Brothers can decide on alliance, INDIA bloc has no conditions: Uddhav
Thackeray added that any decision on the alliance with MNS, ahead of the local body polls, will not affect his ties with the INDIA bloc.
On the other hand, he slammed the state election commission (SEC) for its announcement that there would be no Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the local body elections. 'In the absence of VVPAT, how will voters confirm that their vote has gone to the party or candidate which they voted for? The SEC is trying to remove the transparency in the election process,' he said.
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First Post
27 minutes ago
- First Post
Resuming flights, visas and more… Are India and China inching toward an all-out thaw?
Trump tariffs and geopolitics are pushing India and China closer. But will this result in a complete reconciliation between the two Asian giants? There are signs Indian school students pose with their faces painted with India's (R) and China's national flags. Relations between the two countries are on the mend. File image/AFP The world is in a constant flux. Nations that were once friends turn foe, foes become friends — and China and India aren't immune from this. After years of bickering and contestation, they are now exploring yet another round of engagement. At least, the recent steps taken by the two countries indicate a thaw in ties. The most recent of these being India and China set to resume direct flights as soon as September, with the formal announcement to come around the time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the neighbour at the end of August. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD We take a closer look at all the indicators that signal an all-out thaw and if this current rapprochement is merely opportunistic and temporary? India-China flights to resume soon On Tuesday evening (August 12) came the news that India and China are preparing to restart direct passenger flights as early as next month. News agency Reuters said that the Indian government has asked carriers such as Air India and IndiGo to be ready to operate flights to China at short notice. Even Bloomberg reporting the same said that a formal announcement on the same would be made when Prime Minister Modi travels to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit at the end of August. Air China planes sit on the tarmac at Beijing Airport in Beijing, China. File image/AP Passenger flights between the two neighbouring countries were suspended after the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing travellers from India to China to pass through hubs like through Hong Kong or Singapore. Before the suspension, India airlines such as Air India and IndiGo as well as Chinese airlines such as Air China, China Southern and China eastern ran services between the key cities of both countries. Interestingly, this isn't the first time that India and China have attempted to restart direct flights. Such an endeavour was made in January as well as June, but stalled owing to diplomatic tensions. Signs of an all-out thaw between India and China The resuming of flights is just another indicator that India and China ties are back on following the Galwan clash of 2020. In a first since 2021, a cargo of Indian diesel is also heading to China. According to a Bloomberg report, a vessel sailed from the Nayara's Vadinar terminal with about 496,000 barrels of ultra-low sulphur diesel on July 18. Moreover, earlier this month, it was announced that PM Modi would be attending the SCO summit in China's northern city of Tianjin between August 31 and September 1. The trip would be Modi's first to China in seven years and pave the way for him to meet President Xi Jinping for the first time since they came face to face in Russia 10 months ago. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD PM Modi and China's Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the SCO summit later this month. File image/AP But that's not all. When US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil, China expressed its support for New Delhi, saying, 'India's sovereignty is non-negotiable and its foreign policy choices cannot be manipulated by other countries, no matter how significant their own ties with India are.' The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India also attached an illustration showing an elephant, representing India, and a baseball bat, representing the US tariff. 'India's sovereignty is non-negotiable and its foreign policy choices cannot be manipulated by other countries, no matter how significant their own ties with India are.'----Quoted from @the_hindu — Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) August 6, 2025 There's also the fact that India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24, following a five-year gap. Additionally, India and China have resumed the Kailash Mansarovar yatra. The diplomatic thaw is also feeding economic hopes. In the last week of July, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinted a possible revival of India-China business relations, saying, 'How far it will go is something we will have to wait and see.' But all of this only occurred after India and China reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements and disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control last October. The two nations agreed upon a border plan — the Indian Army has secured the ability to patrol key points along the border, and Indian herders were able to resume grazing. Last October, India and China reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements and disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control. File image/AFP The Trump factor But what has motivated India and China's rapprochement? The answer would be US President Donald Trump and geopolitics, especially the belief in New Delhi that Washington has shifted its position on Pakistan. As a report by Foreign Policy noted that the Trump administration may be simultaneously moving closer to Beijing and Islamabad in order to peel Pakistan away from China. New Delhi, in turn, hopes that with its own pivot to China, it can exploit the first of these trends while preempting any negative fallout from the second. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even within the Chinese camp there's a suspicion over the Washington-Islamabad proximity. Questions are being asked if Washington is trying to disrupt the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or gain information on the efficacy of Chinese weapon systems in Pakistan's arsenal. US President Donald Trump's tariff stance could dramatically change ties between India and China. File image/AFP The fact that Trump has been going hard on India with its heavy tariffs has also led India to do a rethink on its ties with Washington. Trump has slapped a total tariff of 50 per cent on Indian goods, while the US president on Monday (August 11) extending the tariff truce with Beijing for another 90 days, staving off triple-digit duties on Chinese goods. Even Biswajit Dhar, an economics professor at the Council for Social Development in Delhi, told South China Morning Post, 'I think he has pushed India and China closer together,' adding that US protectionism was a common concern for both Delhi and Beijing. Challenges remain But this rapprochement between India and China is fraught with complications. There still remains unresolved issues at the LAC. Additionally, China's close relations with India's arch-rival Pakistan have been a source of concern for Delhi. China and Pakistan describe each other as 'all-weather strategic cooperative partners' with an ''ironclad'' friendship between them. This friendship extends to the military and nuclear domain – which India has repeatedly flagged. In fact, Operation Sindoor saw Pakistan use several Chinese weapons — Islamabad used Chinese-origin fighter jets, Chinese PL-15 missiles, and drones. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While India and China are pushing forward together, there are obstacles in their way. File image/PTI There's also China's construction of a mega dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which becomes the Brahmaputra upon reaching India, that has stoked anxieties in Delhi about water security. And this year, Beijing is also expected to begin work on a railway line linking Hotan in Xinjiang to Shigatse in Tibet this year. The artery is likely to cross from Aksai Chin and close to the G219 national highway, near the Line of Actual Control. But as Dominic Rohner, an economics professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute and co-director of its Hoffmann Centre for Global Sustainability, noted to the South China Morning Post that the motivation for rapprochement was obvious. 'There are clear incentives to increase bilateral ties, yielding both economic and political benefits,' he said. 'While it is difficult to forecast what will happen, it is in these countries' interest to foster ties.' With inputs from agencies
India Today
41 minutes ago
- India Today
PM Modi likely to meet Trump next month in US as trade tensions simmer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the United States next month for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and plans are afoot to schedule a meeting with President Donald Trump to iron out issues on trade amid a downturn in from Trump, PM Modi will also likely hold high-level meetings with foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, sources said. The UNGA summit will be held in New York City in September. Global leaders will start arriving during the week starting September 23. advertisementIf the meeting materialises, it will be the second meeting of the two leaders in seven months after PM Modi visited the White House in February this KEEN ON MEETING MODI Sources said Trump is also keen on meeting Modi. In fact, Trump invited Modi to visit Washington in June when the Prime Minister was in Canada to attend the G7 Modi declined the invitation, wary of the fact that Trump would look to orchestrate a meeting with Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir, who was also in the US at that said if the meeting goes well, PM Modi would personally invite Trump to visit India for the QUAD summit, which is scheduled in October. Australia and Japan are the other members of the Trump's first term, he and PM Modi formed a personal bond. However, that camaraderie has been rocked by Trump's compulsive bluster on tariffs in his second term despite the President calling Modi a "friend" several the mouth-watering prospect of a Modi-Trump meeting hinges on several factors in the coming TARIFFS, PURCHASE OF RUSSIAN OILFirst is making headway in the India-US bilateral trade deal, which has been struck over India's reluctance in opening up the agriculture and dairy sectors to the the trade deal stalemate, Trump compounded matters by imposing a 25% tariff on India and an additional 25% levy due to the continued purchase of Russian oil, bringing the total duty to 50%.While half of Trump's 50% tariffs on Indian products came into force on August 7, the remaining are set to take effect on August 27. Before that deadline, India and the US are engaged in hectic negotiations to strike a trade key issue that has become a flashpoint between the US and India is New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil - a revenue source the White House says is sustaining Moscow's war in has been berating India over its Russian oil purchases and pressuring New Delhi into cutting down on imports in the hope that threatening a key trade partner would force Moscow's hand into ending the Ukraine has, however, vehemently countered the criticism by accusing the US of hypocrisy and pointing out that American companies continue to buy uranium, chemicals and fertilizers from this front, India will closely follow the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 to discuss a resolution to end the conflict, which has dragged on for over three years.- EndsMust Watch
News18
an hour ago
- News18
BAPS Temple Vandalised By Pro-Khalistan Elements In US, Graffiti Shows Anti-India Slogans
Last Updated: The Hindu American Foundation urged the elected officials to "move beyond empty condemnations" and take strict action against those responsible for the desecration. A BAPS temple was desecrated, allegedly by pro-Khalistan separatists, in Greenwood, Indiana, a city in Johnson County in the United States, a Hindu Americans group alleged on Tuesday. The walls of the Hindu temple were vandalised with anti-India and anti-Modi graffiti, the Hindu American Foundation said in a post on X, while urging the 'elected officials" to 'move beyond empty condemnations". They demanded stern action against the perpetrators of the crime, which they said took place for the fourth time in less than a year. 'For the 4th time in less than a year, a Hindu Mandir (temple) has been desecrated—this time the @BAPS Mandir in Greenwood, IN. Vandalizing temples with anti-India graffiti is a tactic often used by pro-Khalistan separatist activists—and a stark reminder of how slurring American Hindus as 'Hindutva" fuels hate like this. It's time elected officials move beyond empty condemnations and ensure perpetrators are held accountable," the Foundation captioned a post on X, in which they also shared the video of the vandalism. More to follow… view comments First Published: 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.
