
Shikhar Dhawan slams Shahid Afridi for blaming Indian Army for Pahalgam attack
"We defeated you even in Kargil. You have already fallen so low - how much lower will you go? Instead of making pointless comments, it would be better if you used your mind for your country's progress, @SAfridiOfficial. We are extremely proud of our Indian Army. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind!" Dhawan said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.The Resistance Front, a local offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident has sparked outrage in India, with demands for swift retaliation against Islamabad, which New Delhi accuses of harbouring terrorists on its soil.advertisementAfridi stirred further controversy by claiming that India habitually blames Pakistan, stating that the Pahalgam attack was no different."Even if a cracker bursts in India, they blame it on Pakistan. You have an 8 lakh-strong army in Kashmir, yet this happened. This means you are useless, not being able to provide security to people," he told Samaa TV.Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria also hit out at Afridi for his insensitive comments, urging national television channels in Pakistan not to give the former all-rounder a platform to speak."He has consistently aligned himself with extremist views. In my opinion, he should not be given a platform on Indian television or within the country. Additionally, he tried to persuade me to convert to Islam and declined to share a meal with me, which I found deeply disrespectful," Kaneria said, reacting to Afridi's comments on Monday, 28 April.Meanwhile, fearing retaliation from India, the Pakistani Army has begun vacating several terror launch pads across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and shifting terrorists to army shelters and bunkers, intelligence sources told India Today TV.Must Watch
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The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
India ‘fully engaged' with U.S. on trade deal, says Commerce Secretary
India continues to be 'fully engaged' with the U.S. on a Bilateral Trade Agreement, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Thursday, however adding that the date for the next round of negotiations has not yet been decided. He reiterated the deadline for the deal as fall 2025, or September-October 2025, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump. Official sources have also confirmed that India was working with both the U.K. and the EU to fast-track the implementation of the respective trade deals India was concluding with them. During the Indian team's visit to Washington in July to continue negotiations on the deal, it had been decided that the next round would take place in New Delhi during the last week of August. However, a lot has changed since then. US President Donald Trump on July 31 approved a 25% tariff on imports from India, and then on August 6 approved an additional 25% tariffs as a 'penalty' for India's imports of Russian oil. Mr. Trump has also indicated that further negotiations would not take place until the Russia oil issue was resolved. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, Mr. Barthwal said that negotiations on the BTA were still progressing. Negotiations progressing 'We are fully engaged with the U.S. on the trade negotiations,' Mr. Barthwal said at a press briefing. 'There was a joint statement that was given by the U.S. President and our Prime Minister where it was said India and the U.S. would engage in a bilateral trade agreement and simultaneously we would also aim to more than double our trade to $500 billion.' 'Those talks are going on,' he added. 'The BTA talks are going on. We are engaged.' However, Mr. Barthwal added that the final date for the next round of negotiations would be decided closer to the last week of August. According to official sources who declined to be named, the negotiations and engagement between India and the U.S. was taking place at different levels. 'One level is at the negotiating team' level, another one happens at the Ministers' level, the third happens at the diplomatic levels, and we also engage the different industries of the U.S. to look into their issues,' the official explained. Other deals being fast-tracked The India-United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed in July, is now in the final stage where the UK is concluding its due processes in its Parliament. 'We have requested the UK to fast-track this process so it comes into force as early as possible,' another government source said. They added that the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the EFTA countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — would come into force on October 1. 'With the EU, we are fast-tracking the negotiations,' they explained. 'But a lot of work has progressed and it was decided that the FTA would be concluded by the end of December. It has made good progress and there are further meetings that are going to happen, at the negotiators' level, the Secretary level, and at the Ministerial level.' With Oman, the talks on a trade agreement have concluded and the deal will be signed 'very soon', when the dates are decided by both countries. Good progress with ASEAN countries The negotiating team representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries was in India between August 10-14 to review the Trade in Goods Agreement between the two. 'We are telling them that we need to increase trade between India and ASEAN,' the official said. 'Everybody is concerned about the uncertain global policy environment. They have realised that both ASEAN and India move forward and improve trade between the two blocks.' They added that India and the ASEAN countries were not only looking at tariff issues but also non-tariff issues, such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and regulatory compliances. 'Since these are issues that require deep analysis, that analysis is going on,' the official said. 'This round has been quite fruitful. There is a lot of clarity on how we should move forward.'


India.com
22 minutes ago
- India.com
Independence Day 2025: PM Modi to unfurl tricolor, address nation from Red Fort; when and how to watch live streaming
Independence Day 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the Indian tricolor and address the nation from ramparts of the historic Red Fort in national capital Delhi on the occasion of India's 79th Independence Day on Friday, August 15, 2025. This will be PM Modi's 12th consecutive Independence Day speech since he assumed office in 2014. Check out when and where to watch PM Modi's address and flag hoisting on the country's 79th Independence Day. When will Independence Day celebrations begin at Red Fort? According to the official schedule, the event will begin at 7:30 AM with official greetings from dignitaries, the national anthem, and a ceremonial 21-gun salute after unfurling of the national flag by the Prime Minister. After these proceedings, PM Modi deliver his annual address to the nation from ramparts of the iconic Red Fort, presenting a blueprint of his government's policies for the coming year. Where to watch PM Modi's Independence Day address? The entire event, including the Prime Minister's address will be broadcast live on state-run Doordarshan and live-streamed on the official YouTube channel of the Press Information Bureau (PIB). The PIB will also share the livestream on its official X handle @PIB_India. Additionally, the event will also be live-streamed on the official YouTube handle of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), while live streaming of proceedings will also be available on and the National Informatics Centre's Independence Day portal at Why PM hoists Indian flag from Red Fort on Independence Day? On August 15, 1947, India became an independent, sovereign nation after the British colonial rule ended in the country. India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru marked the occasion by unfurling the Indian flag and addressing the newly-formed nation from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort, starting a tradition that continues to this day. Each year, the Prime Minister of India hoists the tricolor and addresses citizens from the Red Fort, presenting a blueprint of the government's policies for the coming year.

The Wire
22 minutes ago
- The Wire
Vantara and Captive Elephant, Animal Cases: Amend Petitions Before Next Hearing, Says SC
One petition seeks an investigation into all wildlife imports and conservation-related operations undertaken after 2020 by Vantara and the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust. New Delhi: Hearing two petitions related to captive elephants and other animals at Vantara, the Jamnagar-based and Reliance-owned zoo and rescue-and-rehabilitation-centre, the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 14) asked petitioners to make changes – including listing Vantara as a respondent – and set the next date for hearing on August 25, according to news reports. 'Don't file vague petitions' One petition pertained to an inquiry into Vantara's operations. Petitioner Dev Sharma sought an investigation into all wildlife imports and conservation-related operations undertaken since 2020 by Vantara and its linked entity, the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, LiveLaw and the Indian Express reported. Apart from this, the petition also called for the verification of permits under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that enabled the import of animals to Vantara, the evaluation of claims regarding a gene bank, scrutiny of breeder legitimacy and source-country clearances, checks on compliance with the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, as well as India's obligations under CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity, per LiveLaw. 'The law and rules have been violated. States' administration failed, some officers were compromised and others were threatened. Captive elephants were forcibly taken from temples and their owners,' the New Indian Express quoted the petition as stating. 'Not only national-level but also international-level animals and birds, some of them endangered species, were smuggled into Vantara in the name of a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility in Gujarat,' it was quoted as also saying. The bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna Varale asked petitioner Sharma why he had not approached the Central Zoo Authority or any other relevant zoo authority before coming to the court. 'Don't file such vague petitions,' IE quoted the bench as saying. However, the bench permitted the petitioner to add more facts to the petition and re-submit it in five days. Another petition that the Supreme Court heard on August 14 sought to constitute a monitoring committee to ensure that all captive elephants at Vantara be returned to their respective owners, and that all other animals and birds at the facility be released back into the wild. However, hearing this petition filed by petitioner C.R. Jaya Sukin, the court observed that Vantara had not been included as a respondent in the case. 'You are making allegations against parties which are not represented here,' LiveLaw quoted the bench as saying. 'You have not made them respondents. You implead them and then come back to us, we will see.' Per LiveLaw, the court will hear both matters on August 25. Vantara in the spotlight Vantara has been in the news recently after female elephant Madhuri (also called Mahadevi) was transferred from the zoo and rescue-and-rehabilitation centre from a Jain mutt in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The elephant had been in the care of the Jain mutt, the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswamy Sanstha, in Kolhapur's Nandani village for over 30 years. However, following observations by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that the elephant was in ill health and required medical treatment, Madhuri was moved to Vantara recently. Huge protests followed this move: people got out on the streets in Kolhapur and nearby areas, demanding that the elephant be brought back. Residents also decided to boycott Reliance products in some areas. Before this, several news reports had also questioned the methods by which Vantara has amassed several species of wildlife at its zoo, including a mountain gorilla, from numerous countries across the world. Vantara, however, has held that all transfers were legal and came with valid CITES and other certificates and paperwork. More recently, the Union Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change evaded a question on the number of animals kept at Vantara in the ongoing parliament session. In response to several questions from Sudha Ramakrishnan, a Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, including whether the government had inspected the living conditions of these animals and conducted any study on their impact on the environment, the minister of state of the Union environment ministry went on to only list the five private zoos in the country in a written reply. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement