Today's Big StoryUS-India trade war, E-commerce disputes and terrorism on agenda as Mike Pompeo arrives in India today
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will arrive in India today for talks with government leaders over a growing list of trade and investment issues that have cast a shadow over ties between the two big democracies.
The meeting assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of heightened trade tensions between the countries, both of which are trying to promote domestic manufacturing. Pompeo will be meeting his new counterpart S Jaishankar and is also set to call on PM Narendra Modi.On the agenda: Mike Pompeo in his address in Washington on June 12 had said that he will discuss the recent decision to terminate India’s designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade program.
Following the move, India imposed higher tariffs on 28 US products, including almonds, apples, and walnuts and had also announced retaliatory tariffs to increase US import duties on steel and aluminium.US-Iran tensions: Pompeo’s visit comes amid soaring tensions between US and Iran with Trump on Monday imposing fresh sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a string of military chiefs.
The trade wars between the two countries has impacted several countries including India as the US last year, had reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil imports. The recent drone attack on the oil tanker in the Gulf, which the US blamed Iran for, had once again left the oil markets in a lurch.In Other NewsFinding Tejashwi: With the Monsoon session of the Bihar Assembly set to begin on June 28, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is in a crisis with its leader, Tejashwi Yadav, missing from the scene. His silence on several issues like the encephalitis deaths has raised several eyebrows. According to sources, Tejashwi could possibly be upset with some party leaders and alliance partners over the poll debacle.Trouble escalates: The Congress party on Monday dissolved its Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka committees in the wake of the recent electoral debacle. The party's working committee is likely to meet next week to decide on the post of the party president as Rahul Gandhi is "adamant on resignation".Ram Rahim’s parole: Sirsa Police is yet to give its report to the deputy commissioner on the parole application of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh a month after he lodged a request so he can farm in his fields. The rape convict is currently lodged at Sunaria jail in Rohtak.Saffron spreads: The BJP Monday took control of the South Dinajpur Zilla Parishad in West Bengal from the TMC, its first in the state, after a majority of its members, besides an MLA, switched sides. In a jolt to the TMC in South Dinajpur district, veteran leader Biplab Mitra also joined the BJP.Atrocious crime: Eleven people were arrested in connection with the death of 24-year-old Tabraz Ansare who was assaulted last week on suspicion of theft. Ansari was allegedly forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram" and “Jai Hanuman" while his attackers recorded the entire ordeal on their mobile phones.On Our SpecialsIdentity politics: Ruhail Amin’s name hit the headlines when his alleged girlfriend Sunaina, Hrithik Roshan’s sister, said that her family is not accepting him because he is Muslim. Sunaina’s father, Rakesh Roshan had allegedly slapped her and called Ruhail a “terrorist". In an interview with Marya Shakil, Ruhail said that the incident has once again exposed the dark underbelly of identity politics.Odisha’s 'Mountain Man': In Bhubaneswar, Anand ST Das meets 70-year-old Daitara Naik, a semi-literate daily wage labourer in Odisha who became a household name after he was awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of the toil he undertook for years to make irrigation facilities a reality. Naik, however, wants to give back the award as it has effectively snatched his source of livelihood away: daily-wage labour.On Reel
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