July 2025 News

NASA Discovers Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (July 3, 2025)

On July 3, 2025, NASA announced the discovery of an interstellar comet named 3I/ATLAS. The comet is currently about 670 million km from Earth and will never come closer than about 1.6 astronomical units (~240 million km). It is about 4.5 AU from the Sun and will approach 1.4 AU on October 30, inside Mars’ orbit, before heading back into deep space. The comet will be visible to telescopes until September, disappearing behind the Sun, then re‑emerging in December. NASA emphasised that the comet poses no threat to Earth. [1]

India Resumes Tourist Visas for Chinese Visitors (July 24, 2025)

The Indian Embassy in China announced on July 24, 2025 that India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens after a five‑year freeze. Visas were suspended in 2020 during the COVID‑19 outbreak and continued amid border tensions and restrictions that included invalidating visas, banning Chinese apps, halting flights and tightening investment rules. Under the new process, Chinese travelers must submit an online application, book an appointment and provide documents in person at the embassy in Beijing or consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou. The decision signals a diplomatic thaw; both countries are preparing to resume direct flights and reopen the pilgrimage route to Tibet, creating opportunities for tourism and people‑to‑people exchanges. [2]

Iran rules out nuclear talks with the US over uranium enrichment demands (July 15, 2025

On July 15, 2025, Iran’s state news agency Irna, reported that Tehran will not resume nuclear talks with the United States if negotiations require it to stop its uranium enrichment. Adviser Ali Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran will not enter talks conditioned on halting enrichment【423563056988032†L272-L320】. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei added that there is no scheduled meeting between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff and cautioned that Tehran would respond to any reimposition of UN sanctions【423563056988032†L323-L356】. The report explains that previous efforts to revive the nuclear deal stalled after Israel's June strikes on Iran and subsequent U.S. involvement, and that Iran insists on its right to peaceful use of nuclear power【423563056988032†L272-L320】. [4]

IMF raises 2025 global growth forecast to 3% amid tariff front‑loading (July 29, 2025)

On July 29, 2025, the International Monetary Fund raised its global growth forecast for 2025 to 3%, up from its previous projection. The upgrade reflects stronger-than-expected front‑loading of economic activity ahead of U.S. tariffs, lower average tariff rates than initially announced, a weaker U.S. dollar, and fiscal expansion in some economies【307120921108789†L279-L307】. The IMF expects world growth to reach 3.2% in 2026 and credits a modest easing of trade tensions for resilience, but warns that uncertainty remains high due to shifting U.S. tariff policies【307120921108789†L310-L316】. The fund’s outlook notes that growth in 2025 is still below pre‑pandemic averages and that high tariffs could weigh on activity. It projects U.S. growth of about 1.9% in 2025, euro‑area growth of 1%, Middle East & Central Asia growth of 3.4%, and China growth of 4.8%【307120921108789†L342-L390】. [5]