Report: Tax programs not felt by small business yet

Indian action movie "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" has swept domestic box-office records as the highest-earning Bollywood Hindi-language film, its producers said Wednesday, and is vying for other top spots.

Beloved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the high-octane and violent movie is the second chapter in the tale of an undercover Indian intelligence agent in arch-enemy Pakistan.

Decried as chest-thumping nationalism by critics, it has been lapped up by its many fans.

It is the first Hindi film -- and only the third Indian movie -- to cross the landmark 10 billion-rupee ($108 million) mark in domestic takings, achieving the feat after 18 days.

It has also become the the highest-grossing Indian film in North America, the first to exceed $25 million in takings.

"Dhurandhar has become a massive cinematic phenomenon," said veteran film distributor Raj Bansal. "I have been in the film business for about four decades now, and the frenzy for this film has amazed me."

Starring Ranveer Singh and directed by Aditya Dhar, the sequel to the 2025 blockbuster "Dhurandhar" -- shot simultaneously -- jumped to box-office success since its March 19 release.

The nearly four-hour long film has grossed over 160 billion rupees worldwide, according to its film producer Jio Studios.

- 'Hooting and screaming' -

Heavily-muscled star Singh has been a particular draw, with Bansal describing wild scenes in the cinema as the long-haired action hero battles his enemies on screen.

"Middle-aged women watched the first day, first show, despite knowing about hardcore violence and brutal action in it," he said.

"There is a lot of hooting and screaming in theatres."

French President Emmanuel Macron used the film's title track in a social media video during his India visit. 

But in domestic takings it remains third behind two Telugu-language hits -- the 2017 epic "Baahubali 2: The Conclusion" and 2024 action drama "Pushpa 2: The Rule".

It remains well behind the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, the 2016 Hindi-language wrestling drama "Dangal", which enjoyed enormous popularity in neighbouring China, pushing its worldwide earnings above 200 billion rupees.

But while the film continues a strong run, maintaining high daily numbers into its third week, trade analysts suggest it will not overtake "Dangal", "Baahubali 2" or "Pushpa 2".

Still, some producers have pushed their film releases to wait for the box office queues for "Dhurandhar" to die down.

"Nobody is daring to face the film," said Bansal.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran on Wednesday but said US President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iran's civilian infrastructure had not been "appropriate".

Trump had warned that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran failed to meet his deadline for a deal.

Asked about the comments on Sky News Australia, Albanese said: "I don't think it's appropriate to use language such as that from the president of the United States, and I think it will cause some concern."

But he welcomed news that the United States and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, barely an hour before Trump's deadline expired.

"What we have called for is a de-escalation, and that is what has occurred, and that's a good thing," the Australian leader said.

"This is positive news. We've been calling for a de-escalation for some time. We want to see a resolution of the conflict."

Tehran said it would temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz and cast the ceasefire as a victory after more than a month of attacks by the United States and Israel.

Iran has effectively closed the strait since US-Israeli strikes on February 28 sparked a larger regional conflict, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.

Speaking to national broadcaster ABC, Australia's top diplomat Penny Wong also condemned Trump's remarks.

"I don't think anyone should be threatening the destruction of a civilisation," she said.

Australia, reliant on imported fuel and holding roughly 39 days' supply of petrol, has been hit hard by the global impact of the war.

"The damage that is happening to the global economy, to global energy markets, means that the world does need this ceasefire to hold," Wong said.

She also rejected the Israeli government's claims the ceasefire did not apply to Lebanon, where Israel's attacks in recent weeks have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced over a million, according to Lebanese authorities.

"The world expects the ceasefire to apply to the region," Wong said.

Having initially backed US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Albanese said last week the original aims of the war had been met and it was not clear what more remained to be achieved.

Canberra has sought to soften the impact of soaring prices by cutting petrol taxes.

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Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez vowed on Tuesday to "monitor" the application of an amnesty law aimed at freeing political prisoners jailed under former leader Nicolas Maduro.

The interim leader said she would keep an eye on the amnesty law in order to address the opposition's "extremism," which she said was inciting "conflict" in the country.

The law was passed in February by Rodriguez under pressure from Washington, after US forces captured Maduro and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges that he denies.

One of the most significant reforms championed by Rodriguez, it aims to turn the page on nearly three decades of state repression, but has been criticised by human rights organizations as being selectively applied.

"More than 8,000 people have benefited" from amnesty, Rodriguez said in a televised speech.

"Don't think that we don't know" that "people who have benefited and continue to benefit from this amnesty law... are currently fomenting conflict," Rodriguez said in her address at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

"It is therefore important that we monitor the implementation of the amnesty law."

"I'm not excluding anyone. I am simply saying that we need to monitor the situation to ensure that the opportunity we're providing to address extremism and radicalism can truly, truly help resolve these issues and secure the future," she added.

Around 700 political prisoners have been freed under the law, but between 500 and 700 remain behind bars, according to humans right organizations. Some groups say the law is being unfairly applied by judges accused of supporting the government.

The law excludes those accused of involvement in alleged coups and assassination attempts. 

Opposition figures such as activist Javier Tarazona, one of the country's most prominent dissidents, and Perkins Rocha, legal advisor to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and longtime opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, have been excluded from its scope.

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© Agence France-Presse

Azeez Akanni hopped on a yellow bus heading for the central business district on Lagos Island, beads of sweat rolling down his neck and arms. 

The 32-year-old clothier regularly navigates chaotic traffic to deliver luxury clothes and footwear to customers across the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. 

But his and millions of others' commutes have been snarled by brutal temperatures as Africa's most populous country fights a heatwave. 

Adding to the pain, a spike in fuel prices from the Iran war has sent costs for air conditioning and back-up generators shooting up alongside the mercury.

"The sun is too hot," Akanni told AFP, wedged between two equally sweaty passengers.

High temperatures are nothing new in the west African nation, perched just above the equator. 

But according to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), things are getting worse: it warned in a 2025 report that in the decade from 2016-2025, nine out of the 10 years were "among the 12 warmest on record".

Last week, UK-based Korean DJ JinseoulMusic, who is currently touring Nigeria, shared her struggles in a post on Instagram to her more than 430,000 followers. 

"Surviving Nigerian heat with no light," she wrote, using the colloquial term for electricity. "Heat woke me up in the middle of the night."

Analysts blame the rising temperatures in Lagos on climate change, its coastal location, dense population, limited greenery and heavy traffic. 

The constant use of generators compounds the issue, as the petrol-guzzling machines release heat and greenhouse gases.

Public transport meanwhile is shambolic, with most commercial vehicles dilapidated and lacking working air conditioning. 

Temperatures peaked in Lagos at 35C at the end of March, according to NiMet.

They reached 38C in the capital Abuja, while Sokoto in the northwest hit 44C, with NiMet describing the conditions as "unhealthy".

- Rising fuel prices -

Nigeria's unique economic situation as Africa's fourth-largest economy, but with a dilapidated power grid much less stable than some of its poorer neighbours, has led to the widespread use of private generators, at least among those who can afford them.

That number may be dwindling as fuel prices soar due to the Iran war.

"I no longer use it because of the hike in price," Emmanuel Chinonso, 40, a ride-share driver in Abuja, told AFP.

When the grid goes out on a sweltering night, so does his fan, he said.

Like elsewhere in the country, gasoline prices have nearly doubled in the capital, from around 850 naira per litre to more than 1,300 -- a record high in a country where petrol sold for around 195 naira at the start of 2023. 

Many drivers, like Chinonso, keep their car air conditioning off to conserve fuel -- and "plead" for a tip from customers in return for switching it on.

"If you explain to them, some of them are very understanding and kind," he said.

- Health warnings -

Despite humid air thick with dust and vehicle fumes, and engines idling as vehicles waited for passengers on a recent Wednesday, thousands of Lagos traders continued to display their goods under direct sunlight, despite warnings against prolonged exposure. 

Hawkers balancing basins of iced fizzy drinks moved through traffic, offering quick relief to commuters.

With the cost of living on the rise following years of high inflation, many traders exposed to the sun and polluted air are more concerned about putting food on the table than air quality. 

"The weather is not good," Aminat Jimoh told AFP as he fried tofu by a cluttered roadside. "But we have to endure because we cannot eat if we don't come here."

The heatwave could also worsen Nigeria's malaria burden. According to the World Health Organization, climate change -- through increased rainfall, temperatures and humidity -- can in some cases accelerate malaria transmission by enabling mosquitoes to breed faster.

Nigeria recorded about a quarter of the world's malaria cases and 30 percent of global deaths in 2024, according to the WHO.

The approaching rainy season offers some relief as storms tamp down temperatures.

But it will also bring its own challenges, such as flooding.

"I know that rain has its own problem but I can't wait for this heat to go," Akanni said. 

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A Thai court has fined a man $300 after he broke into the enclosure of Moo Deng, an endangered baby pygmy hippo and internet sensation, the zoo director said Wednesday.

Moo Deng -- whose name translates as "bouncy pork" -- has gained global attention thanks to social media videos showing her adorable antics, drawing tens of thousands of visitors and boosting zoo ticket sales.

Last month, a Thai man unlawfully entered Moo Deng's pen, which also houses her mother, at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo about a two-hour drive from the capital Bangkok.

Footage of the close encounter released by local media showed a man inside the enclosure and recording Moo Deng with a tablet.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo said at the time that Moo Deng was unharmed but "slightly startled", and it would pursue legal action against the intruder.

On Wednesday, zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy told AFP that a state prosecutor had informed him that the man was found guilty by a local court after his confession and fined 10,000 baht ($300).

AFP could not immediately reach a court official for comment.

"The decision shows that no one can violate animals' rights, no matter whether they are in an enclosure or in the wild," Narongwit said.

Since the incident in March, he said no similar security breaches had occurred and the zoo had increased security patrols to deter would-be intruders.

"We train staff on what to do if any animals escape, but from now on, we will have to train them on what to do if there are any intruders," Narongwit said.

"We learned from this lesson and will not allow it to happen again -- not to Moo Deng and not to other animals in the zoo."

The pygmy hippo calf, which marked its first birthday in July, has inspired merchandise and memes since first going viral online in 2024.

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During their historic lunar flyby, astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission witnessed meteorites striking the rugged surface of the Moon, a sight that has piqued scientists' curiosity.

"That was definitely impact flashes on the moon. And Jeremy (Hansen) just saw another one," mission commander Reid Wiseman reported on Monday while flying around the Moon -- the first such journey by humans in more than half a century.

"Amazed," replied Kelsey Young, the mission's lunar science lead, as she followed the spacecraft from more than 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away on Earth.

"I don't know if I expected to have the crew see any on this mission, so you probably saw the surprise and shock on my face," she said, recounting the strikes at a press briefing the next day.

Among NASA's team in Houston, there were "audible screams of delight" from scientists when the crew described flashes of light caused by meteorite impact, Young said.

The phenomenon is "something that we have not witnessed often," the mission's backup astronaut Jenni Gibbons told AFP.

"They were really high priority science for us, so the fact that they saw four or five was just outstanding."

- 'No doubt' -

As the astronauts hurtled towards home, NASA asked them on Tuesday about the meteorite strikes they saw during their nearly seven-hour observation period.

"Were they prolonged? And did you notice any color?" Young asked.

"It's a pinprick of light," replied Canadian crew member Hansen. "I would suspect there were a lot more of them."

"I would say they were a millisecond, like the fastest a camera shutter can open and close," added Wiseman, who said the flashes were "white to bluish white."

"To me there was no doubt we were seeing it, and we were all seeing it," he added.

According to NASA's tally, the team -- which broke the record for the furthest distance from Earth during their flyby -- reported a total of six meteorite impacts on the lunar surface.

Ground crews are now working to match these observations with data from a satellite orbiting the Moon, said Young, adding that the majority of the sightings took place during a solar eclipse, when the Moon passed in front of the Sun.

- 'Challenge' -

"I'm personally... surprised they would see that many, although they (had) been trained to look for them," said Bruce Betts, chief scientist at the Planetary Society.

According to Betts, the descriptions will allow scientists to "get some idea of the frequency of impact" as well as the size of the projectiles.

One question was what size an object needed to be to create a flash visible to the astronauts, Betts said.

"It's not a piece of dust, but it's not a meter-size boulder, either."

The observations raise questions and show that the "daily flux of meteors should be monitored more closely in the future before a lunar base is established," said Peter Schultz, Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences at Brown University.

On Earth, smaller objects "burn up high in the... atmosphere due to friction" before they reach the ground, noted Betts, which is not the case on Earth's natural satellite.

"There is more of a challenge on the Moon," he said.

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India is considering releasing snakes and crocodiles along its frontier with Bangladesh, the Border Security Force said Wednesday, as New Delhi seeks to stave off unauthorised crossings.

Bangladesh is almost entirely encircled by India and the border stretches for more than 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles), large parts of which are unfenced across delta regions where Himalayan rivers wind toward the sea.

Senior Border Security Force officer Manoj Barnwal told AFP that "the use of reptiles" was discussed in a February meeting with the Home Ministry.

"We have been asked to explore the feasibility of deploying reptiles such as snakes or crocodiles in vulnerable riverine gaps," said Barnwal, deputy inspector general of the paramilitary force based in Kolkata, near the border with Bangladesh.

"The plan revolves around leveraging natural deterrents like crocodiles and snakes in flood-prone zones, along the unfenced area where traditional fencings are either ineffective or not possible," he added.

The border between India and Bangladesh cuts through the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.

"It's an innovative move, but there are several challenges and it raises safety concerns," Barnawl said. "How do we procure the reptiles? What impact might it have on the people in the villages sitting along the riverine border?"

"We have asked our field units to study the feasibility of the approach and send the report as soon as possible," he added.

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka soured after a 2024 revolution in Dhaka ended the autocratic rule of the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India.

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is in New Delhi on Wednesday -- the most senior envoy from Dhaka to visit since the 2024 uprising -- in a bid to rebuild frosty diplomatic relations.

India has constructed border fencing stretching hundreds of kilometres (miles), and arrested scores of Bangladeshis attempting to cross the frontier in the wake of Hasina's overthrow.

The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration, particularly from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Top Indian officials have referred to migrants as "termites" and "infiltrators".

Rights groups have accused India of also pushing hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh without due process.

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German industrial orders rebounded in February due to strong overseas demand, data showed Wednesday, but officials warned that the Middle East war energy shock would likely derail the positive momentum.

New orders, a key indicator of future business activity, rose 0.9 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary figures from statistics agency Destatis, slightly below forecasts.

It followed a near 11-percent drop in January.

Despite some volatility, the indicator has generally been trending up since mid-2025 as the government increases public spending in a bid to revive Europe's struggling biggest economy.

But the latest figures concern the period immediately before the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has sent oil and gas prices surging, a huge burden for Germany's power-hungry manufacturers.

The positive momentum "is likely to be temporarily dampened as a result of the energy price shock associated with the conflict in the Middle East," the economy ministry said in a statement.

Overseas demand surged 4.7 percent in February while domestic orders dropped 4.4 percent, according to Destatis. 

There was good news for the troubled auto sector, where orders rose 3.8 percent, and there were also strong increases in demand for metal products.

But there was a near 26-percent month-on-month decline in the category of transport equipment that includes military vehicles, aircraft, ships and trains. 

Hopes for a recovery in Germany this year following several bleak years have been dampened due to the energy shock unleashed by the war.

Last week, leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecast for this year, and now are predicting expansion of just 0.6 percent.

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US President Donald Trump's ceasefire announcement has divided opinion among US lawmakers, with some hailing it as a positive step and others challenging the Republican president's fitness to lead.

Trump's earlier threat to wipe out Iranian civilization prompted some critics to call on his cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment, which provides for a transfer of power if a president is unable to govern, particularly in the event of illness.

Here are some reactions:

- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Trump's ceasefire announcement "changes nothing."

"The President has threatened a genocide against the Iranian people, and is continuing to leverage that threat," she wrote on X.

Trump's actions "have clearly driven our country past the threshold for impeachment or invocation of the 25th amendment," she added.

"Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the President must be removed from office. We are playing with the brink."

- Lindsey Graham -

Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and foreign policy hawk, said congressional oversight is needed to "kick the tires."

"At this early stage, I am extremely cautious regarding what is fact vs. fiction or misrepresentation," Graham wrote on X.

"That's why a congressional review process like the one the Senate followed to test the Obama Iranian deal is a sound way forward."

- Chuck Schumer -

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer earlier called Trump "an extremely sick person" in response to the Republican president's threat that "a whole civilization will die tonight."

"I'm glad Trump backed off and is desperately searching for any sort of exit ramp from his ridiculous bluster," the Democrat posted on X after the ceasefire was announced.

- Kevin Kramer -

Kevin Kramer, a Republican senator from North Dakota, wrote that he was grateful for Trump's "unwavering dedication to defending our country and holding our adversaries accountable."

"Under his Peace Through Strength leadership, (Trump) is showing the world that the U.S. is the strongest nation, and we have the strongest military on Earth," he wrote on X.

- Yassamin Ansari -

House Representative Yassamin Ansari from Arizona wrote that she was "momentarily relieved" by the ceasefire but maintained that Trump's statements "confirm that he is mentally unstable, unhinged, and unfit for office or any position of authority."

"Whether through impeachment or by invoking the 25th Amendment, it is far past time Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are removed from office," the Democrat wrote on X.

- Zach Nunn -

Republican congressman Zach Nunn wrote on X that he was "heartened by the ceasefire."

"A President must have the authority to act decisively in defense of the nation, consistent with the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. This operation met that standard to stop Iran. This was achieved with overwhelming force," wrote the congressman from Iowa.

"Now the mission shifts to securing a lasting agreement that ensures Iran can never threaten the world with a nuclear weapon again."

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It will take months for jet fuel supplies and prices to normalise even with the Strait of Hormuz open, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday.

The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil, has been virtually paralysed for weeks by the Middle East war, pushing up prices for crude and related products.

IATA director general Willie Walsh told reporters in Singapore it was difficult to say how long fuel supplies would take to recover, but "it's not going to happen quickly".

"It will still take a period of months to get back to where supply needs to be given the disruption to the refining capacity in the Middle East," he said.

"I don't think it's going to happen in weeks," Walsh added.

Oil prices plunged on Wednesday after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that will see Tehran temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The ceasefire was agreed barely an hour before US President Donald Trump's Wednesday deadline threat to obliterate Iran was set to expire.

Tehran later said it had agreed to safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes.

"Even if you have the flow of crude start again, if you've had disruptions in refining capacity, then the problem continues for some time," Walsh said.

"I don't think everybody fully appreciated how concentrated the capacity was in certain parts of the world," he added.

Past experience shows that the aviation industry will respond to higher oil prices by raising ticket prices, he said. "It's inevitable."

While some air traffic that would have passed through the Middle East has gone to airlines outside the region, this is "a temporary issue", Walsh said.

"There's no way they can replace the capacity that was provided by the Gulf carriers," he added.

"I think the Gulf hubs will recover and recover very quickly."

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