India's economy crosses a landmark threshold as the world watches Gaza cautiously.
Today at a glance
India's GDP hits a historic milestone, overtaking Japan to become the world's third-largest economy. Meanwhile, a fragile ceasefire in Gaza enters its second week — humanitarian aid is flowing but the political deal remains unsigned. On the sports front, Rohit Sharma announces retirement from Test cricket, ending a decorated 17-year international career.
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India overtakes Japan to become third-largest economy
India1 min read
The International Monetary Fund confirmed India's GDP crossed $4.3 trillion in 2025, officially making it the world's third-largest economy, surpassing Japan for the first time. The milestone, driven by strong services exports and domestic consumption, puts India on a trajectory to overtake Germany within a decade. Prime Minister Modi called it a "moment of civilisational pride," while economists cautioned that per-capita income still lags far behind developed nations.
India's Supreme Court unanimously invalidated the electoral bonds scheme, calling it "unconstitutional" and a threat to free and fair elections. The court ordered the State Bank of India to stop issuing bonds and directed the Election Commission to publish a full list of donors. Political parties that received funds through the scheme now face disclosure requirements under a 30-day deadline set by the bench.
Mumbai's coastal road opens to traffic after four-year delay
India1 min read
The Mumbai Coastal Road, a 10.5-kilometre elevated expressway along the city's western seafront, finally opened to public traffic after a four-year construction saga marked by litigation, cost overruns, and environmental protests. The road connects Marine Lines to Bandra and is expected to cut commute times by up to 70% for western corridor residents. Environmentalists warn about mangrove damage and the long-term impact on the coastline's ecology.
Gaza ceasefire holds but permanent deal remains elusive
World1 min read
The Gaza ceasefire entered its second week with both sides accusing each other of minor violations, but large-scale fighting has not resumed. Trucks carrying food and medicine crossed into northern Gaza for the first time in months, but aid agencies warn supplies are critically insufficient. American and Qatari mediators are pushing for a permanent agreement before the temporary pause expires — Hamas wants a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel insists on remaining military presence in the Philadelphi corridor.
Claude AI now writes code that passes university exams
Trending1 min read
Anthropic's Claude 4 Opus scored in the 94th percentile on a standardised computer science exam administered by MIT, outperforming most human students on algorithm design and debugging tasks. The result has reignited the debate about AI in education — several universities have already updated their exam policies to require in-person paper tests. Anthropic says the model was not trained on the specific exam set and that the result reflects genuine reasoning capability, not memorisation.
Rohit Sharma retires from Test cricket after 17-year career
Sport1 min read
Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket in an emotional post on social media, ending a 17-year international career that saw him become India's most prolific opening batter in the longer format. He scored 4,301 Test runs including 12 centuries, but his legacy in the format will always be viewed through the prism of his batting inconsistency against the moving ball overseas. He will continue to play white-ball cricket and lead India into the 2027 ODI World Cup as captain.
