Trump flags antitrust risks in Netflix–Warner mega-merger

IANS | December 8, 2025 7:24 AM

Washington, Dec 8 (IANS) US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of antitrust hurdles for Netflix's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros., warning that the streaming giant's already dominant scale "could be a problem."

US Congress unveils compromise fiscal 2026 defense bill

IANS | December 8, 2025 7:18 AM

Washington, Dec 8 (IANS) Congressional leaders released the compromise version of the fiscal 2026 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), setting the stage for a vote this week on the annual legislation that has become a central pillar of US defence and national-security policymaking for more than six decades.

NDAA names India key partner in US nuclear, Indo-Pacific plans

IANS | December 8, 2025 6:44 AM

Washington, Dec 8 (IANS) The latest US defence authorisation bill assigns India a key role in Washington’s Indo-Pacific and nuclear strategies, directing sustained consultations on India’s nuclear liability rules and placing New Delhi among a select group of partners shaping a new defence industrial architecture in the Indo-Pacific region to meet the China challenge.

Declassified CIA memo tied oil crash to India–Pakistan balance

Lalit K Jha | December 8, 2025 6:35 AM

Washington, Dec 8 (IANS) A newly declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum from March 1983 shows the Reagan administration's spymasters believed a sharp fall in world oil prices could reshape the strategic balance in South Asia, warning that any move by Washington to step up military aid to Pakistan risked undermining a "recent thaw in US-Indian relations" under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Bangladesh: Mobile phone traders, students hold protest in Dhaka

IANS | December 7, 2025 8:47 PM

Dhaka, Dec 7 (IANS) Bangladesh's mobile phone traders and students held a protest here on Sunday, causing traffic congestion in several parts of the capital, including the Science Laboratory, Shahbagh, Agargaon and outside the Education Building, local media reported.