India-China ties take off as Air India resumes Shanghai-Delhi direct flights after 6 years
According to an official release, the inaugural Shanghai-New Delhi flight departed today from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, carrying over 230 passengers on board the Boeing 787 aircraft. The relaunch comes after a gap of nearly six years.
What Trump’s next pick to lead the Federal Reserve means for your wallet
No institution has more influence over what Americans can afford than the Federal Reserve, one most people rarely follow but feel every month in their finances. That influence isn’t always obvious. The Fed doesn’t decide what groceries or cars cost, but it does determine how expensive it is to borrow money to pay for them. And right now, borrowing is costly. High interest rates mean larger monthly payments on mortgages, car loans and credit cards, even if the sticker price of a home or vehicle hasn’t changed. That makes the Fed’s leadership especially consequential. On Friday, President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a move that could alter how aggressively the central bank approaches interest rates. TRUMP NOMINATES KEVIN WARSH TO SUCCEED JEROME POWELL AS FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR. Trump has blamed Powell for not cutting rates more aggressively, even as he has repeatedly described the economy as strong. Historically, rate cuts have usually been reserved for times of economic weakness, not growth. That disagreement over rates has real-world consequences. For many Americans, the effects are most visible in the housing and auto markets, two of the biggest expenses for most families. You’re not paying more because the home or car suddenly costs more. You’re paying more because the money to buy it does. Those elevated borrowing costs are acting like a form of second inflation, pushing mortgages, car loans and credit card bills to levels that stretch household budgets thin. That’s why everyday life can still feel more expensive. Prices may not be climbing as quickly anymore, but the cost of paying for big purchases continues to rise. THE PRICE OF BUILDING A HOME KEEPS CLIMBING — AND UNCERTAINTY ISN’T HELPING Economists say affordability will not meaningfully improve until the Fed begins cutting rates and keeps them low long enough to ease pressure on long-term borrowing. That backdrop has become a political liability for Trump, who campaigned on restoring affordability and easing household financial strain but now faces growing voter skepticism over whether those promises are materializing. A recent Fox News poll underscores the stakes. When voters were asked what President Donald Trump’s top priorities should be, nearly four in 10 cited either the economy overall (19%) or prices (17%). Affordability concerns are also giving Democrats an early edge in the generic congressional ballot, which asks voters which party they would support in their U.S. House race this November. While largely hypothetical at this stage, the question offers an early baseline for the coming election, according to Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who said the poll is an early read, not a forecast. “We ask about it at this point simply to get a sense of how short-term forces might play out in the general election,” Shaw said. YEAR IN REVIEW: HOW PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ECONOMIC AGENDA IS SHAPING UP SO FAR Democrats leaned heavily on affordability themes in state and local elections this fall, and it paid off. In places like Virginia, New York and New Jersey, where voters have been squeezed by high housing costs and utility bills, Democratic candidates seized on Trump’s early economic moves, including his trade policy, to argue that his policies were worsening the affordability crisis rather than easing it. They promised to rein in energy costs, expand affordable housing and protect middle-class wages, a message that resonated with voters and, analysts say, reflects a broader trend. In an economy where many still feel stretched thin, the party that speaks most directly to people’s pocketbooks often wins. The Fed’s decision about rate cuts will shape the economy’s trajectory and how affordable life feels for millions of Americans in the new year.
Potential Walz successor unleashes on state’s sanctuary policies: ‘The rule of law matters’
EXCLUSIVE: Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Patrick Knight slammed Gov. Tim Walz and other leading Democrats, saying the state is “cratering” under their leadership as they treat the law like a “buffet.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Knight criticized the sanctuary policies in his state, saying, “The law is not a buffet table where you just pick and choose which laws you’re going to enforce today and which laws you’re going to ignore.” “The rule of law matters,” he said. A Marine veteran of 20 years and a former manufacturing CEO, Knight is one of nearly a dozen candidates running for the Republican nomination to succeed Walz in the Minnesota governor’s mansion. TIM WALZ ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘ORGANIZED BRUTALITY’ IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN, SAYS ICE TACTICS ARE ‘UN-AMERICAN’ His decision to run comes as the state is reeling from a recently exposed massive fraud scandal, involving state programs, that is believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The fraud crisis, which saw heavy involvement from Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community, prompted a federal immigration crackdown that has in turn sparked widespread unrest. Two anti-ICE activists, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, have been killed by federal officers during confrontations with law enforcement. Addressing these deaths, Knight said, “The loss of any life is tragic, and there should be a full and transparent investigation with both the state and the federal government participating and let the facts drive the accountability.” Knight went on to say that for too long the people of Minnesota have been “the ones picking up the pieces” left by irresponsible state and local leadership. “Things could have been easier as they are in other states,” he said. “When the federal government, in a reasonable manner, enforces immigration law and the city and state cooperate, that’s when it works. It’s when egos get involved and political theatrics get involved where it spins out of control.” DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, THREATENING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “When Gov. Walz testified before Congress, he stated openly that he would, the state would cooperate with ICE. And then, two weeks later, he is at the University of Minnesota Law School graduation where he is calling ICE the ‘modern day Gestapo.’” Connecting this to a broader pattern of Walz and other Minnesota politicians prioritizing politics over the people, saying, “Minnesota is cratering on the fundamentals.” “We’re just going on the wrong way on every, not just some, every fundamental. Crime, education, economy, affordability, not to mention good governance,” he said. “For the past six years, we’ve just been the center of political theater. We just can’t escape it, and I think Minnesotans are tired of it, I certainly am, and we need to just focus on fixing the basics, the fundamentals.” Knight frames his platform around a five-point plan he jokingly titled the “big, beautiful, basic, boring” plan that focuses on the economy, affordability, education, rule of law and building a smaller, more efficient state government. LEAVITT SAYS TRUMP SPOKE TO WALZ, DEMANDS MINNESOTA ‘WORK TOGETHER PEACEFULLY’ WITH ICE: ‘LET COPS BE COPS’ His argument is that the North Star State has lost its way and now needs to move away from the excitement of the current political climate to focus on the basics and ending the fraud. “It’s a cultural issue that needs to be changed and it starts at the top.” “I say it’s a simple fix,” Knight concluded. “Get a strong, competent governor.”
Dems score big in typically red Texas district that Trump easily won in 2024
Democrats notched another special election upset Saturday after Taylor Rehmet won a Texas state Senate race in a district long dominated by Republicans. Rehmet, a labor union leader and Air Force veteran, defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist, in the Fort Worth-area district. With nearly all votes counted, Rehmet led by more than 14 percentage points, and The Associated Press projected him as the victor. “This win goes to everyday working people,” Rehmet told supporters. The result marked another strong showing for Democrats in special elections this cycle, fueling party claims that voters are pushing back against Republicans during President Donald Trump’s second term. Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin called the outcome “a warning sign to Republicans across the country.” WHY 2026 SHOULD TERRIFY REPUBLICANS AFTER TENNESSEE SPECIAL ELECTION The seat opened after longtime GOP Sen. Kelly Hancock resigned to take a statewide post. Republicans had held the district for decades, and Hancock won four terms with little opposition. The district is even more Republican than its home county of Tarrant. Trump won the county by five points in 2024, but carried the district with a 17-point victory. Trump weighed in on the race Saturday, urging voters to back Wambsganss on social media and praising her as a strong supporter of the MAGA movement. Rehmet, however, benefited from heavy national Democratic backing, including support from the DNC and veterans group VoteVets, which said it spent about $500,000 on advertising. DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST SAYS TENNESSEE NOMINEE WAS ‘FRINGE OF A FRINGE,’ DOOMED PARTY’S CHANCES Rehmet, who works as a machinist, campaigned on lowering costs, protecting jobs and supporting public education. Democrats have gained momentum in elections since Trump returned to the White House, winning high-profile races in Virginia and New Jersey in November and special elections in Kentucky and Iowa. Even in a recent Tennessee House special election, Republicans won by a slimmer margin than expected. Rehmet’s term will run only until January. He must win the November general election to hold the seat for a full four-year term. Republicans will still maintain a comfortable majority in the Texas Senate,. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump says Iran ‘seriously talking to us’ as military ships head to Middle East
President Donald Trump said Saturday he believes Iran is negotiating “seriously” with the U.S., stressing that he hopes an “acceptable” deal can be brokered. The president’s comments were made as he reportedly weighs options on a possible military strike on Iran amid widespread protests and a violent crackdown in the country. When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided on a strike against Iran, Trump responded, “I certainly can’t tell you that.” “But we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction,” he added. “I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable.” IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS The president then sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the U.S. opted not to launch strikes on Iran, saying, “Some people think that. Some people don’t.” “You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “They should do that, but I don’t know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us.” Trump has said the U.S. will not share military plans with Gulf allies while negotiating with Iran, even as U.S. naval forces surge into the region. TRUMP SAYS IRAN CALLED ‘NUMEROUS’ TIMES TO MAKE DEAL AS CARRIER ENTERS MIDDLE EAST WATERS Speaking with Fox News Channel senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Saturday, Trump said, “We can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan — it could be worse, actually.” “But, look, the plan is that [Iran is] talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something,” Trump continued. “Otherwise, we’ll see what happens. … We have a big fleet heading out there, bigger than we had — and still have, actually — in Venezuela.” On Sunday, the speaker of Iran’s parliament said the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist groups after the bloc declared the country’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terror group over its crackdown on nationwide protests. Iran again invoked a 2019 law to declare other nations’ militaries terrorist groups following the United States’ designation of the Guard as a terror organization that year. The announcement by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, comes as the Islamic Republic also planned live-fire military drills for Sunday and Monday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passes. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US judge orders release of five-year-old and father from ICE detention
A federal judge in the United States has ordered the release of a five-year-old boy and his father from a facility in Texas amid an outcry over their detention during an immigration raid in Minnesota. In a decision on Saturday, US District Judge Fred Biery ruled Liam Conejo Ramos’s detention as illegal, while also condemning “the perfidious lust for unbridled power” and “the imposition of cruelty” by “some among us”. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The scathing opinion came as photos of the boy – clad in a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers took him away in a suburb of the city of Minneapolis – became a symbol of the immigration crackdown launched by President Donald Trump’s administration. “The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,” Biery wrote in his ruling. “Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place.” The judge did not specify the deportation quota he was referring to, but Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff for policy, has previously said there was a target of 3,000 immigration arrests a day. The ongoing crackdown in the state of Minnesota is the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, according to federal officials, with some 3,000 agents deployed. The surge has prompted daily clashes between activists and immigration officers, and led to the killings of two American citizens by federal agents. Advertisement The deadly operation has sparked nationwide protests as well as mass mobilisation efforts and demonstrations in Minnesota. According to the Columbia Heights Public School District in Minneapolis, Liam was one of at least four students detained by immigration officials in the suburb this month. Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said ICE agents took the child from a running car in the family’s driveway on January 20, and told him to knock on the door of his home, a tactic that she said amounted to using him as “bait” for other family members. The government has denied that account, with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claiming that an ICE officer remained with Liam “for the child’s safety” while other officers apprehended his father. Vice President JD Vance, who has vigorously defended ICE’s tactics in Minnesota, told a news conference that although such arrests were “traumatic” for children, “just because you’re a parent, doesn’t mean that you get complete immunity from law enforcement”. The Trump administration has said that Conejo Arias arrived in the US illegally in December 2024 from Ecuador, but the family’s lawyer says they have an active asylum claim that allows them to remain in the country legally. Following their detention, the boy and his father were sent to a facility in Dilley in Texas, where advocacy groups and politicians have reported deplorable conditions, including illnesses, malnourishment and a fast-growing number of detained children. Texas Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the site earlier this week. Liam slept throughout the 30-minute visit, Castro said, and his father reported that he was “depressed and sad”. Biery’s ruling on Saturday included a photo of the boy, as well as several Bible quotes: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’,” and “Jesus wept”. The episode, Biery wrote, made apparent “the government’s ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence”. Biery drew a comparison between Trump’s administration and the wrongdoings that then-author, future President Thomas Jefferson, mounted against England’s King George, including sending “Swarms of Officers to harass our People” and creating “domestic Insurrection”. There was no immediate comment from the Department of Justice and DHS. The Law Firm of Jennifer Scarborough, which is representing Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, said in a statement that the pair will soon be able to reunite with the rest of their family. Advertisement “We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal,” the statement said. Minnesota officials have been calling on the Trump administration to end its immigration crackdown in the state. But a federal judge on Saturday denied a request from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and other officials to issue a preliminary injunction that would have halted the federal operation. Trump, meanwhile, has ordered DHS to, “under no circumstances”, get involved with protests in Democratic-led cities unless they ask for federal help, or federal property is threatened. Adblock test (Why?)
Fela Kuti becomes first African to get Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award
Three decades after his death, the ‘father of Afrobeat’ Fela Kuti has made history by becoming the first African to get a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. The Nigerian musician, who died in 1997, posthumously received the commendation along with several other artists at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, on the eve of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list For his family and friends – some of whom were in attendance – it is an honour they hope will help amplify Fela’s music, and ideology, among a new generation of musicians and music lovers. But it is an acknowledgement they also admit has come quite late. “The family is happy about it. And we’re excited that he’s finally being recognised,” Yeni Kuti, Fela’s daughter, told Al Jazeera before the ceremony. “But Fela was never nominated [for a Grammy] in his lifetime,” she lamented. The recognition is “better late than never”, she said, but “we still have a way to go” in fairly recognising musicians and artists from across the African continent. Lemi Ghariokwu, a renowned Nigerian artist and the designer behind 26 of Fela’s iconic album covers, says the fact that this is the first time an African musician gets this honour “just shows that whatever we as Africans need to do, we need to do it five times more.” Ghariokwu said he feels “privileged” to witness this moment for Fela. “It’s good to have one of us represented in that category, at that level. So, I’m excited. I’m happy about it,” he told Al Jazeera. But he admits he was also “surprised” when he first heard the news. Advertisement “Fela was totally anti-establishment. And now, the establishment is recognising him,” Ghariokwu said. The front cover of Fela Kuti’s Beasts of No Nation, designed by Lemi Ghariokwu [Courtesy of Lemi Ghariokwu] On what Fela’s reaction to the award would have been if he were alive, Ghariokwu says he imagines he would be happy. “I can even picture him raising his fist and saying: ‘You see, I got them now, I got their attention!’” But Yeni feels her father would have been largely unfazed. “He didn’t at all [care about awards]. He didn’t even think about it,” she said. “He played music because he loved music. It was to be acknowledged by his people – by human beings, by fellow artists – that made him happy.” Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Fela’s cousin and head of the Kuti family, agrees. “Knowing him, he might have said, you know, thanks but no thanks or something like that.” She laughs. “He really wasn’t interested in the popular view. He wasn’t driven by what others thought of him or his music. He was more focused on his own understanding of how he should impact his profession, his community, his continent.” Though she believes the award may not have meant much to him personally, she told Al Jazeera that he would have recognised its overall value. “He would recognise the fact that it’s a good thing for such establishments to begin the process of giving honour where it’s due across the continent,” Ransome-Kuti said. “There are many great philosophers, musicians, historians – African ones – that haven’t been brought into the forefront, into the limelight as they should be. So I think he would have said, ‘OK, good, but what happens next?’” Fela Kuti performs on March 16, 1981, with his band “Africa 70” at the Hippodrome in Paris, France [File: Herve Merliac/AP] ‘Fela’s influence spans generations’ Fela was born in Nigeria’s Ogun State in 1938 as Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (later renaming himself to Fela Anikulapo Kuti), to an Anglican minister and school principal father and an activist mother. In 1958, he went to London to study medicine, but instead enrolled at Trinity College of Music, where he formed a band that played a blend of jazz and highlife. After returning to Nigeria in the 1960s, he went on to create the Afrobeat genre that fused highlife and Yoruba music with American jazz, funk, and soul. That has laid the groundwork for Afrobeats – a later genre blending traditional African rhythms with contemporary pop. “Fela’s influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyonce, Paul McCartney and Thom Yorke, and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats,” reads the citation on the Grammys list of this year’s Special Merit Award Honorees. Advertisement But beyond music, he was also a “political radical [and] outlaw”, the citation adds. By the 1970s, Fela’s music had become a vehicle for fierce criticism of military rule, corruption, and social injustice in Nigeria. He declared his Lagos commune, the Kalakuta Republic, independent from the state – symbolically rejecting Nigerian authority – and in 1977 released the scathing album, Zombie, with lyrics that painted soldiers as mindless zombies with no free will. In the aftermath, troops raided Kalakuta, brutally assaulting its residents and causing injuries that led to Fela’s mother’s death. Frequently arrested and harassed during his life, Fela became an international symbol of artistic resistance, with Amnesty International later recognising him as a prisoner of conscience after a politically motivated imprisonment. When he died in 1997 at age 58 from an illness, an estimated one million people attended his funeral in Lagos. Portraits of Late Afrobeat Legend Fela Kuti, on display at Kalakuta Museum in Lagos, Nigeria [File: Sunday Alamba/AP] Yeni – together with her siblings – is now custodian of her father’s work and legacy. She runs Afrobeat hub, the New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, Lagos and hosts an annual celebration in Fela’s honour called “Felabration”. She remembers growing up with her larger-than-life father as something that felt “normal”, as it was all she knew. But “I was in awe of him”, she also says – as an artist and a thinker. “I really, really admired his ideologies. The most important one for me was African unity … He totally worshipped and admired [former Ghanaian President] Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who was fighting for African unity.
US envoy arrives in Venezuela to reopen mission after seven years
Laura Dogu’s visit comes as Venezuela moves to privatise its oil sector under pressure from Trump. By News Agencies Published On 1 Feb 20261 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The top United States envoy for Venezuela has arrived in Caracas to reopen a US diplomatic mission seven years after ties were severed. Laura Dogu announced her arrival in a post on X on Saturday, saying, “My team and I are ready to work.” Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The move comes almost one month after US forces abducted Venezuela’s then-president, Nicolas Maduro, from the presidential palace in Caracas, on the orders of US President Donald Trump. Maduro was then taken to a prison in New York, and is facing drug trafficking and narcoterrorism conspiracy charges. The move has been widely criticised as a violation of international law. Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil wrote on Telegram that he had received Dogu, and that talks would centre on creating a “roadmap on matters of bilateral interest” as well as “addressing and resolving existing differences through diplomatic dialogue and on the basis of mutual respect and international law”. Dogu, who previously served as US ambassador to Honduras and Nicaragua, was appointed to the role of charge d’affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit, based out of the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. Venezuela and the US broke off diplomatic relations in February 2019, in a decision by Maduro after Trump gave public support to Venezuelan lawmaker Juan Guaido, who claimed to be the nation’s interim president in January that year. Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela’s most powerful politicians and a Maduro loyalist, said earlier in January that reopening the US embassy in Caracas would give the Venezuelan government a way to oversee the treatment of the deposed president. Advertisement Although the Trump administration has claimed that Maduro’s abduction was necessary for security reasons, officials have also repeatedly framed their interests in Venezuela around controlling its vast oil reserves, which are the largest in the world. Since the abduction, Trump has pressured Interim President Delcy Rodriguez to open the country’s nationalised oil sector to US firms. The two countries have reached a deal to export up to $2bn worth of Venezuelan crude to the US, and on Thursday, Rodriguez signed into law a reform bill that will pave the way for increased privatisation. The legislation gives private firms control over the sale and production of Venezuelan oil, and requires legal disputes to be resolved outside of Venezuelan courts, a change long sought by foreign companies, which argue that the judicial system in the country is dominated by the governing socialist party. The bill would also cap royalties collected by the government at 30 percent. The Trump administration said on the same day that it would loosen some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, and allow limited transactions by the country’s government and the state oil company PDVSA that were necessary for a laundry list of export-related activities involving an “established US entity”. Trump has announced that he ordered the reopening of Venezuela’s commercial airspace and “informed” Rodriguez that US oil companies would soon arrive to explore potential projects in the country. On Friday, Rodriguez announced an amnesty bill aimed at releasing hundreds of prisoners in the country, and said she would shut down El Helicoide, an infamous secret service prison in Caracas, to be replaced with a sports and cultural centre. That move was one of the key demands of the Venezuelan opposition. Adblock test (Why?)
Light rain in Delhi-NCR brings chill, air quality remains ‘very poor’ at 324, IMD issues yellow alert; Check full forecast here
The IMD attributed the rainfall to another western disturbance affecting north-west India. Delhi has already experienced several such systems this month.
Union Budget 2026: Who are the key officials of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget team?
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present Union Budget 2026 today, on February 1, Sunday at 11 am in the Lok Sabha. While all the spotlight will be on Nirmala Sitharaman, there are officials who plays key role in shaping the Union Budget 2026-2027.