NewsBytes

Hindi film 'Homebound' has been chosen as India's official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category, chairperson of the selection committee N Chandra said on Friday. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Chandra said a total of 24 films in different languages were in contention for representing the country at the Oscars. "It was a very difficult choice. These were films that touched the lives of people," he said. "We were not judges but coaches. We were searching for players who have made their mark," he added. The 12-member selection committee comprised producers, directors, writers, editors and journalists. 'Homebound', directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles. It portrays the story of two childhood friends from a small north Indian village who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied.

Austria on Friday launched a new initiative to attract Indian students to its leading technical universities, with Ambassador Katharina Wieser describing academic cooperation as a cornerstone of the relationship between the two countries. The TU Austria Focus India programme, unveiled at the Austrian envoy's residence here, is the first such dedicated outreach under the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA) signed between India and Austria in 2023. The pact provides a framework for student mobility, research collaboration and exchange of skilled professionals. Officials said the initiative is aimed at creating new pathways for Indian graduates in engineering, technology and applied sciences, besides strengthening collaboration in innovation and sustainable development. The programme brings together three of Austria's leading universities of technology — TU Wien, TU Graz and Montanuniversitat Leoben — which have formed a common to platform under the brand name TU Austria. Collectively, they represent more than 46,000 students, 9,000 staff and hundreds of research groups across multiple disciplines. Under the initiative, Indian students will be able to pursue two-year Master's programmes with a strong focus on engineering, IT, circular economy, climate-friendly technologies and sustainable innovation. A one-year post-study visa extension has also been built into the scheme to allow graduates to explore professional opportunities.

The European Union should slap new sanctions on Russia's exports of liquefied natural gas, its shadow fleet of aging oil tankers and major energy companies over its war on Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. “It is time to turn off the tap” on LNG, von der Leyen said in a video statement outlining her commission's new sanctions proposals. They must be endorsed by the 27 EU countries before they can enter force. The bloc has already agreed on 18 packages of sanctions against Russia, but getting final agreement on who and what to target can take weeks. More than 2,500 “entities” including banks, ministries, energy companies and officials have already been hit. The officials include President Vladimir Putin and his associates, scores of Russian lawmakers and several oligarchs. Travel bans and asset freezes are the most common measures. Energy revenue is the linchpin of Russia's economy, allowing Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.

US President Donald Trump is talking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday in a push to finalise a deal to allow the popular social media app TikTok to keep operating in the United States. The call between the two leaders began around 8 am Washington time, according to a White House official and China's Xinhua News Agency. The call may offer clues about whether the two leaders might meet in person to hash out a final agreement to end their trade war and provide clarity on where relations between the world's two superpowers may be headed. This would be the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and launched sky-high tariffs on China, triggering back-and-forth trade restrictions that strained ties between the two largest economies. But Trump, a Republican, has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for the social video platform that faces a US ban unless its Chinese parent company sells its controlling stake.