Following are the top foreign stories at 2100 hours
FGN73 INDOPAK-LDALL DELEGATIONS **** India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail and will strike decisively at terrorist hideouts: All-party delegations Singapore/Paris/Kinshasa: All-party parliamentary delegations on Tuesday made it clear that India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail and will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail. **** FGN68 CHINA-4THLD EXPLOSION **** 5 killed, 19 injured, six missing in explosion at chemical plant in China Beijing: Five people were killed and six others reported missing after an explosion rocked one of the largest chemical plants in China on Tuesday, generating a huge fireball and sending plumes of smoke hundreds of feet into the air. **** FGN43 FRANCE-DELEGATION-PRASAD **** Distinction between state of Pakistan & terrorism has withered away: Ravi Shankar Prasad Paris: The distinction between the state of Pakistan and terrorism has now withered away, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Tuesday, underlining that terrorism as an instrument of state policy is a part of the military state in the neighbouring country. **** FGN41 MALDIVES-INDIA-DIPLOMAT **** India, Maldives share longstanding relationship built on mutual trust and confidence: Indian envoy Male: India and the Maldives share a longstanding relationship built on mutual trust and confidence, Indian High Commissioner G Balasubramanian has said, expressing hope that their ties will continue to strengthen. **** FGN44 BANGLA-PROTEST **** Bangladesh deploys paramilitary forces at secretariat as employees' protest enters 4th consecutive day Dhaka/New Delhi: Bangladesh's interim government led by Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday deployed paramilitary forces at the secretariat as protests by government employees against a new service law, which allows easier dismissal of officials for misconduct, entered the fourth consecutive day at the central administrative hub. **** FGN36 CHINA-BRI-DEBT **** China to collect record USD 22 bn BRI debt repayments from developing nations this year Beijing: China will turn from a capital provider to a debt collector of 75 developing countries, including the world's poorest and most vulnerable, this year as they are due to pay back a record USD 22 billion loans owed to Beijing, according to data released by an Australian think tank. **** FGN18 FRANCE-DELEGATION-LD DIASPORA **** Ravi Shankar Prasad exhorts Indian community in France to highlight India's fight against terror Paris: BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad exhorted members of the Indian community in France to make every effort to showcase Brand India as a beacon of peace that is fighting against the global curse of terrorism. **** FGN9 BAHRAIN-INDIA-DELEGATION **** Indian delegation engages in diplomatic outreach across Muslim world Manama (Bahrain): Workers at Kohinoor and Evershine, two souvenir shops right at the entrance of Bab Al Bahrain, were taken by surprise when Indian parliamentarians made a surprise appearance at this historical market area of Manama Souq. **** FGN54 PAK-IMRAN **** Imran Khan says he would prefer spending entire life in jail rather than bowing before tyranny Lahore: Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said he would prefer spending his entire life in prison rather than bowing before tyranny and oppression, in an apparent reference to the military establishment. **** FGN32 UK-LIVERPOOL-TOLL **** 4 children among 50 injured after car ploughs into crowd during Liverpool's Premier League football victory parade London: At least 50 people, including four children, have been injured after a car ploughed into a crowd during Liverpool's Premier League football victory parade. **** FGN19 CONGO-INDIA-DELEGATION **** Congo assures to 'echo' India's message against terrorism at all international fora Kinshasa: Congo has assured that it will 'echo' India's message against terrorism at all international fora where the Central African nation is a member, during the visit of an all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde here to highlight New Delhi's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and expose Pakistan's alleged links to cross-border terror activities. **** FGN6 NEPAL-EVEREST-RECORD **** Nepalese Sherpa guide scales Mount Everest for 31st time breaking own record Kathmandu: Famed Nepalese Sherpa guide Kami Rita on Tuesday scaled Mount Everest for the 31st time, breaking his own record for the most successful ascents of the world's highest mountain. **** FGN29 NEPAL-MINISTER-HIMALAYAS **** Nepal committed to protecting Himalayas: senior minister Kathmandu: Nepal is committed to protecting the Himalayas whose future is threatened by climate change and global warming, a senior minister said on Tuesday. **** FGN34 PAK-POLIO-LD ATTACK **** Gunmen kill policeman providing security to polio vaccination team in Pak's Balochistan Islamabad: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a police personnel guarding a polio vaccination team in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province on Tuesday before escaping from the scene, officials said. **** PTI GRS GRS GRS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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Indian Express
20 minutes ago
- Indian Express
What Operation Sindoor tells us about the nature of escalation, and India's changing approach
The four-night military confrontation between India and Pakistan that began early on May 7 was the most expansive outbreak of hostilities since the war of 1971. The Kargil conflict of 1999 was limited to a small area in Jammu and Kashmir; during Operation Sindoor, India hit targets up to 100 km inside Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), and Pakistan launched aerial attacks against J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, even Haryana. In terms defined by the American military strategist and thinker Herman Kahn's 44-step 'escalation ladder', the situation can be seen as having begun with the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 — the 'Ostensible Crisis' — and gone up to the stage of 'Dramatic Military Confrontations' before being paused by the ceasefire of May 10. The idea of escalation began to appear in strategic literature in the years after the end of World War II, in part as a reaction to the idea of 'all-out' war. Kahn, a futurist and military strategist who co-founded the Washington DC think tank Hudson Institute with the vision of 'thinking about the future in unconventional ways', was the preeminent Western theorist of the 'structure' of escalation. Kahn's metaphor for escalation was a ladder, each rung of which denoted a rising level of conflict. In 1962, Kahn proposed a 16-step ladder of escalation from 'Subcrisis Disagreement' to 'Aftermath'. Three years later, he published On Escalation: Metaphors and Scenarios (1965), in which he developed a more detailed, 44-step ladder of escalation — with 'Ostensible Crisis' as Step 1, and 'Spasm/ Insensate War' as Step 44. The India-Pakistan escalation The Pahalgam terror attack can be described as 'Ostensible Crisis' — Step 1, in which 26 civilians including 25 tourists and one local Kashmiri were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists on April 22. This led to Step 2, 'Political, Economic and Diplomatic Gestures' — India's decisions from April 23 onward can be labeled as such. These include the decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, cancelling the visas of Pakistani nationals, stopping trade and postal services, closing India's air space for Pakistan's aircraft, not allowing Pakistan-flagged ships to dock at Indian ports, etc. Then came Kahn's Step 3 — 'Solemn and Formal Declarations'. India's top leadership declared the intent to avenge the killings of the tourists at Pahalgam — Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to 'pursue the terrorists and those who shelter them to the very end'. And Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised a 'crushing reply to any Indian misadventure'. Kahn's Step 4 is the 'Hardening of Positions — Confrontation of Wills'. India blamed Pakistan for not taking action against terrorist groups, while Islamabad asked for evidence of India's accusation. It also said that India's position on the IWT would be deemed as an 'act of war'. Step 5, Kahn's rung of 'Show of Force' was seen as the Indian Navy on April 27 carried out multiple anti-ship missile firings, underlining its preparedness for long-range offensive strikes. On May 3, Pakistan test-fired Abdali, its surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a 450-km range. Step 6 — 'Significant Mobilisation' — was quick and stealthy, and from May 7 onward, the escalation quickly reached rungs 8 ('Harassing Acts of Violence') and 9 ('Dramatic Military Confrontations'). India struck at nine terror locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and successfully thwarted Pakistani drone attacks along the western border. The two militaries remained at Step 9 for four nights before they agreed to stop military action — this is where Kahn's escalation ladder was aborted. 2016, 2019: change of doctrine In Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy, former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon concluded the chapter on the 26/11 terror attacks ('Restraint or Riposte? The Mumbai Attack and Cross-Border Terrorism from Pakistan') with the sentence: '…Personalities matter. With a different mix of people at the helm, it is quite possible that India would have chosen [to act] differently [in the aftermath of the attacks]. In fact, if India is forced to make a similar choice in the future, I am sure it will respond differently.' The book was published in November 2016. Weeks earlier, on September 29, Indian special forces had crossed the Line of Control to carry out surgical strikes on terrorist launchpads in PoK. That October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh: 'Earlier Israel used to be spoken of like this (in the context of carrying out targeted military strikes against its enemies). Now everyone knows our Army can do it too and is no less capable.' A little over two years later, in February 2019, the Prime Minister said in Hindi at a public meeting in Churu, Rajasthan: 'I swear by this soil that I won't let the nation be destroyed, I won't let the nation be stopped. It is my promise to Bharat Ma that I won't let her head be bowed.' In these two speeches, the Prime Minister mentioned neither the surgical strikes nor the Balakot air strikes of February 26, 2019, but the change in India's doctrine of response to terrorism was clear. In his address to the nation on May 12 this year, Modi articulated the elements of India's current doctrine against terrorism: a befitting response on India's terms; zero tolerance for Pakistan's nuclear blackmail; and no distinction between terrorist leaders and state sponsors of terrorism. He also made it clear that India had only 'suspended' its military action, and underlined that for New Delhi, this was the 'new normal' now. India's new policy is qualitatively higher in aggression. Targeting the Pak establishment that has long used cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy means the military and government of that country are not off-limits for future retributive actions. By linking Pakistan-based groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to major terrorist attacks in the US and UK, Modi framed Operation Sindoor as India's war on terrorism, similar to what NATO launched in Afghanistan after 9/11. The PM also painted Pakistan as a country that protects, rather than going after, terrorists, and laid down the red lines on resuming the bilateral dialogue that has been suspended since 2016. Takeaways, outlook going forward New Delhi has its task cut out — politically, diplomatically, and militarily. LOWER THRESHOLD FOR ACTION: India's 'new normal' has lowered the threshold of response in case of a major terrorist attack in future. In terms of Kahn's ladder of escalation, this could mean India's response will begin from Step 3 (Solemn and Formal Declarations) and could very quickly escalate to Steps 9 (Dramatic Military Confrontations) and 10 ('Provocative Breaking off of Diplomatic Relations'). Step 12 ('Large Conventional War') would be very much on the horizon. DIPLOMATIC CHALLENGE: Pakistan has been trying to project itself as the victim before the international community. New Delhi is concerned at the false equivalence between the two countries that some in the West have suggested, along with a re-hyphenation of India and Pakistan. The multi-political party outreach by the Indian government, where bipartisan political delegations are currently travelling the world, explaining to countries that India was the original victim in Pahalgam, and that it responded in self-defence. THE DONALD TRUMP FACTOR: President Trump's claim of a 'US-brokered ceasefire' has created a challenge for India, which has always rejected any third-party involvement in India-Pakistan issues. Trump's view of the May 10 ceasefire as a success for American diplomacy and the first 'military confrontation' that he has been able to stop from escalating presents Indian diplomacy with a delicate task. New Delhi has to navigate Trump's unpredictable statements and posts on social media, pushing back with tact and conviction. NEW FRONTIERS OF WAR: Besides upgrading its military prowess to dominate in the air, at sea, and on land, India will have to also build capacity in the new frontiers of war where evolving and improving technology is changing the rules very rapidly. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
The Print
22 minutes ago
- The Print
‘Zealots, trolls': Tharoor fires back at critics of his surgical strikes remark, day after Congress meltdown
Tharoor, who is leading one of the seven multi-party delegations constituted by the Centre to visit various countries to convey India's stand on cross-border terrorism, is currently in Panama City. Tharoor did not name anyone in his post on X, but left little to the imagination as to who he was targeting. After all, it was top Congress leaders close to the party high command, such as Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, who sniped at Tharoor Wednesday. New Delhi: The ongoing feud between Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and the party leadership took another acrimonious turn Thursday, with the four-time Lok Sabha MP dismissing as 'zealots' and 'trolls' the critics of his remarks on the 2016 surgical strikes. He came under attack from Ramesh and Khera, among others, over his remarks at a gathering of the Indian community in Panama City that India crossed the Line of Control to carry out surgical strikes on a terror base 'for the first time' under the Narendra Modi government in 2016. After a long and successful day in Panama, i have to wind up at midnightvhere with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in tge… — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 29, 2025 Congress leader Udit Raj even suggested that Tharoor become a spokesperson for the BJP. Raj's statement was endorsed by both Khera and Ramesh, who had earlier this month flayed Tharoor for accepting the Centre's invitation to lead the multi-party delegation without the concurrence of the party leadership. 'After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight here with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in the past 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars. '2. My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB. But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do. Goodnight,' Tharoor posted on X. Tharoor was essentially responding to Khera's posts pointing out that the Congress has always maintained that cross-border surgical strikes were carried out even during the time of the UPA government when the late Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. Khera also cited a news report that claimed that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in his previous capacity as the foreign secretary, had in 2016 told a Parliamentary panel that 'professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations have been carried out across the LoC in the past too, but this is for the first time that the government has made it public.' Minutes after Tharoor's X post, Khera posted a screenshot of an excerpt from 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister' authored by the Thiruvananthapuram MP. In the book, Tharoor pointed out that the Congress, while in the government, had authorised many surgical strikes but desisted from exploiting them politically. Khera posted it with the caption 'I agree with that Dr Shashi Tharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018.' I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 – 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'. #ReadingNow — Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 29, 2025 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 'surgical strikes' along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as a party election tool —something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier—marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship,' Tharoor wrote in the book. Addressing the Panama City gathering, Tharoor had said that in 2016 'for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base.' 'Even during the Kargil war we had not crossed the LoC, in Uri we did. Then came the attack in Pulwama…this time we crossed not only the LoC but the international border and we struck terrorist headquarters in Balakot. 'This time we have gone not only beyond the LoC and the International Border, we have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places in both Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. And let me say to you that this is going to be the new normal. The PM has made it very clear that Operation Sindoor was necessary because these terrorists came and wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women,' he said. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Tharoor faces Congress leadership's ire for breaking from party line on Op Sindoor, Trump's claims
The Hindu
23 minutes ago
- The Hindu
TMC hits back at PM Modi's claims, counter questions on Manipur, paper leaks and unemployment
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of diverting attention from the BJP-led Centre's failures, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday (May 29, 2025) posed five 'counter-questions' in response to the PM's remarks about crises allegedly affecting West Bengal. Operation Sindoor not yet over, PM Modi says in Bengal's Alipurduar | LIVE In a post on X, the party called upon PM Modi to first "fix the mess" in Manipur, which had witnessed severe law and order problems for over two years. "Modi ji listed 5 'Sankats'. Let's talk facts," the TMC said in its official X handle. Modi ji listed 5 "Sankats" Let's talk facts: Law & order? Manipur has been burning for 2 years. Fix your mess first. Women's safety? From Unnao to Hathras, @BJP4India's track record is soaked in silence and shame. Youth hopelessness? Paper leaks, NEET scam, and 45%… — All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 29, 2025 Coming to other posers, the party said, "Women's safety? From Unnao to Hathras, @BJP4India's track record is soaked in silence and shame." "Youth hopelessness? Paper leaks, NEET scam, and 45% unemployment - BJP's national gift to students," the regional party said. "Corruption? Half your Cabinet is out on bail. Irony died a slow death," the party said, turning the corruption charge towards the Modi cabinet. The party also reiterated the claim that "Bengal was denied MGNREGA and Awas Yojana funds due to your (Modi) government's vendetta politics." Murshidabad, Malda incidents stark examples of TMC's cruelty: PM Modi Launching a blistering attack on the TMC government in West Bengal, PM Modi on Thursday said the State is "plagued" by violence, corruption and lawlessness, and asserted that people are now yearning for change from the "Nirmam sarkar" (cruel government). Addressing a rally in Alipurduar, the Prime Minister said incidents of communal violence in Murshidabad and Malda are grim reminders of the TMC regime's "cruelty and indifference" to the sufferings of ordinary citizens. "Today, West Bengal is grappling with a series of crises. People don't want 'Nirmam Sarkar'. They want change and good governance. That is why the whole of Bengal is saying they don't want cruelty and corruption anymore," PM Modi said. "First is the widespread violence and lawlessness that are tearing apart the fabric of society. Second is the growing sense of insecurity among mothers and sisters, compounded by horrific crimes committed against them," he said. PM Modi said the third crisis in Bengal is the deepening despair among the youth, driven by rising unemployment and lack of opportunities, while the fourth is the "pervasive corruption" that is eroding public trust in the system. "The fifth crisis stems from the self-serving politics of the ruling party, which is stripping the poor of their rightful entitlements. Incidents in Murshidabad and Malda are stark examples of the cruelty of the TMC government and its failure to maintain law and order," he said.
