United States President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) announced a sweeping trade measure targeting countries that "continue to do business with Iran", imposing a 25 per cent tariff on all their business dealings with the US. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the decision would be "immediately" in effect and that the "order is final and conclusive." "Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in his post. Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J.… — Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) January 12, 2026 US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham praised the Trump decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs, saying that the US President's decision in "isolating" the Khamenei regime economically is most impressive. Sharing a post on X, Graham wrote, "Mr President: your decisive leadership in isolating this regime economically through your actions today are most impressive. Your promise to have the protestors' back and put the regime on notice that you will not tolerate the killing has led to the largest outpouring of demonstrators against this fanatical regime since its founding. Mr President: I believe the Iranian regime has crossed red lines. They are killing their people in large numbers and mocking your leadership. It is now time to take decisive military action -- no boots on the ground - going after those who do the killing." Mr. President: your decisive leadership in isolating this regime economically through your actions today are most impressive. Your promise to have the protestors’ back and put the regime on notice that you will not tolerate the killing has led to the largest outpouring of… https://t.co/llJmWVH82Y — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 12, 2026 This comes as large demonstrations were reported across provinces, including Azerbaijan province and the central city of Arak, with crowds waving flags and chanting slogans in support of Iran, Press TV reported. The protests and counter-demonstrations follow days of unrest amid soaring inflation, economic hardship and public anger over governance. At least 544 people have been killed, and more than 10,681 individuals have been arrested and transferred to prisons, according to the Human Rights News Agency. Earlier on Sunday (local time), Trump said that Washington may be forced to take action against Iran amid ongoing nationwide protests, even as he revealed that Tehran has reached out to Washington seeking negotiations. Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One, Trump said Iranian leaders had contacted Washington to discuss diplomatic engagement. When asked whether Iran wanted to engage in diplomatic talks with him, Trump responded affirmatively. "They do. They called. Iran called to negotiate yesterday. The leaders of Iran called. They want to negotiate. I think they're tired of being beat up by the United States. Iran wants to negotiate," Trump said. The US President, during the interaction, further added that a meeting was in the process of being arranged but cautioned that developments on the ground inside Iran could force Washington's hand before talks take place. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
13 January,2026 08:58 AM IST | Washington | ANIThe Union Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, which is a Sunday. Answering queries during a press conference today on Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that the union budget will be presented at 11 am on February 1 in the House. The budget session of Parliament will commence on January 28 with address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the two Houses. The 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, being hosted by Parliament of India will be the largest CSPOC in terms of participation. Om Birla said that the conference will be held from January 14 to 16 will discuss shared parliamentary values, democratic governance and institutional cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference on January 15 in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, Parliament House Complex. Speaker Om Birla is the Chairperson of this Conference. The Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth being hosted by India will have the largest participation, Birla said. In a post on X later, he said the conference will be attended by 61 Speakers and Presiding Officers from Commonwealth countries and semi-autonomous parliaments, including the Presidents of the IPU and the CPA. "In this regard, it will be the largest CSPOC conference in the history of the forum," he said. He said that the objective of CSPOC is to uphold and strengthen impartiality in the parliaments of Commonwealth nations, and to empower parliamentary democracy and institutions. India has earlier successfully hosted this conference in 1971, 1986, and 2010. "This conference will undoubtedly showcase India's technological progress and its commitment to global parliamentary cooperation on the world stage," he said. He said that work related to the conference has been done online and paper has not been used. He said an app has been developed to enable all aspects of conference coordination, facilitation and information dissemination. A web-based event management system has been developed. Answering queries, he said there will be no participation from Pakistan and Bangladesh does not have a Speaker at present with general elections scheduled to take place next month. The Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth (CSPOC) was created in 1969 as an initiative of then Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, Lucien Lamoureux. Since its inception, Canada has provided CSPOC with a secretariat to support its activities. CSPOC brings together Speakers and Presiding Officers of 53 national parliaments of sovereign states of the Commonwealth. CSPOC is an independent group with no formal affiliation with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Commonwealth Secretariat or the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM). However, its membership is the same as that of CPA. The conference aims to maintain, foster, and encourage impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments. It also seeks to promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms and develop parliamentary institutions. CSPOC operates on a two-year cycle, holding a conference of the full membership every two years, usually early in January, and a meeting of the Standing Committee at the same time the intervening year. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
13 January,2026 08:54 AM IST | New Delhi | ANIThe death toll from Iran's nationwide protests has reached at least 646 people killed, activists said Tuesday, with the number expected to rise further. The toll comes from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate throughout multiple years of demonstrations. It relies on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities. With communications blocked in Iran, the AP has been unable to independently confirm the group's toll. Iran's government has not provided casualty figures for the demonstrations. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:48 AM IST | Dubai | APThe US has revoked over 100,000 visas, including of around 8,000 students, in 2025 as part of its widespread efforts to crackdown on immigration citing criminal activity. "We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe,' the State Department said in a social media post on Monday. 'The State Department has now revoked over 100,000 visas, including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialised visas for individuals who had encounters with US law enforcement for criminal activity," it said. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that in less than one year, the Trump administration has revoked over 100,000 visas. 'That includes revoked visas from thousands of foreign nationals charged or convicted with crimes, including assault, theft, and driving under the influence,' he said. According to a Fox News report, the number of visas revoked in 2025 is more than double the 40,000 visas cancelled in 2024, the final year of former president Joe Biden's administration. The report said that while a majority of the revocations in 2025 were for business and tourist travellers who overstayed their visas, 8,000 students and 2,500 individuals on specialised visas had their document revoked due to criminal encounters with law enforcement. 'Among specialised workers, half of the revocations were based on drunken driving arrests, 30% for assault, battery or confinement charges, and the remaining 20% were revoked for theft, child abuse, substance abuse and distribution, and fraud and embezzlement charges,' it said. The report said nearly 500 students had their visas revoked for possession and distribution of drugs while hundreds of foreign workers lost their visas because they were believed to be "abusing children'. It quoted Pigott as saying that the administration would continue its "aggressive" enforcement posture through its new "continuous vetting centre". "The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security," he said. The Trump administration has intensified crackdown on immigration, both illegal and legal, and tightened rules for individuals seeking to enter the US for work or study. From December 15, the State Department also began enhanced screening of H-1B and dependent H-4 visa applicants, including checks of social media profiles. Several H-1B visa interviews scheduled across India have since been postponed, leaving many applicants who travelled for visa stamping stranded for months. The State Department has repeatedly underscored that a US visa is a privilege, not a right, and said it uses all available information during screening and vetting to identify applicants who may pose a threat to national security or public safety. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:44 AM IST | New York | PTIUS Vice President J D Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have congratulated Sergio Gor as he took charge as the US Ambassador to India, expressing confidence that he would 'do a great job' in New Delhi. 'Namaste! Today marks my first day at the US Embassy in New Delhi. I am honoured to join this dedicated team and eager to get to work advancing President Donald Trump's priorities and deepening the US-India partnership. I couldn't be more optimistic about the days ahead for both of our nations under President Trump's leadership,' Gor posted on social media on Monday. Amplifying the post, Vance said, 'Congrats, Mr. Ambassador. You'll do a great job!' Rubio echoed the sentiment, saying, 'You will do a great job!' Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau also welcomed Gor, calling him 'a great addition to our team'. Gor, 39, arrived in New Delhi on January 9 to take up his new role as US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy to South and Central Asia. Addressing US Embassy personnel, he said no country is as essential as India for Washington, adding that both sides are actively engaged in firming up a trade deal. The envoy said real friends can disagree but ultimately resolve their differences, referring to the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. "India is the world's largest nation. So it's not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there," Gor said. In another social media post, he said India will be invited to join the Pax Silica, a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain. 'As the world adopts new technology, it is essential that India and the United States work hand-in-hand together,' Gor said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:40 AM IST | New York | PTIThe United States has accused Russia of a 'dangerous and inexplicable escalation' of its nearly four-year war in Ukraine at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance negotiations toward peace. US deputy ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce on Monday singled out Russia's launch of a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile last week close to Ukraine's border with Poland, a NATO ally. She told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that the United States deplores 'the staggering number of casualties' in the conflict and condemns Russia's intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure. Ukraine called for the meeting after last Thursday's overnight Russian bombardment with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including the powerful, new hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which Moscow used for only the second time in what was a clear warning to Kyiv's NATO allies. The large-scale attack came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress toward agreeing on how to defend the country from further Moscow aggression if a US-led peace deal is struck. The attack also coincided with a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington after Russia condemned the US seizure of an oil tanker in the North Atlantic. And it came as US President Donald Trump signalled he is on board with a hard-hitting sanctions package meant to economically cripple Russia. Moscow has given no public signal it is willing to budge from its maximalist demands on Ukraine. And Russia's UN ambassador on Monday blamed the diplomatic impasse on Ukraine. Europe's leaders condemned the attack using the Oreshnik as 'escalatory and unacceptable,' and US envoy Bruce was equally tough on Monday. 'At a moment of tremendous potential, due only to President Trump's unparalleled commitment to peace around the world, both sides should be seeking ways to de-escalate,' she said. 'Yet Russia's action risks expanding and intensifying the war.' Bruce reminded Russia that nearly a year ago it voted in favour of a Security Council resolution calling for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. 'It would be nice if Russia matched their words with deeds,' she said. 'In the spirit of that resolution, Russia, Ukraine and Europe must pursue peace seriously and bring this nightmare to an end.' But Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council that until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'comes to his senses and agrees to realistic conditions for negotiations, we will continue solving the problem by military means.' 'He was warned long ago, with each passing day, each day which he squanders, the conditions for negotiations will only get worse for him,' Nebenzia said. 'Similarly, each vile attack on Russian civilians will elicit a stiff response.' Ukraine's UN Ambassador Andriy Melnyk countered that Russia is more vulnerable now than at any time since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Its economy is slowing and oil revenue is down. 'Russia wants to sell to this council and the whole UN family the impression that it is invincible, but this is another illusion,' he told the council. 'The carefully staged image of strength is nothing but smoke and mirrors, completely detached from reality.' This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:36 AM IST | United Nations | APFive human heads were found hanging from ropes on a beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said on Sunday. Next to the heads was a warning sign directed at alleged extortionists of fishermen in the small fishing port of Puerto Lopez. The ropes were fixed to wooden poles on the beach. The police attributed the incident to a conflict between criminal groups. Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are active in the area and have used fishermen and their small boats for their illicit activities, according to authorities. A dispute for territory and control of drug-trafficking routes has triggered violent episodes across the Manabi province, where Puerto Lopez is located. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:30 AM IST | Quito | AgenciesUS President Donald Trump ignited an online firestorm with a cryptic social media post on Truth Social that has both his supporters and critics scrambling for meaning. The post consisted solely of an image that had ‘acting president of Venezuela’ written beneath his photo where he has a grim face. There was no additional text, explanation, or context provided with the fake photo Trump shared, leaving observers to interpret its meaning in vastly different ways. Earlier, addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “Venezuela is really working out well. We’re working along really well with their leadership, and we’ll see how it all works out.” Trump also spoke with the interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez. On the meeting Trump said, “She’s been very good. She asked us if we could take 50 million barrels of oil, and I said yes, we can, it is worth $4.2 billion, and it is on its way right now to the US...” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:26 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesScientists have identified two unknown circoviruses in short-finned pilot whales and orcas living in the Caribbean region of the North Atlantic Ocean, the first to be detected in cetaceans from this part of the world. The team recovered seven complete circovirus genomes. Five of were found in short-finned pilot whales, while two came from orcas. The viruses represent new species, which the team named shofin circovirus and orcin circovirus. Both are clearly different from the only cetacean circovirus previously identified, beaked whale circovirus, discovered in a whale from the Pacific Ocean. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:23 AM IST | Paris | AgenciesA team of astronomers recently discovered something they didn’t predict in a “cosmic hamburger” — one of the biggest planet-forming disks of gas and dust, or protoplanetary disks, humanity has ever seen. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a powerful array of 66 radio antennas located in northern Chile, the team discovered the first signs of planet formation in the dense gas layers of a system known as Gomez’s Hamburger (GoHam). GoHam’s tasty appearance is due to the fact that from Earth it is seen edge-on with stacked layers of gas “buns” rotating around a young star “burger.” This orientation allows the structure of Go Ham to be viewed in a way that isn’t possible for other protoplanetary disks swirling around similar young stars. As such, the study of GoHam and the discovery of tantalising hints of planet formation could give astronomers a better understanding of how giant planets form at great distances from their parent stars. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:19 AM IST | Santiago | AgenciesMalaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images. The moves reflect growing global concern over generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound and text. The Grok chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticised for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children. Regulators in the two nations said existing controls were not preventing the creation and spread of fake pornographic content. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2026 08:17 AM IST | Jakarta | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
