World

India recently announced a two-decade tax break for foreign tech companies that use data centers in the South Asian country to provide services to overseas customers. The exemption, though, doesn't apply to services offered to Indian clients, which will continue to be taxed.  The move is part of India's efforts to draw investors into its fast-growing digital infrastructure sector and become a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing infrastructure. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has already rolled out a slew of incentives such as granting infrastructure status for data centers to accelerate their development. Some state governments have also eased land-use rules. New Delhi hosted a global AI summit last month, gathering those shaping the future of t...

Just hours after Israeli and US bombs started hitting Tehran on Saturday, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, called it an "unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state." Moscow is one of Tehran's few but staunchest allies, and a possible collapse of the Iranian regime could be a blow for its geopolitical and economic interests. Then why has it not come to Tehran's rescue? Russia-Iran partnership Moscow and Tehran have been cooperating on several economic projects vital to Russia, Nikita Smagin, an independent Azerbaijan-based expert on Russia and the Middle East, told DW. "The North-South transport corridor is one of them — especially since Russia was cut off from its traditional transit routes after starting the ful...

China has condemned the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran and the killing of  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Beijing calling it "a serious violation of Iran's sovereignty and security" which tramples "on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations."    Naturally, Chinese concerns reach beyond the respect for international law — Iran is one of China's most important suppliers of oil and natural gas. According to estimates, as much as 90% of Iranian oil production is exported to China, most of it via third countries, to avoid tough international sanctions on Iran. And since April 2025, Iranian oil exports have even been settled in renminbi, the Chinese currency, due to Iran being excluded from the international SWIFT payment syste...

Around 12 hours after Ali Khamenei's compound had been largely destroyed by dozens of bombs, Iranian state television confirmed the death of the cleric and supreme leader. The complex, known as "Beit-e Rahbari" ("House of Leadership") and located in the center of the capital Tehran, was one of the first targets of the US and Israeli military strikes against Iran on February 28. The 86-year-old ayatollah, who had repeatedly expressed his desire for a martyr's death in his public speeches, had apparently remained there with his family in the last few days despite the high probability of an attack. Numerous videos have since circulated online showing people celebrating Khamenei's demise. The videos have been verified, but it is unclear whether and to what extent people in Iran are able to ...

A luxury hotel, ports, inner city neighborhoods, industrial areas, airports and oil infrastructure: All have been targeted by Iranian missiles in the neighboring Gulf states over the past two days, after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran started the current conflict. In a letter sent to the United Nations Security Council, Iran's foreign minister said Iran would "exercise its right of ⁠self-defense." The country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, explained that it would consider all US assets in the region to be legitimate targets. Subsequently, an Iranian missile hit the headquarters of the US navy in Bahrain. Qatar said it intercepted missiles heading for Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American base in the region. And Kuwait said Iranian strikes had hit Ali Al-Salem air base...