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Becky Lynch has not been seen for a long time in WWE, but the company can position her return for a prominent show after WrestleMania 41.
WWE Universe has missed the presence of one of the biggest WWE stars of all time, Becky Lynch, for months. The Man was last seen on WWE television programming in May 2024, where she lost a Steel Cage match to Liv Morgan. Since then, fans have been clamouring to see Lynch resurface in the WWE landscape.
However, with WrestleMania 41 season almost coming to its end, it would be much more logical to hold off the return until RAW after WrestleMania, which itself is a big show. Here are three reasons WWE should consider bringing back Becky Lynch on the first show after WrestleMania 41:

3. Element of surprise for the show

The RAW after WrestleMania show has always been special in its own way. The event after the Mania season has always featured major surprises to continue the excitement after the end of WWE’s biggest show. This year’s element of surprise could be Becky Lynch’s long-overdue return to the company, which could blow the roof off the arena as the fans have been wanting to see The Man for a long time.

2. RAW after WrestleMania is a star-studded show in its own right

While WrestleMania itself is a star-studded affair, the same can be said about the RAW after the show. After all, the event every year features a non-traditional audience from all over the world who are considered one of the craziest fan bases of all time. Naturally, WWE each year likes to keep its star-studded quality up for an important event like this. This year, the Stamford-based promotion can do it at the expense of the star power of Becky Lynch.

1. The women’s division on RAW can benefit from Becky Lynch’s return

There is no doubt in the status and drawing power of Becky Lynch as a marquee WWE superstar. However, ever since she left, the RAW roster has seen an influx of new and talented WWE superstars like Lyra Valkyria making an impact. With an important show like the RAW after WrestleMania 41, this could mark the start of a fresh direction should Becky Lynch make her return. If she does, it could set the stage for new rivalries against younger talent who could also benefit from wrestling a top draw like The Man, Becky Lynch.
Also read: WWE left out major star power for WrestleMania 41 — Here are four names still not booked for the show

Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused in the 26/11 terror attacks, is a “big success” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s diplomacy.

He also took a veiled dig at Congress, without taking its name, saying the “governments under whose rule the bomb blasts took place could not bring him back”.

Rana has been accused of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, where innocent people were killed, and is expected to stand trial in India.

जिन लोगों ने भी भारत की ज़मीन और भारत के लोगों के साथ दुर्व्यवहार किया है, उन सभी को देश के क़ानून के अधीन भारत लाना भारत सरकार का दायित्व है। ताहववुर राणा की वापसी मोदी सरकार की कूटनीति की बहुत बड़ी सफलता है, क्योंकि जिन सरकारों के शासन में बम धमाके हुए, वे उसे वापस नहीं ला पाए:…

— Office of Amit Shah (@AmitShahOffice) April 9, 2025

“It is the responsibility of the Indian government to bring back all those who have misbehaved with the land and people of India under the law of the country. The return of Tahawwur Rana is a big success of the Modi government’s diplomacy, because the governments under whose rule the bomb blasts took place could not bring him back,” Office of Amit Shah said in a post on social media platform X.

On April 7, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected Tahawwur Rana’s plea to stay his extradition to India. Rana filed an emergency application with Chief Justice Roberts on March 20, 2025, seeking a stay on his extradition.

“The application for stay addressed to The Chief Justice and referred to the Court is denied,” the SC order dated Monday, April 7, stated.

According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, a case of criminal conspiracy against Rana was originally lodged by the NIA in Delhi following the deadly November 2008 attacks in which over 160 people were killed.

The ongoing extradition process pertains to that case. However, officials clarified that it is yet to be determined whether Mumbai Police can seek his custody for any local investigation linked to the attacks.

“Only after examining the grounds of extradition will it be clear whether custody can be sought by the Mumbai Crime Branch in this matter,” sources said.

Sources added that the Mumbai Police has not received any formal communication so far regarding Rana’s transfer to the city for questioning or judicial proceedings.

Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, was convicted in the US for the banned terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives and providing material support to the group responsible for the Mumbai attacks that killed over 174 people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NEW DELHI: In a major embarrassment, Singapore Supreme Court has quashed an arbitral award against the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to manage dedicated freight corridors in India after finding that the tribunal headed by retired CJI Dipak Misra had copied 212 of 451 paragraphs from two earlier awards involving the same parties but on different issues.
Though the tribunal also comprised MP HC ex-Chief Justice K K Lahoti and ex-CJ of J&K HC Gita Mittal, a Singapore SC bench led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said since the other two were not part of the earlier awards, it couldn’t be ascertained whether they were even aware of Misra’s “copy-paste” job.
The Singapore SC was firm that the copying compromised the integrity of the arbitration process and thus it did not adhere to the “principles of natural justice”.
The court said, “The patently substantial material derived from parallel arbitrations were extraneous considerations that hadn’t been raised to the parties’ attention. The material formed such a pervasive part of the award that it simply could not be overlooked. It was plain that it was neither contemplated nor agreed to by the parties that the award could be prepared by such a process. We agree with the (Singapore HC) judge there had been a breach of the fair hearing rule.”

By its award dated Nov 24, 2023, the Justice Misra-led tribunal had ruled in favour of the three firms which formed a consortium to bag the contract for Western Dedicated Freight Corridor in Aug 2015. A dispute arose because of the Indian govt’s decision to raise labour wages, leading to the consortium demanding more money which was contested by the SPV, and the matter was referred to the Justice Misra-led arbitration tribunal.
Upholding the Singapore HC’s decision to set aside the award, Justices Menon and Steven Chong in a 40-page judgment analysed the award, found it plagued by copying and in breach of the principles of natural justice. The Justice Menon-led bench accepted the SPV’s arguments and rejected those of the consortium.
The SPV contended that Justice Misra, during the arbitration, had used extensive material derived from parallel arbitrations. “It is also common ground that the award was not drafted afresh. Rather, the parallel awards were used as templates, with adjustments made to account for what were thought to be the specificities of the arbitration,” the Singapore SC said.
CJ Menon said the SPV had abandoned some of the submissions made in the parallel arbitrations and replaced these with new arguments unique to the arbitration at hand. “These new arguments arose because of the slightly different factual matrix presented by the arbitration: for instance, the difference in the length of delay between the issuance of the notification and the consortium’s claim allowed the SPV to make additional arguments on estoppel,” he said.
“Despite this, the parallel awards were used as templates in drafting the award to a very substantial degree. It is undisputed that at least 212 paragraphs from the parallel awards were retained in the 451-paragraph award. This has several implications,” the Singapore SC said.
“We also consider that the expectation of equality between the arbitrators was compromised. While, as we have noted, there is no evidence as to what transpired between the members of the tribunal, it is known that the two co-arbitrators in this case were not privy to the parallel arbitrations. They would thus have had no direct access to any material or knowledge derived from those proceedings, but which appeared to have significantly influenced the outcome of the present arbitration. The integrity of the arbitration was, therefore, further compromised as a result,” it said.

US President Donald Trump said military action against Iran was “absolutely” possible if talks failed to produce a deal, adding that there was “not much time” to reach an agreement on its nuclear program.

“If necessary, absolutely,” Trump told reporters when asked if military action was an option. “If it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that, be the leader of that.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

France plans to recognise a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television.

“Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties,” he added.

“I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do,” he added.

Such recognition would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist — which is the case with Iran — and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region,” he added.

France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.

But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

– ‘No one will invest a cent’ –

France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood “would be a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two state solution,” Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP.

Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7 attacks.

But France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted.

In Egypt, Macron held summit talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II and also made clear he was strongly opposed to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

US President Donald Trump has suggested turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with the Palestinians moving elsewhere — a suggestion that has sparked bitter condemnation.

Macron responded that the Gaza Strip was “not a real estate project.”

“Simplistic thinking sometimes doesn’t help,” he added, and, in a message to Trump said: “Perhaps it would be wonderful if one day it developed in an extraordinary way, but our responsibility is to save lives, restore peace, and negotiate a political framework.”

“If all this doesn’t exist, no one will invest. Today, no one will invest a cent in Gaza,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Japan‘s famed cherry trees are getting old, but a new AI tool that assesses photos of the delicate pink and white flowers could help preserve them for future generations.
The “sakura” season is feverishly anticipated by locals and visitors alike, with the profusion of the stunning blossoms marking the start of spring.
But many of the trees are reaching 70 to 80 years old, well beyond their prime blooming age.
This means increasing costs to tend to the trees and maintain popular flowering spots.
To help authorities identify ailing specimens, brewing giant Kirin developed a tool called Sakura AI Camera.
It tells users the condition and the age of the trees based on photos they take with their smartphones and upload them to a website.
A five-point scale — only available in Japanese for now — ranges from “very healthy” to “worrying”.
A tree with healthy flowers blooming densely all the way to the tips of the branches gets top marks.
The artificial intelligence tool has been trained using 5,000 images of cherry trees with the help of experts.
The photos are then mapped on the Sakura AI Camera website with details such as tree condition and location.
“We heard that the preservation of sakura requires manpower and money and that it’s difficult to gather information,” Risa Shioda from Kirin told AFP.
“I think we can contribute by making it easier to plan for conservation,” she said.
About 20,000 photos have been collected since the launch last month, with the data available online for free for local authorities.
– Worth a million –
According to Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, famous for its riverbanks lined with cherry trees, replanting a new one costs around one million yen ($6,800).
Hiroyuki Wada of the Japan Tree Doctors Association, who inspects cherry trees in major spots in Tokyo, helped supervise the AI tool.
He said he hopes that it will help experts study the environmental reasons behind the degradation of some of the trees he sees.
In part, he blames climate change.
“I’m very worried. Changes in the environment are usually gradual, but now it’s visible,” he told AFP.
“There are impacts from the heat, and of course the lack of rainfall,” he said.
“The age of the trees naturally makes the situation more serious,” he added.
Japan’s weather agency said in January that last year was the hottest since records began, like other nations.
Kirin began donating some of its profits for the preservation of cherry trees last year, as a way to “pay back” to the communities.
Alcohol, especially beer, is one of the drinks enjoyed at “hanami” flower-viewing parties beneath the trees, Shioda said.
Cherry blossoms symbolise the fragility of life in Japanese culture as full blooms only last about a week before the petals start falling off trees.
The season is also considered one of change as it marks the start of the new business year, with many university graduates starting their first full-time jobs and older colleagues shifting to new positions.

Russia has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the May 9 celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Germany in World War II, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said.

Moscow is expecting the Indian Prime Minister at the May 9 parade. The invitation has already been sent and the visit is being worked out, Rudenko was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.

“It’s being worked out…He has an invitation,” Rudenko said on Tuesday.

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Prime Minister has received an invitation and “we will be announcing our participation in Victory Day celebrations at the appropriate time”.

Russia has invited leaders of several friendly nations to attend this year’s Victory Day parade.

In January 1945, the Soviet Army launched an offensive against Germany. The commanders-in-chief on May 9 signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany, which ended the war.

In July last year, Prime Minister Modi visited Moscow to attend the 22nd Russia-India summit, his first trip to the country in nearly five years. He had visited the far eastern city of Vladivostok in 2019 to attend an economic conclave.

In October last year, Modi visited the Russian city of Kazan for the BRICS summit.

During his last visit, Modi invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India.

Putin has already accepted Modi’s invitation to visit India. He is expected to travel to India this year as part of the established framework for reciprocal annual engagements between the leaders of the two nations. However, the dates of Putin’s visit have not been revealed yet.

In his congratulatory message to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi on the occasion of India’s 76th Republic Day in January, Putin said that Russian-Indian relations are based on “special and privileged strategic partnership”.

Putin and Modi maintain regular contact, holding telephone conversations once every couple of months. The two leaders also hold in-person meetings, particularly on the sidelines of international events.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The two largest economies in the world – the United States and China – are at war, with tariffs being used by either side as its weapon. While the US has increased reciprocal tariffs on all Chinese goods from 10 per cent on April 1, to 104 per cent today; China has retaliated by upping tariffs on all American goods from 67 per cent on April 3 to 151 per cent today.

The rest of the world, still unsettled by the crash of the global stock markets – where trillions of dollars were wiped out within a matter of days, is sensing the gravity of the situation. Fears of a worldwide recession arising from this tit-for-tat battle seem to be heading towards becoming a reality. 

‘NO-LIMITS’ POKER DUEL

While the two major economies clash with each other, dealing blow after blow, both leaders are in the midst of a staring contest – with neither willing to blink. US President Donald Trump is determined to teach “tariff abuser” China a bitter lesson, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has said he is willing to “fight to the very end” over what his country has described as American “blackmail”.

What started off as a reciprocal tariff move by Trump, seems to have turned into a no-limits poker duel. While the US President raised tariffs on China on April 2nd, calling it “Liberation Day”, Beijing matched Washington’s move, over and above its old tariffs, infuriating Trump.

The US President then sent an ultimatum to his Chinese counterpart and gave him 24 hours to “withdraw” his move. China’s Xi decided to ‘check’, standing his ground, hoping to call Trump’s ‘bluff’. But Trump followed through by ‘raising’ tariffs further.

Xi Jinping, now ‘committed’ to the high-stakes battle, ‘matched’ Donald Trump yet again in terms of reciprocity of retaliatory tariffs – resulting in China exceeding US’ 104 per cent to reach 151 per cent, leaving President Trump to make his next move.

US’ 104% vs CHINA’S 151% – THE TARIFF MATH SO FAR

As both Trump and Xi well on their way to go ‘all-in’, dragging the rest of the world into an uncertain economic future, here is a look at how the tariffs stand so far:

1. Before April 2 – ‘Liberation Day’ – China used to levy tariffs on US goods at 67 per cent, while US used to impose a 10 per cent tariff on goods from China. This, President Trump said, “robbed” and “ripped-off” the US economy for decades. He said it is only fair for the US to match China. So, came “Liberation Day” – to free American exporters of punitive duties by other nations, and help “make America wealthy again”. (Till now China’s 67 per cent vs America’s 10 per cent)
2. On April 2nd – Donald Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” on all nations that tariff American goods. This included China, who he described as a “tariff abuser for decades”. Trump explained that “As the term suggests, today’s tariffs are just reciprocal – which means – we do to them, what they do to us.” But he added that the US would be “kinder” by charging roughly half of what the rival nation charges. So, for China, which charged 67 per cent at that time, Trump announced a 34 per cent hike in reciprocal tariffs. (Till now China stood at 67 per cent vs America’s 10+34, equaling 44 per cent).
3. Later, on April 2nd – Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the White House said in a statement that the US will be charging all nations in the world a non-reciprocal 10 per cent tariff. The statement said that due to a “national emergency” which has stemmed from security concerns due to persistent trade deficits, the US will now be imposing a “baseline” 10 per cent tariff on all countries. (China’s basket of tariffs now stood at 44+10 = 54 per cent. While China’s tariff levy on the US still stood at 67 per cent).
4. On April 4 – Forty-eight hours after US’s reciprocal tariff move, China retaliated. Beijing announced that Trump’s moves would impact Chinese exports significantly, and so, to counter the move, Xi Jinping decided to match Trump’s 34 per cent increase, infuriating the US President who had warned all nations not to retaliate, else they will suffer further. (US’s tally of Chinese tariffs now stood at 67+34 = 101 per cent vs China’s tally of US tariffs remained at 54 per cent).
5. April 7th and April 8th – The weekend went by, and by now the US-China trade war had resulted in global markets losing several-trillion dollars in investor wealth. But Trump and Xi remained unmoved. Donald Trump issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Xi Jinping to “withdraw” its retaliatory 34 per cent tariff, or face “an additional 50 per cent tariff” on all Chinese goods, starting April 9. President Xi vowed to “fight till the end” and stood his ground, so President Trump followed-through 24-hours after his threat. (US’ tariffs on China now stood at 54+50 = 104 per cent, while China’s tariffs on US stood at 101 per cent).
6. April 9, 2025 – Vowing not to give in to American “blackmail”, Beijing decided to further retaliate US tariffs by again matching Trump’s “additional 50 per cent” move. This raised China’s retaliatory tariffs from 34 per cent to 84 per cent. (So, as of now, US tariffs on China stand at 104 per cent, and Chinese tariffs on US stand at ‘101+50′ or ’67+84’ – either way making it 151 per cent).

The trade war between the United States and China has surged in less than a week and shows no signs of dying down. Economists have warned of a possible recession in the making, as stock markets, oil prices, trade, supply chains, and logistics have taken a massive hit.