The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) officially launched a seven-year project with Somalia that aims to enhance climate adaptation and resilience for vulnerable communities in the country. The 95 million dollar “Climate Resilient Agriculture in Somalia” project, dubbed “Ugbaad,” which means hope in Somalia, will tackle climate change challenges and strengthen agrifood systems through large-scale investment.

Speaking at the launch event, Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Salah Jama emphasised the government’s commitment to tackling climate change. The project, which was approved in October 2024, represents a significant step in tackling the pressing challenges posed by climate change, restoring productive landscapes, and empowering vulnerable local communities.

The FAO noted that in Somalia, the agricultural sector is the main economic activity for an estimated 65 percent of the population, contributing about 75 percent of the gross domestic product. Somalia is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world. Serious weather shocks are hitting more often, harming livelihoods and economic growth. The 2020-2023 drought and later flooding highlighted the plight of millions of Somalis who rely on seasonal rains to grow crops or raise cattle.

The largest edition of MRO Middle East and Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) 2025 has opened in Dubai, marking a significant milestone for the regional aerospace industry. The two-day event has attracted over 250 international exhibitors, highlighting the aviation sector’s robust growth amid record-high passenger demand. The gathering focuses on aircraft modernization programs and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, bringing together key players from across the global aviation supply chain.

The event witnessed several major announcements, including GE Aerospace’s $10 million investment to expand engine service capacity and capabilities at its two MRO facilities in the Middle East. Additionally, Airbus unveiled its Middle East Services Forecast for 2024-2043, projecting global services demand to reach $32 billion by 2043, with a 4.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 20 years. The forecast highlights the Middle East as one of the fastest-growing regions for aviation services.

President Donald Trump said Monday he is banning federal use of paper straws, saying they “don't work” and don't last very long. Instead he wants the government to exclusively move to plastic.

“It's a ridiculous situation. We're going back to plastic straws,” Trump said as he signed an executive order to reverse federal purchasing policies that encourage paper straws and restrict plastic ones. The order directs federal agencies to stop buying paper straws “and otherwise ensure that paper straws are no longer provided within agency buildings.”

ISRO on Saturday said that it has successfully carried out the ignition trial of the indigenous CE20 cryogenic engine powering the upper stage of LVM3, with a Multi-element igniter under vacuum conditions, which simulates the engine ignition in the vacuum condition of space.

This test was carried out on Friday in the High Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, ISRO said in a statement.

This engine is crucial for the Gaganyaan mission, India's ambitious crewed space mission.

During this test, the ignition of the engine Thrust Chamber was carried out with a multi-element igniter in a vacuum, under the tank pressure conditions that are expected to prevail at the time of restarting the cryogenic engine in flight. The performance of the engine and the facility during the test was normal and as expected.

NASA has selected SpaceX to launch a small exoplanet science mission as a rideshare payload as soon as September.

NASA announced Feb. 10 it awarded a task order to SpaceX for the launch of the Pandora spacecraft. The task order is through the through the Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract, intended for small missions with higher acceptance of risk.

Pandora is a smallsat mission that is part of the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program for low-cost smallsats. The spacecraft features a 45-centimeter telescope equipped with optical and infrared detectors that will observe 20 stars known to have exoplanets over a one-year mission.

Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz expressed happiness after securing the Rotterdam Open singles title, which is his first-ever indoor tour-level title.

After 16 tour-level titles and four Grand Slams, Alcaraz's chase for a maiden indoor tour-level title came to an end on Sunday as he defeated Alex de Minaur in the summit clash 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. He became the first-ever Spanish to win the title in its 52-year-old history.

Taking to Instagram, Alcaraz wrote, "It means so much to me to win in Rotterdam! It has been a very special week! Thank you for the support from day one! Congratulations @alexdeminaur for the tournament and a tremendous battle today in the final!."

The Agriculture Ministry has allowed trading of 10 additional commodities on the electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), taking the total number of tradable items on the platform to 231.

The newly added commodities include dried Tulsi leaves, Besant (Chickpea flour), wheat flour, chana sattu (Roasted Chickpea Flour), water Chestnut flour, asafoetida, dried fenugreek leaves, baby corn, dragon fruit and water Chestnut, the ministry said in a statement.

The decision follows extensive consultations with stakeholders, including state agencies, traders, subject matter specialists and the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).

Several of these items, particularly chana sattu, water Chestnut flour, asafoetida and dried fenugreek leaves, fall under secondary trade category, which can help Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to market value-added products and formalize trade in the sector.

The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) has formulated tradable parameters for these additional commodities to help farmers secure better prices by ensuring quality standards.

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government is drafting a new leather and footwear policy to boost exports in the state amid changing global trade dynamics.

The move aims to provide financial support, technological upgradation, and export subsidies to the state’s leather and footwear manufacturers and exporters.

“The new policy will aim to double the size of the UP leather industry in five years,” said a senior state government official.

The proposed policy will promote the leather and footwear industry in Kanpur, Agra, Unnao, and Noida while aiming to develop integrated leather clusters and parks in the state.

For this, the state will target the huge domestic market and the lucrative export destinations in Africa, Latin America, West Asia, the US, and Europe.

India will host the next international summit on artificial intelligence, confirmed the office of French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who co-chaired the AI summit with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, had earlier announced that India would be happy to host the next such event on its territory.

As the global AI summit shifts from safety in 2023 to action in 2025, India aims to balance the global governance framework by making it inclusive, sustainable, and mindful of the needs of Global South countries.

India has been part of the all five working groups dealing with international governance, future of work, security and safety, AI for general interest, and innovation and culture in the run-up to the summit that France co-chaired with India. Though there are difference among the countries especially from the US and UK, efforts are still on to get an outcome statement of the summit.

Upcoming Tamil movie Bad Girl, directed by Varsha Bharath, has courted controversy ever since the release of its trailer on January 26, 2025. Some social media users, including notable Kollywood filmmakers, have raised concerns over the depiction of the Brahmin community in the film. The comments have targeted the producers of the film Vetri Maaran and Anurag Kashyap.

The film, following its global premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, has received a prestigious recognition that could significantly boost its prospects.