Author: Press Room

NEW DELHI: India has reduced taxes on diesel and petrol, the government announced on Friday (Mar 27), as the Middle East war continues to disrupt global energy supplies.”In view of the West Asia crisis, the central excise duty on petrol and diesel for domestic consumption has been reduced”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a statement, referring to the Middle East war that began late last month.The South Asian nation, one of the world’s largest crude oil importers, relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85 per cent of its oil needs – with Russia being the biggest supplier.Sitharaman said…

Islamabad, Pakistan – In the middle of 1971, at the height of the Cold War, a Pakistani government plane carrying US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger flew overnight from Islamabad to Beijing. The trip was secret, the facilitator was Pakistan, and the geopolitical consequences were generational.More than 50 years later, Pakistan is once again carrying messages. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on March 25 that Islamabad is relaying a US 15-point ceasefire proposal to Tehran, with Turkiye and Egypt providing additional diplomatic support, as the US-Israeli war against Iran stretches into its second month.On Thursday, chief US negotiator Steve Witkoff also…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A parental rights advocacy organization is sounding the alarm over the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) support for transgender medical procedures for minors and encouragement of healthcare providers to withhold the sexual health and history of underage patients from parents.The American Parents’ Coalition compiled a “lookout” showcasing videos and public statements by AAP asserting that “science” supports “gender-affirming care,” which can range from puberty blockers to cross-sex hormones to surgeries for minors. The launch of the online parental notification system comes weeks before AAP is scheduled to hold its advocacy conference in…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! More than a week after the Department of Homeland Security said that Loyola University Chicago freshman Sheridan Gorman was murdered at the hands of an illegal immigrant, the school’s newspaper still features an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracker, meant for tipsters to alert the paper about ICE operations in the area.The editorial staff of the Loyola Phoenix announced last October that it had created a map to track ICE activities, soliciting tips about those activities from readers and the public at large. The tracker is highly-touted on the newspaper’s Instagram page, and…

Descrease article font size Increase article font size A referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada “can have an effect” on investor confidence in the province, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday. Carney was in Nova Scotia, speaking to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. When asked whether he thought an Alberta referendum could impact investor confidence, Carney said, “It can, yeah. It can have an effect.”Ottawa will continue working with Alberta on energy co-operation, he added.“Our strategy with Alberta has been to go right to the heart of the issue, which is the pipeline. But what else comes…

A neighbour of David and Victoria Beckham has complained about plans to install pond lighting at their Cotswolds home, comparing it to Blackpool’s bright illuminations.The Beckhams plan to install the festooned lighting around the pond at their home in Great Tew near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire but those living nearby have raised concerns about the impact it will have on light pollution, wildlife and the surrounding area.The neighbour, James Worthington, said in a comment on the Beckhams’ application: “If I am not amiss, this pond ‘lake’ is in the countryside in a rural setting with field etc, around Maplewood Barn.”Yet…

MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence is spreading beyond India’s cities and boardrooms, expanding access to finance and public services in rural and underserved communities.For Indian industrialist Ajay Piramal, chairman of the Piramal Group, the technology has already become central to business operations.“We are in the lending business and AI is no longer a periphery to our business. It is actually the core of our business,” he told CNA.Across the conglomerate’s financial services arm, AI is used from underwriting loans to collecting payments, improving efficiency while expanding access to more borrowers.EXPANDING ACCESS TO CREDITPiramal said one of the biggest shifts he sees with…

Small and big eateries in India are feeling the pinch from the war in the Middle East. “Overnight you go from making a decent amount of money to being in huge losses.” Kitchens in India are powered by liquefied petroleum gas, or L.P.G. Roughly 60 per cent of India’s cooking gas comes mainly through the Strait of Hormuz. But the conflict in the Middle East has slowed imports and set off panic buying of gas cylinders in India. Sakshi Joshi opened a small food stall two years ago in Western India, selling momos, or steamed dumplings filled with meat and…

Ahead of its two-week recess, the Senate agreed to an off-ramp to end the 42-day partial shutdown that has centered on federal immigration enforcement. The deal that was approved in a voice vote after 2 a.m. funds all of DHS except ICE and parts of CBP.  The legislation did not include most of the reforms to federal immigration enforcement that Democrats demanded after federal officers fatally shot two Americans in Minnesota during Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown. There appeared to be some movement in negotiations this week, but talks ultimately fell apart as Democrats said the GOP’s offer to fund all of DHS…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The No. 11 Texas Longhorns’ Cinderella story in the NCAA Tournament came to a heartbreaking end on Thursday night, as Trey Kaufman-Renn’s tip with 0.7 seconds left on the clock gave No. 2 Purdue a 79-77 lead to advance to the Elite Eight. It was a thriller to the end in this Sweet 16 matchup between a team that needed to play in the First Four to kick off the tournament, and one of the higher seeds in March Madness. The Longhorns’ Dailyn Swain made a clutch and-one layup with 11 seconds left that…