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Starbucks is closing six locations in Washington state as part of a wider round of U.S. store shutdowns that is rippling across multiple markets. The move underscores the coffee chain’s effort to trim its footprint, sharpen operations and redirect capital toward higher-performing sites amid a challenging consumer and retail backdrop.
A groundbreaking study has unveiled that dogs employ cognitive strategies similar to human infants to interpret human speech, challenging previous assumptions about canine communication abilities. This research sheds light on the intricate bond between humans and dogs, suggesting a deeper understanding of language processing in non-human species.
US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, dismissing Tehran's offer as unacceptable despite mounting economic pressure from the waterway's effective closure. The decision deepens uncertainty over a conflict that has already disrupted one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints, rattled oil and gas markets, and increased the likelihood of renewed military escalation.
A senior US State Department official said the long-awaited India-US trade agreement is more than 90% complete and could be finalized soon, calling it a breakthrough that would "unleash another level" of bilateral relations. The official also pointed to a packed diplomatic calendar, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio's planned India visit, a possible Modi trip to the US for the G20 summit in Florida, and renewed momentum on the Quad and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri raised the issue of tariffs in talks with US undersecretary Allison Hooker, even as both sides discussed a broad agenda spanning energy security, civil nuclear cooperation and strategic technology. The meeting came a day after external affairs minister S. Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with India now watching closely for the Trump administration's next step on penalties linked to New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil.
India's Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said global trade has been turned into a tool of coercion, arguing that the US, China and the EU are all using trade restrictions, export licensing and supply-chain chokepoints to advance strategic goals. He cautioned that unsettled ties with Washington, the lack of an AI-led investment story and higher global bond yields could weigh on foreign capital flows into India in the near term.
China said it has reached an eight-point consensus with the United States that includes a $30 billion reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement and a new dialogue on artificial intelligence, following President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington. The agreement, announced after a closely watched summit with President Donald Trump, also covers a trade council, continued follow-through on earlier Kuala Lumpur talks, and coordination on global forums and foreign policy issues.
Police in Jackson, Mississippi, say a 29-year-old Black mother of four was already dead before her body was placed hanging from a tree in what investigators now describe as a staged scene. The case, which has stirred anguish and fear in a state scarred by the history of racial violence, has led to multiple arrests as detectives say the killing was tied to a drug dispute.
South Africa's new ambassador to Washington, Roelf Meyer, has flatly rejected Donald Trump's claim that white Afrikaners face genocide, saying the notion of a mass attack on the minority "does not exist." Meyer, a former apartheid-era mediator and self-described Afrikaner, says violence in South Africa has been misrepresented as the Trump administration expands a refugee pathway for white South Africans.
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