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Over the crucial week in February 2026 that hosted AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of high-level meetings with leaders from Europe, South Asia, Central Asia and Latin America, using the convergence in New Delhi to deepen trade alignments, technology partnerships and strategic supply-chain cooperation in an increasingly multipolar world. Representational Image; Via PM NaMo Across the week, Modi met leaders from Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Greece, Switzerland, Estonia, Croatia, Bhutan, Serbia, Kazakhstan and Finland, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, while also hosting Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and earlier welcoming French President Emmanuel Macron during his February 17–19 visit.  The clustering of meetings underscored how technology diplomacy, trade realignment and supply-chain resilience are converging in India’s external engagement strategy. On February 20, Modi met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara...

United States President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at the US Supreme Court after it ruled 6–3 that he exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by imposing sweeping tariffs, calling the decision “a disgrace” and announcing plans to pursue alternative legal routes to expand import duties. File Photo of POTUS Trump; Via: The Kobeissi Times In two posts on his Truth Social account, Trump said the Court had wrongly concluded that he could not “charge even $1 DOLLAR to any Country under IEEPA,” while allowing him to “cut off any and all Trade or Business” and impose embargoes.  He argued that the ruling effectively confirmed his authority to regulate trade and impose tariffs under other statutes, citing Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissent, which noted that “numerous other federal statutes authorize the President to impose tariffs and might justify most (if not all) of the tariffs issued in this case,” including Section 232 of the Trade Exp...

The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs , ruling in a 6–3 decision that he exceeded his legal authority by invoking emergency powers to impose broad import levies without clear congressional approval.  Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority , said the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the president unlimited authority to set tariffs, delivering a major setback to Trump’s second-term trade and foreign policy agenda. Representational Image of POTUS; Via: RepsAgainstTrump on X “The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” Roberts wrote.  “In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.” The court concluded that the emergency authority relied upon by the administration “falls short,” adding that “The U...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17 welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to India for an official visit from February 17 to 19, 2026, saying the trip would take bilateral relations to “new heights”, as India and France announced they were upgrading ties to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership” and jointly launched the 2026 India–France Year of Innovation alongside a slate of outcomes spanning defence co-production, critical technologies, health, education, climate cooperation and connectivity. French President with Indian Prime Minister; Via the former. In posts on X, Modi said India looked forward to “advancing our bilateral ties to new heights” and expressed confidence that discussions would strengthen cooperation across sectors and contribute to global progress, adding that engagements in Mumbai and later in Delhi would provide fresh momentum to the strategic partnership.  The visit included participation in the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit 2026...

India’s Parliament saw a fresh political clash on Wednesday, February 11, after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi used the Lok Sabha debate on the Union Budget 2026–27 to attack the India–US interim trade deal and allege that it compromises India’s interests on data, energy security and farming. This prompted the government to accuse him of making unsubstantiated claims and to signal action to remove or expunge parts of his remarks from the House record. Image Source: Who_Care on X Speaking during the Budget discussion, Rahul Gandhi argued that India is entering an era of heightened geopolitical conflict and “energy and financial weaponisation,” and said the country’s core strengths—its people, the data they generate, food supply and energy—must be protected.  He alleged that the interim deal represented a “wholesale surrender,” claiming it involved “free data flow” to the United States, no data localisation, limits on digital taxation, and no requirement for source code disclo...

Visiting President of Patrick Herminie held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, February 9, resulting in the adoption of an expansive India–Seychelles Joint Vision and the announcement of a $175 million special economic package aimed at deepening cooperation across development finance, digital transformation, maritime security and climate resilience.  The engagement came a day after Modi returned from an official visit to Malaysia, where he held high-level talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and jointly underscored a hardened position against terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, alongside expanded defence, trade and digital cooperation. Image Source: PM NaMo President Herminie’s State Visit to India, his first since assuming office and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Seychelles’ independence and bilateral diplomatic relations, culminated in the release of the India–Seychelles Joint Vision for Sustainability, Eco...

India’s Budget Session entered a fresh day of disruption on Monday, February 9, 2026, with the Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid a continuing confrontation between the government and the Opposition over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ’s insistence that he be allowed to speak before the general discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 begins.  The stand-off unfolded as Parliament was scheduled to start its first full round of debate on the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, even as the Rajya Sabha proceeded with a day-long discussion on budget priorities, fiscal policy and competing claims about growth, jobs and the distribution of central resources among States. File Photo of LoP RaGa; Via: Bharat Jodo on X The Lok Sabha opened with Speaker Om Birla congratulating India’s Under-19 men’s cricket team for its World Cup victory before Question Hour began, but proceedings were quickly interrupted by Opposition sloganeering demanding that Rahul G...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday to mount a broad political attack on the Congress, the Nehru-Gandhi family and other opposition parties, as opposition members raised slogans and later walked out. Representational Image of PM NaMo; via:NationPress This ultimately turned the Budget Session’s escalating confrontation into a sharper exchange over parliamentary conduct, identity politics and competing claims of national interest. In a nearly 100-minute speech delivered amid sloganeering, Modi accused the Congress leadership of habitual wrongdoing and made a pointed reference to Mahatma Gandhi’s surname, saying, “For some people, stealing is a family profession. What’s shocking is that those habitual thieves have also stolen surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi.”  He followed with a separate jibe framed around “startup culture,” claiming the Congress “never promoted start...

India’s Parliament remained paralysed on Tuesday as Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi escalated his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi , alleging that the recently announced India–United States trade agreement was concluded under “immense pressure” and linking the deal to what he described as two external “pressure points” involving industrialist Gautam Adani and the release of material connected to Jeffrey Epstein . Representational Image Source: LoP RaGa Speaking to reporters outside Parliament after repeated adjournments of the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister had been “compromised” and accused him of “selling the country” through the trade agreement that reduced U.S. tariffs on Indian exports to 18% from 25% . Rahul Gandhi said the agreement, which had been stalled for several months, was suddenly finalised because of pressure that could damage the Prime Minister’s image.  “There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra M...