Can India really trust China? Top focus on Gaurav Sawant's show
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The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The Hindu Morning Digest: August 20, 2025
Amit Shah to move three bills for removal of PM, CMs, Ministers held on serious criminal charges Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to introduce three bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (August 20, 2025) to provide legal framework for removal of the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Ministers in States and union territories who are 'arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges.' Nearly 800 rescued as two Mumbai monorails halt midway amid heavy rains, CM Fadnavis promises inquiry Chaos prevailed on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) evening after two separate incidents of Mumbai Monorail breakdowns left 782 passengers stranded mid-air, triggering massive rescue operations by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), police and emergency services. Emergency response teams including MFB, Police, Monorail staff, and 108 ambulance services were mobilised at both sites. Centre to introduce law to prohibit real money gaming firms, official says The Union Cabinet on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) approved a Bill to effectively prohibit real money games (RMGs) online, a multi-billion dollar industry that counts fantasy sports platforms such as Dream11 and card game apps, including PokerBaazi. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 is now headed to Parliament and is likely to be tabled on Wednesday. 'Important opportunity' faces India, China, says Foreign Minister Wang Yi Striking a note of reconciliation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that the bilateral relationship between India and China is facing an 'important opportunity'. Speaking at the 24th meeting between the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question, Mr. Wang indirectly referred to the negative impact of the 2020 Galwan clashes and said, the 'setbacks' of the recent past did not advance the 'interest of the people' of both countries. Presidential Reference Bench says Supreme Court stepped in to resolve an 'egregious situation' in Tamil Nadu Governor case A Presidential Reference Bench of five judges headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai observed on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that the Supreme Court's move to grant deemed assent to 10 crucial Tamil Nadu State Bills may have been a way to resolve an 'egregious situation' created by the Tamil Nadu Governor who had been sitting over them since 2020. After CSDS psephologist deletes X post, BJP accuses Congress of making 'baseless claims' on voter fraud The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) accused the Congress of making 'baseless' claims about 'vote theft' and targeting the Election Commission of India in 'collusion' with a Delhi-based think tank. This came after Sanjay Kumar, a psephologist and a professor with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), who had shared voter data from two Maharashtra Assembly seats related to last year's State election in a post on X on Sunday (August 17, 2025), subsequently deleted his post on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), apologising for posting erroneous data. Israel demands release of all hostages after Hamas backs new truce offer A senior Israeli official on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any future Gaza deal, after Hamas accepted a new truce proposal. Mediators are awaiting an official Israeli response to the plan, a day after Hamas signalled its readiness for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war. Cabinet panel on security clears project to procure 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets for IAF The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) approved the procurement of 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A senior defence official confirmed that the project had been cleared by the CCS, calling it a major boost to the government's Make in India initiative. The aircraft will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Operation Sindoor lessons now part of NCERT syllabus Over three months after the Pahalgam killings and subsequent military conflict between India and Pakistan, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced two new modules on 'Operation Sindoor — A saga of valour' for Classes 3 to 8 and 'Operation Sindoor — A mission of honour and bravery,' for Classes 9 to 12. Death toll from northern Pakistan monsoon floods rises to almost 400 Rescuers and residents resumed searching on Tuesday for survivors as the death toll from five days of torrential rain rose to almost 400, with authorities warning monsoon downpours would continue until the weekend. Torrential rains across Pakistan's north have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, leaving many residents trapped in the rubble and scores missing.
Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
India and China cautiously mend ties as tariffs cloud economic outlook
In a visit to India this week, China's top diplomat said the two Asian nations should deepen cooperation amid international threats to free trade, a sign that President Trump's trade war could accelerate a thaw in the frosty relationship between Beijing and New Delhi. Both countries have faced hefty tariff threats from Trump over their trade policies, with India singled out in recent weeks for its large-scale purchases of Russian oil. In remarks in New Delhi on Monday at a meeting with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a veiled reference to the U.S. by noting that New Delhi and Beijing should find ways to coexist against a backdrop of 'unilateral bullying." China and India 'should view each other as partners and opportunities rather than adversaries or threats," said Wang on Monday, according to a statement from China's Foreign Ministry, In his opening remarks, Jaishankar said the nations are seeking to move ahead after a 'difficult period in our relationship." 'Differences must not become disputes, nor competition conflict," he said. India has said it would resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals. Wang's schedule included a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. At the end of the month, Modi is expected to make his first visit to China in seven years for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security group that also includes Russia. The nuclear-armed neighbors are edging closer to resuming normal bilateral relations after facing their worst tensions in decades following the 2020 border clash that killed 20 Indian troops and four Chinese soldiers, analysts said. Both sides in recent years have amassed tens of thousands of troops at their disputed border, while round after round of high-level military talks failed to defuse tensions. A breakthrough came last October, when the two countries hammered out a patrolling agreement at the border, paving the way for talks between Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Russia. In recent months, China has allowed Indian pilgrims to visit holy sites in Tibet, while India has said it would resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals. Analysts said the slow but steady improvement in China-India relations could gain momentum from the trade war kicked off by Trump. The countries recognize they may need to lean on other trade relationships to fend off heavy damage on their economies, analysts said. In recent weeks, Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Indian imports and has threatened to double it before the end of the month. That 50% tariff would roughly match the duties that the U.S. levies on many Chinese goods. 'Mr. Trump and his actions may have given it a greater sense of urgency than before," said Harsh Pant, head of strategic studies at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi think tank. 'The Chinese seem to be playing to this idea of 'Look, we are the more reliable partner.'" The India-China trade relationship, at close to $130 billion, is roughly the same size as U.S.-India trade. But India buys far more from China than it does from the U.S. India's growing manufacturing prowess in electronics, for example, remains heavily dependent on Chinese parts, and some in India see more economic collaboration with China as necessary to propel India's manufacturing sector. Beyond trade, Trump's actions have cast a question mark over the direction of the U.S.-India relationship, described rosily by both countries over the past decade as a robust partnership that had shed the prickliness of the past. A strong relationship was natural, political experts argued, given shared concerns over China's growing economic and military heft. India remains deeply invested in the U.S. partnership, an Indian official said, and hopes to work out trade differences. The official noted that the China-India meetings occurring this month have long been in the works. Talks between China and India over how to avoid conflict at the border continued on Tuesday with a meeting between Wang and India's national security adviser Ajit Doval. Both officials applauded the upward trajectory of China-India relations. 'Borders have been quiet, there has been peace and tranquility, our bilateral relations have been more substantial," Doval said during opening remarks. But the two countries face fundamental strategic differences that are unlikely to be resolved. Border disputes could still flare up, as both countries have built permanent infrastructure along it in recent years to prepare for a possible future conflict. India hosts the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader in exile who is seen as a separatist by Beijing for his advocacy for greater autonomy for the Tibetan region, which is controlled by China. China, meanwhile, is the strongest ally of rival Pakistan, which deployed Chinese jets in the most recent conflict against India. 'There are inherent tensions in this relationship," Pant said. 'But where the focus will be in the relationship going forward is, can they build a relationship now based on the positives?"
Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump finally broke deadlock between Russia & Ukraine but…: White House slams media for rooting against President
The media was 'actively rooting' against US President Donald Trump's peace efforts, White House press secreatary Karoline Leavitt said during her press briefing on Tuesday "One thing that has absolutely not changed is the media's negative and downright false coverage of President Trump and his foreign policy accomplishments. From the beginning of this entire process, much of the left-wing media has been actively rooting against the president of the United States in the pursuit of peace," she said. Leavitt said that the media had falsely claimed that Trump suffered defeat after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though the meeting was meant to test the waters before going forward. "Initially, the media ridiculously claimed that President Trump was somehow beholden to Russia for even agreeing to have a face-to-face discussion with President Putin inside the United States. The media said President Trump was making a grave mistake by " legitimising Putin. They were aghast that President Trump would treat another world leader like a world leader. The media relentlessly attacked President Trump and claimed he suffered a 'major defeat' for not immediately emerging with a final agreement. Even though he said heading into that meeting, this was a meeting to listen and to understand how to move the ball forward," she said. US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday lauded Leavitt for cracking down on the media for 'lying' about their negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine war. In a post on X, Vance said, "Karoline Leavitt is lighting the American media up for lying about our negotiations with Russia and Ukraine." It is worth noting here that ahead of his August 15 talks with Putin, Trump threatened that Russia would face "severe economic consequences" if Putin didn't show interest in de-escalating the Ukraine conflict. Leavitt continued her plaints, saying that the 'clueless pundits', who back the spending of thousands of taxpayer dollars on the war with no end in sight. "All weekend following those historic US-Russia bilateral talks, we listened to clueless pundits on television trying but failing to claim that the president had failed. The so-called experts in the foreign policy establishment whose record is nothing but endless wars, trillions of wasted taxpayer dollars, and dead Americans have the nerve to try and lecture President Trump, who has solved seven global conflicts in seven months about peace. It was, this is the same president, by the way, who brokered the Abraham Accords in his first term on top of more than half a dozen other peace deals this year alone," she said.
