'Hit Ben Gurion Airport': Houthis Claim Major Attack On Israel After Netanyahu's Gaza ‘Stunt'
In his first visit to China since the 2020 Galwan clashes, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar delivered a blunt message to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing: terrorism, separatism, and extremism must be dealt with decisively. Speaking with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in the audience, Jaishankar invoked the recent Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, calling for an uncompromising stance from SCO members. 'The three evils the SCO was founded to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism are very much alive. Our fight against them must be resolute and non-negotiable,' he said. With regional cooperation faltering under the weight of mistrust, Jaishankar stressed the urgent need for honest, trust-based partnerships to preserve stability in the global order. His pointed remarks come amid ongoing tensions with both China and Pakistan and signal a tougher Indian foreign policy approach going forward.#jaishankar #china #sco #terrorism #galwan #pahalgamattack #pakistan #indianforeignpolicy #sco2025 #ishaqdar #toi #toibharat #bharat #trending #breakingnews #indianews
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First Post
27 minutes ago
- First Post
How Trump's erratic behaviour strained most defining partnership of 21st century
US President Donald Trump announced on July 30, 2025, that a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods—along with additional penalties over India's continued engagement with Russia—would take effect from August 1, 2025. In a striking contradiction, he simultaneously claimed to have concluded a trade and energy deal with Pakistan—India's traditional adversary. While India has no objection to such bilateral engagements between sovereign nations, Trump went a step further by stating, 'Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India some day!' This wasn't merely an offhand comment—it was a calculated provocation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India and Pakistan are archrivals, and the idea of such dependence is not only unrealistic but also strategically unacceptable. By making such statements, Trump is not merely playing geopolitical games—he is striking at the heart of India's national security sensitivities and damaging a relationship that both countries have spent decades nurturing into a consequential partnership for the 21st century. Trump has consistently hyphenated India–Pakistan relations, weakening India's position on cross-border terrorism by boosting Pakistan's strategic confidence through repeated endorsements and by portraying both countries as equals. These actions have granted Pakistan undue strategic legitimacy, disregarding decades of US policy that sought to engage India as an independent and trusted strategic partner. His claim—repeated over 29 times—that he personally brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan has been unequivocally denied by top Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. By drawing false parallels and exaggerating his role, Trump has jeopardised India's core interests and eroded the trust carefully built by successive US administrations. A Diplomatic Liability Recently, India's Parliament witnessed a heated debate in which opposition leaders urged Prime Minister Modi to directly refute Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered the recent India–Pakistan ceasefire. But such directness is unlikely to yield results. Trump is not a leader who responds to logic or diplomacy. His erratic, impulsive, and reactive personality makes engagement unpredictable. Even if the Indian prime minister corrects him publicly, Trump may repeat the same claim in the evening—and again the next day. The problem lies in Washington, not New Delhi. This isn't a unique pattern. Trump turned against Elon Musk—a long-time supporter—after a minor disagreement, telling him to 'go back to South Africa' and threatening to revoke federal subsidies supporting Tesla and SpaceX. Notably, Musk was the largest individual donor to Trump's 2024 campaign, contributing between $250 million and $290 million to pro-Trump political action committees. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite this staggering support, Trump turned on him without hesitation—highlighting his transactional nature and readiness to discard even his most generous allies over personal slights. Similarly, Indian-American politician Vivek Ramaswamy had the foresight to distance himself from Trump early on—an act of pragmatism that likely spared him from similar treatment. Trump is not a conventional statesman. He governs through impulse-driven outbursts on Truth Social, his personal platform, bypassing standard diplomatic channels and norms. One cannot expect rational behaviour or consistency from someone so clearly erratic. Even when India's prime minister and foreign minister have privately countered his claims, Trump has continued repeating the same falsehoods, showing a complete disregard for diplomatic engagement. Undermining India's Core Sensitivities By equating India and Pakistan, Trump has granted Pakistan undeserved strategic legitimacy and confidence, despite its entrenched history of sponsoring terrorism against India. Recently, Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, was hosted by Trump at a private luncheon at the White House—an extraordinary and rare gesture, especially considering that only a handful of Pakistani generals have ever received such treatment. Trump went on to lavish praise on Munir, calling him 'extremely influential in stopping the conflict from the Pakistan side' and crediting both Munir and Modi for preventing what he claimed could have escalated into a nuclear war. Adding to this, Centcom Commander General Michael Kurilla described Pakistan as 'a phenomenal partner in the counter-terrorism world,' blatantly ignoring its well-documented role in nurturing and exporting terrorist proxies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This repeated validation—through White House meetings, public praise, and exaggerated claims of Pakistan's counter-terrorism role—undermines India's diplomatic efforts to isolate state-sponsored terrorism. Praising a country that has itself sponsored terrorism against India is not only absurd but also adds insult to injury. Instead of backing India's fight, Trump's gestures have offered moral and strategic encouragement to Pakistan's military and political leadership—eroding the very trust that should define India–US strategic ties. Deliberate Provocation and Strategic Damage Trump's recent suggestion that India might import oil from Pakistan is not only absurd—it appears to be a deliberate attempt to provoke and humiliate. While this may be part of a broader negotiation tactic aimed at pushing India into a trade deal, the damage inflicted on bilateral relations is severe. Trump has thrown the India–US relationship into a Cold War–like deep freeze, eroding trust and mutual respect that had taken decades to build. This shift is not the result of India's foreign policy. The problem lies squarely with Trump. Unlike his predecessors—who operated with a sense of dignity, stability, and strategic foresight—Trump has pursued a chaotic, transactional approach that alienates allies and undermines shared interests. In one of his recent statements, Trump said: STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I don't care if India is buying oil from Russia. I couldn't care less. Let them do whatever they want. They can take their dead economies down together for all I care.' Such a statement is not only undiplomatic—it reflects a complete disregard for the economic realities of global partnerships and disrespects a key strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific. Instead of reinforcing mutual interests, Trump has repeatedly chosen to antagonise, offend, and weaken the very relationship considered vital for regional balance and global stability and widely regarded as the defining partnership of the twenty-first century. Moreover, Trump's ignorance of India's crucial moderating role in Brics reveals his blindness to structural realities. India's presence in Brics has ensured the group remains a non-Western coalition rather than an anti-Western alliance. Without India, BRICS could have adopted an anti-dollar currency or an explicitly adversarial posture. But explaining such nuance to an impulsive and transactional US leadership seems futile. Trump is unable—or unwilling—to grasp the strategic logic of true partnerships. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rebuilding Trust: A Long Road Ahead The trust deficit between India and the US has widened significantly. Even those in India who once firmly believed in the potential of the bilateral relationship now feel disillusioned. But India has weathered such storms before. After the 1998 nuclear tests, the United States imposed sanctions on India. Back in 1971, it had deployed the Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal in an attempt to intimidate India during the Bangladesh Liberation War. India didn't bow down then—and it won't now. India will adapt and find its path, just as it has done in the past. As India's leadership has repeatedly stated, every step will be taken to secure national interest. However, the damage inflicted by Trump's erratic and impulsive leadership means that restoring faith in the relationship will take years, if not decades. Moving forward, we can expect a greater degree of scepticism and a likely recalibration of India's foreign policy posture—possibly including greater resistance to US alignment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump's presidency has sown the seeds of growing anti-American sentiment in Indian strategic circles. His words and actions—especially repeated endorsements of Pakistan and disregard for India's strategic concerns—have not just weakened the India–US partnership; they have dented the very idea of trust in global diplomacy. As The Economic Times recently noted, doubts over US reliability are once again taking root in Indian foreign policy circles, and that's a serious blow to what was once considered the defining partnership of the twenty-first century. Imran Khurshid is a visiting research fellow at the International Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
News18
35 minutes ago
- News18
Railway personnel killed in IED blast in Odisha-Jharkhand border
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Bhubaneswar, Aug 3 (PTI) A railway personnel was killed in an IED blast on a railway track near Odisha-Jharkhand border in Sundergarh district on Sunday, police said. The deceased was identified as Itua Oram, working as a 'key man' in the Indian railways, the police said. Police suspected involvement of Maoists in the blast as Maoist posters were found near the blast site in Sundargarh district. The blast took place on the railway tracks connecting Karampada and Renjda under the Bimlagarh section. The track got minor damage. However, movement of any passenger train was not affected as it is a loop line, said a spokesperson of the South Eastern Railway. The Maoists had given a call to observe a martyrs' week or 'Shahid Saptah' from July 28 to August 3. The blast site is under Saranda forest range, a local police officer. Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the demise of the railway personnel in the blast and announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia to his family. The financial assistance would be provided from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF), the chief minister's office (CMO) said in a post on X. PTI BBM BBM RG view comments First Published: August 03, 2025, 14:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
UP CM Yogi Adityanath slams pre-2017 police recruitment practices, says nepotism undermined law and order
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath , while handing over appointment letters to 1,494 newly recruited assistant operators in the state police's Telecom Department, strongly criticized the recruitment practices prior to 2017, alleging they were riddled with corruption, nepotism , and favoritism. He asserted that such malpractices had a direct and damaging impact on the state's law and order, leading to widespread unrest, riots, and even terrorist attacks. Speaking at a formal ceremony held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow, CM Yogi said, 'Before 2017, recruitment in Uttar Pradesh Police was marred by monetary transactions, auctioning of posts, and discrimination, which ruined the future of deserving youth. It led to a serious law and order breakdown, with increased riots, crime, and terror strikes including attacks in courts in Ayodhya, Kashi, Lucknow, and on the CRPF camp in Rampur. ' Highlighting the reforms under his government, he stated that the recruitment process was made transparent and fair from 2017 onwards through the strengthening of the Police Recruitment Board. 'Since 2017, UP Police has inducted over 2,17,500 personnel—the highest among all Indian states,' Yogi claimed, adding that over the past eight years, 8.5 lakh youth have been given government jobs across departments in the state. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Libas Purple Days Sale Libas Undo Recruitment Reform: A Symbol Of Security And Trust CM Yogi emphasized that the transformative changes in the police recruitment process are not just about numbers. 'This shift represents a renewed identity, security, and the rebuilding of public trust in law enforcement,' he said. He recalled that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his government's first step in 2017 was to overhaul the recruitment board and set strict accountability for any malpractice. 'Today, UP's police recruitment model has become an example for the entire country.' The CM further added that transparent recruitment has spurred economic development, leading to the creation of employment opportunities for nearly 2 crore youth within their own districts. 'UP has now emerged as the fastest-growing economy in the country, thanks to technology, policy reform, and outsourcing opportunities,' he noted. Boost In Training And Infrastructure Yogi also pointed to the sharp increase in police training capacity—from 3,000 trainees before 2017 to over 60,000 currently being trained in state-run police institutes. 'In the past eight years, we've witnessed a massive expansion of police lines, headquarters, and residential quarters. Today, in many districts, police barracks are the tallest and best buildings,' he said. He informed that 10 districts which previously lacked a police line now have newly established facilities. Additionally, since 2017, the long-pending Police Commissionerate system has been implemented in seven major cities, further modernizing law enforcement and improving accountability. Inclusion, Representation, And Modernization Addressing inclusivity, the CM said, 'Twenty percent reservation has been provided for women in the police force. Out of the 1,494 assistant operators selected in the telecom department, around 300 are women. This ratio will further improve in the future.' He also reiterated the government's decision to reserve 20 percent of police posts for Agniveer candidates, ensuring that trained, disciplined youth from the Agnipath scheme can be absorbed into state police services. The chief minister praised the Telecom Police Unit for its exemplary work during the Mahakumbh, stating that in a state with 25 crore residents, a reliable police communication system is crucial. 'Telecom and communication technology is the backbone of modern policing,' he said. A Call For Sensitivity And Strength 'As India moves toward becoming the third-largest economy in the world during this 'Amrit Kaal' of independence, the police must evolve too—balancing sensitivity with strength,' Yogi said. 'Every decade brings a new generation. Our responsibility is to present a safe, empowered, and transparent Uttar Pradesh to this generation—with the police force standing as a source of inspiration.' Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
