NewsBytes

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped an additional 25 per cent tariff on goods coming from India as penalty for New Delhi's continued buying of Russian oil. Trump signed an executive order imposing the additional tariff less than 14 hours before his initial tariffs were to come into effect. After the order, the total tariff on Indian goods, barring a small exemption list, will be 50 per cent. While the initial duty becomes effective on August 7, the additional levy will come into effect after 21 days.

A petition filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought women's entry in the armed forces through Combined Defence Services so that "country is not deprived of officers like Col Sofiya Qureshi". A division bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued notice to the Centre and sought its response on the plea. "If women are denied entry in armed forces through CDS, country would be deprived of officers like Col Sofiya Qureshi, who gained national attention during Operation Sindoor," the petition claimed. The petition, filed by one Kush Kalra, argued not allowing women in the armed forces through CDS was violation of fundamental right to practice any profession, granted under the Constitution. "A career as a permanent commissioned officer of the armed forces is considered to be one of the most respected and exciting professions in India, prohibition on women to apply for this profession violates their right to practice profession," it claimed.

The United States has sent letters to at least a handful of countries urging them to reject the goal of a global pact that includes limits on plastic production and plastic chemical additives at the start of UN plastic treaty talks in Geneva, according to a memo and communications seen by Reuters. In the communications dated July 25 and circulated to countries at the start of negotiations on Monday, the US laid out its red lines for negotiations that put it in direct opposition to over 100 countries that have supported those measures. Hopes for a "last-chance" ambitious global treaty that tackles the full life cycle of plastic pollution from the production of polymers to the disposal of waste have dimmed as delegates gather for what was intended to be the final round of negotiations. Significant divisions remain between oil-producing countries— who oppose caps on virgin plastic production fueled by petroleum, coal, and gas — and parties such as the European Union and small island states, which advocate for limits, as well as stronger management of plastic products and hazardous chemicals. The US delegation, led by career State Department officials who had represented the Biden administration, sent memos to countries laying out its position and saying it will not agree to a treaty that tackles the upstream of plastic pollution.

Italy's government gave final approval on Wednesday to the construction of what will be the world's longest single-span bridge, linking Sicily to the mainland, despite environmental, financial and other concerns that have delayed it for decades. The 3.7-kilometre (2.3-mile) structure, set to break the record currently held by Turkey's Canakkale Bridge across the Dardanelles, has been under discussion since at least the late 1960s as a tool to develop Italy's poorer south. The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made it a priority and has set aside 13.5 billion euros ($15.63 billion) over the next 10 years to build it and surrounding facilities. The Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) gave its green light to the project during a meeting in Rome, paving the way for the start of construction work. The bridge to Sicily, which has a population of 4.7 million, should be ready in 2032, the Messina Strait Company said.