to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine's foreign minister and defence minister have arrived in the French capital to take part in the discussions.
The talks, which UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will also attend, form the highest level of transatlantic engagement about the war since February.
European diplomats have said they will urge the US to put more pressure on Russia to agree an unconditional ceasefire.
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🇺🇸🇨🇳China appoints new trade envoy in face of tariff turmoil
China has unexpectedly appointed a new trade envoy, as officials said the US's practice of "tariff barriers and trade bullying" is having a serious impact on the global economic order.
Li Chenggang, a former assistant commerce minister and WTO ambassador, is taking over from veteran trade negotiator Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen.
The shift comes as Beijing refuses to back down in an escalating trade war with Washington triggered by US President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs on Chinese goods.
China's already sluggish economy is bracing for the impact on a key source of revenue - exports.
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🇸🇩Paramilitaries declare rival government in Sudan
Sudan's paramilitaries have declared the formation of a rival government to the country's armed forces, two years into a war that has become the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, said the group was "building the only realistic future for Sudan".
The announcement came as London hosted an high-level conference to mark the second anniversary of the conflict, where the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for "a pathway to peace".
Fighting raged on, with the army saying it had bombed RSF positions outside the city of el-Fasher, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the Zamzam refugee camp.
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🇵🇪Peru's ex-president and first lady sentenced to 15 years in jail
Peru's former president, Ollanta Humala, has been found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
A court in the capital, Lima, said he had accepted illegal funds from the Venezuelan president at the time, Hugo Chávez, and from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to bankroll his election campaigns in 2006 and 2011.
Humala's lawyer said he would appeal against the conviction.
His wife, Nadine Heredia, was also found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in jail. However, she has been granted safe passage to Brazil after seeking asylum in the Brazilian embassy.
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🇺🇸Trump freezes $2bn in Harvard funding after university rejects demands
The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House.
"Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges," the Department of Education said in a statement.
The White House sent a list of demands to Harvard last week which it said were designed to fight antisemitism on campus. They included changes to its governance, hiring practices and admissions procedures.
Harvard rejected the demands on Monday and said the White House was trying to "control" its community.
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🇺🇸US stock markets rise on Trump tariff rollback
US stock markets rose on Monday after the White House said tariffs on imports of Chinese-made smartphones and some other electronics devices would not apply.
The rollback, issued early on Saturday, may end up being short-lived after President Donald Trump said these goods were simply being moved into a different tariff group or "bucket".
In Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 closed up 2.1% while the main stock indexes in France and Germany both climbed.
Despite the partial rebound, global stock markets are still lower than before Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs announcement on 2 April.
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🇪🇨Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa wins re-election
Sitting centre-right President Daniel Noboa has won the run-off round of Ecuador's presidential election, meaning he will now serve a full four-year term.
Noboa, who described his victory as "historic", has only been in power since November 2023 after winning a snap election.
He has defined his presidency, so far, through a tough military crackdown on violent criminal gangs in the country, which has become the most violent in the region.
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🇭🇰MP barred from Hong Kong says it was to 'shut me up'
A Liberal Democrat MP barred from entering Hong Kong has told the BBC she believes it was to "shut me up and to silence me".
Wera Hobhouse flew to Hong Kong with her husband on Thursday to visit her son and newborn grandson. However she was detained at the airport, questioned and deported.
The MP for Bath, one of more than 40 parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) which criticises Beijing's handling of human rights, said she was given no reason for being refused entry.
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🇵🇪Peru's president avoids impeachment over 'Rolexgate' scandal
A congressional committee in Peru has dismissed an investigation into President Dina Boluarte over allegations she accepted Rolex watches as bribes.
The decision by the subcommittee means Boluarte - whose approval ratings are in single digits - is shielded from impeachment proceedings while in power.
However, she could still potentially face charges when she leaves office next year and loses her presidential immunity.
The corruption inquiry, dubbed "Rolexgate", saw her home raided by police in March 2024, with authorities searching for more than a dozen luxury watches Boluarte had allegedly not declared.
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🇹🇿Tanzania's main opposition party banned from election
Tanzania's main opposition party has been barred from participating in this year's election, days after its leader was charged with treason.
Ramadhani Kailima, director of elections at the Independent National Elections Commission, said that Chadema had failed to sign a code of conduct document that was due on Saturday, meaning the party was disqualified from October's elections.
Last week, Chadema's leader Tundu Lissu was arrested and charged with treason following a rally in southern Tanzania at which he called for electoral reforms.
The CCM party, which has governed Tanzania since 1977, is expected to retain power following the latest developments.
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⚠️Man accused of Mumbai terror attacks remanded in custody
A Pakistan-born Chicago businessman wanted in India for his role in the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai city has been remanded in custody for 18 days.
Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian citizen, landed in Delhi on Thursday. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) confirmed his extradition had been successful.
Indian authorities accuse 64-year-old Rana of aiding the Mumbai attacks by working with childhood friend David Headley to support Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani group blamed for the assault.
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🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦Trump says US will 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon
Donald Trump has said the US will "take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine talks if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal.
The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he was not expecting a truce to happen in "a specific number of days" but he wanted it done "quickly".
His comments came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US would abandon talks unless there were clear signs of progress within days.
"We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio said, adding that the US had "other priorities to focus on".
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🇺🇸🇨🇳US lays out plans to hit Chinese ships with port fees
The Trump administration has unveiled its plan to impose port fees on Chinese ships as it tries to revive shipbuilding in the US and challenge China's dominance of the industry.
The US Trade Representative's (USTR) announcement is less severe than a plan floated in February to hit Chinese vessels with charges of up to $1.5m (£1.1m) for each American port they visit.
It said the fees would start to be charged in 180 days time and would rise in the coming years.
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🇺🇦🇺🇸Ukraine's government has announced the signing of the outline of a minerals deal between the war-torn country and the US.
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🇺🇸Trump administration threatens Harvard with foreign student ban
The US government has threatened to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, after the institution said it would not bow to demands from Donald Trump's administration.
The White House has demanded the oldest university in the US make changes to hiring, admissions and teaching practices which it says will help fight antisemitism on campus.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday accused the Ivy League school of "threatening national security" and "bending the knee to antisemitism".
She also demanded records on its foreign student visa holders' "illegal and violent" activities. International students make up more than 27% of Harvard's enrolment this year.
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🇺🇸California becomes first state to sue over Trump tariffs
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's spate of tariffs that have upended global trade.
The suit, which marks the first time a state has sued over the levies, challenges an emergency power Trump cited giving him authority to enact them.
California is the world's fifth largest economy - outpacing every US state and most countries - and is home to the largest shares of manufacturing and agricultural production in the US.
The White House, which has argued the tariffs are tackling imbalances in international trade, dismissed the lawsuit and said it would continue addressing "this national emergency that's decimating America's industries".
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🇺🇸🇨🇳Nvidia expects $5.5bn hit as US tightens chip export rules to China
Computer chip giant Nvidia says it will be hit with $5.5bn (£4.2bn) in costs after the US government tightened export rules to China.
The firm, which has been at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, will require licences to export its H20 AI chip to China, which has been one of its most popular.
The rules come amid an escalating trade war between the US and China, with both countries introducing steep trade tariffs on each other covering various goods.
Nvidia shares plunged almost 6% in after-hours trading.
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🇺🇸Obama calls Trump's freeze of Harvard funding 'unlawful'
Former President Barack Obama is applauding Harvard University's decision to refuse the White House's demands that it change its policies or lose federal money, in his first social media post to criticise the Trump administration since at least Inauguration Day.
President Donald Trump is freezing more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard because it would not make changes to its hiring, admissions and teaching practices that his administration said were key to fighting antisemitism on campus.
Obama, a Harvard alum, described the freeze as "unlawful and ham-handed".
He called on other institutions to follow Harvard's lead in not conceding to Trump's demands.
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💶Long-awaited EU border system expected for October
New digital border checks which would hit millions of people travelling to and from Europe are expected to come into effect in October, according to the European Commission (EC).
The long-awaited Entry/Exit System (EES) will replace current passport stamping, requiring visitors from outside the European Union to register fingerprints, a photo, and passport details to enter the bloc.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, told BBC South East there was no exact date for the system launch but that the port was anticipating a 1 November rollout.
A spokesperson for the EC said: "The entry into operation of EES is foreseen for October 2025."
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🇭🇺Hungary's parliament votes to limit rights of dual nationals and LGBTQ+ people
Hungary's parliament has backed a range of constitutional amendments which will limit the rights of LGBTQ+ people and dual nationals.
The amendments, which the government says are aimed at protecting children's physical and moral development, will enable it to ban public LGBTQ+ gatherings.
Hundreds gathered outside parliament to protest against the move, which rights campaigners have labelled a "key moment in Hungary's shift toward illiberal governance".
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose Fidesz party voted through the bill, vowed in March that an "Easter cleanup" of his critics was coming.
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🇩🇿🇫🇷Diplomatic tensions escalate as Algeria expels French officials
Algeria's decision to expel 12 French consular staff members appears to have put paid to hopes of any imminent rapprochement between the two countries.
The order was in response to charges filed in France on Friday against an Algerian consular official, accused with two other Algerians of taking part in the kidnap of an opposition dissident in the Paris suburbs a year ago.
Algiers chose to see the arrest of the official as "a flagrant contravention of the immunities and privileges that attach to his (diplomatic) functions".
According to the official Algerian state-run news agency APS: "This unprecedented judicial incident... has not come about by chance. Its purpose is to scupper the relaunch of bilateral relations agreed by the two heads of state."
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🇿🇦South Africa poised to re-open inquest into Nobel laureate's death
A South African court is due to re-examine the circumstances around the death of one of the most renowned campaigners against the racist system of apartheid, which had initially been described as accidental.
A 1967 inquest ruled that Chief Albert Luthuli was walking on a railway line when he was struck by a train and died after fracturing his skull.
Activists and his family have long cast doubt on the official version of events, and have said they welcomed the re-opening of the inquest.
Luthuli, who at the time of his death was the leader of the then-banned African National Congress (ANC), won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for spearheading the fight against apartheid.
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🇧🇩🇬🇧Bangladesh issues arrest warrant for British MP Tulip Siddiq
Bangladeshi authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the British MP and former Labour minister Tulip Siddiq.
The country's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been investigating allegations Siddiq illegally received land as part of its wider probe of the regime of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed as prime minister in August.
The Hampstead and Highgate MP, who quit as economic secretary to the Treasury in January, was named in the arrest warrant alongside more than 50 others.
Lawyers acting for Siddiq denied the charges, which they said were "politically motivated".
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🇷🇸Thousands attend pro-government rally in Serbia after months of unrest
Tens of thousands of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's supporters have held a rally in Belgrade following months of unrest across the country.
A monitoring organisation said around 55,000 people had gathered in front of the National Assembly. Despite some Vucic followers travelling from neighbouring countries, attendance was significantly lower than last month's huge anti-government protest.
There have been regular demonstrations in Serbia since November when the collapse of a railway station canopy in the city of Novi Sad killed 15 people, triggering widespread public anger.
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🇷🇺🇬🇧Ambassador does not deny Russian attempts to track UK subs
Russia's ambassador to the UK has not denied allegations that Russian sensors have been hidden in seas around Great Britain in an attempt to track UK nuclear submarines.
Andrei Kelin said that while he did not deny Russia was attempting to track British submarines, he rejected the idea that such activities presented a threat to the UK.
"I am not going to deny it, but I wonder whether we really have an interest in following all the British submarine with very old outdated nuclear warheads... all these threats are extremely exaggerated," he said.
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🇦🇷General strike hits transport in Argentina
A general strike against public spending cuts in Argentina has severely disrupted transport.
All domestic flights have been cancelled, while trains and metro services have been suspended in Buenos Aires and other parts of the country.
Many shops remained closed in the capital but bus drivers continued to work. Airlines said international flights would go ahead as planned, with only a few delays.
It is the third general strike called by Argentina's powerful unions since President Javier Milei took office at the end of 2023.
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