Top 5 news of the day: India uses laser-based weapon to shoot down aircraft; China calls on US to 'completely cancel' reciprocal tariffs; and more

TOI News Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Apr 13, 2025, 18:25 IST

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India has achieved a significant milestone in defense technology by successfully testing a 30-kilowatt laser weapon capable of neutralizing aircraft, missiles, and drone swarms, developed by DRDO and ready for deployment. Meanwhile, China urges the US to completely remove reciprocal tariffs. In Punjab, a controversy arose after police questioned a Congress MLA following remarks critical of the Chief Minister.

Top 5 news of the day: India uses laser-based weapon to shoot down aircraft; China calls on US to 'completely cancel' reciprocal tariffs; and more

Watch: In a first, India uses laser-based weapon to shoot down aircraft, missiles and drones
India has successfully demonstrated its capability to neutralise fixed-wing aircraft, missiles, and swarm drones using a 30-kilowatt laser-based weapon system, marking a significant milestone in the nation's defence technology. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed this directed-energy weapon (DEW), which is now ready for production and deployment across various military platforms. Read full story
China calls on US to 'completely cancel' reciprocal tariffs
"We urge the US to... take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of 'reciprocal tariffs' and return to the right path of mutual respect", a spokesperson said in a statement. Read live updates

'Do you have relations with Pakistan?': Bhagwant Mann attacks Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa
Amid a series of grenade blasts in Punjab in recent months, a major controversy erupted on Sunday as a two-member team of Punjab Police reached the residence of the leader of the opposition and Congress MLA, Partap Singh Bajwa, to question him after chief minister Bhagwant Mann took strong exception to remarks made by Bajwa in a TV interview. Read full story
'Kitni jagah ye card kheloge, ghis chuka hai': RJD hits back as BJP calls Murshidabad violence ‘targeted attacks on Hindus�?/span>
Amid rising political heat over the Murshidabad violence in West Bengal, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha hit out at the BJP for repeatedly invoking Hindu victimhood, saying the narrative had worn thin and that social harmony was a shared responsibility of both the Centre and the states. “Kitni jagah ye card kheloge, ghis chuka hai,�?said Jha, responding to BJP allegations of "state-sponsored, state-protected, and state-encouraged targeted violence against Hindus." The BJP had blamed the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government for the clashes during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Read full story
Bihar BJP files police complaint against Kanhaiya Kumar for remarks on PM Modi, RSS
The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Bihar unit on Sunday filed a police complaint against Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, accusing him of using "abusive language" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during a recent TV interview. Read full story

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