US cancels India trade talks scheduled for August
The current round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement is now likely to be deferred to another date, the report last Saturday said, dashing hopes of some relief before the Aug 27 deadline for the additional tariff on Indian goods kicks in.
Earlier this month, US president Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations.
The new import tax, which will come into effect from Aug 27, will raise duties on some Indian exports to as high as 50% – among the highest levied on any US trading partner.
Trade talks between New Delhi and Washington collapsed after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. — Reuters
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Malaysiakini
24 minutes ago
- Malaysiakini
End culture wars, build Malaysian nationalism
MP SPEAKS | One evening, during my first year in Canberra at the Australian National University, a lecture by Professor Brij Lal (1952-2021), an academic of Fijian-Indian origin, made me ponder. The British began ruling Fiji in 1874, the same year the Pangkor Treaty was inked. The Indians who were brought into Fiji by the British merchants as indentured labour went through hell. However, they eventually managed to free themselves and gradually built homes, bridges, schools, small businesses, and lives. Eventually, it became a nation of an indigenous Fijian population and a local ethnic Indian community, born and bred in Fijian soil. Political clashes, some resulting in bloodshed, between the two communities characterised most parts of Fijian history. That evening in 2001 made me realise that if you change the equation, replacing Indigenous Fijians and Indians in the context of Fiji with Malays and Chinese in Malaysia, we have a lot of similarities. In February 2003, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia held a conference comparing the histories of Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Fiji, three British colonies with similar plural societies. An edited volume by Emeritus Professor Abdul Rahman Embong, based on the conference titled 'Rethinking Ethnicity and Nation-Building: Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Fiji in Comparative Perspective' (2007), is a good read for a deeper understanding of the fraught histories of these post-colonial societies. It struck me that while both Sri Lanka and Fiji went through very harrowing ethnic strifes and, in the case of Sri Lanka, a brutal ethnic war between the state and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), Malaysia has been largely peaceful in the nearly seven decades since its independence, with several exceptions. Between Aug 15, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered and Sept 3, 1945, when the British returned to Malaya to continue its colonial rule, during which the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) went around the peninsula to exact revenge against those claimed to be Japanese collaborators; the battle against the Malayan Communist Party during the 1948-1960 Emergency, which many interpreted in racial terms; and the 13 May 1969 riots. Centre of multiethnicity Malaysia featured prominently in Arend Lijphart's articulation of political accommodation in multiethnic societies, which he called 'consociationalism', as well as in Donald Horowitz's 'Ethnic Groups in Conflict' (1985), a major scholarly contribution to the subject. In Horowitz's understanding, there was a political centre in Malaysia that was all-encompassing, including all key ethnic groups. Up until that point in history, in the 1980s when the book was published, BN was that. When the centre of multiethnicity could hold, the rest of the forces could only occupy the political fringes. I learned two lessons from these discourses. First, to understand Malaysian politics, we will have to look at the narratives and sentiments on both the Malay and non-Malay sides, and find a common ground of accommodation to ensure that the centre holds, which in itself is a delicate balance. Second, we have to ensure that the fringes do not dictate the terms, as Malay and non-Malay fringes could find an unlimited number of issues to exploit and fight on. The 1995 general election was BN's high point, when the Vision 2020 fervour and the Bangsa Malaysia idea won support from all ethnic groups. BN won 65 percent of the popular vote, an all-time high. However, in the 1999 general election, half of the Malay voters voted against BN in protest against Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the arrest, beating, and jailing of his former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim. After Mahathir stepped down, the 2004 general election marked the last time that BN was able to win across all communities, winning 64 percent of the popular vote, with the new prime minister effect of Tun Abdullah Badawi. Apart from political accommodation, the old order was also sustained through authoritarian means such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), which provided detention without trial and targeted mostly opposition politicians and activists. The last 20 years, since the 2004 election, saw the old order slowly crumbling, culminating in BN losing power in the 2018 general election. Pakatan Harapan leaders declaring victory in GE14 in 2018 During this slow disintegration, which affected the centre, especially between 2005 and 2018, the ruling coalition no longer attempted to appeal to all sections of society. Instead, in an attempt to salvage its reputation, it focused solely on sustaining the Malay ground. Culture wars Some friends in the civil service shared with me that during the 2000s, and even up until the 2010s, the National Civics Bureau (Biro Tatanegara), whose role is supposed to promote patriotism and national unity, had conducted compulsory courses to civil servants on why Anwar was not suitable to be prime minister. It also taught why the DAP - and the non-Malays by extension - were potential traitors to the nation as well as being 'communists'. The historic fall of Malacca in 1511 was cited in all these programmes, pointing fingers at non-Malay traders of the 16th century as traitors who caused the downfall of Malacca to the Portuguese. Over the past decade alone, quarrels over a stolen handphone at Low Yat Plaza (2015), paintbrushes made with pig bristles (2017), the teaching of Jawi calligraphy (2019), the controversial remarks about non-Malays by Indian Muslim preacher Zakir Naik (2019), the halal certification issue (2024), and socks at KK Mart (2024), were such examples. A singed KK Mart storefront in Sarawak There were two sides - Malays and non-Malays - in each of these quarrels, and the extremes of each side were the loudest. Many issues in Malaysia are seen through ethnic lenses, and the moment an issue is articulated from such a perspective, there will be contradictory responses from both sides. A lot of these views are based on stereotypes, biases, and some are just blatant racism. There seems to be no middle ground in such culture wars. Whoever advocates a middle ground will be chastised by the extremes of both sides, often accusing the centre of being a sellout. In culture wars, group identities take precedence over individuals. It is 'us versus them', and a zero-sum game, as if there must be a winner and a loser, and there is no compromise outcome. Those not included in the 'us' group are the 'other'. In its extreme form, the 'others' are dehumanised, not seen as humans. In many other countries, the line between culture wars and actual violent conflicts is very thin. In the recent quarrel on the national flag, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh acted as a 'hero' to this captive audience, showing off his bravery in acting against 'transgressors' who were deemed disloyal. The flip side of this is that his action evokes anger, fear, and humiliation among the non-Malays. Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh In this mindless situation, every side would have to rise in 'defence'. On the Malay side, it is about defending the dignity of the race. On the non-Malay side, it is about defending against bullying and hegemony. And as per usual political reaction, on the Malay side, there are renewed calls for Umno not to cooperate with DAP. On the non-Malay side, there are calls for DAP not to work with Umno, and also some thoughtless calls to not display the national flag. DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke's idea to put up an even larger Jalur Gemilang at the hardware shop at which Akmal and his supporters were to hold a protest was spot on. It is important to rally the people across ethnic lines around the national symbol and not to allow this to degenerate into a Malay versus non-Malay zero-sum culture war. Building a strong, credible centre Malaysia has had no credible singular central authority for nearly two decades. When the fires of culture wars rage, no one wants to be in the middle to speak for the middle ground, or to speak for what I call Malaysian nationalism. The middle is tightly squeezed if the centre cannot hold. The federal coalition government is a unique opportunity to build a strong centre and a new political order that is underpinned by Malaysian nationalism. The centre needs to hold and expand, and to assert its centrality. The racial fringes must not be allowed to feel that they are in charge. The prime minister's reminder during his speech to the civil servants that there must be a serious effort to assert a central authority is encouraging. A strong centre should be authoritative but not authoritarian. Malaysian nationalism can go hand in hand with a strong democracy which has rules and norms acceptable and embraced by the citizenry, which in turn sidelines culture wars and culture warriors. What we see in Malaysia in the past two decades is not unique to us. We live in an age in which US President Donald Trump is the chief culture warrior, while right-wing populist Nigel Farage has a chance of becoming the UK prime minister. Many previously homogeneous societies are now multiethnic and multicultural, and are facing challenges of political accommodation of a diverse population. For Malaysia, under the government led by Anwar, we have an opportunity to showcase to the world the possibility of both being a workable democracy and a cohesive multicultural society. It is our collective responsibility to sustain and enhance the middle ground. LIEW CHIN TONG is Iskandar Puteri MP. The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
Borneo Post
24 minutes ago
- Borneo Post
Zelensky says Russia must end war, after Trump pressures Ukraine
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with European Commission President in Brussels, on Aug 17, 2025. – AFP photo WASHINGTON (Aug 18): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was up to Russia to end its invasion, ahead of high-stakes talks on Monday with US counterpart Donald Trump, who is pressuring Ukraine to give up Crimea and abandon its NATO ambitions. The comments came hours before Zelensky and European leaders were scheduled to meet Trump in Washington, a follow-up to a summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska on Friday that failed to produce a ceasefire. Trump, who dropped his insistence on a ceasefire in favor of a final peace deal after meeting Putin, said late Sunday that Zelensky could end the three-and-a-half-year war 'almost immediately, if he wants to.' 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!', Trump wrote on Truth Social. Announcing that he had landed in Washington, Zelensky wrote later: 'Russia must end this war, which it itself started.' 'Ukrainians are fighting for their land, their independence,' he said, adding that he hoped 'that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.' Trump and Zelensky are expected to meet one-on-one before being joined by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland, as well as NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, according to the White House. Ahead of Monday's meeting, China called for 'all parties' to agree to peace 'as soon as possible.' It will be the first time Zelensky visits Washington since a bust-up with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February, when the two men berated the Ukrainian leader for being 'ungrateful.' Russia kept up its attacks on Ukraine ahead of the new talks, firing at least 140 drones and four ballistic missiles at the country between late Sunday and early Monday, the Ukrainian air force said. A Russian drone attack on a five-story apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv just before dawn killed at least seven people, authorities said. Ukrainian shelling attacks in the Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Donetsk regions meanwhile killed two people, Moscow-installed authorities said. – Security guarantees – Since the Oval Office row with Zelensky in February, Trump has grown more critical of Putin and shown some signs of frustration as Russia repeatedly stalled on peace talks. But Washington has not placed extra sanctions on Moscow, and the lavish welcome offered to Putin in Alaska on his first visit to the West since he invaded Ukraine in 2022 was seen as a diplomatic coup for Russia. Speaking in Brussels on the eve of his visit to the United States, Zelensky said he was keen to hear more about what Putin and Trump discussed in Alaska. He also hailed Washington's offer of security guarantees to Ukraine as 'historic.' Trump said he spoke to Putin about the possibility of a collective defense guarantee for Ukraine similar to the one in place for NATO members. The promise would be outside of the framework of the Western military alliance that Ukraine wants to join and which is seen as an existential threat by Russia. – Discussion on land – Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow had made 'some concessions' regarding five Ukrainian regions that Russia now fully or partially controls, and that there was an 'important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there.' 'That discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday,' he told CNN, without giving details. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following a referendum denounced as a sham by Kyiv and the West, and did the same in 2022 in four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia — even though its forces have not fully captured them. A source briefed on a phone call between Trump and European leaders on Saturday told AFP that the US leader was 'inclined to support' a Russian demand to be given territory it had not yet captured in the Donbas, an area that includes the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and that has seen the deadliest battles of the war. In exchange, Moscow would agree to 'freeze' the front line in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, regions where Russian forces hold swathes of territory but not the regional capitals, the source cited Trump as saying. Russia had until now insisted that Ukraine pull its forces from all four regions as a precondition to any deal. Zelensky has said he is constitutionally bound not to give away any Ukrainian territory. – AFP Donald Trump peace talks Russia-Ukraine war Volodymyr Zelensky
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Beijing doubles down on reunification rhetoric, rejects Taiwan separation after Trump claim
BEIJING, Aug 18 — China said on Monday it stands ready to work with the greatest effort for peaceful 'reunification' with Taiwan, its foreign ministry said on Monday, responding to interview comments made by US President Donald Trump. Trump had said, in an interview with Fox News on Friday, that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him over a phone call that China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. China will not allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from China in any way, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing. — Reuters
