1.India’s Military Is Unprepared for a Dangerous Future: Mihir Sharma, Bloomberg Opinion

India’s purchase of 26 Rafale jets from France’s Dassault Aviation SA cannot conceal the fact that its military is sleepwalking into a crisis. Strategic indecision and an addiction to short-termism have left its armed forces unprepared for the challenges ahead.

The new planes will certainly fill an obvious gap in the military’s needs — its two aircraft carriers are dependent on 40 elderly Russian-made MiG-29Ks, of which perhaps half are reportedly serviceable at any given time. But instead of solving India’s problems of preparedness, this decision actually reveals their daunting scale.

The real issue isn’t the navy but the Indian Air Force, which is known to be understrength and will likely be even less capable a few years from now unless New Delhi starts thinking long term. Scholars such as the Stimson Center’s Christopher Clary have warned that India is “underbalancing” China, both before and after deadly clashes along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.

2.India records 35% growth in March exports to US even as tariff uncertainty continues

India exported goods worth $10.14 billion to the US in March 2025, marking a 35% jump from $7.51 billion a year earlier, as exporters raced to ship consignments ahead of the now-paused US reciprocal tariffs. According to Commerce Ministry data reported by Financial Express. Exports to the US for FY25 hit $86.51 billion, up 11.6% from the previous year. Imports from the US also rose 9.6% in March to $3.7 billion. India and the US are currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement aimed at doubling overall trade to $500 billion by 2030.

3.$6 billion bet: Rio Tinto, AM Green plan to build world's largest green aluminium plant in India

In a massive boost to India’s green industrial ambitions, Rio Tinto and AMG Metals & Minerals are joining forces to set up the world’s largest renewable-powered aluminium facility in the country. The project would require a investment of about $6 billion, said two people aware of the development.

A joint statement said that Rio Tinto and AMG Metals & Materials (AMG M&M) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly assess the feasibility of developing an integrated low-carbon aluminium project powered by renewable energy in India. AMG M&M is promoted by the founders of Greenko and AM Green.

The plan includes building a 1 million tonne per annum (mtpa) aluminium smelter and a 2 mtpa alumina refinery.

4.The White House threatened to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students, sharply escalating its row with the most prestigious US university. 

The standoff began after Harvard, in a striking act of defiance, rejected President Donald Trump’s order that colleges end DEI programs and screen students for antisemitism, among other demands. International students pay higher fees than domestic ones, and excluding them would mark a further financial blow for Harvard following a funding freeze and threat to revoke its tax-exempt status. There may be more to come: The administration will soon target universities’ investment funds, Semafor’s Liz Hoffman reported, which it says fund “terrorism,” and Harvard’s $52 billion endowment could be a weak spot in its defenses.

5.China is suffering its own ‘China shock’: Financial Times

Factories across China at the low-end of manufacturing are facing the same dilemma — either they invest in automation that shrinks the number of jobs, or they slowly wither away. The result, in the view of researchers and economists, is a painful shift away from low-cost, labour-intensive production that could leave millions of older, lower skilled workers in the lurch.

Analysis of 12 labour-intensive manufacturing industries between 2011 and 2019 by academics at Changzhou University, Yancheng Teachers University and Henan University found that average employment shrank by roughly 14 per cent, or nearly 4mn roles, between 2011 and 2019. Roles in the textile industry shrank 40 per cent over the period.

An FT analysis of the same 12 sectors between 2019 and 2023 found a further decline of 3.4mn jobs.

In many ways, Beijing risks experiencing the same “China shock” that it imposed on advanced manufacturing nations after its entry to the World Trade Organization in the early 2000s, when orders migrated en masse from more expensive hubs to the cheap and efficient factories of Guangdong and other provinces. Now, the cheaper factories are in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia where exports have surged.

6.Scientists detected the strongest hint so far of extraterrestrial life. 

The James Webb Space Telescope looked at light coming through the atmosphere of the planet K2-18b, 124 light years away, and found the presence of large amounts of dimethyl sulfide, a molecule that on Earth is only made by life, especially marine algae.

Earlier observations of K2-18b had found water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane, all of which are associated with life. There are many ways this could turn out to be false — some as-yet-unknown geological process that creates the molecule, or a simple measurement error — but if further observations confirm the finding, it raises the possibility of a water world teeming with at the very least microbial life.

7. Crows, already considered among the smartest birds, may be cleverer than previously thought. 

Scientists discovered crows can detect the difference between regular and irregular sided shapes, a crucial basis for the mathematics of geometry and previously considered something only humans could do.

Corvids have shown remarkable abilities before: Research last year suggested they could count out loud, using different vocalisation for different numbers up to four, and they have been shown to understand that putting stones into tubes of water allows them to retrieve food from the surface.

As with many things we thought humans had monopolies over, such as language, the real story may be more complicated.

8.18 Things You Didn’t Know Your iPhone Could Do

No matter how long you’ve used an iPhone, there are always new (or new-to-you) features to discover. And stumbling upon a time-saving trick after so many years is, quite frankly, a delight.

9.Wildlife conservation funds biased against smaller species as larger animals take lion's share

A 25-year study has uncovered that the majority of global conservation funding is directed towards larger, more 'charismatic' species, leaving critically important animals and plants significantly underfunded.

The research revealed that out of the $1.963 billion allocated to conservation initiatives worldwide, 82.9 per cent was dedicated to vertebrates. Plants and invertebrates each received just 6.6 per cent of the funding, while fungi and algae were almost entirely overlooked, securing less than 0.2 per cent.

Conducted by Guénard and a team at the University of Hong Kong, the study examined 14,566 conservation projects carried out between 1992 and 2016. It found stark disparities even within vertebrate groups, with 85 per cent of resources going to birds and mammals, while amphibians received a mere 2.8 per cent of the funding.

10.The Schopenhauer Principle: How pessimism can help steer your life

Arthur Schopenhauer is often called the pessimistic philosopher because he argued that to live is to suffer. The best we can get is termporary relief.

Pessimism, in Schopenhauer’s philosophy, isn’t a flaw but a lens to foster compassion for all beings who suffer.

Aesthetic experiences like art and nature offer fleeting but meaningful escapes from suffering and the tyranny of desire.