(1) U.S. slaps 25% tariffs on Indian imports
U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariff rates for imports into the U.S. from countries across the world on August 1, 2025 after a 90-day pause ended.
On Indian imports, Mr. Trump announced a 25% tariff. He pointed to India’s trade with Russia in oil and military equipment, saying that India’s purchases helped support Russia amidst its ongoing war with Ukraine.
India’s purchase of Russian oil (as a proportion of Russia’s fossil fuel exports) has been increasing since 2022, and Russia remains a top supplier of military equipment, although arms imports from Russia have fallen over the years.
In response, the Ministry of External Affairs maintained that India will continue to source oil from where it is cheapest and it will take decisions on arms procurements based on national security and strategic assessments.
(2) All 7 accused in the 2008 Malegaon Blast were acquitted
A special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday (July 31, 2025) acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
“Upon comprehensive evaluation, the prosecution has failed to bring any cogent evidence, and the evidence is riddled with inconsistencies, therefore, the Court has to extend the benefit of doubt to all accused,” Special Judge A.K. Lahoti said, delivering the verdict in the special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai on Thursday.
Justice Lahoti said that the prosecution had failed to prove that the bike on which the bomb was allegedly strapped belonged to Ms. Thakur. “Serial number of the two-wheeler’s chassis was not completely recovered by the forensic experts and, therefore, the prosecution failed to prove that Pragya Thakur was the owner of the two-wheeler in question,” he said, noting that Ms. Thakur had turned into a sanyasi and left behind all material belongings two years before the blast took place, “There is no cogent material against her or any other accused in the case,” he said.
The other accused in the case were: Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, and Sudhakar Chaturvedi.
The judge said it was hard to establish the prosecution’s claims of a conspiracy between the accused, adding that there was no evidence to prove claims that an organisation named Abhinav Bharat, founded by Ms. Thakur and Colonel Purohit, had used funds it generated to execute the bomb blast.
Here is the timeline of the case:
(3) Three Pakistani terrorists behind Pahalgam attack killed in Operation Mahadev, Centre tells Lok Sabha
Three Pakistani terrorists who had carried out the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam were killed in a security operation in Dachigam on Monday (July 28, 2025), the Union government told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 29, 2025). Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the operation and that the three slain terrorists had been involved in the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.
Sharing the details, Mr. Shah said that the three terrorists have been identified as Suleman alias Faizal Jatt, Hamza Afghani, and Zibran, all Pakistani nationals and members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Suleiman alias Faisal was an A-category terrorist who was also involved in the Gagangir terror attacks in October 2024.
Mr. Shah said that the identity of the terrorists and their involvement was confirmed with the help of ballistic and forensic reports and the testimony of four other witnesses, including two accused, who had given them shelter a day before the attack. Pakistani voter identity cards and chocolates made in Pakistan were found on the two terrorists, establishing that they came from Pakistan, he said.
(4) Over 770 Palestinians killed in two months at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid distribution sites
At least 1,874 Palestinians have died in aid-related violence since October 2023. Of these, approximately 1,129 — about 60% — were killed in the past two months alone, coinciding with GHF’s operations in the region.
Most of those killed (at least 1,597) were civilians shot by the Israeli Defense Forces while seeking aid in or around distribution sites, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), an international non-profit that tracks global violence.
Since May 26, aid-related killings have occurred almost daily. The violence peaked in the third week of June, with June 17 recording the highest single-day toll — 97 people.
At least 771 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed in and around GHF’s aid distribution centers between May 26 and July 18. Of these, 708 were reportedly killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. The number of people killed in and around GHF centers on a daily basis is shown below in red and gray.
The “Other/Contested Claims” section in the graphic above also includes civilian deaths. However, the exact circumstances of these killings remain disputed, as the claims have been denied or refuted by the alleged perpetrators. Some of these incidents involved Israeli-backed groups rather than the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) directly, according to data compiled from news reports.
(5) Prajwal Revanna gets convicted in rape case with a life sentence
Former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna was sentenced to “imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life” by a special court on Saturday (August 2, 2025), a day after he was convicted of raping a domestic worker multiple times on his family’s farm, one of four cases of rape and sexual abuse filed against him.
Prajwal, the former MP from Hassan in Karnataka, is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. He was suspended from the party in the wake of multiple rape allegations.
While Prajwal was sentenced to “imprisonment for life which shall mean remainder of natural life” under Section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (repeated rape on the same woman), the maximum punishment possible under the Section, he was also sentenced to “imprisonment for life” under Section 376(2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), apart from a host of other sections of the IPC and Information Technology Act, 2000.
The judgement also imposed a total penalty of ₹11.60 lakh on the convict and ordered that ₹11.25 lakh be paid to the victim in the case.
The victim in this case was a 48-year-old domestic worker employed on the family’s farm who was raped twice in 2021, with the act being filmed by the former MP. The video of the rape was leaked, along with several other explicit clips featuring nearly a hundred women, in April 2024, days ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
Published – August 05, 2025 03:32 pm IST