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Although some analysts said the meeting showed few concrete results, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now cashing in on Modi's enhanced image ahead of a series of state elections and national elections due by May 2024. In the run-up to the summit, Modi's face was plastered on G20 hoardings across the country. The BJP plans to highlight the "success of the summit" during fortnight-long celebrations of Modi’s birthday starting on Sunday, a party official said. Modi's contribution to India's rising global stature will be a key theme of a special five-day parliament session beginning next week, the official said. NATIONAL PRIDE"It’s really a fact that India's image has transformed under Prime Minister Modi," BJP vice president Baijayant Jay Panda told Reuters.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Anushree, Modi, Joe Biden, India's, Sanjay Kumar, psephologist, Baijayant Jay Panda, Yashwant Deshmukh, Jairam Ramesh, Ramesh, Manmohan Singh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: International Media Centre, REUTERS, BJP, Bharatiya Janata Party, New Delhi's, NATIONAL, Reuters, India Today, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Manipur

U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Union Ursula von der Leyen attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, September 9, 2023. The summit declaration avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but highlighted the human suffering the conflict had caused and called on all states not to use force to grab territory. A failure to agree on a summit declaration would have signalled that the G20 was split, perhaps irrevocably, between the West on one side and China and Russia on the other, analysts said. Diplomats have said negotiators from India, Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa drove the consensus in the summit document. Despite the lack of concrete progress, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India's chief G20 coordinator, said the meeting did take the group forward.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Ursula von der Leyen, Evelyn Hockstein, Michael Froman, Svetlana Lukash, Lukash, Patryk Kugiel, ” Kugiel, Sergei Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, India's, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Vardhan, ”, Michel Rose, Aftab Ahmed, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Indian, European, REUTERS, Diplomats, African Union, India, Foreign Relations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Russian G20, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Xinhua, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Ukraine, Russia, York, U.S, China, Beijing, Russian, Warsaw, Delhi, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Britain

☆ Romania summons Russian charge d'affaires over drone fragments -Agerpres
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A crater visible at the presumed crash site of a Russian army drone, close to charred tree trunks and a blast area, near Plauru, Tulcea county, Romania, September 7, 2023. Inquam Photos/Ovidiu Micsik via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 10 (Reuters) - Romania's foreign ministry summoned the Russian charge d'affaires after the discovery on Romanian soil of new fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military, the Agerpres website reported on Sunday. On Saturday, Romanian authorities found the second set of drone fragments to have crashed in the NATO member state in a week, amid Russian attacks on Ukraine's river ports, just hundreds of metres from the Romanian border. On Saturday, President Klaus Iohannis said the discovery of the fragments pointed to an unacceptable breach of Romania's air space. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian strikes near the border were "destabilising" even if there was no indication Russia intended to hit Romania, a NATO member state.

Persons: Micsik, Strategic Affairs Iulian Fota, Klaus Iohannis, Jens Stoltenberg, Alan Charlish, Elaine Hardcastle, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, NATO, Embassy of, Russian Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs, Thomson Locations: Russian, Plauru, Tulcea county, Romania, Romanian, Bucharest, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine's, Constanta, Warsaw

NEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Any initiative to revive the Black Sea grain deal that isolates Russia is not likely to be sustainable, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a press briefing after the conclusion of the G20 summit in New Delhi on Sunday. Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are going to continue to discuss the grain deal, Erdogan added. Russia is willing to send free grain to poorer countries, which Turkey favours, he told reporters, adding that Qatar had also agreedErdogan said he was not "hopeless" about reviving the grain deal. The Turkish president also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the sidelines of the G20 summit regarding efforts to revive the deal, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, without giving further details. Reporting by Krishn Kaushik and Aftab Ahmed, Writing by Swati Bhat; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Russia, Erdogan, Fumio Kishida, Krishn Kaushik, Aftab Ahmed, Swati Bhat, Kim Coghill Organizations: United, Japanese, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Russia, New Delhi, Sunday, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Qatar, Turkish

REUTERS/Altaf Hussain Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 9 (Reuters) - India served millet, a staple for millions of Indians, to world leaders at a gala dinner at the end of the first day of the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi on Saturday. From leaf crisps to pudding, the foodstuff was served at the high table occupied by leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The main course was a jackfruit pastry served with glazed forest mushrooms, millet crisps and curry leaf tossed Kerala red rice. Earlier this year, the versatile and climate friendly superfood grain featured at the White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We encourage efforts to strengthen research cooperation on climate-resilient and nutritious grains such as millets, quinoa, sorghum, and other traditional crops including rice, wheat and maize," the statement said.

Persons: Altaf Hussain, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Fumio Kishida, Droupadi Murmu, Millet, Narendra Modi, Krishn Kaushik, Aftab Ahmed, Alexander Smith Organizations: International Media Center, REUTERS, G20, U.S, British, Japan's, Indian, United Nations Food, Agriculture Organization, White House, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Mughlai, Russia, Ukraine

[1/3] View of deserted roads ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, September 8, 2023. Nearly 130,000 police and paramilitary security personnel have been deployed across the city, mostly in the New Delhi district, with the air force providing cover from aerial threats. "While the entire country is a host, Delhi will bear maximum responsibility" for the G20 summit, Modi said. “The tourists coming to Delhi for G20 should look at our shops, buy something. Newspaper advertisements that the Delhi Police has been publishing every day with traffic advisories and route maps for the general public, say: “India is proud to host the 18th G-20 Summit”.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman, Japan's Fumio, Sanjeev Mehra, Narendra Modi, Modi, Yashowarthan, ”, Bhava ”, Krishn Kaushik, Joeseph Campbell, Mayank Bhardwaj, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, India, U.S, Market Traders Association, Authorities, Delhi Police, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Offices, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Saudi, capital's, Connaught, Delhi, Taxis, Dariba Kalan

[1/3] Police stand on a road outside 'Bharat Mandapam', the main venue of the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, September 3, 2023. By convention, invitations issued by Indian constitutional bodies have always mentioned the name India when the text is in English, and the name Bharat when the text is in Hindi. However, the invites -- in English -- for the G20 dinner called Murmu the President of Bharat. In English, the South Asian giant is called India, while in Indian languages it is also called Bharat, Bharata and Hindustan. While some supporters of the name Bharat say "India" was given by British colonisers, historians say the name predates colonial rule by centuries.

Persons: Bharat Mandapam, Altaf Hussain, Droupadi Murmu, Bharat, Narendra Modi’s, “ Bharat, Alexander the, Krishn Kaushik, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Indian, Reuters, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, of States, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bharat, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Bharata, British, Greece

NEW DELHI/BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to skip the G20 summit is being seen in host India as a snub to New Delhi and a new setback to the already frozen relations between the nuclear-armed Asian giants. Asked if Xi's decision reflects China-India tensions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that Beijing had supported India's hosting of the summit. China did not refer to any agreement and said Xi stressed improving ties helps both countries and global peace and stability. Shyam Saran, formerly India's top diplomat, said Xi's decision to skip the summit was "unusual". Happymon Jacob, who teaches international relations at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, said Xi skipping the G20 summit "doesn't bode well" for India-China relations.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, Xi, Li Qiang, Mao Ning, Mao, Narendra Modi's, Baijayant Jay Panda, ”, China nosedived, Modi, Shi Yinhong, Shi, Shyam Saran, Saran, Happymon Jacob, bode, Jacob, Liz Lee Organizations: NEW, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, riling, China's Renmin University, Reuters, New, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, BEIJING, India, New Delhi, China, Beijing, Johannesburg, Delhi, United States, riling Beijing, Japan, Australia, South China

That means the two-day summit from September 9 will be dominated by the West and its allies. The G20 leaders who will attend include U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman and Japan's Fumio Kishida. "If the leaders' summit is a flop, New Delhi and especially Modi will have suffered a major diplomatic, and political, setback," Kugelman said. "The positions have hardened since the Bali Summit," a senior Indian government official told Reuters, referring to the 2022 summit held in Indonesia. Lavrov said last week Russia will block the final declaration of the G20 summit unless it reflects Moscow's position on Kyiv and other crises.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Li Qiang, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin's, Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman, Japan's, Michael Kugelman, Narendra Modi, Modi, Kugelman, Joko Widodo, Justin Trudeau, Sergei Lavrov, Putin, battlelines, Trudeau, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Lavrov, David Boling, N.K, Singh, Larry Summers, Katya Golubkova, Kentaro Sugiyama, Sakura Murakami Organizations: REUTERS, West, South Asia Institute, Wilson Center, Indian, New, Reuters, Bali, Canada's, Russian, Diplomats, Eurasia Group, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Ukraine, China, Russia, Saudi, Washington, Bali, Indonesia, Indonesian, CHINA, Brazil, South Africa, Johannesburg, U.S, Tokyo

A G20 logo is pictured in front of the main venue of the summit in New Delhi, India, August 24, 2023. The heads of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and World Health Organisation will also be present. DEFENCE IN THE SKIESThe city will be guarded by nearly 130,000 security personnel, including the 80,000-strong Delhi Police, officials said. Modi inaugurated a $300 million venue in the capital in July to host the summit meeting - a conch shell-shaped building that can seat more than 3,000. The government has also leased 20 bullet-proof limousines at a cost of 180 million Indian rupees ($2.18 million) for ferrying leaders.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Dependra Pathak, Pathak, Ranvir Singh, Biden, Modi, Rupam Jain, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, NEW, India, British, Foreign, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, World Health, Delhi Police, Border Security Force, Indian Air Force, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Delhi, NEW DELHI, U.S, Saudi, Beijing, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Ukraine, Pragati, Gurugram, New, Arunachal Pradesh, Srinagar, Kashmir

President of China Xi Jinping attends the plenary session during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI/BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip a summit of G20 leaders in India next week, sources familiar with the matter in India and China told Reuters. Xi last met Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last November. In China, two foreign diplomats and a government official from another G20 country said that Xi will likely not be travelling for the summit. Another upcoming summit mooted for face-to-face talks between the two leaders is an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting in San Francisco on Nov. 12-18.

Persons: China Xi Jinping, GIANLUIGI, Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, Li, Xi, Joe Biden, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Gina Raimondo, Narendra Modi, Krishn Kaushik, Laurie Chen, Martin Quin Pollard, YP Rajesh, John Geddie, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, Premier, Kyodo, U.S, India, Economic Cooperation, Indian, YP, Thomson Locations: China, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, DELHI, BEIJING, India, Beijing, New Delhi, East, Jakarta, Indonesia, Bali, Asia, San Francisco, Brazil, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, January 27, 2023. Citing review of files from multiple tax havens and internal Adani Group emails, nonprofit media organization OCCRP said its investigation found at least two cases where the investors bought and sold Adani stock through such offshore structures. Adani Group has called Hindenburg's claims misleading and without evidence and said it always complied with laws. The panel in May said the regulator had so far "drawn a blank" in investigations into suspected violations in overseas investments in the Adani group. In an interview with a reporter from the Guardian, OCCRP said Chang said he knew nothing about any secret purchases of Adani stock.

Persons: Amit Dave, OCCRP, Adani, Hindenburg, HINDENBURG, Gautam, India's, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, Chang Chung, Chang, Aditya Kalra, Krishn Kaushik, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Adani, REUTERS, Adani Enterprises, NEW, Hindenburg Research, Reuters, Guardian, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, NEW DELHI, Mauritius, Ahli

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, January 27, 2023. Citing review of files from multiple tax havens and internal Adani Group emails, nonprofit media organization OCCRP said its investigation found at least two cases where the investors bought and sold Adani stock through such offshore structures. Adani Group has called Hindenburg's claims misleading and without evidence and said it always complied with laws. Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the OCCRP report. In an interview with a reporter from the Guardian, OCCRP said Chang said he knew nothing about any secret purchases of Adani stock.

Persons: Amit Dave, OCCRP, Adani, Hindenburg, Gautam, India's, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, Chang Chung, Ling, Chang, Aditya Kalra, Krishn Kaushik, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Adani, REUTERS, DELHI, Hindenburg Research, Reuters, HINDENBURG, Securities, Exchange Board of India, Guardian, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, Mauritius, Ahli

Lula and counterparts Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for dinner and a mini-retreat on Tuesday evening. China and Russia are keen to expand BRICS to give the bloc more global clout. LEADERS DISCUSS MEMBERSHIP CRITERIAMore than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials. While no new members are expected to be admitted to BRICS during the summit, leaders are weighing a framework and criteria for joining, details of which could be included in a joint declaration due to be finalised on Wednesday. South African organisers say there will be no discussions however of a common BRICS currency, an idea floated by Brazil as an alternative to dollar-dependence.

Persons: Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China Xi, Cyril Ramaphosa, India Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Cyril Ramaphosa of, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Africa's Ramaphosa, Modi, Putin, Plessis, Krishn Kaushik, Joe Bavier, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Russia's, China, Washington, United States, Group, Indian, BRICS, U.S ., Thomson Locations: China, India, Sandton, JOHANNESBURG, Russia, Ukraine, South, Johannesburg, Brazil, United, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, BRICS, Argentina, South Africa, Johanneburg, New Delhi

REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/file photoMOIRANG/CHURACHANDPUR, India, Aug 8 (Reuters) - In the sectarian violence that has ravaged India's Manipur state, women have been victims of brutal attacks. Kukis say a loosely formed group of Meitei women, known as Meira Paibis, or Women Torchbearers, is responsible for instigating some of the rapes of women of the minority community. India's Supreme Court announced this week that it will monitor investigations into cases of sexual violence in the state. "Meira Paibis does not differentiate between Kuki or Meitei," she said, speaking alongside a group of other Meitei women. WORSE THAN ANARCHYThe women said they had heard of nine Meitei women being raped, but they had no evidence and were not directly aware of any incidents.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Praveen Donthi, Narendra Modi's, Rajiv Singh, Paibis, Moirangthen Thoibi Devi, Ngainekim, Mukul Kesavan, ”, Thoibi Devi, Meira Paibis, Vak, Krishn Kaushik, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Crisis, Security, Police, Kuki Women Organisation, Human Rights, Assam Rifles, Thomson Locations: Kangvai, Churachandpur district, Manipur, India, CHURACHANDPUR, Myanmar, Imphal, Moirang, East Imphal, Kuki

India's defence ministry did not respond to Reuters questions. The U.S. Congress in 2019 banned the Pentagon from buying or using drones and components made in China. India has set aside 1.6 billion rupees ($19.77 billion) for military modernisation in 2023-24, of which 75% is reserved for domestic industry. But the ban on Chinese parts has raised the cost of making military drones locally by forcing manufacturers to source components elsewhere, government and industry experts said. Sameer Joshi, founder of Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research and Technologies, a supplier of small drones for India's military, said 70% of goods in the supply chain were made in China.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Sameer Joshi, Joshi, Dilip, ADE, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narang, Krishn Kaushik, Joe Cash, David Crawshaw, YP Rajesh Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Congress, Pentagon, Research, Technologies, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies, Finance, YP, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, China, Delhi, cyberattacks, Beijing, Bengaluru, Polish

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a meeting at The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris France July 14, 2023. JULIEN DE ROSA/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoNEW DELHI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be a virtual participant at a summit of BRICS nations in South Africa later this month rather than attend in person, sources in New Delhi told Reuters. China and Russia are keen to discuss expansion of BRICS at the summit, while India has reservations about that idea. The SCO summit was held days after Modi returned from a state visit to Washington where President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for him. India holds the presidency of the G20 grouping and will host a summit of its leaders in early September.

Persons: Narendra Modi, JULIEN DE ROSA, Modi, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Rupam Jain, Krishn Kaushik, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: India's, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indian, Reuters, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO, YP, Thomson Locations: Paris France, South Africa, New Delhi, Johannesburg, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Russian, BRICS, United States, Beijing, Washington, Ukraine, Moscow

[1/5] A security force trooper rides a vehicle on a highway at Torbung village in Churachandpur district in the northeastern state of Manipur, India, July 24. Modi's first comments on the violence in Manipur came last week, over two months after the trouble started in early May. The data show that in the first week of the violence in early May, 77 Kukis were killed compared to 10 Meiteis. According to government estimates, 2,780 weapons stolen from the state armoury, including assault rifles, sniper guns and pistols, remain with the Meiteis, while the Kukis have 156. Reporting by Krishn Kaushik in Manipur; Editing by YP Rajesh and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Modi, Narendra Modi, Ramachandra Guha, Guha, Jangminlun Touthang, Modi's, Biren Singh, Meiteis, Kukis, Haopu Gangte, “, ” Gangte, ” Pramot Singh, Meitei, ”, Krishn Kaushik, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Kuki, YP, Thomson Locations: Torbung, Churachandpur district, Manipur, India, India's Manipur, Kuki, Imphal, Manipur's, Bishnupur, Kangvai, Myanmar, “

☆ Civil unrest, legal appeals and military disobedience: What Israel may face after Supreme Court law change
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Striking down a Basic Law would be uncharted territory for the Supreme Court, although the court has examined and commented on Basic Laws before. Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images People in Tel Aviv, Israel, demonstrate against the judicial overhaul plan on Saturday, July 22. Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto via Getty Images Protesters from Tel Aviv walk the entrance road to Jerusalem after a four-day march on July 22. Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters Protesters block the main entrance to the Ministry of Defense during a protest in Tel Aviv on July 18. Israeli military reservist signs pledge to suspend voluntary military service if the government passes judicial overhaul legislation, near the defence ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 19.

Persons: CNN —, Israel doesn’t, Benjamin Netanyahu, Esther Hayut, ”, ” Hayut, Barak Medina, ” Medina, ” Yohanan Plesner, Ron Dermer, “, Plesner, Netanyahu, Monday, Amir Cohen, Corinna Kern, Oded, Jack Guez, Hazem Bader, Ammar Awad, Aryeh Deri, Shas, Ronaldo Schemidt, Ohad, Mahmoud Illean, Ronen Zvulun, Dar Yaskil, Saeed Qaq, Matan Golan, Eyal Warshavsky, Menahem Kahana, Ilan Rosenberg, Amir Levy, Medina, ” Plesner, Israel, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, ” Dermer, Biden hadn’t, Martin Indyk, Dan Kurtzer, Indyk, Israel hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Law, Supreme, Nation State Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s, of Law, Israel Democracy Institute, Strategic, Israel Medical Association, IMA, High Tech, ”, Reuters, Getty, AP, Protesters, Getty Images, Reuters Protesters, AP People, Ministry of Defense, Air, House Press, New York Times, State Department Locations: Israel’s, United States, Israel, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israeli, AFP, Reuters Israeli

A Subway outlet at a Delhi airport terminal announced the "Temporary Unavailability of TOMATOES" in a sign saying the restaurant could not get enough supply that passed its quality checks. Two weeks ago McDonald's restaurants in India dropped tomatoes from their burgers and wraps in many parts of India due to quality issues. In the capital New Delhi, tomatoes was retailing for about 168 rupees ($2.05) a kg (93 cents a pound) on Saturday, after touching around 240 rupees. The government blames the higher prices of tomatoes on a lean production season as monsoon rains disrupt transport and distribution. The government in recent weeks has organised mobile vans to supply tomatoes at cheaper rates, with hundreds queuing each day.

Persons: Krishn Kaushik, Riddhima Talwani, Aditya Kalra, Sriram Mani, Dhwani Pandya, Praveen Paramasivam, Euan Rocha, William Mallard Organizations: Subway, Brands, KFC, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Subway India, Delhi, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chennai, India

At least 125 people have been killed and more than 40,000 have fled their homes in Manipur since the violence erupted on May 3. HOW DID THE MANIPUR VIOLENCE BEGIN? The development imbalance favouring the valley over the hills has been a point of contention and rivalry between the ethnic groups. Manipur shares a nearly 400-km (250-mile) border with Myanmar and the coup there in 2021 pushed thousands of refugees into the Indian state. Kuki and Meitei groups also refused to join a peace panel formed by the federal government due to differences over names included in the panel.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Myanmar’s Chin, Meiteis, Pradip Phanjoubam, Kukis, Biren Singh, Singh, Krishn Kaushik, Alison Williams Organizations: Kuki, Court, REUTERS, Arts and, Indian Army, Bharatiya Janata Party, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Manipur, Myanmar, New Delhi, MANIPUR, Kuki, Naga, India, Imphal, Myanmar . New Delhi

☆ Ancient Israeli artifacts intended for an exhibition in Washington in 2019 are stuck at Mar-a-Lago, with Israel struggling to get them back
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Israel loaned ancient antiquities to the US in 2019, on the condition they be returned within weeks. But almost four years later, they're "stuck" at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, per Haaretz. Senior Israeli figures have tried but failed to get the antiquities back, the newspaper reported. But almost four years later, the ancient artifacts are "stuck" at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with senior Israeli figures scrambling to get them back, per the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Instead of being returned to Israel, however, they remained in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Haaretz.

Persons: Israel, Donald Trump's Mar, Israel Hasson, COVID, Saul Fox, Fox, It's, Trump, Eli Eskozido, Lago Organizations: Senior, Service, White, Haaretz, Trump, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Mar, Insider, Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, Strategic Affairs Minister, FBI, DOJ Locations: Wall, Silicon, Lago, Florida, Israel, Washington ,

The total value of the purchases is expected to be around 800 billion rupees ($9.75 billion), according to one of the sources. Earlier this year, the government proposed a 13% hike in defence spending to 5.94 trillion rupees for the 2023-24 financial year. The marine version of Dassualt's Rafale jets, intended for India's first indigenous aircraft carrier commissioned last year, outperformed the American Superhornet F18s in tests last year for Indian requirements. India has relied on French fighter jets for four decades now. In 2005, India bought six Scorpene-class diesel submarines from France for 188 billion rupees ($2.29 billion), the last of which will be commissioned next year.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Rajnath Singh, Modi, Singh, Krishn Kaushik, Tanvi Mehta, Kim Coghill Organizations: Rafale, Defence, procurements, Dassault Aviation, Mazagon, France's Naval Group, Mirage, Thomson Locations: DELHI, France, Paris, Pakistan, China, India

Also, Russia's war in Ukraine has disrupted some military supplies to India, reinforcing New Delhi's long-term desire to diversify imports or replace them with home-built hardware, Indian defence officials said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that India intends to order weapons from the domestic arms industry worth over $100 billion over the next decade. "It is a reality, that we have to reduce dependence on Russia," said a senior Indian defence officer working on future capabilities of the Indian military, who declined to be identified. GAP WITH CHINAIndia still uses mostly Russian technology for traditional arms. Over time these purchases will reduce the share of Russian military technology used by India, but this would take at least two decades, Indian officials said.

Persons: Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi's, Eric Garcetti, Washington, Arzan, Tarapore, Sukhoi Su, Bill Greenwalt, Derek Grossman, Grossman, Krishn Kaushik, David Brunnstrom, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: NEW, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Defence, GE, Stanford University, GAP, CHINA, U.S, Sukhoi, Pentagon, International, Rand Corporation, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, WASHINGTON, India, Ukraine, Russia, Stockholm, Indian, Washington, U.S, CHINA India, China, Pakistan, Russian, Australia, Japan, Moscow, DELHI

BHUBANESWAR, India, July 4 (Reuters) - Workers repairing a rail-road barrier in India made faulty connections in the automated signalling system on the network, leading to the country's worst rail disaster in two decades, an official probe has found. The June 2 crash at Bahanaga Bazar station, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, killed 288 people and injured more than 1,000. The disaster struck when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train, jumped off the tracks and hit another passenger train coming from the opposite direction. The malfunctioning system directed the passenger train onto the path of the freight train, it said. Indian Railways, the fourth largest train network in the world, is a state monopoly run by the Railway Board.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Jatindra Dash, Krishn Kaushik, Sudipto Ganguly, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Workers, Reuters, of Railway Safety, CRS, Local, Railways, Railway Board, Railways Ministry, Thomson Locations: BHUBANESWAR, India, Bahanaga Bazar, Odisha, New Delhi, Mumbai

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