CHENNAI: Lottery operator Santiago Martin’s son, Jose Charles Martin, on Friday said his party, Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi (LJK), had expressed interest in an alliance with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, marking a shift from his earlier criticism of TVK president Vijay’s political messaging.“We have expressed our interest. Now the response has to come from their side. We have conveyed our willingness,” Jose told reporters when asked about the possibility of an alliance, citing Vijay’s stated position against corruption.Jose said he had not yet spoken directly to Vijay. “We have sent a request first. If they show interest, we will go and meet him,” he said, adding that any meeting would depend on a response from the actor-politician.Responding to questions on his earlier remarks that Vijay’s Erode speech lacked clarity, Jose said his position was being misread. “The speech he delivered last time was like that. We said that the response it received was of that nature because of how he spoke.”“When we say there is a lack of clarity, what we mean is that the people around him are not at that level,” he said. “That clarity is supposed to be provided by them, because the information they are giving him is incorrect.”He also cited Vijay’s limited physical presence in Puducherry as a factor. “He is not going to be here regularly,” Jose said. “The people who are here are the ones who can sit down, get involved, and assess things on the ground. In such a situation, for a local party like ours, it would be good if we have their support.”Jose did not name Aadhav Arjuna, Vijay’s aide and his son-in-law, whom he had earlier accused of misleading the TVK leadership.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he had a “productive telephone call” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ahead of a planned meeting in Florida with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.“I just had a very good and productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia” before the planned talks with Zelenskyy at Trump’s Florida estate at 1.00 pm local time (1800 GMT), the US leader said on Truth Social.Trump is set to host a crucial meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy on Sunday, an engagement can be seen as another effort to ease the ongoing war and push forward a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, now nearing four years since Moscow’s invasion.The talks will include Zelenskyy’s “20-point peace deal proposal”, which is “about 90% ready” as Ukrainian leader said.The meeting is scheduled for 1pm, the White House said late Friday. It comes against the backdrop of renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine, including heavy damage in Kyiv from large-scale missile and drone strikes.Ukrainian president’s spokesperson confirmed that Trump and Zelenskyy will call European leaders after meeting in Florida.On Saturday, Zelenskyy said on X that Russia used “almost 500 drones and 40 missiles” in its latest assault. He also wrote on Telegram, “Russia continues to mock our cities and people. Moscow has rejected even the proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and is increasing the ferocity of its missile and drone strikes. This is a clear signal of how they really feel about diplomacy… Therefore, Ukraine needs sufficient support. And sufficient pressure needs to be put on Russia.”Trump and Zelenskyy will meet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, where the US president is spending the holidays. Trump has been trying to position himself as a mediator since beginning his second-stint in presidency, although previous talks, including one with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, ended without progress.Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is doing everything it can to end the war but stressed that final decisions depend on support from partners. “These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year, and much can be resolved before the New Year, and we are doing everything for this, but whether there will be decisions depends on the partners,” he wrote on Telegram. He added that Ukraine’s allies must continue pressure on Moscow “so that the Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression.”Russia has increased strikes on Kyiv in the days leading up to the Florida talks. In another post on X, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war. We need to be strong at the negotiating table.” Responding to Russia’s attacks, he also wrote, “We want peace, and Russia demonstrates a desire to continue the war. If the whole world — Europe and America — is on our side, together we will stop” Putin.

India has taken a step towards cleaner farm mechanisation with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) rolling out the country’s first testing standard for electric agricultural tractors. The new standard, IS 19262:2025 titled Electric Agricultural Tractors – Test Code, was released on December 24 by Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi at Bharat Mandapam on the occasion of National Consumer Day, PTI reported. Developed by BIS, the standard lays down uniform testing protocols to assess the safety, reliability and performance of electric tractors, a segment seen as key to reducing emissions and operating costs in agriculture. The test code covers evaluation of power take-off (PTO), drawbar power, belt and pulley performance, vibration levels, and inspection of critical components and assemblies. It draws from existing standards for conventional diesel tractors and electric vehicles, suitably adapted for agricultural applications. “The implementation of this standard through authorised testing institutes would facilitate wider adoption of electric agricultural tractors, promote innovation in clean technologies, and contribute to reduced emissions,” an official statement said. Electric tractors, which run on battery packs instead of diesel engines, are seen as offering lower operating and maintenance costs, reduced noise and improved energy efficiency, while eliminating tailpipe emissions at the farm level due to fewer moving parts. The standard was framed following a request from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Mechanisation and Technology Division, with inputs from tractor manufacturers, testing agencies, research bodies and technical experts. Contributors included the ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Tractor and Mechanisation Association, and the Automotive Research Association of India. Although voluntary, the standard provides a scientific framework for evaluating the performance and safety of electric tractors. It is expected to support future acceptance criteria and conformity assessment schemes, while giving farmers greater confidence in adopting electric tractors as their use expands.

An Indian national is set to receive nearly £70,000 in compensation for wrongful dismissal and being subjected to racial discrimination, after a tribunal ruled in his favour against his manager at the KFC outlet in London where he was previously employed.Madhesh Ravichandran, from Tamil Nadu, told the employment tribunal that his Sri Lankan manager discriminated against him, using a derogatory term such as “slave.”In a hearing earlier this week, judge Paul Abbott described Ravichandran’s claim as “well-founded.”“We have found on the facts that the claimant was subjected to less favourable treatment… his holiday request was refused because he was Indian, while (manager) Kajan prioritised requests from Sri Lankan Tamil colleagues, and he was referred to as a ‘slave,’ which is self-evidently less favourable treatment because of his race,” Abbott wrote in his judgment.The caseRavichandran joined KFC’s West Wickham outlet in January 2023, where Kajan became his direct supervisor. Problems, however, began soon after he started.The situation escalated in July when Kajan tried to make Ravichandran work excessive hours, prompting him to resign. The judge accepted that his decision to leave was a direct result of the manager’s “persistent efforts” to make him work “excessive hours.” During follow-up calls, Kajan reportedly became “racially abusive and threatening” toward Ravichandran.“This racial abuse from a manager had the purpose and effect of violating the claimant’s dignity. He was ‘summarily dismissed’ while serving out his notice and was denied his statutory right to one week’s notice,” the tribunal’s judgment read.“The respondent did not show that the claimant had done anything to entitle it to dismiss him without notice. The claimant was, therefore, wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to be paid one week’s pay in lieu of notice,” it stated.Ravichandran was awarded £62,690 in compensation, with additional payments for holiday pay and employment-related particulars bringing the total to around £66,800 (approx. Rs 81 lakh).The tribunal also directed Nexus Foods Limited, which operates the West Wickham KFC outlet, to implement a training programme on workplace discrimination for all employees. The programme should include training for managers on the “appropriate handling” of such grievances and must be completed within six months of the judgment.(With PTI inputs)

India’s exports weathered a turbulent 2025 marked by steep US tariffs, geopolitical disruptions and global trade uncertainty, with exporters adapting by diversifying markets and products –a strategy that officials and industry expect will support steady growth into 2026, PTI reported.Despite a 50% duty imposed by the US on Indian goods during the year, exporters recalibrated quickly, cushioning the impact through market diversification. A senior commerce ministry official summed up the response by saying that “trade is like water, it finds its own course”.India’s merchandise exports, which stood at $276.5 billion in 2020, climbed sharply to $395.5 billion in 2021 and $453.3 billion in 2022 before easing to $389.5 billion in 2023. Momentum returned in 2024 with shipments rising to $443 billion. In 2025, exports touched $407 billion during January–November, reflecting resilience amid repeated shocks.Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India’s combined exports of goods and services hit a record $825.25 billion in 2024-25, marking over 6% year-on-year growth. The uptrend has continued into the current fiscal, with exports reaching $562 billion during April–November 2025.“Based on current trends, India’s exports are poised to deliver solid growth in 2026 as well,” Agrawal told PTI, adding that three free trade agreements — with the UK, Oman and New Zealand — are set to come into force next year, improving market access for goods and services.While US tariffs hurt shipments in September and October, exports to America rebounded sharply, rising 22.61% to $6.98 billion in November. Exporters, however, remain cautious amid global uncertainty and are watching progress on a proposed India–US bilateral trade agreement and a deal with the European Union.The World Trade Organization has projected global trade growth of 2.4% in 2025 but cut its outlook for 2026 to 0.5%, citing tariff uncertainty, slowing GDP growth and weakening business confidence in developed economies.Against this backdrop, the government said it is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to support exporters. Measures include a Rs 25,060 crore export promotion mission, additional collateral-free credit of up to Rs 20,000 crore, debt repayment moratoriums, extended export credit tenors and leveraging free trade agreements.The NDA government has signed or implemented a series of FTAs over the past five years, including with Mauritius, Australia, the UAE, Oman, the UK, EFTA and New Zealand.Industry experts see structural shifts underpinning the outlook. Rudra Kumar Pandey, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said electronics exports have emerged as a key driver, rising nearly 39% in November, supported by FDI-led capacity creation and deeper integration into global value chains. Engineering goods, pharmaceuticals and automotive exports are also adding momentum, he said.Geographic diversification is another key trend. While the US and the UAE remain important markets, exports are expanding across Europe, East Asia and South Asia. Shipments to the US grew about 22% in November, while exports to Spain surged nearly 150%, alongside strong growth to China and Bangladesh.Federation of Indian Export Organisations Director General Ajay Sahai said supply-chain realignments, expanding trade partnerships and improvements in ease of doing business position exporters well for 2026. “With continued policy support and market diversification, we remain confident of a strong and stable export outlook in the coming year,” he said.However, Sahai cautioned that challenges remain, including geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, protectionism through carbon measures and non-tariff barriers, currency volatility, high freight costs and tighter global financing conditions, particularly for MSMEs.The rupee remained volatile through 2025, weakening about 5% during the year and trading near 90 to the dollar by end-December, adding another variable to the export outlook as India heads into 2026.