Jaishankar meets Wang Yi, says LAC must be respected

In their first such meeting since the Lok Sabha election, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council meeting.

Both sides stressed the importance of "mutual respect" in resolving the boundary issues that have frozen ties between them for the past four years.

Mr. Jaishankar told Mr. Wang that it was important that the "Line of Actual Control must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas always ensured", according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the meeting, which lasted about an hour, and was held just before the start of the SCO Summit. 

Labour Party projected to oust Sunak govt. in U.K. polls

Millions went to the polls in the U.K., to vote for 650 MPs in the House of Commons, with the Labour Party projected to win a sizeable, if not historically large majority of more than 400 seats, according to several poll projections.

The Conservative years also saw the U.K. economy taking a battering in the years after Brexit, partly because of it, but also due to global inflationary pressures following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and former Prime Minister Liz Truss's economic policies, enacted during her record short term of 50 days.

The shape of a five-year climate agenda for India 

As the new government settles in, what it does to scale up climate action will affect every Ministry, new and old, and every sector, big and small. 

Some of its choices would be pivotal to how India structures its economic path in a sustainable way, positions itself as the voice of the Global South at the right tables, and fights for climate finance and justice over the next five years. 

Should India review its Myanmar policy in view of the humanitarian crisis?

The conflict between ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and the military junta in Myanmar has created a serious humanitarian crisis, which the United Nations Security Council took up for discussion on July 3. 

Some experts on Myanmar have called for India to review its policy and establish channels with the EAOs to help the affected civilians.

India, U.S. share goals to prevent Ukraine conflict from spreading'

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the United States has had continuous communications with India about what the two can do "together" to hold Russia "to account", U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said. 

India and the U.S. share the goals of "preventing this conflict from spreading, promoting stability in the Middle East, and efforts to establish a future Palestinian state", 

Welcoming India's support in providing humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine, Mr. Garcetti said that the U.S. appreciated the strength of the strategic partnership with India to "coordinate and exchange perspectives" on such challenges. 

Rajnath, Australian Minister discuss closer collaboration

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephone conversation with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles. 

The discussions focused on closer collaboration between the two countries in the Indo-Pacific. 

Both Ministers noted the transformative progress in defence cooperation under the comprehensive strategic partnership and appreciated the momentum achieved in the ties. 

Brahmaputra's lone female gharial's long wait for a mate could end soon

A lone female gharial has temporarily overshadowed the one-horned rhino in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in eastern Assam.

Wildlife officials and specialists are not sure how this gharial came to inhabit a stretch of the Brahmaputra within the national park. 

But they are certain that the reptile, presumed to be an adult by its size, is the key to repopulating the river with gharials. 

Industry Ministry pushes for lower duties on input imports

The Commerce and Industry Ministry has made a pitch for reducing high tariffs on the import of inputs for electronics and other sectors, responding to industry concerns that tariff-induced costs will nullify gains from the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme vis-a-vis rivals like China and Vietnam.

However, there is no proposal to reconsider the restrictions placed on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows from countries sharing land borders with India, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary said.