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US stocks drop after Trump ramps up his tariffs and worries flare about potential AI losers

US stocks are falling on Monday after President Donald Trump took little time to ramp up his newest tariffs, and as investors continue to punish companies that could be losers in the artificial-intelligence revolution.

The S&P 500 sank 0.8 per cent after Trump said on Saturday that he would place temporary 15 per cent tariffs on other countries. That's up from the 10 per cent rate he had announced Friday in response to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping “reciprocal” taxes on imports from around the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 659 points, or 1.3 per cent, as of 1:25 pm. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9 per cent lower.

Trump's quick shift toward more aggressive tariffs shows how much uncertainty still hangs over the global economy, even after the Supreme Court said the president lacked the legal authority to institute his sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs.

PM Modi pays tribute to ‘charismatic leader’ Jayalalithaa on 78th birth anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (February 24) paid rich tributes to former Tamil Nadu chief minister, late J Jayalalithaa, and said she made a place in the hearts and minds of countless people as a charismatic leader and an outstanding administrator.

Six killed in house fire in Meerut

Six people, including women and children, were killed in a fire that broke out at a house in the Lisadi Gate area in Meerut, police said on Tuesday.

Ranji Trophy final: J&K opt to bat first

In the Ranji Trophy final in Hubballi, Jammu and Kashmir have won the toss and opted to bat first against Karnataka. J&K are playing in their first-ever Ranji Trophy title clash in their 67-year history.

Ousted South Korean President Yoon appeals life sentence for martial law decree

South Korea's jailed former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has appealed his life sentence for rebellion over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024, his lawyers said Tuesday.

The conservative leader, who faces multiple trials over his power grab, expressed defiance following his conviction at the Seoul Central District Court last week. He called the decision illogical, said his actions were “solely for the sake of the nation and our people,” and accused the judge of being biased against him.

In a text message, Yoon's lawyers said they aimed to address the supposed “errors in fact-finding and misinterpretations of the law” contained in last Thursday's ruling. The case will now be sent to a specialized panel at a Seoul High Court established under a law passed in December to handle cases involving rebellion, treason and foreign subversion.

“We will never be silent about what we view as an excessive indictment by a special prosecutor, the contradictory judgment rendered by the lower court based on that premise, and its political circumstances,” Yoon's legal team said.

Yoon's martial law decree, announced late at night on Dec. 3, 2024, lasted about six hours until a quorum of lawmakers broke through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers and police at the National Assembly. They then voted to overturn it, forcing his Cabinet to lift the measure.

Yoon was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after being impeached by the liberal-led legislature and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He was re-arrested in July and now faces eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle and other allegations, with the rebellion charge carrying the heaviest punishment.

Health scare again in Indore's Bhagirathpura; 6 hospitalised after eating contaminated food

Six persons have been admitted to a hospital after consuming contaminated food in Indore's Bhagirathpura area, which had been the epicentre of a diarrhoea outbreak caused by polluted drinking water that claimed 22 lives, officials said.

Rajasthan government transfers 21 IPS officers

The Rajasthan government transferred 21 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, including two additional directors general (ADGs), the Jodhpur police commissioner and the Jaipur special commissioner, officials said on Tuesday.

The transfers involved the range inspector generals (IGs) in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Bikaner, with several officers receiving new postings following their promotions. The state department of personnel issued the transfer list on Monday night.

According to the list, ADG Crime Hawa Singh was transferred to the post of ADG PHQ, and Bipin Kumar Pandey was appointed as ADG Crime. Pandey was holding the post of ADG recruitment and promotion board.

IG Special Operations Group (SOG), Sharat Kaviraj, has been appointed the new Police Commissioner of Jodhpur. Outgoing Jodhpur Police Commissioner Om Prakash has been posted as Special Police Commissioner, Jaipur.

Rahul Prakash, who was serving as Special Police Commissioner- Jaipur, has been appointed as IG, Jaipur Range.

IG Intelligence Praful Kumar has been promoted and posted as ADG Intelligence, while IG Jaipur Range Raghvendra Suhasa has been elevated and transferred as ADG Training.

IG Jodhpur Range Rajesh Meena has been posted as IG Home Guards, Jaipur. S Parimal has been transferred from IG Personnel at Police Headquarters to IG, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

IG Vikas Kumar, who was holding charge of both the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), will now solely head the ANTF.

Rajesh Singh, previously the DIG of ACB, has been appointed as ATS IG.

Satyendra Singh has been transferred from IG (CID-CB) to IG of Jodhpur Range.

IG Bikaner Range Hemant Kumar Sharma has been transferred as IG, State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) Jaipur, while Ajay Pal Lamba has been shifted from IG SCRB to IG SOG, Jaipur.

DIG Kota Rajendra Goyal has been elevated to the post of IG Kota.

Surveillance of romantic partner led to El Mencho's deadly capture, Mexican authorities say

Surveillance of a romantic partner helped put the Mexican armed forces on the trail of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as “El Mencho,” who was captured and killed Sunday, Mexican authorities said Monday.

Mexican Defence Secretary Gen Ricardo Trevilla said that Sunday's Mexican special forces operation, which included US intelligence information, ended when special forces found Oseguera Cervantes “hidden in the undergrowth” in his home state of Jalisco. After several shootouts, eight gunmen were killed and the drug lord and two of his bodyguards were wounded. They were taken into custody and died on the way to Mexico City, Trevilla said.

In all, more than 70 people were killed in the operation and the ensuing violence, including security forces, suspected cartel members and others.

BAFTA and BBC apologise for racial slur during awards show

The British Academy Film Awards and BBC apologised Monday for a racial slur that was broadcast during Sunday's show while two stars of the film "Sinners" were onstage.

The Tourette syndrome campaigner who shouted the slur said he was "deeply mortified” and what he said was "not a reflection of my personal beliefs." The highly offensive word could be heard as "Sinners" stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, who are both Black, were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday's ceremony. Host Alan Cumming had earlier told the audience that Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson was in attendance.

The incident prompted the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to apologise for "offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many," adding "We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism." Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for people with Tourette syndrome, who inspired the BAFTA-nominated film "I Swear," said in a statement Monday that he was "deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning." Tourettes Action — a Tourette syndrome charity — called for understanding of the condition.

"We deeply understand that these words can cause hurt but at the same time, it is vital that the public understands a fundamental truth about Tourette syndrome: tics are involuntary. They are not a reflection of a person's beliefs, intentions, or character," said Emma McNally, CEO of Tourettes Action.

Edward Hoagland, nature and travel writer with a personal and poetic style, dies at 93

Edward Hoagland, a prize-winning nature and travel writer who overcame badly impaired eyesight to explore the world and hone a conversational and digressive style that mirrored the spontaneous paths of his journeys, has died at age 93.

Hoagland's daughter, Molly Magid Hoagland, said that he died Feb 17 at an assisted living facility in Manhattan. She did not give a cause of death.

With influences ranging from John Muir to Michel de Montaigne, Hoagland published dozens of books and magazine pieces and took in the most remote settings and extreme climates. Reading him was like being invited to come along. He might begin an essay with some thoughts on the personality of bears — “their piggishness and sleepiness and unsociability with each other” — move on to the daily routines of game wardens, detour through the history of animal tracking devices and come back around to bears' nesting habits.

“We watched a female preparing a small basket-shaped sanctum under the upturned roots of a white pine, from which she sneaked, like a hurrying, portly child, cycling downwind to identify us before clearing out,” he wrote in “Bears, Bears, Bears,” one of his more popular pieces.