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Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, has been arrested by the police in Belgium, sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) confirmed this morning. The 65-year-old was reportedly arrested on Saturday and is currently in jail.

The police referred to two open-ended arrest warrants issued against Choksi by a Mumbai court while placing him under arrest, Economic Times reported. These were dated May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021.

He is expected to seek bail and an immediate release, citing ill health and other reasons.

Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, who is awaiting extradition from London, are wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the PNB of Rs 13,850 crore.

They allegedly used letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) by bribing officials of the bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.

They fled India in January 2018, weeks before the scam in the PNB – the country’s second largest bank – surfaced.

Last month, the Belgian foreign ministry confirmed to NDTV that Mehul Choksi was in the European country.

In a communication, they said they were aware of his presence and “attached great importance and attention to it”.

The ministry, however, said they do not comment on individual cases. Even so, “the FPS Foreign Affairs continues to closely follow the developments in this important case”.

According to reports, Choksi has been living in Antwerp with his wife, Preeti Choksi, a citizen of Belgium, after obtaining a ‘residency card’ in the country.

A citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, he reportedly left the island nation for medical treatment. In 2021, he had gone missing from Antigua but was later found on another Caribbean island nation – Dominica.

In December 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament that properties worth Rs 22,280 crore had been restored or sold off to pay back the debts of wanted individuals like Choksi.

Top US officials on Sunday condemned a Russian missile strike in the center of Ukraine’s city of Sumy, which killed and wounded dozens of people.

The US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the attack by Russian forces on “civilian targets” in the northeastern city “crosses any line of decency.”

“As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong,” the retired lieutenant general posted on X, adding that “there are scores of civilian dead and wounded.”

The Russian missile strike on Sunday morning killed at least 34 people, Kyiv said, making it one of the deadliest attacks in months. Nearly 120 people were also wounded.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that the United States “extends our deepest condolences to the victims of today’s horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy.”

The United States extends our deepest condolences to the victims of today’s horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy.

This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his Administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 13, 2025

“This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his Administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable peace,” Rubio said.

Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire deal but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between Russian and US officials.

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

Donald Trump is in “excellent health,” a White House doctor’s assessment said on Sunday, after he underwent his first annual medical checkup since returning to the US presidency.

Republican Trump, 78, has repeatedly boasted about his own vigor since starting a second term, while mocking his 82-year-old Democratic predecessor Joe Biden as decrepit and mentally unfit for office.

“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” read a physician’s letter shared by the White House.

It noted only a few abnormalities that included minor sun damage to Trump’s skin, as well as scarring on his right ear from a gunshot wound after he was shot at in an assassination attempt last July.

The billionaire had told reporters Friday he felt “in very good shape” after his exam earlier that day at the Walter Reed military hospital in the Washington suburbs.

Trump has been accused of a lack of openness about his health despite a huge interest in the well-being of America’s commander-in-chief.

The White House said previously that presidential physician Sean Barbabella would give a readout of the physical and that “of course” it would provide the full report.

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

China on Sunday called on the United States to “completely cancel” its reciprocal tariffs after Washington announced exemptions for consumer electronics and key chipmaking equipment.

“We urge the US to… take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and return to the right path of mutual respect”, a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

A notice late Friday by the US Customs and Border Protection office said smartphones, laptops, memory chips and other products would be excluded from the global levies President Donald Trump rolled out this month.

Beijing’s commerce ministry said the exemptions were a “small step” by Washington and China was “evaluating the impact” of the decision.

It came as retaliatory Chinese import tariffs of 125 percent on US goods took effect Saturday, with Beijing standing defiant against its biggest trade partner.

The exemptions will benefit US tech companies like Nvidia and Dell, as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.

Most Chinese goods still face a blanket 145 percent levy after the country was excluded from a 90-day tariff reprieve.

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

A Canadian television journalist has sparked a national conversation after she was harassed by a child during a live segment outside Rogers Centre in Toronto. Michelle Mackey, a reporter with CityNews Toronto, was recording on location when a boy – believed to be around 9 years old – shouted a vulgar phrase at her, accompanied by an adult man who appeared to be encouraging the behaviour.

According to The New York Post, the boy yelled a sexually explicit phrase that originated from a controversial internet meme, while the adult – believed to be his father – laughed and walked away.

Mackey’s visibly shaken expression was captured in the video, which she later shared on social media with the faces of the individuals blurred. “This was one of the most alarming things I’ve witnessed as a news reporter,” she wrote in the post, which has since gone viral with over 3.3 million views. “Whether this is yelled at a man or woman, it perpetuates and normalises misogyny. I thought this horrible trend was over.”

The offensive phrase, which gained notoriety in 2014 as part of a disruptive meme targeting female reporters, has been widely criticised for promoting sexist harassment in public spaces.

In an interview with NBC’s TODAY, Mackey said she was shocked not just by the boy’s words, but by the adult’s reaction. “I just wanted to look that father and kid in the eye and ask, ‘Can you say that again, looking at me as a human being?'” she said. “But they just laughed and gave me a thumbs up before walking away.”

Calling the comment “violating,” Mackey added that incidents like this highlight how early misogynistic behaviour can be learned – and tolerated. “You may think this is just a joke, but I hope you consider what those words mean. Would you say that to someone you love?”

The episode has triggered widespread debate online, with many expressing concern over the growing influence of toxic internet culture on young children. While some dismissed the incident as an attempt at humour, a large number of netizens condemned it as a disturbing reflection of normalised disrespect toward women – especially when encouraged by adults.

As conversations around gender sensitivity and media harassment continue to gain ground globally, Mackey’s experience underscores the need for stronger awareness and accountability, even in seemingly trivial moments.

Amid the escalating trade war between the United States and China, Beijing seems to have altered its strategy of dealing with Washington by aiming its message directly at the American public instead of the Trump administration. China’s latest communication offensive to US citizens challenges the popular narrative among Americans that tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump target foreign economies without domestic consequences.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning posted a video on X featuring a man who is supposed to be a US importer. In the video, the man addresses the American public, especially Trump supporters, warning that ordinary citizens -not foreign countries- will have to bear the cost of Trump’s aggressive trade policies, which would hike the prices of imported items and burden consumers.

Foreign countries pay the tariffs? No—US businesses pay, then pass costs to you.

Tariffs don’t bring manufacturing back. They’re just a tax on Americans. pic.twitter.com/iOw3IrFpiQ

— Mao Ning 毛宁 (@SpoxCHN_MaoNing) April 12, 2025

“Foreign countries pay the tariffs? No – US businesses pay, then pass costs to you. Tariffs don’t bring manufacturing back. They’re just a tax on Americans,” Mao captioned the post. 

US-China Trade War

The post comes amid escalating economic tension between the world’s two largest economies after US President Donald Trump imposed hefty taxes on Chinese goods, calling them “reciprocal tariffs.”

Trump on Wednesday increased the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains by raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 per cent. In retaliation, Beijing increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent on Friday. 

The tit-for-tat tariff increases by the US and China stand to make goods trade between the world’s two largest economies impossible, analysts say. That commerce was worth more than $650 billion in 2024.

“We pretty much can do what we want to do, but we want to be fair. We can set the tariff, and they can choose not to deal with us or they can choose to pay it,” Trump said on Air Force One, repeating his contention that US-imposed tariffs are paid by foreign exporters.

How Tariffs Work

Although such levies can inflict pain on the exporter by making its products less competitive, tariffs are paid by the importer, which often passes the additional cost on to the consumer.

Trump Says Negotiations On Table

Trump, who said on Friday he was comfortable with the tariffs on China, has suggested that a deal with Beijing could be in the offing, too, heaping praise on President Xi Jinping despite their differences over trade. But there were no signs that the world’s two largest economies were ready to back down.

“The president made it very clear: When the United States is punched, he will punch back harder,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday.

Trump’s Exemptions From China Tariffs

The Trump administration granted exclusions from steep reciprocal tariffs to smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China, providing a big break to tech firms like Apple that rely on imported products.

In a notice to shippers, the US Customs and Border Protection agency published a list of tariff codes excluded from the import taxes, with retroactive effect from 4:01 am (GMT) on April 5. 

It featured 20 product categories, including the broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays.

The notice gave no explanation for the move, but the late-night exclusion provides welcome relief to major technology firms such as Apple, Dell Technologies and many other importers.

Trump’s action also excludes the specified electronics from his 10 per cent “baseline” tariffs on goods from most countries other than China, easing import costs for semiconductors from Taiwan and Apple iPhones produced in India.

OpenAI has introduced a new update to ChatGPT’s Memory feature under which the chatbot will be able to remember everything you have ever told it. The company announced the feature earlier this week, stating that the bot will leverage users’ “preferences and interests to make it even more helpful for writing, getting advice, learning, and beyond”.

In addition to the saved memories, ChatGPT can also reference your past chats to deliver responses that feel noticeably more relevant and useful.

“New conversations naturally build upon what it already knows about you, making interactions feel smoother and uniquely tailored to you,” the company said.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform about the new feature, adding that it could help the chatbot provide a better-personalised experience.

“This is a surprisingly great feature imo, and it points at something we are excited about: ai systems that get to know you over your life, and become extremely useful and personalized,” wrote Mr Altman.

“You can of course opt out of this, or memory all together. and you can use temporary chat if you want to have a conversation that won’t use or affect memory,” he added.

we have greatly improved memory in chatgpt–it can now reference all your past conversations!

this is a surprisingly great feature imo, and it points at something we are excited about: ai systems that get to know you over your life, and become extremely useful and personalized.

— Sam Altman (@sama) April 10, 2025

Social media reacts

The majority of the users expressed concerns over the potential of a chatbot retaining all the data and its possible misuse by the company.

“What are the implications of a company knowing this much about millions (billions?) of people?” asked one user while another said: “Yay if only you could be trusted with this information.”

A third commented: “Just like my wife, ChatGPT can now remember something I said 1,000 days ago.”

Also Read | AI Assistant Refuses To Write Code, Tells User To “Develop Logic”

ChatGPT makes people lonely

A joint study conducted by OpenAI and MIT Media Lab recently found that ChatGPPT might be making its most frequent users more lonely. While feelings of loneliness and social isolation are often influenced by various factors, the study authors concluded that participants who trusted and “bonded” with ChatGPT more were likelier than others to be lonely and to rely on it more.

Though the technology is still in its nascent stage, researchers said the study may help start a conversation about its full impact on the mental health of users.

Hamas’s armed wing released a video on Saturday showing an Israeli-American hostage alive, in which he criticises the Israeli government for failing to secure his release.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified him as Edan Alexander, a soldier in an elite infantry unit on the Gaza border when he was abducted by Palestinian militants during their October 7 attack on Israel.

AFP was unable to determine when the video was filmed.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, published the more than three-minute clip showing the hostage seated in a small, enclosed space.

In the video, he says he wants to return home to celebrate the holidays.

Israel is currently marking Passover, the holiday that commemorates the biblical liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Alexander, who turned 21 in captivity, was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in the US state of New Jersey, returning to Israel after high school to join the army.

“As we begin the holiday evening in the USA, our family in Israel is preparing to sit around the Seder table,” Alexander’s family said in a statement released by the forum.

“Our Edan, a lone soldier who immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Golani Brigade to defend the country and its citizens, is still being held captive by Hamas.

“When you sit down to mark Passover, remember that this is not a holiday of freedom as long as Edan and the other hostages are not home,” the family added.

The family did not authorise media to broadcast the footage.

Alexander appears to be speaking under duress in the video, making frequent hand gestures as he criticises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for failing to secure his release.

The video was released hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel’s military had seized the new Morag axis between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.

Katz also outlined plans to expand Israel’s ongoing offensive across much of the Gaza Strip.

In a separate statement earlier Saturday, Hamas said Israel’s Gaza operations endangered not only Palestinian civilians but also the remaining hostages.

The offensive not only “kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation’s prisoners (hostages) uncertain”, Hamas said.

During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants took 251 hostages.

Fifty-eight hostages remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.

During a recent ceasefire that ended on March 18 when Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza, militants released 33 hostages, among them eight bodies.

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

Meta-owned popular messaging app WhatsApp on Saturday went down for users in India, who were unable to send messages and upload status.

According to app outage tracking platform Down Detector, at least 81 per cent users reported problems with sending messages while 16 per cent with overall app experience.

“Is it just me or your WhatsApp is down as well? I am trying to upload status and it’s taking forever to do so,” said a user on X.

There was no immediate statement from WhatsApp on the outage.

Some users reported similar outage on Facebook and Instagram as well, both owned by Meta.

“Hey @WhatsApp, is the app down? I’m having trouble sending messages – they’re just not going through. Anyone else facing this?” posted one user.

In late February, WhatsApp experienced a massive outage, leaving many users across the world unable to use the app properly.

Users were unable to connect or send messages via the WhatsApp app or WhatsApp Web or make any calls. Down Detector reported over 9,000 complaints on that day.

Earlier in the day, digital payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) returned for most users after the popular service suffered a nationwide outage affecting millions of users.

Digital services on several online payment platforms were disrupted across the country, hindering local shopping, bill payments and business transactions.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the UPI services, posted on X social media platform that the disruptions were due to technical issues.

“NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines,” the NPCI, shared in a post on social media platform X.

“We are working to resolve the issue and will keep you updated. We regret the inconvenience caused,” it added.

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

US President Donald Trump has replaced the official portrait of former President Barack Obama in the White House’s grand entrance hallway with a painting of himself surviving an assassination attempt. 

The 78-year-old Republican president relocated Obama’s portrait, which was unveiled in 2022 by then-President Joe Biden, to a new spot previously occupied by George W. Bush’s portrait. Bush’s portrait, in turn, has been moved to the staircase.

The new portrait of Trump depicts him with his fist raised in defiance, immediately after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. This image, along with Trump’s rallying cry of “fight, fight, fight,” became a defining moment in his presidential campaign. The White House announced the change with a brief video on social media platform X, accompanied by the caption “Some new artwork at the White House.”

Some new artwork at the White House 👀 pic.twitter.com/l6u5u7k82T

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 11, 2025

This move highlights the long-standing rivalry between Trump and Obama, which dates back to Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Trump launched his campaign by pushing the false “birther” conspiracy theory about Obama’s citizenship, prompting Obama to repeatedly mock him, including at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in 2011.

Presidential portraits are a tradition dating back to George Washington, with the president’s official portrait often displayed in the White House or loaned from the National Portrait Gallery. These portraits are typically oil paintings, although photography has become increasingly used. The White House Historical Association has facilitated the acquisition of portraits of presidents and first ladies since 1965.

Trump’s decision to replace Obama’s portrait with his own is unusual, as most presidents wait until they leave office before their portraits are hung in the White House. However, Trump has never been shy about promoting himself, recently displaying a gold-framed version of his mugshot outside the Oval Office and a bronze sculpture of his reaction to the assassination attempt at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to criticism of the move, telling a critic to “Pipe down, moron.” on X. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, praised the new portrait, reposting a side-by-side comparison and writing “Much better.”

Much better. https://t.co/0osFvrbr7h

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) April 11, 2025

Obama’s portrait was not the only one relocated during the recent redecoration. George W. Bush’s portrait was moved to the staircase, while Trump’s own portrait takes the spot traditionally reserved for the most recent official presidential portrait. Notably, former President Joe Biden does not yet have an official portrait, as the process typically occurs after a president leaves office.

This is not the first time Trump has made headlines for his portrait-related actions. Last month, he demanded the removal of a painting of himself from the Colorado State House, which was subsequently taken down. In January, a portrait of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mark Milley disappeared from a dedicated wall in the Pentagon.

Per tradition, the portraits in the White House’s foyer are of the most recent presidents, but this is not a hard and fast rule. The president can direct the curator to rearrange the portraits, as Trump has done. During his first term, Trump moved the portraits of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Trump’s own official portrait from his first term was supposed to be unveiled during his successor’s term, but it remains unclear when it will be revealed.