My Take 5 (Edition 46): The week that was in international affairs
Welcome back to another edition of My Take 5, your weekly round-up of international news. It has been a while so let's quickly get to the top global developments over the past week:
Ukraine war intensifies: Recent weeks have seen the war intensify with Russia sending waves of drones and missiles to Ukrainian towns and cities spread across almost all regions of the country. This comes after Ukraine's stunning Operation Spiderweb on June 1, when Kyiv's intelligence service SBU was able to send covert drones deep into Russia – concealed in trucks – and take out Russia's strategic bombers across at least four airfields. A total of 41 aircraft were seriously damaged or completely destroyed, representing 34% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet, which also represents one leg of Moscow's nuclear triad. Ukraine says the bombers were specifically targeted because they were being directly used to hit Ukrainian cities, civilian infrastructure and people. Russia, after all, has not differentiated between civilian and military targets in this war.
Read full story on TOI
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author's own.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
31 minutes ago
- First Post
India-US trade pact likely to miss 'Fall' deadline, New Delhi seeks clarity on Trump's policy
As Indian and the US trade representatives negotiate the initial trenches of a bilateral trade agreement. Here's the reason why both nations might miss the fall deadline in finalising a deal read more While India and the United States work towards finalising the initial aspects of a bilateral trade deal , reports are emerging that both nations will likely miss the fall deadline in finalising an agreement. Sources close to the matter told The Times of India that New Delhi is seeking clarity from the US President Donald Trump's administration on its trade policy. While the two nations are finalising an 'initial tranche' of the proposed trade deal before July 9, Washington, DC, is yet to give clarity on its trade policy beyond the Trump tariffs. 'A long-lasting agreement will require the US to move beyond a case-by-case approach, which can form the basis for a durable agreement,' the source told The Times of India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The source stated that New Delhi is seeking clarity on how the tariff cuts committed by the US Trade Representative will be implemented, since there is no clarity on whether the move would require approval from the US Congress. India is also monitoring the legal challenges to Trump's reciprocal tariffs, which have created 'uncertainties on how the duty cuts will be negotiated.' Three factors India will be looking at The two nations started discussing a bilateral trade agreement following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February. Following the talks, it was announced that the two nations had agreed to negotiate a bilateral trade deal by the Fall before the US President decided to roll out reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which was suspended later. Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that the American trade deals with the United Kingdom and China are also interim and are not final agreements . The source told TOI that New Delhi will be looking at the following three key factors while negotiating a deal with the Trump administration: New Delhi 'wants to secure the best possible deal for its businesses so that they can get market access in return for lower duties in India,' a source told TOI. The source argued that an agreement would give American companies access to a market of close to 1.5 billion people. The Indian government will also be looking at how tariffs are being reset for other countries to determine its next move forward. The government would seek protection in several segments, such as agriculture and segments like staples are fully on board. The source concluded that while the current negotiation is focusing on goods trade, India's interests in the service sector are not getting addressed at the moment.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Mumbai Police Takes BIG Action Against Auto Driver Who Went Viral For Earning Rs 5-8 Lakh
Mumbai Police stopped an autorickshaw driver's innovative locker service within the vicinity of the US Consulate in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) of Mumbai, which gained notoriety for purportedly making him Rs 5-8 lakh a month, on account of security and licensing breaches, officials said on Wednesday. Viral Claim Causes Fuss The driver became famous after VenueMonk co-founder Rahul Rupani put his tale on LinkedIn last week. Rupani recounted leaving his bag with the driver for Rs 1,000 during a visa appointment, as bags are prohibited inside the consulate. "Sir, bag de do. Safe rakhunga, mera roz ka hai," the driver reportedly said. Rupani's post, praising the driver's "brilliant business" model, claimed he earned Rs 5-8 lakh monthly by safeguarding belongings for consulate visitors. The tale, which was hailed as "pure Indian jugaad" by billionaire Harsh Goenka, drew thousands of views on X and LinkedIn before being debunked. Police Crackdown Mumbai Police called in the driver and 12 others who were providing similar unauthorized locker services around the consulate. A senior police officer at BKC police station informed the Hindustan Times that parking is not allowed in the high-security area and auto drivers are only allowed to drop passengers. "The driver has a permit to carry passengers, not operate a locker facility," the officer said, pointing out keeping things in surrounding stores raised security concerns, such as lost items activating alarms. The police inquiry established the drivers did not have any legal sanction to conduct such services. "We spoke to him about it, and he has stopped offering lockers now," the authorities informed the Free Press Journal. The inflated Rs 5-8 lakh income claim was also rejected as unsubstantiated, with the police establishing the real income to be much less. Security And Compliance Issues The strict no-bag policy of the US Consulate has generated demand for such services, but officials stressed that unregulated activity in the vicinity of a sensitive installation cannot be allowed. The clampdown has generated controversy on X, with users such as @MumbaiMatters commending the driver's creativity but concurring with the necessity for regulation. Others, such as @BKCResident, felt relieved, referring to safety in the congested area. What's Next? The shutdown highlighted the tension between entrepreneurial innovation and security protocols in Mumbai's high-stakes zones. The driver has ceased the service, and police are monitoring the area to prevent similar operations. As the story fades from viral fame, it underscored the challenges of informal businesses navigating legal and safety frameworks in urban India.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Russia attacks Ukraine's Kharkiv with deadly nighttime barrage of drones
A concentrated, nine-minute-long Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv on Wednesday killed six people and injured 64, including nine children, Ukrainian officials said. The attack followed Russia's two biggest air assaults of the war on Ukraine this week, part of intensified bombardments that Moscow says are retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent attacks in Russia. A new wave of drone attacks on four city districts was reported early on Thursday by Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, including a drone that landed in a school courtyard and smashed windows. There were no other reports of casualties or damage. Elsewhere, two southern Ukrainian regions, Mykolaiv and Kherson, were left without electricity on Wednesday after Russian forces attacked an energy facility, the governors said. Kharkiv, in Ukraine's northeast, withstood Russia's full-scale advance in the early days of the war but has since been a regular target of drone, missile and guided aerial bomb assaults. Prosecutors in Kharkiv region said on the Telegram messaging app that the death toll in Tuesday night's incidents had risen to six as rescue teams pulled bodies from under the rubble. They said three people were still believed to be trapped. The strikes by 17 drones on Kharkiv sparked fires in 15 units of a five-storey apartment block and caused other damage in the city close to the Russian border, Mayor Terekhov said. "There are direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private homes, playgrounds, enterprises and public transport," Terekhov said on the Telegram messaging app. "Every new day now brings new despicable blows from Russia, and almost every blow is telling. Russia deserves increased pressure; with literally every blow it strikes against ordinary life, it proves that the pressure is not enough," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram. A Reuters witness saw emergency rescuers helping to carry people out of damaged buildings and administering care, while firefighters battled blazes in the dark. Nine of the injured, including a 2-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, have been hospitalised, Oleh Sinehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region, said on Telegram. In total, the Ukrainian military said Russia had launched 85 drones overnight, 40 of which were shot down. In the southern Kherson region, workers were trying to restore electricity supplies after Russian forces attacked what its governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said was "an important energy facility". "It is currently impossible to predict the duration of the work. Residents of the region, I ask you to show understanding and prepare for a prolonged power outage," he said on the Telegram messenger. The governor of the neighbouring Mykolaiv region, Vitaliy Kim, said his region was also experiencing emergency shutdowns but that power would soon be restored. Kherson region directly borders a war zone and is under daily drone, missile and artillery attack. The Mykolaiv region faces mainly missile and drone attacks. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the latest overnight attacks. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched on its smaller neighbour in February 2022. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
