Play, build, deploy: Is Russia grooming kids for military drone work?
Some teenagers are reportedly helping to build real-life drones, including deadly kamikaze models used on the frontlines. A documentary aired by Russia's army TV channel showed teens assembling Geran-2 kamikaze drones in a massive drone-making facility. These drones are used by the Russian military in near-daily attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.The Geran-2 factory has been placed on an EU sanctions list and has itself been a target of Ukrainian drone strikes. The facility was shown on national television, with rows of assembled drones and teenagers assisting in their production.One of the teenagers told reporters, "The kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones. I know of several people who were working on parts for major enterprises."Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly called to increased production of drone. As the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies, Moscow is tapping young, talented minds to gain an edge over its rival.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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The Hindu
3 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The Hindu Morning Digest, August 7, 2025
Trump non-committal on whether extra India tariffs will go with Russia-Ukraine ceasefire U.S. President Donald Trump did not confirm whether the additional 25% tariffs he had announced on Wednesday (August 6, 2025), on Indian exports to the U.S., for New Delhi's trade in arms and energy with Moscow, would be cancelled if Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire. East Asia to be next focus of India's major diplomatic outreach Against the backdrop of growing uncertainty in India-U.S. ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach out to East Asia in the coming weeks. As part of the initiative, Mr. Modi is likely to travel to Japan to meet his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba, by the end of August. The visit to Japan is significant, as both countries are part of the Quad initiative that was launched by Australia, India, Japan, and the United States in 2017. Trump's imposition of 50% tariff is economic blackmail to secure unfair trade deal: Rahul Gandhi The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday said the second round of 25% tariff imposed on India was an 'economic blackmail' aimed at securing an unfair trade deal. In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not let his 'weakness' override the interests of the Indian people. Donald Trump plans to meet Putin, Zelenskyy as soon as next week, NYT reports U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (August 6, 2025), citing two people familiar with the plan. Mr. Trump then plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on Wednesday. NSA Ajit Doval to hold talks with Russian officials in Moscow National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will hold meetings with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Thursday, just a day after the U.S. decided to impose an additional 25% penalty tariffs on India for its import of Russian oil. According to sources, Mr. Doval's visit is intended to prepare details for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Delhi later this year. All Indians should work together to make India the world's third largest economy: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday urged all stakeholders to work together to make India the world's third largest economy and scale up national productivity. Addressing the Kartavya Bhavan inauguration programme in the national capital, Mr. Modi encouraged all Indians to contribute to the success stories of government initiatives such as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. Strengthening India's capabilities must become a shared pursuit and personal mission, he said. Soldier opens fire at U.S. military base, wounding five troops A soldier opened fire at a U.S. base in the southern State of Georgia on Wednesday (August 6, 2025), wounding five fellow troops before he was tackled and apprehended, a senior officer said. Fort Stewart, a large Army base that is home to thousands of soldiers and their relatives, went into lockdown as emergency personnel raced to respond to the 'active shooter' situation, with troops stepping in to help stop the violence. A.G. Noorani, Arundhati Roy's books among 25 'forfeited' by J&K Home Department The Jammu & Kashmir Home Department on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) declared 25 books, many by prominent writers such as A.G. Noorani, Sumantra Bose, Arundhati Roy and Ayesha Jalal, as 'forfeited for propagating false narrative and secessionism' in J&K. Petrol lobbies behind E20 fuel fear campaign: Nitin Gadkari Tests show that older vehicles are not damaged in any way by using a new petrol blend with a higher 20% of ethanol, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday (August 6, 2025), blaming the social media outrage against the new E20 blend on a 'political conspiracy', possibly fuelled by petrol lobbies.. R.G. Kar victim's family to meet CBI Director, Home Minister Ahead of a mega rally on August 9 to mark one year of the horrific crime, parents of the doctor who was raped at killed at Kolkata's R.G. Kar Hospital, on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) left for Delhi. The parents said that they will meet the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during their visit to Delhi. They also said that they are willing to meet Home Minister Amit Shah if they can secure an appointment.
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Business Standard
3 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: When the earth shakes beneath power, policy, and trade
You don't feel the earthquake at first. It starts deep below, invisible. A low grumble, a slight creak in the furniture, the ceiling fan swinging oddly, a dog barking at nothing. You brush it off. But then the cupboard groans, your feet slide slightly, and the mug on the table does a tiny shake. That's when you realise something deeper is shifting. That's how the world feels like currently — not like a storm crashing through the door, but like everything is shifting slowly, deeply, leaving cracks in what we thought was solid. Let's dive in. One tremor came from the RBI, which stood unnervingly still. As our first editorial notes, despite lower inflation projections and expectations of a rate cut, the central bank kept repo rates unchanged at 5.5 per cent. Why? Because the next jolt may be inbound. Food price volatility, global oil games, and geopolitical tensions all hint at aftershocks. The RBI, aware that too much easing could trigger instability, chose to grip the table and steady the china. Liquidity was eased, but policy intent stayed tight. The real message being: brace for long-term tectonics. Meanwhile, the ground is cracking next door. Our second editorial highlights how post-Hasina Bangladesh has gone from a beacon of growth to a cauldron of Islamist volatility. The power vacuum is being filled by Islamist forces backed by Pakistan and China. The ready-made garments sector, once the backbone of the economy, is collapsing — factories shut, women pushed into unemployment, growth halved. For India, this isn't just a neighbour's quake, it's a regional fault line demanding careful navigation and patient diplomacy. From afar, Donald Trump's tariff shock felt like a seismic wave sent across the Pacific. Ajay Chhibber explains how India now faces a 50 per cent tariff wall from its biggest export partner. For 'Mission 500' and India's $2 trillion export ambition, this could be a wrecking ball. But instead of panic, India must do a structural scan and reform internally, engage externally, and resist caving into American fault lines. And then there's the carbon quake looming from Europe. Rajeev Kher and Anshuman Gupta unpack the EU's CBAM, which threatens Indian iron, steel, and aluminium exports with carbon tolls. Big firms may stay standing, but small businesses with little capital to retrofit or report emissions could be crushed. Without swift support and smart diplomacy, this environmental shift might shake up entire export corridors. Amid the instability, a quieter kind of leadership shines through. Neha Bhatt reviews Jacinda Ardern's memoir, A Different Kind of Power, where personal and political tremors are met with calm, empathy, and grace. Her resilience through tragedy offers a blueprint not of shock absorption, but of human-centred navigation. Stay tuned!
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Business Standard
3 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Tariff hike similar to trade embargo; INR immediate casualty: Mahesh Patil
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India. The decision comes on the heels of India's continuing to purchase Russian oil as a violation of sanctions and a threat to US foreign policy, reports suggest. In a statement released by the White House on Wednesday, the US administration said the decision is a direct response to India's 'direct or indirect' import of Russian crude. 'The Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,' the order noted, adding that such imports undermine efforts to isolate Russia amid its ongoing conflict with Ukraine. READ ABOUT IT HERE The new rate will be effective after 21 days and raises announced US tariffs on India to a steep 50 per cent. Similar to the reciprocal tariffs, the penalty excludes products under Section 232 investigation, and will raise the US effective tariff rate on India to 33.8 per cent, from 18.8 per cent previously. Note that pharma and electronics exports (~30 per cent of India's US exports) are currently exempt. If effective, the steep 50 per cent tariff would be similar to a trade embargo, and will lead to sharp fall in affected export products, especially ones with thinner margins (textiles, gem & jewellery). We had earlier expected a downside risk of nearly 20bp (basis points) to FY26 GDP (gross domestic product). If these tariffs materialise, then the hit could be higher, depending on their duration. A key question is how India's government will respond to President Trump's pressure tactic. The first priority is supporting exporters. On Russia links, the government has so far taken a defiant stance on its oil imports from Russia. The government could look to negotiate with the US, utilising the 21-day reprieve and the upcoming trip of the US trade negotiators The immediate casualty is rupee, which will take the brunt and this will provide some respite for exporters. Counter intuitively, fall in InR (once it stabilises) is positive for local earnings and hence equities benefit with a lag. More importantly, we are now par with Brazil, that provides a blueprint- it saw a 6-7 per cent fall from peak before recovering in local terms. Again, whether we will only have a shallow correction or a meaningful one remains to be seen, but for now we have seen worst of tariff news flow. And in a few months, rates will settle down to more acceptable levels. Any knee jerk correction in the market would be a good opportunity for increasing allocation to equity as the macro and the long term fundamentals of India are fairly strong.
