Pakistan was ranked the most polluted country in the world in 2025, with hazardous levels of fine particulate matter far exceeding global health standards, according to a report cited by Dawn. The annual assessment by Swiss air quality firm IQAir found that PM2.5 concentrations—tiny airborne particles dangerous to human health—were up to 13 times higher than the guideline set by the World Health Organisation.
The report noted that only 13 countries and territories kept average PM2.5 levels within the WHO’s recommended limit of under 5 micrograms per cubic metre in 2025, up from seven in 2024. However, most countries continued to struggle with air pollution, with 130 out of 143 monitored nations failing to meet the guideline.
Bangladesh and Tajikistan were ranked second and third, respectively, among the most polluted countries. Globally, only 14 percent of cities met WHO air quality standards in 2025, down from 17 percent the previous year. Researchers attributed some of the deterioration to massive wildfires in Canada, which raised PM2.5 levels across the United States and parts of Europe.
Countries that stayed within the WHO limit included Australia, Iceland, Estonia, and Panama. Several Southeast Asian nations recorded improvements: Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia saw notable reductions in PM2.5 levels due to wetter and windier conditions linked to La Nina. Mongolia reported a 31 percent decline in PM2.5, averaging 17.8 micrograms per cubic metre.
IQAir reported that 75 countries experienced lower PM2.5 levels in 2025 compared with 2024, while 54 countries saw increases. Pakistan was ranked first on the Global Terrorism Index for the first time, following a 6 percent rise in terrorism-related deaths during 2025. The Global Terrorism Index 2026, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, recorded 1,139 deaths and 1,045 incidents, highlighting worsening security conditions.
The report pointed to strained relations with neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan, and rising violence from Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as major security risks. Terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan reached their highest level since 2013, with the TTP emerging as the deadliest group in the country and the third deadliest worldwide.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.
The Government of India has convened an all-party meeting on March 25 at 5 PM to discuss the escalating crisis in West Asia. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led a high-level review meeting to assess recent global and regional security developments, as well as India’s defence preparedness. Senior officials, including CDS General Anil Chauhan, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, General Upendra Dwivedi, Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, and DRDO Chairman Samir Kamat, were present.
The conflict in West Asia has now entered its fourth week, significantly disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions intensified after Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in joint US-Israel strikes on February 28. In response, Iran launched attacks on US and Israeli assets across several Gulf nations, further affecting the waterway, global energy markets, and economic stability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the Rajya Sabha today regarding the crisis and its implications for India’s energy security. A day earlier, he spoke in the Lok Sabha, describing the situation as “worrisome” and highlighting the wide-ranging economic, security, and humanitarian challenges it poses.
He emphasized that the conflict has created serious global challenges and could impact India’s trade ties with the region, which supplies a large share of the country’s crude oil and gas. The region also remains strategically important as a key trade route. Meanwhile, opposition parties criticized his remarks, calling them overly self-congratulatory and politically charged.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.
Razorpay has announced a partnership with the Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam AI to create voice-first, conversational commerce experiences in India. The collaboration leverages Sarvam’s AI models and agentic stack alongside Razorpay’s payment infrastructure, allowing users to browse products, place orders, and complete payments through natural voice commands in multiple Indian languages.
The system is designed to understand user intent and manage the entire transaction flow without relying on traditional app navigation. The initial rollout will feature Swiggy on the Indus App, enabling users to order food simply by speaking to an AI assistant. According to a CNBC report, businesses can also integrate these voice-based commerce features into their own platforms. As part of an early deployment, a conversational assistant has already been implemented on The Derma Co website, allowing customers to explore and purchase products using voice commands.
Sarvam’s technology will also be integrated into Razorpay’s Agent Studio, giving developers the ability to build multilingual AI agents capable of interacting in languages such as Hindi and Hinglish. The goal of this collaboration is to make digital commerce more accessible to India’s multilingual population, with AI agents handling everything from product discovery to checkout in a seamless conversational flow.
Last month, Razorpay also partnered with Indian AI startup Gnani.ai, which focuses on a more specific application compared to the broader conversational commerce initiative with Sarvam AI. Together, they launched an agentic AI collections platform that helps businesses complete payment transactions during live customer calls. The AI agent can assess intent, generate payment requests (like UPI links), and confirm payments within the same interaction.
Unlike the Sarvam AI partnership, which covers end-to-end conversational commerce from discovery to checkout, the Gnani.ai platform is targeted at automating payment collections. It integrates Gnani.ai’s voice AI with Razorpay’s payments infrastructure to manage the full payment workflow in real time, including verification, link generation, tracking, and confirmation, focusing on financial operations rather than general consumer transactions.
Sarvam AI is a Bengaluru-based startup developing speech, language, and multimodal AI systems specifically for Indian use cases. Rather than a single general-purpose chatbot, the company builds specialized models for tasks like speech recognition, text-to-speech, translation, and document understanding, with a strong emphasis on Indian languages. Its portfolio includes Saaras (speech recognition), Bulbul (text-to-speech), Saarika (transcription), Mayura (translation), and Sarvam-M (multilingual reasoning model). On the vision front, Sarvam Vision handles OCR and document analysis, while applications like Samvaad enable voice-based interactions.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Business Standard.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented the Budget for the financial year 2026–27, totaling ₹1,03,700 crore, a rise of about 3.7% from the previous year’s ₹1,00,000 crore. The Budget projects tax revenue of ₹74,000 crore and prioritizes spending across infrastructure, health, education, and civic services.
Gupta emphasized that this year’s plan strongly focuses on environmental sustainability, with 21% of the allocation dedicated to green initiatives. “We have brought a Green Budget. Every policy and scheme has been viewed through a green lens, aiming to balance development with care for Mother Earth,” she said, noting the urgency as Delhi continues to struggle with severe air pollution annually.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been allocated ₹11,666 crore, including ₹1,000 crore for road improvements and ₹1,352 crore for developing dust-free roads, which involves large-scale recarpeting projects across the city. Education has been allotted ₹19,148 crore, while health receives ₹12,645 crore. Urban development and shelter projects are set to get ₹7,887 crore, and the Public Works Department will receive ₹5,921 crore.
The power department has been granted ₹3,942 crore, including ₹200 crore to move overhead electricity wires underground, preparing for a projected rise in summer electricity demand with peaks expected above 9,000 MW. The Delhi Jal Board will receive ₹9,000 crore for water and sewage management, including ₹475 crore for the Chandrawal water treatment plant to ensure residents do not need to rely on water tankers.
Additional allocations include ₹787 crore for the Delhi Rural Development Board, ₹674 crore for the fire department, ₹454 crore for works on the Najafgarh drain, and ₹350 crore for the MLA Local Area Development Scheme. The Budget reflects the government’s effort to balance development priorities with environmental and civic needs while addressing the capital’s ongoing challenges.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from PTI.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni participated in voting in Rome during a nationwide referendum concerning proposed changes to Italy’s justice system. She cast her ballot before the polls closed, joining other citizens in deciding on potential judicial reforms. This referendum allows Italians to have a direct say in shaping the legal and judicial framework of the country, reflecting public opinion on critical issues affecting the justice system. Meloni’s participation underscores the importance of civic engagement and the democratic process in Italy, highlighting her role not just as a political leader but also as an active voter in national decision-making.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.
As tensions rise in Iran, the global energy system is being tested like never before. Critical chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, along with concentrated LNG infrastructure in hubs like Ras Laffan, highlight the inherent rigidity and vulnerability of oil and gas markets. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman explore what “market adjustment” looks like when long-term contracts offer little flexibility, and why Europe could once again face a challenging scramble for energy supplies. Their analysis includes insights from Pang Lu Ming, Vice President of Gas & LNG Research at Rystad Energy.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from CNA.
Journalist and author of The Lasting Harm, Lucia Osborne-Crowley, discusses the grooming strategies used by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Speaking to Annie Kelly, Lucia emphasizes that Epstein isn’t unique or mysterious. “Viewing him as special distracts from the reality,” she says. “There are many others like him. These abuses occur in communities and institutions worldwide, following the same patterns repeatedly.”
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from The Guardian.
In Destination Anywhere, Melanie Oliveiro explores Jewel Changi Airport, where visitors can admire a wall mural by local multimedia artist Priscilla Tey alongside the historic Porsche 956 in its iconic blue-and-white Rothmans livery. Tey and Yannick Ott, Marketing Director at Porsche Asia Pacific, share the story behind their collaboration and explain how the mural blends Year of the Horse motifs with Porsche’s motorsport heritage and design. They also point out hidden “Easter eggs” in the artwork and showcase the exclusive limited-edition merchandise available to fans.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from CNA.
Southeast Asia’s largest conglomerates have traditionally been viewed as the backbone of the region’s economy. However, a recent report by global consulting firm Bain & Company indicates that this model is facing significant challenges. Specialized competitors are encroaching on their markets, and many of these corporate giants are finding it hard to stay competitive. The question now is whether Asia’s major conglomerates need to reinvent themselves — and if they can. Andrea Heng and Susan Ng discuss this with Amanda Chin, Partner at Bain & Company.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from CNA.
