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Pakistan has distanced itself from Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian terrorist wanted by India for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were slaughtered.

Rana is being extradited from the US; his extradition flight is due in Delhi late Thursday.

Reports from Pakistan quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan as saying Rana made no attempt to renew lapsed citizenship after moving to Canada – i.e., Pakistan does not allow dual citizenship for migrants to Canada – and that it is now “very clear” he is a Canadian national.

“Tahawwur Rana has not renewed his Pakistani documents for over two decades. His Canadian nationality is very clear,” Mr Khan said in Islamabad, even as the Palam Air Force base in Delhi stood ready to receive the military plane carrying Rana from the United States to face justice in India.

Who Is Tahawwur Rana

Rana – known to have links to Pakistan’s Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence, as also banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the attack – was extradited from the US late Wednesday.

NDTV Explains | Who Is Tahawwur Rana, Pak-Origin 26/11 Mumbai Attacks Accused

India has repeatedly said the 26/11 attacks were carried out with support from Pak-based actors. 

When Rana Lands In India…

The 64-year-old will be arrested by India’s anti-terror agency, the NIA immediately after setting foot on Indian soil and be transferred to a high security cell in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

He will then be presented in a Delhi court, in accordance with the law, and then is expected to be moved to Mumbai, where he will be interrogated by high-ranking officers and face trial.

READ | “Hang Soon”: Brother Of 26/11 Hero Tukaram Omble On Tahawwur Rana

There have been multiple calls for Rana to be executed.

READ | “Rana Should Be Hanged”: 26/11 Survivor, Girl Who Identified Ajmal Kasab

Charges Against Rana

Rana has been charged with criminal conspiracy, waging war against India, murder, and forgery, as well as many others. Intelligence agencies believe Rana played a key role in helping another terrorist, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, plan the Mumbai terror attacks.

Headley, now in jail in the US, said Rana extended logistical and financial support.

READ | How Headley’s Testimony Nailed Rana’s Role Before Indian Court

Rana’s Extradition

Rana’s extradition from the US marked a significant step forward in India’s hunt for justice after the Mumbai attacks, and has been credited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic efforts. The Congress, though, pointed out the process to bring Rana back began on its watch, in 2009.

“This extradition is the culmination of a decade-and-a-half of painstaking diplomatic, legal, and intelligence efforts which were initiated, led, and sustained by the (Congress-led) UPA government, in coordination with the US,” P Chidambaram, then the Union Home Minister, said.

Rana had been arrested by the US’ FBI in October 2009 on charges of providing support to an aborted plan to attack a newspaper in Copenhagen and supporting Pak-based terror group Lashkar, which was responsible for the Mumbai attacks. Two years later, he was convicted.

READ | How Rana, Headley Plotted To Behead Newspaper Employees

He then unsuccessfully appealed to American courts to challenge his extradition to India.

The three-day attack that devastated Mumbai targeted hotels, a train station, and a Jewish institution. Of the 10 terrorists, only one – Ajmal Kasab – was caught alive.

Kasab was executed on November 21, 2012.

With input from agencies

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The head of the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday said that it would look into the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into abuses in the entertainment sector, insisting that women were being “heard”.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say that the festival has taken note of the recommendations from the inquiry commission on violence in the cultural sector with seriousness and determination,” Iris Knobloch told reporters in Paris.

“I am very glad that change continues to take place through strength and courage. Women are finally being heard,” she added at a press conference announcing the films that will be screened at the festival, which starts on May 13.

“The festival is particularly attentive to this, and they (women) are no longer asking for their place, they are taking it. We are honoured to amplify their voices, to shine a light on incredible talent that broadens our view of the world.”

A French parliamentary inquiry into the entertainment industry published its findings on Wednesday, with MPs concluding that mistreatment of performers was “endemic”.

Inquiry chairwoman Sandrine Rousseau, an outspoken feminist lawmaker from The Greens party, called on Cannes to set an example in stamping out sexual abuse, as well as physical and psychological violence.

“The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens; the place where we say loud and clear… amid the glitter and the red carpets… that finally, we all want things to change: every one of us, at every level of the industry,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

The opening day of Cannes is set to coincide with the verdict in the first sexual assault trial of French film legend Gerard Depardieu, which gripped the country last month.

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

Tech giant Apple chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the United States from India, after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat President Donald Trump’s tariffs, sources told Reuters.

The details of the push provide an insight into the U.S. smartphone company’s private strategy to navigate around the Trump tariffs and build up inventory of its popular iPhones in the United States, one of its biggest markets.

Analysts have warned that US prices of iPhones could surge, given Apple’s high reliance on imports from China, the main manufacturing hub of the devices, which is subject to Trump’s highest tariff rate of 125 per cent.

That figure is far in excess of the tariff of 26 per cent on imports from India, but which is now on hold after Trump called a 90-day pause this week that excludes China.

Apple “wanted to beat the tariff,” said one of the sources familiar with the planning.

The company lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut to six hours the time needed to clear customs at the Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, down from 30 hours, the source added.

The so-called “green corridor” arrangement at the airport in the Indian manufacturing hub emulated a model Apple uses at some airports in China, the source said.

About six cargo jets with a capacity of 100 tons each have flown out since March, one of them this week just as new tariffs kicked in, the source and an Indian government official said.

The packaged weight of an iPhone 14 and its charging cable come to about 350 grams (12.35 oz), Reuters measurements show, implying the total cargo of 600 tons comprised about 1.5 million iPhones, after accounting for some packaging weight.

Apple and India’s aviation ministry did not respond to a request for comment. All the sources sought anonymity as the strategy and discussions were private.

Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year worldwide, with Counterpoint Research estimating a fifth of total iPhone imports to the United States now come from India, and the rest from China.

Trump consistently increased U.S. tariffs on China, to stand at 125 per cent by Wednesday, from 54 per cent earlier.

At the 54 per cent tariff rate, the $1,599 cost of the top-end iPhone 16 Pro Max in the United States would have surged to $2,300, calculations based on projections by Rosenblatt Securities show.

SUNDAY SHIFTS

In India, Apple stepped up air shipments to meet its goal of a 20% increase in usual production at iPhone plants, attained by adding workers, and temporarily extending operations at the biggest Foxconn India factory to Sundays, the source added.

Two other direct sources confirmed the Foxconn plant in Chennai now runs on Sundays, which is typically a holiday. The plant turned out 20 million iPhones last year, including the latest iPhone 15 and 16 models.

As Apple diversifies its manufacturing beyond China, it has positioned India for a critical role. Foxconn and Tata, its two main suppliers there, have three factories in all, with two more being built.

Apple spent about eight months to plan and set up the expedited customs clearance in Chennai, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government asked officials to support Apple, one senior Indian official said.

Foxconn shipments from India to the United States surged in value to $770 million in January and $643 million in February, compared to the range of $110 million to $331 million in the prior four months, commercially available customs data shows.

More than 85 per cent of the January and February air shipments of Foxconn were offloaded in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

Foxconn did not respond to Reuters’ queries.

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

The Vatican on Thursday published a photograph of Pope Francis meeting King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla the day before during the British monarch’s state visit to Italy.

Wednesday’s meeting was a surprise, as Buckingham palace had cancelled the planned audience due to the 88-year-old pope’s poor health.

Pope Francis, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, is recovering from five weeks in hospital with life-threatening pneumonia.

It was the first meeting between Charles, the head of the Church of England, and the pope since the monarch ascended to the throne in 2022.

The pontiff offered his congratulations to the royal couple, who celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary Wednesday, the palace and the Vatican said.

During the 20-minute encounter, the king — who is recovering from cancer — and the pope also exchanged well-wishes for each other’s health, the Vatican said.

“Their majesties were delighted the Pope was well enough to host them — and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person,” a Buckingham Palace statement added.

Charles, 76, has been suffering from an unnamed cancer for more than a year and less than two weeks ago he was briefly admitted to hospital after experiencing side effects from his treatment.

He was out of action for a matter of days before resuming his official engagements on April 1.

Pope Francis, who almost died twice during his treatment for double pneumonia, has been in convalescence since his return to the Vatican on March 23.

Despite being ordered to rest and recover for two months, the Argentine made a surprise appearance in St Peter’s Square last Sunday at the end of a mass.

On Tuesday, the Vatican said that Pope Francis’s voice and mobility were improving, raising hopes that he may take part in upcoming Easter celebrations.

He has been using a cannula — a plastic tube tucked into the nostrils — to help him breathe, notably at night, but was not wearing one in the picture released Thursday.

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

China is refusing to back down against the United States’ aggression even as US President Donald Trump increases levies on Chinese imports to a punishing 125 per cent. Beijing on Thursday warned that American tariffs go “against the whole world” and asked Washington to meet it “halfway” in a mounting trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

On Trump’s new taxes, Lin Jian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, said US tariffs “seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system, and seriously impact the stability of the global economic order.”

“This is a blatant act that goes against the will of the world and goes against the whole world,” the Ministry added.

Commerce Ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian, meanwhile, urged the United States to meet it “halfway” to stop the escalating trade war, but he vowed to “fight to the end” if a compromise cannot be reached.

“The door to dialogue is open, but it must be based on mutual respect and conducted in an equal manner,” Yongqian said.

Beijing may again respond in kind after slapping 84 per cent tariffs on US imports on Wednesday to match Trump’s earlier tariff salvo. It has repeatedly vowed to “fight to the end” in the escalating trade war between the world’s top two economies.

Trump Tariffs On China

US President Trump’s sudden decision to pause most of the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries brought relief for battered global stock markets on Thursday, even as he ratcheted up a trade war with China, the world’s second-largest economy and second biggest provider of US imports.

Trump hiked the tariff on Chinese imports to 125 per cent from the 104 per cent level that kicked in on Wednesday.

However, the US President has said a resolution with China on trade is also possible.

“China wants to make a deal,” Trump said. “They just don’t know how quite to go about it.”

But Trump’s officials have said they will prioritize talks with other countries as Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, and others line up to try and strike a bargain.

Beijing’s Strategy

With the US layering more tariffs on China, Beijing is reaching out to other countries in what appears to be an attempt to form a united front against Washington’s threat.

China has held talks with the European Union and Malaysia on strengthening trade in response to the tensions, although Australia said it had rebuffed an offer from Beijing, its top trading partner, to work together to counter the tariffs.

“We are not going to be holding hands with China in respect of any contest that is going on in the world,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told Sky News.

Hopes of state support helped prop up Chinese stocks on Thursday, even as its yuan currency fell to its weakest level since the global financial crisis.

Chinese sellers on Amazon are preparing to hike prices for the US or quit that market due to the tariff blow, according to a report by Reuters.

A transgender US pilot filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a conservative influencer who falsely claimed on social media that she was flying a military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet in Washington in late January.

Jo Ellis sued Matt Wallace, an influencer with 2.2 million followers on the platform X, saying he “concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” against her following the crash that killed 67 people aboard both aircrafts, according to the lawsuit filed in the US district court in Colorado.

One of his posts, which garnered millions of views, said the Black Hawk pilot might have participated in a “trans terror attack,” falsely accusing her of intentionally causing the mid-air collision due to her “depression” and “gender dysphoria,” according to the lawsuit.

There was no immediate comment from Wallace, who later deleted his posts about Ellis.

The suit further accused Wallace of using his prominent stature on X, where he maintains multiple accounts, of seeking to “monetize a false narrative.”

As tens of thousands of social media posts falsely accused Ellis of piloting the ill-fated helicopter, she worried that someone might track down her home using public records.

She told AFP in an interview in February that she was forced to temporarily move her family to a new location and arrange for private armed security.

The damage caused by Wallace was “instantaneous and immense,” resulting in suffering for her family due to the hate inspired by his “lies,” the lawsuit added.

Ellis eventually posted a “proof of life” video on Facebook, which quelled only some of the rumors.

The threats facing Ellis, who has served in the National Guard since 2009 and has deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, highlight the real-life impact of disinformation for transgender people at a time when there has been a sharp uptick in the political rhetoric against them.

The transgender community has become a flashpoint in culture wars roiling the United States. President Trump has signed several executive orders targeting them, including one instructing the government to recognize only two sexes, male and female.

In the aftermath of the crash, Trump had suggested — without offering any evidence — that the aviation authority’s diversity hiring practices could partly be to blame for it, making trans people a ripe target for online rumors.

Ellis’s lawsuit is part of a trend that has seen defamation lawsuits increasingly becoming a tool used by US citizens and pro-democracy groups to hold misinformation spreaders financially and personally accountable.

In 2023, Dominion Voting Systems secured a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News after suing over false claims that its machines altered votes.

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

US President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision Wednesday to pause most reciprocal tariffs for 90 days sparked a powerful stock market rally, dramatically boosting the fortunes of some of his closest allies in the tech and business world.

The sharp rebound came a week after a sweeping tariff announcement sent markets into a tailspin, erasing billions in global wealth.

While Trump excluded China from the tariff pause – raising duties on Chinese imports to 125% – his move calmed investor nerves and helped recover some of the earlier market losses. 

On April 2, Trump announced new tariffs on US trading partners, causing one of the worst days in the stock market since the pandemic. 

In just one day, the world’s 500 richest people lost a total of $208 billion. It was the fourth-biggest single-day loss in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index history. Tech leaders were hit the hardest – Elon Musk lost $11 billion as Tesla shares dropped, Mark Zuckerberg lost $17.9 billion with Meta falling 9%, and Jeff Bezos lost $15.9 billion as Amazon shares sank. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also dropped sharply.

On April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on all new tariffs except those targeting China. Markets reacted almost instantly:

• S&P 500: Gained 9.5%
• Nasdaq Composite: Surged 12% – its largest one-day gain in 24 years
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Climbed nearly 8%, topping 40,000 for the first time

Trump’s Truth Social post, timed just before the market opened, urging people to “buy it”, further fuelled buying sentiment.

The tariff pause turned a week of losses into one of the biggest personal wealth windfalls in years for Trump’s tech-world allies and advisors. Here’s how much they gained in just 24 hours:

Elon Musk

• + $35.9 billion
• Tesla stock surged 22%

Mark Zuckerberg

• + $25.8 billion
• Meta Platforms shares rebounded strongly
• Recovered nearly all of his earlier losses

Jeff Bezos

• + $18.5 billion
• Amazon stock rallied on strong e-commerce outlook amid easing trade fears

Larry Ellison

• + $15.5 billion
• Oracle’s recovery driven by optimism in AI and cloud sectors

Donald Trump Himself

• Trump Media’s stock soared 22.67%, boosting his 53% stake by $415 million
• The gain, while smaller than his tech allies, was his most significant one-day increase since going public

Despite the partial recovery, the world’s ten richest individuals remained down by a combined $244.36 billion for the year as of April 9. Elon Musk, for instance, has experienced a year-to-date loss of $107 billion.

US ally Australia saw the S&P/ASX 200 (Australia’s main stock market) index jump 6.3%, adding over $150 billion in market value. The relief was partial, as Australia still faced a baseline 10% tariff on its exports to the US. 

Globally, markets across Europe and Asia also surged, restoring some investor confidence. Still, analysts warned that volatility could persist due to unresolved tensions with China, which remained subject to steep 125% tariffs.

US President Donald Trump has called his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a “smart man” amid a trade war between the two countries that has triggered an economic storm across the world. The world’s two largest economies are at a crossroads after Trump imposed tariffs on China and Beijing announced retaliatory measures.

“I think President Xi is a man who knows exactly what needs to be done. He’s a very smart man. He loves his country. I know that for a fact. I know him very well,” told reporters at the White House.

“And I think he’s going to want to make a deal. I think that’s going to happen. We’ll get a phone call at some point, and everything will be ready,” he added.

“It is going to be a great thing for us, the world and for the humanity,” the US President said.

Since coming to power in January, Trump has introduced a slew of tariffs on various countries to address the alleged trade imbalance with the US.

US-China Trade War Escalates As Trump Hikes Tariffs

In what could escalate the ongoing US-China trade war, Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was raising tariffs on Chinese imports to 125 percent, citing a “lack of respect” from Beijing.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the US and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he posted on Truth Social.

“China wants to make a deal. They just don’t know how quite to go about it…President Xi Jinping is a proud man. They don’t know quite how to go about it, but they’ll figure it out,” he added.

A previous round of US tariffs had come into force earlier on Wednesday, hiking up duties on Chinese imports to 104 percent.

China, which has vowed to fight the measures “to the end”, responded to the 104 percent duties, saying it would raise its own tariffs on US imports from 34 percent to 84 percent, effective from Thursday.

It also said it had filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), citing “bullying” tactics by the Trump administration.

China, which so far has unveiled reciprocal tariffs each time the US President has upped the ante, is yet to respond to the latest tariff hike.

Trump’s 90-Day Pause On Tariffs For Other Countries

Barring China, Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs imposed on dozens of countries.

“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, you know,” he told reporters after the announcement.

“Yippy” is a term in sports to describe a loss of nerves.

Trump said he had been watching the “very tricky” state of the crucial US bonds market before his decision.

“I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy,” he said.

(With agency inputs)

Former US first lady Michelle Obama has addressed her reduced presence in public and at political events, saying she is focusing on her well-being and making conscious choices to take back control of her time.

In conversation with actress Sophia Bush on the Work In Progress podcast, she also dismissed the ongoing divorce rumours with Barack Obama and opened up about shifts in her life since leaving the White House eight years ago. With her daughters now adults, she said that she has found the freedom to reassess her priorities and focus on her well-being.

Her absence from events such as President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter earlier this year prompted speculation that everything was not well among the Obamas. The most persistent rumour was that she and former US President Barack Obama were headed for a split.

“I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom. Maybe even as much as I let my kids live their own lives, I use their lives as an excuse for why I couldn’t do something,” she said, as per CNN.

Ms Obama revealed that stepping away from certain high-profile commitments was a deliberate choice rooted in self-care. “I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year, was a real big example of me, myself looking at something that I was supposed to do – you know, without naming names – and I chose to do what was best for me, not what I had to do, not what I thought other people wanted me to do,” she said.

Addressing that, Ms Obama acknowledged the discomfort many women felt in putting themselves first. She said, “That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people. I mean, so much so that this year people were, you know – they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.”

Despite stepping away from some public roles, Michelle Obama said she was active in causes close to her heart. She said she still delivered speeches, engaged in various projects and continued her work in girls’ education.

Ms Obama has not shied away from discussing the pressures their marriage has faced, especially during Barack Obama’s presidency. In her memoir ‘Becoming,’ she detailed periods of personal strain, including feelings of loneliness and exhaustion during their time in the White House.

Since then, she has maintained a prominent voice in American public life, especially around education and politics. She was actively involved in the 2024 campaign cycle, backing Kamala Harris.

At a rally in Michigan before the election, she said: “Please, please do not hand our fates over to the likes of Trump, who knows nothing about us, who has shown deep contempt for us.”

The Obamas have been married for 32 years and are parents to two daughters.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs on all countries, barring China – a move that seemed nearly impossible just 24 hours ago. According to Trump, who had introduced the slew of tariffs to address the alleged trade imbalance with the US, over 75 countries had negotiated and not retaliated against him – which led to the pause. During the 90 days, a significantly reduced reciprocal tariff of just 10 per cent would be in effect, he said.

For China, however, Trump announced an immediate increase in tariffs on China to 125 per cent, up from the previously declared 104 per cent.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the US and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“China wants to make a deal. They just don’t know how quite to go about it…President Xi Jinping is a proud man. They don’t know quite how to go about it, but they’ll figure it out,” he added.

Why did Trump hit a pause on tariffs?

For days, fellow Republicans and business executives had been insisting the US President to stop the tariffs, given the fear of a major trade war, triggering a global market meltdown, and raising concerns of a looming global recession. However, he stayed put, saying, “My policies will never change”.

By Wednesday, it had become clear that the campaign to convince Trump to go back on the tariffs would not change as they had come into effect.

However, a growing alarm inside the Treasury Department over the developments in the bond market was the only factor that made Trump hit a pause on his reciprocal tariff regime, reported CNN. According to the report, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised the concerns to Trump, while White House economic officials briefed him on the accelerating selloff in the US Treasury market.

As Trump addressed reporters after the announcement of the pause on tariffs – it indicated that the decision was more of an impulse-driven one rather than a mapped-out strategy.

“The bond market is very tricky, I was watching it. The bond market right now is beautiful. But yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy. We didn’t have access to lawyers, or it was just wrote up. We wrote it up from our hearts, right? It was written from the heart, and I think it was well written too, but it was written from the heart,” he said.

“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line…They were getting yippie, you know, they were getting a little bit a little bit afraid. You have to be flexible,” he said.

US stocks surged

Wall Street stocks rocketed higher on Wednesday following Trump’s shock move to pause many new tariffs, lifting an equity market beaten down by days of losses amid rising recession worries. Within moments of the announcement, the Dow index surged ahead around 2,500 points along the way to a nearly eight-percent gain on the session. While, the tech-rich Nasdaq gained 12.2 percent to notch its best day in 24 years, and the S&P 500 surged 6.0 percent higher to 5,281.44 points.

Oil prices jumped more than four percent, while the dollar also strengthened.

India impact

Ever since Trump imposed a 26 per cent customised reciprocal tariff on Indian imports, the Indian markets have taken a plunge. However, with the 90-day pause, the stocks are likely to get a breather, with New Delhi getting more time to work on the deal with the US.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Wednesday said that reciprocal tariffs and discussions are ongoing between India and US Trade teams for an expeditious conclusion of a mutually beneficial multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement.

“India and the United States are very strong partners when it comes to trade relations, economic relations, investment relations, commercial relations, and we hope that these relations will continue to foster and deepen. As far as trade issues are concerned, we are in negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, and hopefully we will be able to address these issues and conclude this particular agreement expeditiously,” he said.