‘India is financing Putin's war': Trump aide hits Delhi, says it's tied with China in purchasing oil - The Economic Times Video
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India.com
26 minutes ago
- India.com
India, New Zealand Unlock New Chapter In Defence Ties, Strategic Dialogue Gains Momentum In New Delhi
New Delhi: India and New Zealand are moving to strengthen their defence partnership, adding fresh momentum to a long-standing relationship that continues to strengthen across strategic and economic fronts. On August 4, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth hosted Kathleen Pearce, head of the International Branch at New Zealand's Ministry of Defence, in New Delhi. The two sides reiterated their shared commitment to scaling up collaboration in defence and other sectors. 'Ms Kathleen Pearce, Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand and Mr Patrick John Rata, NZ high commissioner, called on Raksha Rajya Mantri @SethSanjayMP today. The meeting reaffirmed strong defence ties & commitment to deepen cooperation across key strategic domains,' the Ministry of Defence posted on X. Ms Kathleen Pearce, Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand and Mr Patrick John Rata, NZ High Commissioner called on Raksha Rajya Mantri @SethSanjayMP today. The meeting reaffirmed strong defence ties & commitment to deepen cooperation across key strategic… — Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) August 4, 2025 Later that day, India's Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh also met Pearce and Rata. The discussions culminated in the formal launch of a new strategic defence dialogue between the two nations. 'Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh met Ms Kathleen Pearce, Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand and NZ High Commissioner Mr Patrick John Rata in New Delhi today. Both sides welcomed the launch of strategic dialogue & agreed to deepen #defenceties,' the MoD said in another post. Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh met Ms Kathleen Pearce, Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand and NZ High Commissioner Mr Patrick John Rata in New Delhi today. Both sides welcomed the launch of strategic dialogue & agreed to deepen #defenceties.… — Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) August 4, 2025 These high-level meetings follow the recent completion of the second round of negotiations for the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which wrapped up in New Delhi on July 25. The talks covered wide-ranging issues, from trade in goods and services to investment, rules of origin, customs processes, technical barriers and sanitary measures. According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, both delegations expressed strong interest in reaching early convergence on several points and reiterated their aim to finalise a balanced and future-ready trade agreement. The Ministry of External Affairs highlighted that India and New Zealand have long shared close and friendly relations. Their common ground includes a shared Commonwealth legacy, similar legal systems and democratic governance structures. Both countries also aim to promote economic growth and inclusive prosperity across diverse societies, an alignment that now extends to strategic cooperation. With defence ties being actively upgraded and economic negotiations progressing in tandem, the India-New Zealand partnership is entering a more mature and multifaceted phase.
The Hindu
26 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. reverses pledge to link disaster funds to Israel boycott stance
The Trump administration on Monday (August 4, 2025) reversed course on requiring U.S. cities and States to rebuke boycotts of Israeli companies in order to receive disaster funds, according to a statement, and deleted the earlier policy from its website. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed its statement that said States must certify they will not sever 'commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies' to qualify for the funding. Reuters reported on Monday that the language applied to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems, among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters. This is a shift for the administration of President Donald Trump, which has previously tried to penalise institutions that don't align with its views on Israel or antisemitism. Economic pressure on Israel The disaster funding requirement took aim at the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. The campaign's supporters grew more vocal in 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel and Israel invaded Gaza in response. 'FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy and not political litmus tests,' said DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in a statement on Monday afternoon. DHS oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA in grant notices posted on Friday said states must follow its 'terms and conditions' to qualify for disaster preparation funding. Those conditions required that they not support what the agency called a 'discriminatory prohibited boycott,' a term defined as refusing to deal with 'companies doing business in or with Israel.' The new terms, posted later on Monday, do not include that language.
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Geneva meet: Talks on Global Plastics Treaty resume today
STARTING TUESDAY, over 190 countries will get into a huddle in Geneva, Switzerland, to break an impasse and reach an agreement over the next fortnight on the first-ever Global Plastics Treaty that will create a legally binding framework to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This will be the second installment of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) of the UN. Countries will push to address plastic pollution right from the production stage, which uses polluting oil and gas, to the challenges of plastic waste disposal and recycling. Negotiators will pick up from the previous meeting in Busan, South Korea, last December, where talks had collapsed over critical and unresolved issues. These issues and disagreements were over the draft treaty's provisions on putting a cap on production of polymers, elimination of harmful chemicals from plastic production and phasing out of harmful plastic products. As per the Centre for International Environmental Law, a US-based non-profit, the current draft text issued during Busan contains 370 brackets, which indicate areas of no agreement between countries. It was in 2022 in Nairobi that a resolution was adopted at the United Nations Environment Assembly to develop global rules to end plastic pollution. If successfully adopted, the treaty would be the most consequential one on environmental issues since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The exponential growth in plastic production is one of the key drivers of plastic pollution. Globally, annual production has doubled, soaring from 234 million tonnes in 2000 to 460 million tonnes in 2019, while plastic waste has more than doubled from 156 Mt in 2000 to 353 Mt in 2019, as per a report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Production is likely to triple in a business-as-usual scenario by 2060, as per the UN EP. The talks on the global treaty will resume in the backdrop of a new Lancet report which said that 'plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually'. Civil society and environmental campaigners have termed the negotiations a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end plastic pollution and have called on countries to ensure significant cuts in plastic production. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
