1.India and France agreed to jointly develop advanced nuclear power reactors, suggesting New Delhi could look beyond the US for tech partnerships amid uncertainty over Donald Trump’s trade threats. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking to boost the country’s nuclear sector, vowing to ease regulations and increase funding. The partnership also shows the increased prominence of small modular reactor, which can be factory-assembled and then transported for installation in remote areas with limited grid capacity, Bloomberg wrote. Energy is likely to be on the agenda when Modi meets Trump in Washington Thursday: Modi may ask the US to invest in India’s nuclear energy.

2.Indian Govt Unveils Rs 100 Billion PPP Fund for Infrastructure Growth.

The Indian government has introduced a Rs 100 billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) fund to boost infrastructure development. Additionally, states will receive an interest-free loan of Rs 1.5 trillion to support capital outlay for infrastructure projects.

A fresh asset monetisation plan aims to raise Rs 10 trillion, encouraging greater private sector and investor participation. The Maritime Development Fund will cover up to 49% of project costs, with the remaining contribution from private entities or port trusts.

3.Chevron to invest $1 billion in India for engineering and innovation hub

US energy major Chevron is establishing a $1 billion engineering and innovation excellence centre (ENGINE) in India, marking its largest investment outside the US. Located in Bengaluru, the facility aims to harness India’s engineering and technology talent to support Chevron’s global operations and energy projects, said the company’s India head, Akshay Sahni, speaking to journalists at the sidelines of India Energy Week.

At the same time Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil and gas company, said that it would lay off as much as 20 percent of its work force, or up to around 9,000 people, as part of a cost-cutting effort.

4.Gautam Adani, Asia’s second-richest man has been busy building a political influence operation in the US opined Bloomberg.

Gautam Adani’s undertaking spans white shoe law firms and lobbyists, aiming to simultaneously deal with allegations of bribery and expand his business. The tycoon is increasingly leaning on political relationships and appears to have gained clout that may help sway the White House, people familiar said. Even if Modi—widely considered an ally—doesn’t formally bring up the topic when he meets with Trump, their entourages may talk.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers publicly weighed in this week, framing the charges against Adani as detrimental to the US-India relationship, while Trump himself has signaled intent to dial back how the US policies international bribery

5.Apple just launched a giant health study

The five-year study, which could be expanded, will analyze how data from Apple and third-party devices, including iPhones, AirPods, and Apple Watches, can be used to track and manage a participant’s health. The study will also look to make connections across different aspects of health, including activity, aging, heart health, cognition, hearing, menstrual health, and sleep.

The tech giant study explores how technology can enhance users’ physical and mental health.

Also, Apple’s iPhones will use Alibaba’s AI technology in China. A local partner could help revive iPhone sales in China, which have suffered as rivals move ahead with AI-enabled smartphones. Alibaba shares are soaring this year on AI optimism.

6.US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed to “immediately” start talks to end the Ukraine war. 

Their phone call Wednesday broke a years long silence between the White House and the Kremlin, with the two leaders agreeing to visit each other. Trump also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly warned against discussing the war without Kyiv input.

The calls came as US officials more clearly voiced their vision for a peace deal: Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, and said Kyiv shouldn’t expect to reclaim all of its territory. Zelenskyy has appeared increasingly open to a deal that would see Kyiv make some territorial concessions, including an exchange of occupied territories.

7.America's New Gulf

Apple Maps users in the US will see the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of America, a change made this week to align with President Donald Trump's January executive order. The iPhone maker joins Google in adopting the new name, which only appears for US users—Mexican users will see it called Gulf of Mexico, while other countries will see both names.

Mexico, Cuba, and the US each border the Gulf, which was first named the Gulf of Mexico in the 16th century. The US controls more than 1,600 miles of the Gulf’s coastline—a little less than half of the total—and its sovereign territory extends 12 nautical miles beyond the coast. The country possesses economic rights over a further 200 miles offshore.

The US place names are typically determined by the US Board of Geographical Names, a federal body under the Interior Department. Founded in 1890, the board rules on hundreds of naming conventions annually and has maintained the Geographic Names Information System since the 1970s. In the Gulf's case, the executive order instructed the agency to update the name. 

Apple's adoption of the change wasn't legally required, as the president's order only applies to federal agencies.

8.Thousands of Danes sign petition to buy California from U.S.

In response to President Donald Trump’s continued musing about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, Danish citizens have launched their own effort to purchase America’s most economically prosperous state.

An online petition seeking the “Denmarkification” of California has seemingly garnered nearly 200,000 signatures, with a pitch to Danish citizens that purchasing the Golden State would provide them with more sunshine, dominance in the tech industry, limitless avocado toast and easy access to Disneyland — which organizers say would be renamed to honor fairytale author and poet Hans Christian Andersen.

9.Russia spends more on defence than the rest of Europe combined, research suggests. 

Moscow’s total military spending rose 42% in 2024 to 13.1 trillion rubles ($144.4bn), outstripping the UK and all European Union member states when currencies are adjusted for purchasing power. Russia’s GDP is tiny compared to EU’s, comparable to Spain’s, so its outlay is roughly 40% of the federal budget. The new study’s authors said that although the spending was taking a toll on Russia’s economy, Moscow “can still bear the costs of war.”

Europe is under pressure to boost defence spending, which averages just 1.7% of GDP despite recent increases. US President Donald Trump wants that to be 5%, which would be equivalent to almost double Russia’s outlay.

European officials fear they will have to bear the cost of postwar security and reconstruction as they reel from being cut out of US-Russia peace negotiations on Ukraine. Donald Trump said on Wednesday, after talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, that their delegations would “start negotiations immediately” to end the war, blindsiding European capitals. More than half a dozen senior European officials told the Financial Times they expected the US president to tell them they must pay for Ukrainian reconstruction and deploy troops there to maintain a peace deal in which they would not be involved.

10.OpenAI is loosening restrictions on what its bots can say

It’s nudging the balance away from safety, and towards ‘intellectual freedom’.

OpenAI is releasing a significantly expanded version of its Model Spec, a document that defines how its AI models should behave — and is making it free for anyone to use or modify.

The new 63-page specification, up from around 10 pages in its previous version, lays out guidelines for how AI models should handle everything from controversial topics to user customization. It emphasizes three main principles: customizability; transparency; and what OpenAI calls “intellectual freedom” — the ability for users to explore and debate ideas without arbitrary restrictions. The launch of the updated Model Spec comes just as CEO Sam Altman posted that the startup’s next big model, GPT-4.5 (codenamed Orion), will be released soon.