Soccer players' union wants quick resolution of India's domestic league stalemate
The 2025-26 India Super League (ISL) season was due to start in September, but the 14-team competition has been suspended due to uncertainty over the renewal of its organizing agreement between the Indian federation and its commercial partner, the Football Sports Development Ltd., pending a Supreme Court ruling.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
India's Modi meets China's top diplomat as Asian powers rebuild ties
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met China's top diplomat on Tuesday and hailed the 'steady progress' made in improving the bilateral relationship after a yearslong standoff between the nuclear-armed Asian powers. Modi also noted 'respect for each other's interests and sensitiveness' in a statement on social media after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China's foreign ministry said the countries have entered a 'steady development track" and the countries should 'trust and support' each other. Wang arrived in India on Monday and has met with Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as well as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval about the countries' disputed border in the Himalayan mountains. India's foreign ministry said Wang's meeting with Doval discussed 'deescalation, delimitation and boundary affairs.' Relations plummeted in 2020 after security forces clashed along the border. The violence, the worst in decades, left 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead, freezing high-level political engagements. 'The setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interest of the people of our two countries. We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored in the borders,' Wang said Monday. Modi emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility on the border and reiterated India's commitment to a 'fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question,' his office said in a statement. The rebuilding of India-China ties coincides with friction between New Delhi and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on India, a longtime ally seen as a counterbalance against China's influence in Asia. India is part of the Quad security alliance with the U.S., along with Australia and Japan. 'Compromise at the highest political level' The chill in relations after the deadly clash in 2020 between troops in the Ladakh region affected trade, diplomacy and air travel, as both sides deployed tens of thousands of security forces in border areas. Some progress has been made since then. Last year, India and China agreed to a pact on border patrols and withdrew additional forces along some border areas. Both countries continue to fortify their border by building roads and rail networks. In recent months, the countries have increased official visits and discussed easing some trade restrictions, movement of citizens and visas for businesspeople. In June, Beijing allowed pilgrims from India to visit holy sites in Tibet. Both sides are working to restore direct flights. Last week, the spokesman for India's foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, said India and China were in discussions to restart trade through three points along their 3,488-kilometer (2,167-mile) border. 'Settling the boundary issue between the two countries requires political compromise at the highest political level,' said Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank. He also served as a member of the advisory board for India's National Security Council. Modi plans to visit China soon The thaw between Beijing and New Delhi began last October when Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at a summit of emerging economies in Russia. It was the first time the leaders had spoken in person since 2019. Modi is set to meet Xi when he travels to China late this month — his first visit in seven years — to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional grouping formed by China, Russia and others to counter U.S. influence in Asia. Earlier this year, Xi called for India and China's relations to take the form of a 'dragon-elephant tango' — a dance between the emblematic animals of the countries. Last month, India's external affairs minister visited Beijing in his first trip to China since 2020. The US and Pakistan play roles in the thaw The renewed engagement comes as New Delhi's ties with Donald Trump are fraying. Washington has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, which includes a penalty of 25% for purchasing Russian crude oil. The tariffs take effect Aug. 27. India has shown no sign of backing down, instead signing more agreements with Russia to deepen economic cooperation. Trump's renewed engagement with India's arch rival, Pakistan, has also encouraged New Delhi's overtures to China, said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who led the Indian military's Northern Command from 2014 to 2016. In June, Trump hosted Pakistan's army chief for a White House lunch and later announced an energy deal with Islamabad to jointly develop the country's oil reserves. Both followed Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the two sides traded military strikes in May. That clash saw Pakistan use Chinese-made military jets and missiles against India. 'China is heavily invested in Pakistan and, practically speaking, you can't have any expectation that Beijing will hold back support to Islamabad," Hooda said. 'But you can't have two hostile neighbors on your borders and simultaneously deal with them also.' ___ Associated Press writer Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, and video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Facing Trump tariffs, India's shrimp farmers consider switching to other businesses
By Rishika Sadam HYDERABAD, India/GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) -On India's southern coast, V. Srinivas thrived for two decades by farming shrimp, as the country became the top supplier of the delicacy to the United States. Now, Donald Trump's 50% tariff threat is forcing many to consider other ways of making money. Andhra Pradesh state sends the most shrimp from India to the U.S. and farmers there have spent millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars) over the years to cultivate high-quality shrimp in saline ponds. Now they are being hit hard as Indian exporters have slashed rates they offer farmers by almost 20% after the tariff shock, wiping out most of their profits. "I am contemplating if I should do fish farming," said the 46-year-old from Veeravasaram village who has already mortgaged his family property and has $45,800 in outstanding loans. "These prices will not help me get any profits and I will not be able to pay off my loan." The United States is the biggest market for India's shrimp farmers and exporters, with clients including U.S. supermarket chains such as Walmart and Kroger. Last year, total seafood exports from India globally stood at $7.4 billion, with shrimp accounting for 40%. But the industry is now in troubled waters with President Trump's 25% tariff on imports from India already in place - the highest among major economies, and another 25% levy to kick in from August 27 to penalize New Delhi for buying Russian oil. By comparison, Ecuador, India's main rival for shrimp exports to the U.S., faces a much lower 15% tariff, heightening its competitive edge. In Andhra, there are around 300,000 farmers engaged in shrimp farming, selling products to dozens of exporters who ship to America. Pawan Kumar, head of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, said orders from U.S. clients have been paused in recent weeks as buyers aren't willing to absorb the tariff, and neither can exporters, forcing the latter to cut prices they pay to farmers. Although India also sells shrimp to other countries such as China, Japan and the UK, and likely will look to expand sales there and diversify into new markets, "that's not going to happen overnight," Kumar said. The impact is yet another example of how Trump's tariff threats are causing business disruptions across the world, especially in India, given it faces one of the steepest levies that have soured its relations with Washington. In Andhra, six of 12 farmers Reuters interviewed said they were considering putting shrimp farming on hold and looking at fish farming, vegetable retailing or other local businesses to tide over the crisis. The other six are choosing to wait it out a bit. Each round of shrimp cultivation takes about 2 months or more. While prices being offered for their shrimp are being slashed, the farmers said they still face loan payments and high operating costs for electricity, raw material and feed, as well as high land rentals. "There's hardly a 20-25% profit for us on good days, and if that's getting eaten up, what else is left?," said Gopinath Duggineni, the chief of a local union in Ongole city, adding the farmers plan to seek financial support from the state government. Ecuador, meanwhile, is closely tracking tariffs on India to seize on business opportunities, but producers there will go slow on new investments amid uncertainty over whether India and the Trump administration could strike a tariff deal, said Jose Antonio Camposano, president of National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador. "India's exports are highly concentrated in the United States ... just as China is for us. So that is where we could gain ground if India withdraws," he said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chinese refiners sweep up Russian oil after Indian demand falls, analysts say
By Siyi Liu SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Chinese refineries have purchased 15 cargoes of Russian oil for October and November delivery as Indian demand for Moscow's exports falls away, two analysts and one trader said on Tuesday. India has emerged as the leading buyer of Russian seaborne oil, which has sold at a discount since some Western nations shunned purchases and imposed restrictions on Russian exports over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Indian state refiners paused Russian oil purchases last month, however, as those discounts narrowed. And U.S. President Donald Trump is also threatening to punish countries for buying Russian crude. China had secured 15 Russian Urals cargoes for October–November delivery by the end of last week, said Richard Jones, a Singapore-based crude analyst at Energy Aspects. Each Urals cargo ranges in size from 700,000 to 1 million barrels. Kpler senior analyst Xu Muyu wrote in an August 14 report that China has likely purchased about 13 cargoes of Urals and Varandey crude for October delivery, along with at least two Urals cargoes for November. The additional Russian Urals supply could curb Chinese refiners' appetite for Middle Eastern crude, which is $2 to $3 per barrel more expensive, Xu said. This, in turn, could add further pressure to the Dubai market which is already losing momentum as seasonal demand fades while competition from arbitrage supply intensifies, she added. A trade source agreed with Kpler's estimate, adding that the cargoes were booked mostly at the beginning of this month by Chinese state-owned and independent refineries. China, the world's top oil importer and largest Russian oil buyer, primarily buys ESPO crude exported from the Russian Far East port of Kozmino due to its proximity. Its year-to-date imports of Urals crude stood at 50,000 barrels per day, Kpler data showed. Urals and Varandey crude are typically shipped to India, Kpler data showed. Indian state-refiners have backed out Russian crude imports by approximately 600,000 to 700,000 bpd, according to Energy Aspects' Jones. "We do not expect China to absorb all of the additional Russian volumes, as Urals is not a baseload grade for Chinese majors," he said, referring to Chinese state refineries which are not designed to solely process the Russian grade. Chinese refiners will also be wary about the possibility of U.S. secondary sanctions if Trump's push for a Ukraine peace deal breaks down, he added. Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks". Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
