Explainers News - Page 3

Blood pressure medicine linked to cancer? Why 580,000 bottles of drugs have been recalled in US

Over half a million bottles of a widely used blood pressure drug, prazosin hydrochloride capsules, have been recalled in the US. The drug, distributed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, contained trace levels of a potentially cancer-causing chemical, according to the FDA

In Graphics | The spooky origins of Halloween

Today is October 31, popularly known as Halloween. With adults and children dressing up in terrifying costumes and youngsters going around trick-or-treating in the neighbourhood, the origins of Halloween as the Samhain festival of the ancient Celts have come a long way

Why is Trump prioritising white South Africans as he slashes refugee admissions to historic low?

President Donald Trump has set the lowest refugee ceiling in US history — 7,500 for fiscal year 2026 — while prioritising white South Africans from the Afrikaner minority. The move has been condemned by rights groups and lawmakers, who call the policy legally biased

Inside the ‘modern wonder’ called the Grand Egyptian Museum

The Grand Egyptian Museum is gearing up for a lavish opening on Saturday (November 1), opposite the pyramids of Giza. The inauguration comes after nearly two decades of delays. Here's all you need to know about ‘the largest cultural building of the 21st century’

Somethin’ Spooky: Why are we so obsessed with finding ghosts?

Ghost-hunting has become an increasingly popular and sensationalised hobby today. However, it isn't just for scientific curiosity; it’s also about forming social connections. It allows us to process grief, to analyse our fears of death and to explore what it means to be alive

The story of Rohit Arya, the teacher who held 17 children hostage in Mumbai

A man named Rohit Arya, a YouTuber and schoolteacher from Nagpur, was shot dead after he held 17 children and two adults hostage in Powai, Mumbai. Following a dramatic rescue operation, all the kids were safely taken out. Police reportedly believe the shocking act stemmed from Arya’s anger over alleged unpaid dues and lack of credit on his projects

How Britain’s Andrew lost his 'prince' title

King Charles III stripped his brother, Andrew, of his royal titles on Thursday (October 31) due to his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here’s what to know about the once-popular prince

No longer a Prince or a duke: What all has Britain’s Andrew lost? What benefits does he keep?

Andrew’s fall from grace continues. The British royal has been stripped of his princely title and asked to leave his long-time residence, the Royal Lodge. Now to be called Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the 65-year-old will likely be frozen out of royal public life, but will retain two royal benefits

History Today: 2 Sikh bodyguards, over 30 bullets… The tale of Indira Gandhi’s gruesome assassination

Forty-one years ago, on this day (October 31), India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed as she stepped out of her New Delhi residence by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The assassins pumped more than 30 bullets into her before other security arrived at the scene and killed one and grievously injured the other. It’s also on this day in 1941 that 12 years of labour resulted in the completion of Mount Rushmore in the US

FirstUp: Apec summit in South Korea and other headlines of the day

Leaders from the Pacific Rim economies will gather in Gyeongju, South Korea, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese are among the top leaders attending the gathering. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the National Unity Day celebrations at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat's Ekta Nagar

Will Donald Trump's fight against high drug costs help India?

The United States has said it will speed up approval for some generic drugs. The development comes weeks after it was reported that the Trump administration had dropped its plans to impose tariffs on generic drugs from foreign nations. But will this benefit Indian drug makers?

How Mumbai hostage crisis ended with rescue of 17 children, death of kidnapper

Tense scenes unfolded in Mumbai’s Powai today, where a man, identified as Rohit Arya, took 19 people, mostly children, hostage in a studio. The accused died in an exchange of gunfire with the police during the rescue operation. All hostages have been rescued. But who was Rohit Aryan and why did he hold these people captive?

The tragic story of 80-yr-old Aus woman who died after being left on remote island by cruise ship

Suzanne Rees was on a 60-day luxury cruise around Australia when she and other passengers disembarked at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef over the weekend. The cruise ship, Coral Adventurer, left without the 80-year-old, whose body was found on the island the next day. Here is what went wrong

Some bats glow green under UV light: But why can’t science explain it?

A team from the University of Georgia has discovered that six species of North American bats emit a bright green glow under ultraviolet light. The phenomenon, known as fluorescence, is now confirmed in bats for the first time. Yet despite years of research on glowing mammals, scientists still don’t know why these animals shine

Netherlands set to get its youngest and first openly gay PM. Who is Rob Jetten?

Rob Jetten, the leader of the centrist D66 party, seems set to become the first openly gay and youngest prime minister of the Netherlands. A former athlete and self-professed geek, the 38-year-old liberal leader will have his task cut out – to form a governing coalition – if the final results are in his party’s favour

Indian-origin man killed in Canada after he stopped stranger for urinating on his car: What we know

Arvi Singh Sagoo, an Indian-origin businessman, died after a brutal attack in Canada's Edmonton. The 55-year-old confronted a stranger when he saw him urinating on his car. Following the incident, a 40-year-old, identified as Kyle Papin, was arrested by the Edmonton Police and charged with aggravated assault

How RBI plans to make sending money home faster for Indians abroad

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued draft guidelines outlining how payments from Indians and businesses abroad can be repatriated faster. Under the proposed norms, the central bank has said that the banks which receive payments from abroad during the foreign exchange market hours must credit the accounts of the beneficiaries on the very same business day. Here’s how it will work

A nuclear arms race in the offing? How many warheads does US, China and Russia have?

Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately. This has shone a spotlight on the nuclear capabilities of the world, namely the US, China and Russia. Latest figures reveal that Moscow and Washington possess 90 per cent of all of the world’s nuclear warheads. What about Beijing?

Around Asia in 5 days: How successful was Trump's big tour?

United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping Asia tour — spanning Malaysia, Japan and South Korea was aimed at boosting Washington’s regional agenda with major deals on trade, defence, and energy. Yet, behind the high-profile meetings and tariff cuts, many questions linger over rare earth access, and US power in the Indo-Pacific

What happened when the US conducted its last nuclear test 33 years ago?

US President Donald Trump, during his just-concluded Asia tour, announced that America will resume testing its nuclear weapons. He made the remarks before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The development comes days after Russia successfully tested two nuclear-powered weapons. But what happened when America conducted the ‘Divider’ nuclear test in 1992?

Why India had airbase in Tajikistan and why it is now vacated

India pulled out its personnel and military equipment from a strategic air base in Tajikistan in 2022. This came after a lease agreement between the two countries was not extended. The Ayni airbase, which New Delhi had helped build and run since 2002, gave India strategic leverage over Pakistan and increased its influence in Central Asia

US halts automatic work permit renewals. Will this hurt Indians?

From today (October 30), the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will stop automatically extending certain work permits, officially known as Employment Authorisation Documents (EADs). As per the new regulations, every worker will have to undergo a fresh round of screening and vetting before their permit is renewed. This will impact foreign employees, including Indians, who are a big part of the workforce

Trump rates talks with Xi ‘12 out of 10’. What was the outcome of the meeting?

After six years, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held talks in South Korea’s Busan during which the two leaders lavished praise on one another and vowed a new chapter in US-China relations. The two leaders agreed upon key issues such as Beijing’s purchase of American soybeans, rare earth exports, and a deal to slash fentanyl-related tariffs

Are Putin and now Trump's nuclear tests signalling a new arms race?

Russia’s back-to-back tests of its nuclear-powered Poseidon underwater drone and Burevestnik cruise missile have instilled fears of a global arms race. Announced by President Vladimir Putin amid escalating tensions with Washington, the trials coincide with US President Donald Trump’s order to resume nuclear weapons testing

Did US try to capture Venezuela’s Maduro by bribing pilot of his plane?

The United States reportedly tried to buy off the personal pilot of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a bid to arrest him. The pilot, in return, was told that he would be made a wealthy man. A US federal agent kept interacting with Maduro's chief pilot even after he retired. Here's what we know about the alleged plan hatched by the US to arrest the strongman and why it failed

‘Biggest massacre I’ve seen’: How a police raid in Rio turned into a bloodbath killing 132 people

Brazil is reeling from horror. It is still trying to cope with the shock after 2,500 troops launched a pre-dawn raid in Rio de Janeiro, targeting the ‘Red Command’ gang that eventually turned into a bloodbath, in which 132 people were killed. While authorities say all those dead were gangsters, residents slammed the action, calling it a ‘massacre’

Why UN report linking Pahalgam attack to Myanmar refugees has invited India’s ire

The report, released by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, claimed that Rohingya refugees have faced 'severe pressure' in India since the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year. It added that despite having no involvement in the incident, Rohingya refugees were detained and threatened by Indian authorities. India dismissed the claims as 'baseless and biased' and accused the UN of a 'blinkered analysis'

History Today: How the Soviet Union carried out world's biggest nuclear bomb test

The Soviet Union detonated the most powerful nuclear weapon in the history of humankind, the Tsar Bomba, on October 30, 1961. Codenamed 'Ivan' by its creators, it was tested over Novaya Zemlya, a remote Arctic archipelago. On this day in 1973, the Bosphorus Bridge was inaugurated in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the bridge that connects the European and Asian sides of Istanbul

FirstUp: Trump to meet Xi Jinping in Busan, India's military drills begin... Top news today

The high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will take place in Busan. The two are expected to talk about trade, TikTok, rare earths and possibly Taiwan. In India, the armed forces will conduct Operation Trishul, a major tri-services exercise in Sir Creek near Pakistan’s border

From golden crown to Nobel nomination: Are accolades the key to diplomacy with Trump?

The US President is currently on a week-long trip to Asia, where he is being feted and showered with gifts. South Korea welcomed Donald Trump with a golden crown and its highest award. Japan followed a similar strategy, nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize and gifting Shinzo Abe's former golf club