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Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has denied under oath that there was any promise, agreement or deal behind the US Department of Justice's move to dismiss a criminal indictment against him, saying, in a sworn affidavit, that he was unaware of any exchange connected to the decision. The affidavit was filed in response to a July 8 order by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York asking Adani to state under oath whether he was aware of any promise, offer or agreement related to the dismissal of the indictment. Adani said he was not aware of "anything promised, offered, sought, received, agreed to, or accepted" by anyone in connection with the dismissal, and denied knowledge of any agreement involving an exchange of anything of value for dropping the criminal charges. The Justice Department had moved to dismiss charges filed in 2024 under the Biden administration, accusing Adani and seven others of participating in a scheme to pay about USD 250 million in bribes to .
The deaths or disappearances of at least 10 top US scientists and researchers with access to information related to aerospace, defence and extra-terrestrial life have kicked off a row here, prompting the administration to order a probe. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump was briefed on the deaths and disappearances of key scientists, and more details will be available over the next week and a half. According to reports in the American media, the earliest of the deaths dates back to July 2023. Michael David Hicks, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory physicist who specialised in comets and asteroids, passed away on July 30, 2023. The cause of his death was not disclosed. Congressman Eric Burlison, a Republican from Missouri and member of the House Oversight Committee, said he has been drawing attention to some of the disappearances for quite some time as he found them "too coincidental". The lawmaker argued the fate of the scientists is almost "certainly" linked to the access
President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks. Ibogaine and other psychedelics remain banned under the federal government's most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease restrictions and spur research on using the drugs for medical purposes, including conditions like severe depression. "Today's order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life," Trump said as he signed an executive order on the drugs. The Republican president said his directive will help "dramatically accelerate" access to potential treatments. "If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it's going to have a tremendous impact," he said. Veteran organisations a
The duelling blockades in the Strait of Hormuz lurched into uncharted waters on Saturday as the United States pressed ahead with its campaign to choke off Iranian ports and Iran reversed an initial move to reopen the waterway, firing on a ship attempting to pass. Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach. Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces." It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. Two gunboats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said on Saturday. It
India has strongly rejected allegations by the US Trade Representative in its investigations on excess structural capacity and production involving several countries, including India, asserting that the initiation notice has failed to provide "cogent rationale" to substantiate the claims. India requests that the USTR issue a negative determination with respect to India and terminate the investigation against it, according to a submission from New Delhi to the USTR. On March 11, the US announced initiation of investigations against its trading partners, including India, China, Japan and the EU, to look into and address "unfair foreign practices" that adversely impact American manufacturing. United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced the initiation of a probe regarding the "acts, policies, and practices" of various economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. The econom