A UK employment tribunal has awarded nearly £67,000 to an Indian man who accused his KFC manager of race bias and wrongful dismissal. Madhesh Ravichandran from Tamil Nadu worked at the West Wickham outlet in south-east London from January 2023. He told the tribunal that his Sri Lankan Tamil manager called him a “slave” and said “Indians are fraudsters”. The judge said his holiday requests were denied because of his race and that he was pressured to work long hours. Ravichandran later resigned and was dismissed without notice. The tribunal ruled that the abuse violated his dignity and ordered the company to pay damages and introduce staff training on workplace discrimination. (PC: NDTV)

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met for over two hours in Florida and later described the talks as “great”. Both leaders spoke of progress, but offered few clear details on how the war could end. Key issues such as possible territorial concessions by Ukraine remain unresolved. Zelensky said any deal may need public approval through a referendum. There was also no clear outline of the security guarantees Ukraine would receive. Russia has already rejected ideas such as a ceasefire and foreign monitoring forces. Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “serious” about peace. For now, there is no confirmed agreement accepted by all sides. (PC: BBC)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticised Canada’s healthcare system after the death of an Indian-origin man at a hospital in Edmonton. The 44-year-old, Prashant Sreekumar, reportedly waited for nearly eight hours for care while suffering chest pain and later went into cardiac arrest. A video posted by his wife accused hospital staff of neglect. Reacting on X, Musk said, “When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV.” The case has sparked debate online and drawn the attention of Indian authorities. The incident took place at Grey Nuns Community Hospital, where the man was in the waiting area before he collapsed. (PC: India Today)

Dense fog disrupted air travel in Delhi-NCR on Monday as visibility dropped sharply at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Officials said 128 flights were cancelled, eight were diverted, and more than 200 were delayed during the morning hours. IndiGo warned that delays could continue till noon as visibility was still poor at several north India airports. Delhi airport later said runway visibility was improving but some operations may remain affected. The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for Delhi and said dense to very dense fog will persist in parts of north India over the next few days. Passengers were advised to check flight status with airlines before travel. (PC: X)

A hospital case report has said that Angel Chakma, a student from Tripura, suffered right-side paralysis after a racial attack. The report from Graphic Era Hospital said she had serious injuries to her head, back, and spine. She was treated for 17 days but later died. After her death, police added murder charges in the case. Doctors said the spinal damage led to loss of movement on one side of her body. The incident has raised questions about the safety of students studying outside their home states. Police said they are continuing the probe and will file a full report after completing the investigation. (PC: India Today)

China has begun large military drills around Taiwan, saying the exercise is a warning to “separatist forces”. The drills involve the army, navy, air force and rocket force, and include live-fire activity. The operation is codenamed “Justice Mission 2025”. It comes days after the United States announced a major arms sale to Taiwan. Taiwan’s presidential office criticised the move, calling it a challenge to global norms. Taiwan’s defence ministry said Chinese aircraft and ships were detected near the island on Monday. It has deployed its own forces and missile systems and placed them on high alert. China claims Taiwan as its territory and says it may use force to stop any move towards independence. (PC: BBC)

Rajasthan has allowed new “low-density” activities on large parts of urban hill terrain under rules approved in April. The 2024 regulations replace older norms and divide hills into three slope groups. Areas with slopes above 15 degrees are marked non-developable. Hills with slopes between 8 and 15 degrees can host farmhouses, resorts, wellness centres and solar projects. These zones include parts of the Aravalli range inside cities. The move comes as the Centre faces questions on mining threats to the Aravallis and the Supreme Court starts suo motu hearings. The state says the rules balance growth and conservation and are open to review after court guidance. (PC: The Indian Express)

US President Donald Trump said talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida made progress on ending the war, but key issues are still unresolved. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said “one or two very thorny issues” remain, mainly over land in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky said about 90% of a 20-point peace plan has been agreed. Trump added that security guarantees for Ukraine are about 95% complete. The leaders said teams will meet again next week. Russia controls large parts of the Donbas region. Trump said the idea of a demilitarised zone there is still open. He also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier. (PC: BBC)

Bangladesh has stepped up criticism of India over comments on minority violence and the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Dhaka accused New Delhi of spreading a “misleading narrative” and said some incidents were being exaggerated. It also claimed that two suspects in the Hadi murder fled to Meghalaya. Indian border forces and state police rejected the charge. They said there was no proof of any border crossing and no such persons were traced. India earlier condemned the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das and cited thousands of attacks on minorities. Both sides have lodged protests through their foreign ministries as tensions rise ahead of Bangladesh’s national elections in February.

Delhi-NCR saw very low visibility on Monday as dense fog covered large parts of the region. The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for very dense fog in the national capital. It said maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to stay near 22 and 7 degrees Celsius. The fog led to delays of several flights at the Delhi airport during early morning hours. Many roads also reported slow traffic due to poor visibility. Authorities in Noida ordered the closure of schools for the day as a safety step. The weather office said parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also under an orange alert. (PC: India Today)