US Stock Market Sell-Off Analysis: AI Bubble & Economic Indicators

[00:00:00]Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hello. Namaskar. This is first post and you're watching Vantage with me Pali [music] Sharma.

[00:01:23][music] [music] Tonight on Vantage, US markets are bleeding. 1.2 2 trillion dollar have been wiped out and it's dragging crypto down with it. We look at what's causing the selloff. Meanwhile, India is facing another headwind, a record trade deficit in the month of October. What is driving the gap and should we be worried?

[00:01:55]Also in focus, the Saudi crown prince is in Washington. He wants F-35 fighter jets and Donald Trump says yes, even as his own officials have raised red flags.

[00:02:04]In Moscow, India's foreign minister SJ Shankar lays the groundwork for President Putin's India visit. In Europe, Wodimir Zilinski is touring capitals, but a new corruption scandal is following him everywhere. Back home, a major breakthrough in the battle against Knoxil. Security forces have neutralized a top commander. The East Asian skies are getting tense. Chinese travelers have canled 500,000 tickets as the row Japan escalates. Why is Nestle under fire for adding sugar to baby cereals in Africa? What is parasocial?

[00:02:37]It's been declared the word of the year.

[00:02:39]We'll tell you what it means. And should companies be tracking employee productivity through software? We will look at this [music] debate, but first as always, the headlines.

[00:02:50]A widespread internet disruption hits X, Chat, GPT, and several other popular websites. This has been caused by an outage at Cloudflare, which is an internet infrastructure and security company. The disruption began this afternoon and has quickly spread across [music] platforms.

[00:03:07]Britain's intelligence agency MI5 issues an espionage alert. Warns lawmakers that China is trying to recruit parliamentarians through spies disguised as head hunters. There have been heightened fears about Chinese espionage in the UK, but London has sought to keep ties with Beijing, a key trading partner, warm.

[00:03:28]Israel hails Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan after its endorsement by the United Nations Security Council, but Hamas has rejected the resolution. The peace plan authorizes the creation of an international [music] force which would work with Israel and Egypt in the Palestinian territory.

[00:03:44]A top Nigerian general orders his troops to fight day and night to [music] rescue the 25 school girls who were abducted yesterday. This is the latest in a string of kidnappings of school children in northern Nigeria. It comes amid rising tensions between Lagos and Washington with Donald Trump threatening military intervention.

[00:04:05]And the Indian cricket board postpones the Bangladeshi women's tour. The officials have reportedly written to the Bangladesh cricket board. The bilateral series was scheduled for next month. The BCCI has reportedly cited ongoing tensions in Bangladesh as the reason for this decision.

[00:04:26][music] [music] >> [music] >> We begin tonight with a wipeout on Wall Street. More than $1.5 trillion have been erased in a matter of days. The US stock market is bleeding. This is not a glitch. This is a correction and it is spilling over. Crypto has taken a punch.

[00:05:06]Crypto investors are suffering huge losses. We're talking about losses to the tune of a trillion dollars. Tonight, we'll put together the numbers and try to make sense of the slide. And we'll start with the US stocks. The sell-off is accelerating. Wall Street opened in the red again today. Leading the fall are tech stocks. Names like Microsoft, Nvidia, AMD, Palanteer, Oracle, and Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. All these stocks are going south. Last week these companies lost some $820 billion. These companies alone $820 billion. This was the fall in their market value. And the loss is bigger than the GDP of many countries. So you can imagine the scale and now crypto is on the same path. The shiniest name in the space is still Bitcoin and Bitcoin has dropped by nearly 28%.

[00:05:58]It is now trading at its lowest level since April. Also look at the broader crypto market. It has lost more than a trillion dollars in just 6 weeks. That's a lot of money and a massive blow to digital assets and their investors.

[00:06:14]What's worse, this is not an isolated dip. It is a broad retreat. Investors are junking anything they deem risky.

[00:06:23]And at this point, everything is under pressure from conventional assets like stocks to digital currencies like crypto.

[00:06:31]But what has triggered this? What is driving the sell-off? The biggest factor is interest rates.

[00:06:40]No rate cuts are expected anytime soon.

[00:06:42]And that is making investors nervous. In the United States, the Federal Reserve regulates interest rates. They also call it the Fed. It is the American Central Bank. And a few weeks ago, the Fed was expected to cut rates. Investors had high hopes of a rate cut. They thought a rate cut would be announced before the end of this year. Reports said that the probability was as high as 70%, a 70% chance of a rate cut, but now it's down to 50%. A 50% probability of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. And why is that? Because of inflation.

[00:07:19]In the US, inflation is still high. It's back to 3%. Their inflation target is 2%. That's the target that the Federal Reserve sets. So 2% inflation would be ideal in America according to them, but it continues to be higher and that has reduced the chances of a rate cut.

[00:07:38]Again, it's simple economics. If you cut interest rates, loans become cheaper.

[00:07:42]Many people, more people borrow money, there's more money in circulation and this pushes up inflation. So central banks tend to not cut rates when inflation is high.

[00:07:53]And the US central bank may do the same.

[00:07:56]they may defer the rate cuts and this is what's making the markets jittery.

[00:08:00]That's the first reason. The second reason and the more significant worry is the AI bubble. There is no hiding from the fact there is a bubble in AI stocks.

[00:08:12]What does that mean? A bubble means the valuation is inflated. It doesn't match a company's earnings or its fundamentals. There is more hype than substance and the risk is rising.

[00:08:24]And that's also the story of AI stocks.

[00:08:26]Their numbers do not add up. Even CEOs of top companies acknowledge this. Like Sundar Pichai of Google in a recent interview, he has issued a warning.

[00:08:36]Sundar Pichai said that if the AI bubble bursts, every company would be hit.

[00:08:44]>> I think no company is going to be immune, including us. We can look back at the internet right now. There was clearly a lot of excess investment, but none of us would question whether the internet was profound. I expect AI to be the same. So I think it's both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this.

[00:09:04]So even Google is sounding the alarm.

[00:09:07]Sundar Pich says there is some irrationality in the AI rally.

[00:09:12]And this is not a small statement. It's a clear warning. [snorts] When the CEO of a tech giant like Google says this, the rest of the market should take note.

[00:09:20]This is a warning sign that a bigger correction could be coming.

[00:09:26]So, here's what investors must brace for. Choppy markets in the months ahead because the fundamentals are showing signs of weakness. Inflation is still high, spending is slowing, companies are pulling back on investment, and the job market is sending mixed signals.

[00:09:42]None of it inspires confidence.

[00:09:46]And until these numbers settle, the markets will keep swinging.

[00:09:51]They will be up one week, down the next week. Needless to say, this is not a normal phase. This is a stress test for stocks, for crypto, and for investors.

[00:10:01]The AI hype made things look easy, but now reality is catching up. This is a reset.

[00:10:17]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Ask any accountant. And they will tell you this, you must balance your books.

[00:10:44]Whether it's income and expenditure or assets and liabilities or exports and imports. If you do not find that balance, it will hurt you in the long run. Tonight, we're focusing on India's books, specifically our trade.

[00:10:59]India's deficit widened in October. It set a new record. It stood at 41.6 billion last month. That's the highest it's ever been. And we'll tell you what's causing this problem. But first, some basics. What is a deficit? When you buy more from the world than you sell it, you have a deficit. In other words, when your imports exceed your exports, say you export goods worth 80 $80, but you import goods worth $100, the difference is $20, and that $20 is your deficit.

[00:11:35]India's deficit in October was $41.6 billion.

[00:11:40]Meaning our imports exceeded our exports by that much by $41.6 billion. Now let's put this number in context. In the month of September, India's deficit was $32 billion. Economists were expecting it to fall in October from 32 billion. They expected it to fall to $28 billion.

[00:11:59]Instead, it rose to more than $41 billion. Obviously the question is why?

[00:12:06]Why did the deficit rise and that too to a record high? There are two main reasons for that. One is the festive demand for gold. Last month India imported gold worth 14 billion.

[00:12:19]That's 200% up from October 2024. $14 billion worth of gold. This gold rush drove up India's overall imports. That's the first reason. Reason number two is US tariffs. President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on India.

[00:12:37]But India's competitors, other countries, face only 15 to 20% tariffs.

[00:12:42]So Indian goods with 50% tariffs are more expensive in the US. As a result, Indian trade has been hit. Our shipments to the US are down. They've fallen by 8 12% compared to last year. Now if you combine these two reasons, the full picture emerges.

[00:13:01]Next question. Why is this a problem?

[00:13:03]Why is a deficit so bad?

[00:13:07]When Donald Trump complains about deficit, experts bash him. So if it's okay for the US, why is it a problem for India?

[00:13:15]It's a problem because of our economic position. India is a rising manufacturing powerhouse. Our goal is to become a factory and a pharmacy to the world. And that involves mass exports.

[00:13:28]Just look at China. They run a trade surplus of almost $90 billion 90. That's the opposite of deficit, a surplus.

[00:13:38]China runs a trade surplus of $90 billion. So at this stage, India needs a surplus. If not a surplus, at least more balance. That's what India needs.

[00:13:48]And how do we achieve that? Well, a trade deal with the US will help because despite the slump, America remains our top market. Whether it's for phones or jewelry or apparel, the US is still India's biggest market and that is why there is so much focus on the trade deal on a possible agreement between India and the US.

[00:14:09]India's commerce minister is optimistic.

[00:14:11]He says there will be some good news soon. At the same time, he's made India's red lines very clear. He said any deal must be fair, balanced, and equitable. We are both equally committed to working to expand uh trade and commerce between the two countries and when the deal becomes fair, equitable, balanced, you will hear good news.

[00:14:42]>> So where are the talks at? India has tried to be mindful of Donald Trump's concerns. For example, look at energy.

[00:14:48]Indian state firms are buying cooking gas from the US now. and that too for the first time ever.

[00:14:54]So New Delhi is making an effort to accommodate Trump. But the other side not so much. Consider the issue of Indian students in the US. We're talking about a large community. There are some 300,000 Indian students in the United States. Three lakh. Despite visa issues, enrollment is up. It is 10% higher than last year. Together these students contribute $14 billion to the US economy. Imagine that. 14 billion every year just from Indian students. Yet no one talks about that. No one includes this contribution in the trade equation.

[00:15:31]All the focus is on the goods trade and frankly that's unfair. Indian student expenditure adds to the US economy through living costs, through research, through work. How can you ignore that from the trade equation?

[00:15:45]The fact is trade in 2025 is not just containers on a ship. It is capital. It is people. It is technology as well. And any trade deal must account for that new reality.

[00:16:01][music] [music] >> I will say that we'll be selling F-35.

[00:16:26]dollars. $3 billion.

[00:16:35]It's no secret that Donald Trump loves Saudi Arabia. Back in 2017, his very first trip as president was to Riyad. It featured golden swords and orb photos.

[00:16:46]And in his second term, he did it again.

[00:16:50]Trump's first foreign stop this year was not to London or Ottawa. It was Riyad.

[00:16:56]Straight to Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the de facto ruler of the kingdom. In fact, by now the Trump MBS bromance is global legend. Trump cannot stop praising NBS and NBS cannot stop hosting Trump. And now the Saudi crown prince is coming to Washington. It's about an hour from now.

[00:17:17]In about an hour hour from now, he will be at the White House to meet President Donald Trump.

[00:17:22]>> And this is a very significant visit.

[00:17:25]This is NBS's first trip to Washington since 2018.

[00:17:29]You may remember what happened that year in 2018. Jamal Kashogi was killed. He was a Saudi dissident. He was killed in the Saudi embassy in Turkey reportedly on the orders of the Saudi crown prince.

[00:17:44]And when the case came to light, every Western nation isolated Saudi Arabia, but not Donald Trump.

[00:17:51]>> We are going to leave nothing uncovered. With that being said, the king firmly denied any knowledge of it. He didn't really know. Maybe I I don't want to get into his mind, but it sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?

[00:18:13]So the world treated NBS as a global pariah, but Donald Trump did not. He clearly likes the crown prince too much and now MBS is going to the Oval Office to see him. Of course, it's about more than their mutual admiration. This trip has a purpose. Saudi Arabia wants to be seen as a modern, dynamic, and indispensable power.

[00:18:35]And for that, it needs the United States of America, specifically America's technology, America's nuclear expertise, America's fighter jets, and yes, America's political blessing. MBS needs all of it.

[00:18:47]Look at the items on this on his agenda.

[00:18:50]The number one agenda item is the F-35 fighter jets. Saudi Arabia wants them and Trump says he's ready to sell.

[00:18:59]>> Yeah. No, I am planning on doing that.

[00:19:02]They want to buy. You've been a great ally.

[00:19:04]>> They've got to like us very much. Look at the Iran situation. What we did in terms of uh obliterating, you know, their we obliterated their nuclear capability. Yeah. I I will say that we will be doing that. We'll be selling F-35s.

[00:19:21]Now, this is a very important development because the F-35 is not just any other fighter jet. It is America's best so far and the most advanced technologically.

[00:19:32]The US guards this jet like Willy Wonka guards chocolate.

[00:19:37]It is shared sparingly. Israel has a few F-35s, a few NATO allies have them, and Riyad has long asked for them, but until now, Washington refused.

[00:19:48]>> Donald Trump is changing that. He says he will approve the sale. And the American defense establishment is wary because Saudi Arabia is also close to China. They've been getting cozy on a lot of things including security, telecom, drone research, Saudi Arabia and China. So the Americans fear that their F-35 tech could end up in Chinese hands and that is why they did not allow the sale so far.

[00:20:13]Plus they have one more problem and that is Israel. Israel has 45 of these jets.

[00:20:19]45 F-35 jets. Saudi Arabia has requested or is said to have requested for 48 jets. And you know what that means? It could change the power dynamics of West Asia.

[00:20:33]Of course, Israel is not in favor of the sale. The IDF, the Israeli Defense Force, has formally opposed the plan.

[00:20:39]They do not want Trump to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia. They believe it will erode Israel's air superiority.

[00:20:47]But Trump is having none of it because in this deal he sees only two things, money and leverage. He believes giving F-35s would pull Saudi Arabia firmly into the American orbit.

[00:21:01]And there's another prize that he's chasing, the Abraham Accords. That is a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. As of today, they do not recognize each other officially. They have no diplomatic ties. No official diplomatic ties. Saudi Arabia and Israel. Trump wants to change that and if he does he would change West Asia forever.

[00:21:23]It's a deal that he's long pursued. In his first term, he got four countries to normalize ties with Israel. The UAE, Bahrain, the Sudan, and Morocco. Saudi Arabia would be the big prize because it is the de facto leader of the Muslim world. It is the custodian of Mecca and Medina, the holiest sites in Islam.

[00:21:41]Trump wants it to recognize Israel.

[00:21:44]But for the Saudis, it will come at a huge political cost.

[00:21:49]And Crown Prince MBS knows that he cannot abandon the Palestinian cause. He cannot abandon Gaza after what has happened. He will want a clear path to Palestinian statethood and Israel may not agree to that. So normalization of ties may be tough. Trump may not get that deal in a hurry, but he might settle for something else today.

[00:22:11]Saudi money for the reconstruction of Gaza. Something symbolic, something that he can talk about because often political storytelling matters more than political reality.

[00:22:23]And beyond that, this is about interests. Everyone pretends that foreign policy is about principles, but let's be honest, it's also about money.

[00:22:31]Trump has business projects in the Gulf, towers, golf tournaments, real estate proposals, and Saudi Arabia has massive sovereign wealth funds. Billions of dollars have already moved. Billions more could follow. For MBS, this visit is about is about legitimacy.

[00:22:48]For Trump, it's about power. And for both men, it's about rewriting their own story lines.

[00:23:00]The countdown is on. Russian President Vladimir Putin is slated to visit India next month. Reports say it could happen in the first week of December. It's his first visit to India since the Ukraine war began and it also comes amid growing pressure on IndiaRussia ties mostly pressure from outside.

[00:23:18]So there's a lot of focus on this trip and a lot of efforts to make sure that it is successful.

[00:23:25]Foreign Minister SJ Shankar is on one such mission. He is in Moscow for a three-day visit. He landed on Monday.

[00:23:31]First he met his Russian counterpart that's Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Today he took part in a meeting of the SEO, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and later he met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[00:23:46]Now the SEO is basically a regional block in Eurasia. Today Russia hosted a meeting of the SEO states and Jhanker used the occasion to put the spotlight on terrorism. Listen to this. We must never forget that the SEO was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

[00:24:08]These threats have become even more serious in the years that have passed.

[00:24:14]It is imperative that the world display zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

[00:24:22]There can be no justification, no looking away, and no whitewashing.

[00:24:29]Security was a founding principle of the SEO. It's always been a crucial talking point at these summits. Plus, Pakistan was also in the room. Their foreign minister arrived in Moscow yesterday. He too attended the SEO meeting. So clearly, Jankher's message was targeted at Pakistan. He asked the SEO to not justify or whitewash terrorism.

[00:24:51]That's the multilateral aspect of Jeser's trip to Moscow.

[00:24:55]But the bilateral part is arguably more important. Jankher noted that yesterday was his sixth meeting with Lavrov this year. Sixth meeting in 11 months.

[00:25:06]And look at the context. You have a US president who's asking India to abandon Russia. He has imposed tariffs to separate the two sides. And yet the ties remain strong. It is proof of the depth and longevity of this relationship, India and Russia.

[00:25:24]And that's something that J Shanka also pointed out.

[00:25:27]>> A number of bilateral agreements, initiatives and projects are under discussion in various fields. We look forward to the finalization in the coming days.

[00:25:39]India Russia ties have long been a factor of stability in international relations. Its growth and evolution is not only in our mutual interest but also in that of the world.

[00:25:52]All of this is leading up to Putin's visit and J Shankr was in Moscow meet as as Jshanker was in Moscow meeting Lavrov Putin's top adviser was in Delhi meeting India's NSA that's national security adviser Ajid Dval the goal is to finalize agreements on trade and defense once the draft is done the deal can be signed during Putin's visit that's what both sides are hoping for and let's look at one of the lined up deals it involves a sale of fifth generation fighter jets. These are the most advanced jets in the world, the fifth generation fighters. Only three countries have made them. The US has the F-35. China has the J20 and J35 and Russia has the SU57. Now, some reports say that Pakistan will buy fifth generation jets from China, meaning Islamabad could have a qualitative edge over India. And this has triggered a big debate in India.

[00:26:48]Experts are divided over our options.

[00:26:50]Should India wait for its own fifth gen plane or should it buy one off the shelf? That is the debate. The second option, buying of the shelf, could benefit Russia. They have unveiled an upgraded SU57 at the Dubai Air Show.

[00:27:05]They're also willing to sweeten the deal. Here's what Russian officials are offering. Unrestricted tech transfer for those planes. The Russian side represented by Rossaron export and USC is offering to India produ supply of 257 fighter produced in Russia with subsequent organization of production of the aircraft in India and technology transfer. Hence we are offering technological learning of field generation technologies including engines, optics, AESA radar, AI elements, low signature technologies and modern air weapons.

[00:27:53]>> Let me translate what that meant. When you buy off the shelf, you get only the product. You don't get access to the technology. But Russia is offering that first. They will sell the SU57 to India.

[00:28:04]After that, they will transfer the technology as well. Meaning India could build these planes at home.

[00:28:11]Like I said, it's a sweet deal. Russia is offering the planes, the tech, and the long-term support. They say Indian missiles could be fitted on the SU57.

[00:28:23]The question is, will New Delhi go for it?

[00:28:27]Well, if we do, we'll know soon because the hope is to strike a deal while Putin is visiting. And with so much on the agenda, it promises to be a high stakes mission.

[00:28:42]Our next story is from Europe where the Ukrainian president is on a tour. Wimir Zalinski is visiting three countries, Greece, France, and Spain. and he has one mission to shore up military and political support for Ukraine. In France, Zilinski has had some success.

[00:28:58]Paris has agreed to supply Kiev with 100 Rafal jets. But a corruption scandal in Ukraine has cast a shadow over this deal. We've told you about it on the show. The scandal involves members of President Zilinsk's inner circle.

[00:29:13]Reports say they took kickbacks worth $100 million. It led to the sacking of two ministers and it it has prompted leaders in Europe to ask uncomfortable questions. Our next report has more.

[00:29:28]>> Zalinski is back in Europe. He's signing deals, securing aid, and landing fighter jets for Ukraine.

[00:29:37]In Paris, Zalinski has signed a big ticket defense deal. French President Emmanuel Macron was there. When both sides announced Kiev will buy the Rafal fighter jets, the first thing is that Ukraine will be able to receive 100 Raffle F4 aircraft, very powerful French radars, eight air defense systems, SAMP, six launchers each.

[00:30:04]But behind the handshakes, there's a shadow. A corruption scandal back home.

[00:30:10]one that's rattling Zalinsk's inner circle and raising new questions about Ukraine's government. It centers on Ukraine's state nuclear agency.

[00:30:20]Investigators have uncovered a 100 million embezzlement scheme, secret deals, fake names, luxury villas, and even a golden toilet bowl, all built with public money. Some of the accused are close to Zalinski. His former business partner Timour Mindic fled the country hours before a raid. Two ministers from Zalinsk's cabinet have resigned. Others are under investigation and the former deputy prime minister is named in court records.

[00:30:54]The case is serious. The president is trying to contain the fallout. He's called for swift punishment. His aids say he was floored by the scale of the theft. But critics say it's not enough.

[00:31:09]Because this isn't just about embezzlement.

[00:31:12]It's about what the government did when the probe began. Reports say Ukraine's leadership tried to weaken the anti-corruption agency when it first began investigating 15 months ago.

[00:31:24]That's before any names had come out.

[00:31:27]The government tried to strip the agency's powers. Public backlash stopped it.

[00:31:34]Why does this matter? Because Ukraine receives billions in international aid every year. That includes money from the European Union, the United States, and other partners. And that aid comes with expectations of transparency and accountability.

[00:31:52]Zalinski is now traveling across Europe.

[00:31:55]He just concluded talks in Greece. He's heading to Spain next. And the message is clear. He wants Europe to stay invested financially, militarily, and politically. But some European leaders are feeling uneasy. Reports say Zalinsk's image has taken a hit. His tight control over power is under scrutiny, and the scandal has opened old wounds about corruption in Ukraine.

[00:32:23]Zalinsk's top aid, Andre Yermach, hasn't been accused, but insiders say he centralized too much that he gave the wrong people too much access. Meanwhile, the war continues. Russian strikes are increasing. Ukraine's defense lines are holding, but under strain. And while the Rafal deal with France is a show of support, Zalinski's bigger battle may now be political. This was meant to be a diplomatic breakthrough, but the headlines tell another story. Zalinski is trying to win over Europe, but the scandal back home won't stay silent. Not while ministers are resigning. Not while billions in aid hang in the balance. As they say, trust when broken might be the hardest thing to rebuild.

[00:33:21]When we talk about India's security challenges, what is it that comes to your mind? Maybe it's Pakistan sponsored terrorism or China's land grabs. These are events unfolding far away from us along unforgiving frontiers. They grab headlines and mind space. But what about the challenge inside our country? A fight that India has been fighting for decades and is now close to winning.

[00:33:45]I'm talking about the Mauist or Naxalite insurgency. Today, Indian forces struck a heavy blow to them. They neutralized one of the top Knackel commanders. His name was Madvi Hidma. Hidma was among the most feared Mauist commanders. He joined the insurgency as a child recruit. Over time, he grew into leadership roles. Today, he has been killed. And this has been called the biggest setback to Mauists in 20 years.

[00:34:12]His story tells you why. Madvi Hidma was a tribal recruit from Bastar. Bastar is a district in the state of Chhattisgar in central India. Hidma joined the Mauis in the year 1991. Within the insurgency, he had a mythical image because Bastar is the center of Maoism.

[00:34:32]Most of their fighters are tribals. But their leaders their leaders are mostly Telugu speakers basically outsiders who tell them what to do. So for the rank and file, Hidmar from Bastar was one of their own. As a commander, he built a ruthless legacy. He engineered more than 20 attacks on civilians and security forces. Put together he killed more than 100 people.

[00:34:56]Security forces have tried to eliminate him in the past, but each time Hidmma escaped.

[00:35:02]This time his luck ran out. Security officials got intelligence inputs about Maist movement. They zeroed in on the Chhattisgarh Andra border. What followed was an encounter. Hidma, his wife, and his bodyguards were killed. But the action did not stop there. Later in the day, another operation was launched.

[00:35:22]This one was led by Octopus, the organization for counterterrorist operation.

[00:35:29]They arrested 31 Mauis from the state of Andhra Pradesh. So put together, it was a good day in the fight against Maui.

[00:35:36]The question is are we close to eliminating this threat?

[00:35:40]Well, the government of India has set a deadline March 2026.

[00:35:45]By March next year, they want to eradicate Maoism in India.

[00:35:50]Frankly, it could happen before that because look at the numbers. In 2025, security forces have neutralized 270 Mauists. They have arrested 680 and they've also arranged a surrender of more than,200.

[00:36:05]That's a big blow in just 11 months.

[00:36:08]Among those neutralized are also top leaders. In the month of May, Mauist party chief Basabar Raj was killed and now battlefield commander Hidma has also been killed. That's political and military leadership wiped out and without those no organization can succeed. If you look at the big picture, the progress is quite clear. In the year 2013, India had 182 Mauista affected districts. By 2018, that number came down to 90 90. By 2024, it was down to 38. And now 2025, that number stands at 18. 18 districts. Look at the progress from 183 affected districts to just 18.

[00:36:51]The question is what happens next? The first step is to completely stamp out the insurgency. After that comes progress. The Maui state areas are rich in natural resources. Just look at Chhattiska, one of the most mineralrich states in India. It is home to 28 different minerals like diamond, coal, limestone, dolomite, boide. And most of these deposits are not accessible. Do you know why? Because they lie in misted areas. And don't get us wrong, we're not saying that go in and plunder the forest. We are saying harness these resources, use nature's bounty to deliver progress for the locals.

[00:37:28]If you can do that, you can root out this problem. Because Mauists prey on the poor, they weaponize legitimate concerns to fight an illegitimate battle.

[00:37:42]Yes, you can defang them on the battlefield, but ultimately there must be progress. For decades, red terror has haunted the people of central and east India. It is time to finish this off once and for all.

[00:37:55]Our next story is about Nestle. It is the world's largest food company. It makes some of the most well-known products in the world. But tonight, it is facing serious questions and that is because of a new investigation. A report says Nestle sold baby cereals with added sugar. These products were sold in parts of Africa. They were meant for babies as young as young as 6 months. The lab tests found added sugar in most tested packets.

[00:38:26]But here's the thing. The same product in Europe had no added sugar. So two different standards for two different worlds. Nestle says the report is misleading and scientifically inaccurate. But the investigation has now triggered a global debate. Are food companies following one rule for some regions and another for others? Here's a report.

[00:38:49]Early solid foods for babies are supposed to be the safest.

[00:38:53]They are generally considered free from additives.

[00:38:57]>> But a recent investigation has raised an alarm.

[00:39:00]>> You know, when they're able to >> Some packaged baby cereals in Africa contain added sugar. Sugar that many parents may not be aware of. The findings were released by public eye. It is a Swiss investigative group and their investigation was centered on the world's largest food company Nestle.

[00:39:22]Public eyes team worked with civil society partners in reportedly over 20 African countries. Together they collected nearly 100 samples of Cerillac.

[00:39:34]Serillac is Nestle's flagship cereal for babies aged 6 months and above. All the samples went to a laboratory for testing.

[00:39:45]The results were consistent. More than 90% of the packets contained added sugar. The average serving held around 6 g. That is roughly 1 and 1/2 teaspoon.

[00:39:58]Some packets even contained 7 1/2 g.

[00:40:02]Investigators then compared these results with cerillac sold in richer markets. Many European versions had no added sugar public eye pointed to this contrast. They said this amounted to a double standard. And that comparison triggered a bigger debate because global health guidance is clear. The World Health Organization recommends no added sugars in foods for children under three. Experts say early sugar exposure can shape taste preferences. They also link it to tooth decay and higher risks of obesity later in life.

[00:40:42]Nestle however rejected the allegations.

[00:40:46]The company said the report was misleading. It said its products follow national regulations in every country and that its recipes meet international standards.

[00:40:58]Nestle also said some of the sugar detected in tests comes from natural ingredients including grains, milk and fruit and it announced a global shift to no added sugar cerillac by the end of this year.

[00:41:14]But this is not the first time Nestle has faced scrutiny over its nutrition practices.

[00:41:21]In April 2024, Public Eye reported that Nestle added sugar to its baby foods sold in lowincome countries including India, but they were not included in the European markets. In 2015, Nestle's favorite Maggie noodles were banned in India.

[00:41:43]This was after it was found that the product contained more than permissible levels of lead and monosodium glutamate or MSG. And over the years, rights groups have also reported cases of child labor on cocoa farms allegedly linked to Nestle. Those reports led to lawsuits and promises to strengthen supply chain checks. Together, these episodes form a long history of scrutiny and they shape how the new findings are received today.

[00:42:15]The latest results land at a critical moment for many African countries.

[00:42:20]Obesity and diabetes are rising.

[00:42:24]Undernutrition remains widespread.

[00:42:27]Health experts call this the double burden of malnutrition.

[00:42:31]And this raises some important questions. What should be the standard for food made for infants? And should that standard ever differ from one region to another?

[00:42:48]In East Asia, tensions are on the rise.

[00:42:50]It's China versus Japan.

[00:42:53]It started as a diplomatic row. The trigger was a remark in Tokyo, but now it's snowballing into a full-fledged showdown.

[00:43:00]It has now spilled into daily life in both countries with governments hardening their positions, travelers changing their plans, airlines counting their losses, cinemas adjusting their schedules and diplomats making urgent trips.

[00:43:14]All of this is happening over one question and what is that question? What happens if there is a crisis in the Taiwan Strait?

[00:43:23]That was a question. Japan answered it.

[00:43:26]China did not like it. Hence the meltdown. Earlier this month, Japan's parliament discussed this hypothetical crisis. What if China attacked Taiwan?

[00:43:38]What would Japan do if China attacked Taiwan? Their new prime minister, Senet Kai, gave a response. Listen in.

[00:43:46]If China were to deploy battleships and involve the use of force, I believe this could be deemed a situation threatening Japan's survival.

[00:43:57]That phrase, a threat to Japan's survival, is not routine. It is a legal term in Japan's security framework. It opens the door to Japan using force in extreme cases. So, the remark carried a lot of weight and it marked a clear shift, a shift in how openly Japanese leaders now speak about Taiwan.

[00:44:21]Beijing's response came quickly. It summoned the Japanese envoy. It demanded that Prime Minister Takai retract her remarks.

[00:44:30]They said her words violated the one China principle.

[00:44:34]Beijing said Tokyo was damaging bilateral ties. Today, senior officials from both sides met in Beijing. China says it has lodged, and I'm quoting, it has lodged a strong protest.

[00:44:49]Taiichi's fallacy seriously violated the basic norms of international law and international relations and seriously undermined the post-war international order. It seriously violates the one China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and fundamentally damages the political foundation of SinoJapanese relations.

[00:45:13]>> Tokyo has pushed back against this but it's also being careful. It says, "Thai's comments do not change Japan's official policy." And what is that policy? The one China policy. There's one China and its government is in Beijing. That is Japan's policy. It's been in place since 1972. But here's the catch. Japan also maintains working ties with Taiwan. Taiwan is self-governed with its own constitution, its own military, and its own currency. Its political status is complex. Most countries in the world do not recognize Taiwan as a separate nation. Japan too does not officially support Taiwan's independence, but it also opposes any change in the status quo by force.

[00:45:55]This balancing act has guided Japan for decades. So when Tokyo says nothing has changed, it means this balance still holds.

[00:46:07]But China is upset and it wants to make its displeasure felt. So it issued a travel warning against Japan. It told Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan.

[00:46:20]Why? Because the remarks from Tokyo had created quote unquote safety risks.

[00:46:24]That's what Beijing said. There are safety risks, so don't go to Japan.

[00:46:29]And the impact was immediate. Chinese airlines began offering full refunds.

[00:46:34]Chinese passengers canled their trips in large numbers. As reports say, nearly half a million tickets, 500,000 tickets have been cancelled in just a few days.

[00:46:45]On some days, cancellations outnumbered new bookings by 27 times. And sure enough, Japan felt the blow. [snorts] Because Chinese tourists are among their biggest spenders, tourism and retail stocks in Tokyo fell sharply yesterday.

[00:46:59]In response, Japan issued its own safety advisory. It asked Japanese nationals to avoid large gatherings. It also told them to be on alert and it raised a formal protest in Beijing today. It told China that the travel warning was excessive.

[00:47:15]The China refuses to budge. It has also postponed the release of two Japanese movies. It says the public sentiment has shifted.

[00:47:23]So one remark on Taiwan and you have disruptions in travel and entertainment.

[00:47:28]It has also spilled into security signals. Their militaries are making aggressive moves. It's mostly posturing at this point, but none of this bodess well for the region. China flips every time a country mentions Taiwan. All because Xi Jinping has made it his personal political mission. He wants to control Taiwan. He's not ruled out the use of force if needed, and he won't entertain questions, even hypothetical ones.

[00:47:59]The Cambridge dictionary has picked its word of the year and the word is parasocial.

[00:48:06]Parasocial. Do you know what it means? A parasocial relationship is a one-sided connection where you feel close to a celebrity, an influencer, even a fictional character or an AI bot.

[00:48:19]You feel close to them. Someone you know only through a screen or a story. And someone who does not know you at all.

[00:48:27]Like if you thought you knew a star personally or felt an emotional connection for an influencer. That's a parasocial relationship.

[00:48:36]And millions of people experience it every day. Our next report tells you why this word matters and how this one side these one-sided bonds shape the way we connect online.

[00:48:50]>> Do you ever feel like you know everything about your favorite actor, their habits, heartbreaks, even their coffee order?

[00:48:59]Do you cheer when your favorite creator announces a big life milestone as if you've been rooting for them since episode 1?

[00:49:07]Does your day dim a little when a singer you adore posts something sad like their sorrow has somehow traveled through the screen and landed on you?

[00:49:18]If yes, then congratulations. You're in a parasocial relationship.

[00:49:24]A connection built through pixels nurtured through algorithms and held together by a feeling that you know them even if they've never looked directly into your eyes. And that's exactly why Parasocial has just been crowned Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year.

[00:49:42]Because this one-sided bond isn't niche anymore. It's the emotional backbone of the internet in 2025.

[00:49:50]It is quietly shaping how we follow, feel, and form attachments in a world where everyone is accessible yet no one is truly close.

[00:50:00]What does it mean? Here's the simplest version. A parasocial relationship is when you feel close to someone who does not know you exist. That could be a pop star, a podcast host, an influenza, or increasingly an AI chatbot.

[00:50:18]Parasocial isn't obsession. It isn't stalking. It isn't even necessarily unhealthy. It's the feeling that this person in your screen gets you. Now, parasocial sounds like one of those freshly minted Gen Z terms, but the truth is more academic and goes back decades. It originated in 1956.

[00:50:39]This is when two sociologists, Donald Horton and Richard Wool, looked at television and how it impacts people.

[00:50:48]They realized people were forming emotional bonds with the people on the screen. That too, one-sided ones.

[00:50:55]Researchers say parasocial bonds form because the parasocial figure offers something irresistible.

[00:51:01]That is undivided attention.

[00:51:05]Your favorite podcaster never interrupts you. Your favorite creator never forgets your birthday. Your favorite AI never ghosts your message. The people in your life do. And so the relationship, though one-sided, feels consistent, comforting, and controlled.

[00:51:23]But that isn't always a good thing.

[00:51:26]Experts warn that parasocial relationships can create unrealistic expectations and blur boundaries. It could lead to obsessive loyalty.

[00:51:36]If you've ever seen a fan meltdown in the comments because an influencer didn't post for a day, you've seen parasocial drift into parasocial dulu.

[00:51:46]And with AI, things get even stranger.

[00:51:49]People confide in chat bots. Some flirt with them. Some treat them as therapists. In 2025, the line between human and not human is blurry enough that parasocial applies to both.

[00:52:03]Also, parasocial isn't the only one.

[00:52:05]There are a lot of runners up in this race. For example, slop, which is the wave of loweffort mass-roduced AI content flooding your feeds like digital dandruff, or memeifi, the art of turning anything and everything into a meme. or dulu, the affectionate shorthand for delusional, except now used as a personality trait.

[00:52:27]So, there were some top contenders, but Parasocial sums it up best.

[00:52:32]We have never been more connected to people who don't know us. That's the modern reality of 2025. And Parasocial describes it in one word.

[00:52:47]If you work in IT, there's a decent chance that your laptop knows you knows more about you than anyone else. It knows when you logged in. It knows when you drifted off. It knows when you opened Excel and also when you minimized Excel to watch a YouTube video. But what happens when your company uses the same laptop to track you?

[00:53:09]Take Cognizant for example. reports suggest it wants to track the productivity of its employees. And how will it do that? Through a new software.

[00:53:17]It will track employee behavior on their devices. And this is how the system supposedly works. If there is no keyboard or mouse activity for over 5 minutes, employees are declared idle. If it remains inactive for 15 minutes, the employee is marked away from desk. The dashboard shows when a user is logged in. It shows when apps are open and how much time is spent on different tasks, which means the company can create a minute-by-minute picture of a typical workday. It can tell what the employee is doing every single moment. Reports say this new system is being gradually rolled out. It will be introduced from team to team and this has made some employees uneasy. Now, we must add here that Cognizant has denied using the software.

[00:54:07]But this story is not about Cognizant.

[00:54:09]It's also not the only company caught up in this debate. Several IT firms are set to be using tools like this.

[00:54:18]Take Microsoft for example, Microsoft Teams. It is what most companies use for communication. And Microsoft Teams is planning an update that will reflect the location of the employee.

[00:54:32]Say you connected with the with the Wi-Fi of your organization. Then it will show the building that you're in.

[00:54:39]So your company will know if you're in office or not when you've joined that team's meeting.

[00:54:45]And companies insist that this is not about policing employees. They argue it's about understanding how work gets done. You see, remote work has become the norm these days. Some employees are working from home at all times. So companies say they must find the bottlenecks. They must reduce wasted time and build better processes. Fair enough. But employees unsurprisingly do not see it that way. They see a dashboard. They see metrics. They see a system that knows exactly how long they spent on apps, but not how complex the problem they solved was. So employees fear that this data could become tomorrow's performance appraisal.

[00:55:28]Now it appears that both sides have a valid argument. But here's the problem.

[00:55:33]Measuring activity is not the same as measuring work. [snorts] Sending 20 emails instead of one is not productivity.

[00:55:41]Opening and closing files is not productivity. Fidgeting with your mouse so that you do not get marked idle is definitely not productivity.

[00:55:52]The modern workplace seems to reward the appearance of work rather than the work itself. The spotlight often does not belong to the best performers. It belongs to the busiest ones.

[00:56:04]Also, there's another problem with tracking tools. Once data exists, someone will try to optimize it. If a dashboard shows idle time, the leadership will ask why.

[00:56:17]This is how micromanagement becomes institutionalized.

[00:56:21]It's like putting a fitness tracker on a hamster. Eventually, someone will ask the hamster to run faster.

[00:56:29]But the fact is, it doesn't matter how much you work. What matters is the outcome. You can send one brilliant email that solves a complex problem or 20 mediocre ones that create 20 more problems. You can spend 3 hours deeply thinking through a solution or 8 hours producing constant activity.

[00:56:48]When companies focus on output instead of outcome, they miss the point of modern work.

[00:56:55]So, as tools grow smarter and workplaces grow more digital, here's the looming question. Do companies want employees who perform for dashboards or employees who perform for results? Because one leads to busyiness, the other leads to brilliance.

[00:57:14]And no software can seem to tell the difference.

[00:57:18]>> [music] >> Half the internet just went down. We're talking X, Canva, Chat, GPT, Perplexity, and so many more. Even the website that tracks outages went down. The internet couldn't even report its own problem.

[00:57:38]Talk about irony. The culprit was a massive cloud flare outage. This is the company that keeps websites fast, safe, and most importantly online. So when Cloudflare went down, half the internet went down with it like a domino digital effect. But of course, netizens did not slow down. In fact, # Twitter down was ironically trending on X itself. Take a look.

[00:58:06][music] >> [music] >> Wow. [music] [music] >> [music] >> you [music] fly [music] you.

[00:58:52][music] >> [music] >> And now it's time for Vantage Shots.

[00:59:04]Images that tell the story. NATO submarine sinks ship in a torpedo test during military exercises. Clashes erupt in Mexico during protests over security and corruption. And Japan deploys barking drones to scare off bears as attacks increase. Finally, we're taking you back to history. On this day in 1963, the first push button telephones were introduced in the United States.

[00:59:26]They replaced the rotary dial models.

[00:59:29]The original push button phone had 10 buttons, but in 1968, the star and number keys were added. We're leaving you on that note. Thank you for watching. We'll see you tomorrow.

[00:59:52]Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat.

[01:00:20][music] [music] >> [music] >> Oh yeah.

[01:00:41]Oh yeah.

[01:00:52]Heat.

[01:00:54]Heat.

[01:01:04]Heat. Heat.

[01:01:11][music] Heat. Heat.

[01:01:24][music] [music] [music] >> [music]