The wait for Asia Cup could be coming to an end soon as all the participating nations, includin hosts India, are likely to get clearances from their respective governments soon, according to a report in the Times of India. Reportedly, all matches of the upcoming tournament will be played in UAE and the tournament will kick off from 5 September.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and UAE will be the six nations participating in the upcoming tournament which will be played in the group stage and Super Fours format.

This would mean that the high octane India vs Pakistan will be played at least two times in the tournament with the second clash set to be played on 14 September. The Asia Cup will be played in T20I format and the penutimate clash will played on 21 September.

Promotional acitivites for Asia Cup begin:

Reportedly, the promotional activities for the tournament have already begun with official broadcasters Sony recently sharing a poster for the multi-nation tournament.

Notably, there were question marks about the tournament especially after the recent escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor. However, if Asia Cup continues as planned it would send a message for all future international tournaments as well.

Earlier this year, there were reports that India may pull out of Asia Cup due to the cross border tensions but BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had refuted those claims in a statement in May. He said, “Since this morning, it has come to our notice about some news items about BCCI’s decision not to participate in the Asia Cup and Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, both ACC events. Such news is devoid of any truth as till now, the BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding the ensuing ACC events, leave alone writing anything to the ACC,”

This was their first conversation after India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, New Delhi’s direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike.

Singh also told Hegseth that India reserves the right to respond to cross-border terrorism.

“Glad to speak with the US @SecDef Mr. @PeteHegseth today. Excellent discussion to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-US defence partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building. Conveyed my deep appreciation for the unwavering support extended by the US to India in its fight against terrorism. Looking forward to meeting him at an early date,” Singh wrote on X after the conversation.

Speaking on Operation Sindoor, Singh said India reserves the right to respond to and defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter any further cross-border attacks, people aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

He also told Hegseth that India’s actions during the four-day clash were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and focused on disabling terrorist infrastructure, the people added.

The two leaders had last spoken on May 1 when Singh told Hegseth that the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed had exposed Pakistan as a rogue state that is destabilising the region and the world can no longer turn a blind eye to terrorism.

India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror strike. It triggered a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan involving fighter jets, missiles, drones, long-range weapons and heavy artillery before the two sides reached an understanding on stopping all military action on May 10.

The two leaders also discussed a wide canvas of issues ranging from long-term cooperation in the defence sector, including training and military exchanges, to expanding the industry collaboration, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

“They agreed to further build upon the momentum of this critical and mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars such as interoperability, integration of defence industrial supply chains, logistics sharing, increased joint military exercises and cooperation with other like-minded partners,” it said.

Hegseth invited Singh to the US for talks to take the bilateral defence partnership forward.

Between the launch of the operation in the early hours of May 7 and the ceasefire on May 10 evening, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK and killed at least 100 terrorists. The Indian Air Force (IAF) struck two terror sites at Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur and Markaz Taiba near Muridke, both in Pakistan’s Punjab province, while the army hit targets at seven places, including Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal.

On May 9-10, the IAF struck military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi. Later it emerged that India’s targeting of locations within Pakistan during the May 7-10 clash was more extensive than was previously known, with a Pakistani document acknowledging that Indian drones had struck locations ranging from Peshawar in the northwest to Hyderabad in the south.

The graphics in the May 18 Pakistani document detailing India’s drone strikes on May 8, 9 and 10 listed seven locations — Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Gujrat and Jhang in Punjab province, and Chhor and Hyderabad in Sindh province — that were not acknowledged as targets by Indian officials at any briefings held during or after the hostilities.

Pakistan’s Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, which was mounted in response to Operation Sindoor, “folded in eight hours” on May 10 belying Islamabad’s ambitious target of bringing India to its knees in 48 hours, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said on June 3.

The first eventuality could see the tariffs kick in (on top of 10% that came into effect in April); while the second and third could help Indian exports to the US escape them. To be sure, the people clarified, the first would not affect the larger deal that is being discussed.

Negotiators of India and the US continued to talk for the sixth day in Washington to converge on a common ground with the American side showing signs of easing some of its punitive tariffs to gain duty-free access to non-sensitive Indian agriculture market, the people cited above added, requesting anonymity.

“Current negotiations are focused on an interim deal with low-hanging fruits as a first approach. Both could drop sensitive items such as dairy products and GM crops concerning India, and electronics for America, to conclude an early deal. Other items could be taken up in the next rounds when negotiations for the first tranche of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement (BTA) would start,” one of them said.

The ambitious 19-chapter BTA is not just about tariffs alone, he added. “It involves goods, services and investments, besides present and future strategic cooperation between the two nations.”

At present India and the US are negotiating an early harvest deal of the BTA through a fast-track mechanism and expected to arrive at some tangible outcomes before July 9.

On February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump resolved to deepen the US-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation, leading to boost total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 (Mission 500). In order to achieve that they decided to negotiate the first tranche of a “mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by October this year.

Before the first tranche, the two partners have decided to forge a mini deal to ease punitive ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announced by the Trump administration on April 2, the first person said. Currently, the Indian negotiating team, led by special secretary-commerce Rajesh Agrawal, is camping in Washington from June 26 for the same. The team was originally expected to return in two days.

“If the proposed trade talks fail, the 26% tariffs (10% existing plus 16% impending) will come into force from July 9,” a second person, a government official, said. The failure of the initial harvest deal would, however, not derail the talks for the first tranche of BTA by October 2025, the first person clarified, adding that “efforts are on for a win-win deal that would give market access to most American products and ease tariff barriers for Indian goods”.

WASHINGTON -The United States could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete in the South Asian country and leave it facing far lower tariffs, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, while casting doubt on a possible deal with Japan.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believed India was ready to lower barriers for U.S. companies, which could pave the way for an agreement staving off the 26% rate he announced on April 2, before pausing it until July 9.

“Right now, India doesn’t accept anybody in. I think India is going to do that, if they do that, we’re going to have a deal for less, much less tariffs,” he said.

Earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the U.S. and India are nearing a deal that would lower tariffs on American imports to the South Asian country and help India avoid levies from rising sharply next week.

“We are very close with India,” Bessent told Fox News in response to a question about progress on trade negotiations.

Indian officials extended a visit to Washington last week through Monday to try to reach agreement on a trade deal with President Donald Trump’s administration and address lingering concerns on both sides, Indian government sources told Reuters.

A White House official familiar with the talks said the Trump administration plans to prioritize securing trade deals with countries including India ahead of Japan in the days leading up to the July 9 deadline.

India is one of more than a dozen countries actively negotiating with the Trump administration to try to avoid a steep spike in tariff rates on July 9, when a 90-day tariff pause ends. India could see its new “reciprocal” tariff rate rise to 27% from the current 10%.

The U.S.-India talks have hit roadblocks over disagreements on import duties for auto components, steel, and farm goods, ahead of Trump’s deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

“We are in the middle hopefully more than the middle of a very intricate trade negotiation,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told an event in New York on Monday.

“Obviously, my hope would be that we bring it to a successful conclusion. I cannot guarantee it, because there’s another party to that discussion,” said Jaishankar, who is in the U.S. for a meeting of the China-focused Quad grouping.

He added that there “will have to be give and take” and the two sides will have to find middle ground.

TRUMP SUGGESTS HIGHER TARIFF FOR JAN

Bessent told Fox News that different countries have different agendas for trade deals, including Japan, which Trump complained about on Monday and again on Tuesday.

Trump said he was not thinking of extending the July 9 deadline and would simply send letters notifying countries of the tariff rate they would face.

“We’ve dealt with Japan. I’m not sure we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a trip to Florida.

Trump suggested he could impose a tariff of 30% or 35% on imports from Japan – well above the 24% tariff rate he announced on April 2 and then paused until July 9.

He said Japan was refusing to accept U.S.-grown rice, a demand made by Washington that he described as “an easy one,” while selling millions of cars in the United States.

“So what I’m going to do, is I’ll write them a letter saying we thank you very much, and we know you can’t do the kind of things that we need, and therefore you pay a 30%, 35% or whatever the numbers that we determine,” he said. So far, only Britain has negotiated a limited trade deal with the Trump administration, accepting a 10% U.S. tariff on many goods, including autos, in exchange for special access for aircraft engines and British beef.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

Ten years ago, we embarked on a bold journey into uncharted territory with great conviction.

While decades were spent doubting the ability of Indians to use technology, we changed this approach and trusted the ability of Indians to use technology.

While decades were spent thinking that the use of technology will deepen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, we changed this mindset and used technology to eliminate the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

When the intent is right, innovation empowers the less empowered. When the approach is inclusive, technology brings change in the lives of those on the margins. This belief laid the foundation for Digital India: A mission to democratise access, build inclusive digital infrastructure, and opportunities for all.

In 2014, internet penetration was limited, digital literacy was low, and online access to government services was scarce. Many doubted whether a country as vast and diverse as India could truly go digital.

Today, that question has been answered not just in data and dashboards, but in the lives of 140 crore Indians. From how we govern, to how we learn, transact, and build, Digital India is everywhere.

Bridging the digital divide

In 2014, India had around 25 crore internet connections. Today, that number has grown to over 97 crore. Over 42 lakh km of optical fibre cable equivalent to 11 times the distance between Earth and the moon now connects even the most remote villages.

India’s 5G rollout is among the fastest in the world, with 4.81 lakh base stations installed in just two years. High-speed internet now reaches urban hubs and forward military posts alike, including Galwan, Siachen, and Ladakh.

India Stack, which is our digital backbone, has enabled platforms like United Payments Interface (UPI), which now handles more than 100+ billion transactions a year. Around half of all real real-time digital transactions happen in India.

Through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), over Rs 44 lakh crore has been transferred directly to citizens, cutting out middlemen and saving Rs 3.48 lakh crore in leakages.

Schemes like SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) have issued more than 2.4 crore property cards and mapped 6.47 lakh villages, ending years of land-related uncertainty.

Democratising opportunity

India’s digital economy is empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small entrepreneurs like never before. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a revolutionary platform which opens a new window of opportunities by providing a seamless connection with huge market of buyers and sellers. Meanwhile, GeM (Government E-Marketplace) enables the common man to sell goods and services to all arms of the government. This not only empowers the common man with a huge market but also saves money for the government.

Imagine this: You apply for a Mudra loan online. Your creditworthiness is assessed through an account aggregator framework. You get your loan and start your venture. You register on GeM, supply to schools and hospitals, and then scale up via ONDC.

ONDC recently crossed 200 million transactions, with the last 100 million in just six months. From Banarasi weavers to bamboo artisans in Nagaland, sellers are now reaching customers nationwide, without middlemen or digital monopolies. GeM has also crossed Rs 1 lakh crore gross merchandise value in 50 days, with 22 lakh sellers. These include more than 1.8 lakh women-led MSMEs, who have fulfilled orders worth Rs 46,000 crore.

Digital Public Infrastructure: India’s global offering

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—from Aadhaar, CoWIN, DigiLocker, and FASTag to Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) and One Nation One Subscription is now studied and adopted globally.

CoWIN enabled the world’s largest vaccination drive, issuing 220 crore QR-verifiable certificates. DigiLocker, with 54 crore users, hosts more than 775 crore documents securely and seamlessly.

Through our G20 Presidency, India launched the Global DPI Repository and a $25 million Social Impact Fund, helping nations across Africa and South Asia adopt inclusive digital ecosystems.

Startup power meets Aatmanirbhar Bharat

India now ranks among the top three startup ecosystems in the world, with over 1.8 lakh startups. But this is more than a startup movement—it is a tech renaissance. India is doing extremely well when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) skill penetration and AI talent concentration among our youth.

Through the $1.2 billion India AI Mission, India has enabled access to 34,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) at globally unmatched prices at less than $1/GPU hour, making India not just the most affordable internet economy, but also the most affordable compute destination.

India has championed humanity-first AI. The New Delhi Declaration on AI promotes innovation with responsibility. We are establishing AI Centres of Excellence across the country.

The road ahead

The next decade will be even more transformative. We are moving from digital governance to global digital leadership, from India-first to India-for-the-world. Digital India has not remained a mere government programme, it has become a people’s movement. It is central to building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and to making India a trusted innovation partner to the world.

To all innovators, entrepreneurs, and dreamers: The world is looking at India for the next digital breakthrough.

Let us build what empowers.

Let us solve what truly matters.

Let us lead with technology that unites, includes, and uplifts.

A lawyer for Elon Musk’s X told an Indian court on Tuesday that every “Tom, Dick, and Harry” government official had been authorised to issue content takedown orders, drawing a sharp rebuke from New Delhi’s counsel in the latest clash over content moderation.

X has long been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over content removal requests.

The remarks were made during a hearing on the U.S. firm’s challenge to a government-run website it says is a “censorship portal” that allows officials to issue content removal orders. New Delhi says the website is only to swiftly notify companies of their due diligence obligations.

India is a critical growth market for X owner Musk, who is getting closer to launching his other key ventures Starlink and Tesla in the country.

During the court hearing, X’s lawyer, K. G. Raghavan, said it recently received a notice from the railways department to remove a video in which a car was being driven on a railway track. That was news, but the government found it unlawful, he told the court.

“This is the danger, My Lord, that is done now, if every Tom, Dick, and Harry officer is authorised,” Raghavan told the high court in the southern state of Karnataka.

The phrase drew immediate condemnation from India’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who said “officers are not Tom, Dick, or Harry … they are statutory functionaries”.

“No social media intermediary can expect completely unregulated functioning,” Mehta said.

India’s IT ministry and X did not respond to Reuters queries.

In 2021, X, formerly called Twitter, was locked in a stand-off with the Indian government over non-compliance with legal orders to block certain tweets. It later complied, but is still locked in a court fight related to the move.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar issued a stern warning to Pakistan, saying India reserves every right to defend its people against terrorism. Speaking from Washington DC ahead of the Quad foreign ministerial meeting, Jaishankar said India will “exercise that right,” asserting that the world must display zero tolerance towards terrorism.

With his counterparts from the United States, Australia and Japan listening, Jaishankar also said that India expects its Quad partners to understand and appreciate its position on dealing with terrorism.

“The world must display zero tolerance [towards terrorism]. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated and India has every right to defend its people against terrorism. And we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,” Jaishankar said.

The external affairs minister also underlined the need to ensure freedom of choice for countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Also Read | In fresh warning, Jaishankar reminds Pakistan of ‘a man named Osama bin Laden’

“It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice so essential to make right decisions on development and security. We are all committed to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” EAM Jaishankar said.

“In the last several months, we have made significant progress in Quad initiatives. They include in the maritime domain, logistics, education and political coordination. We will be discussing that in greater detail,” he said.

He said Quad will deliver better if it is more “cohesive, nimble and focused”. “Quad is about deepening our convergence and expanding our common ground. I value our consultations on different dimensions of the Indo-Pacific in that regard,” Jaishankar said.

EAM Jaishankar said India plans to host the next Quad summit and it has some proposals on how to make it productive. Jaishankar is visiting the US from June 30 to July 2 at the invitation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The legal action is being considered to seek enhanced compensation for the loss of lives in the tragic incident, India Today reported, citing unnamed sources.

Air India Flight AI-171 – a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – crashed shortly after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12, claiming the lives of 241 people onboard, with just one survivor. Apart from the passengers, 19 people were killed on the ground after the flight crashed into a medical college on the outskirts of the airport.

Among the deceased onboard the flight, 181 were Indian nationals while 52 were from the UK.

Also Read | Another Air India plane dropped 900 feet 38 hours after Ahmedabad crash: Report

The families of the victims are reportedly in discussions with two international law firms – UK-based Keystone Law and US-domiciled Wisner Law Firm, according to The Economic Times.

In the aftermath of the crash, the Tata Group had announced a compensation of ₹1 crore to the families of the victims, later giving an additional compensation of ₹25 lakh for immediate medical expenses.

“We are looking carefully at the evidence, as well as considering whether to file legal proceedings in the US courts against Boeing, together with similar proceedings against Air India in the High Court in London,” The Economic Times quoted James Healy-Pratt, partner at Keystone Law, as saying.

He further said Article 33 of the Montreal Convention also permits families to pursue claims in the US or the UK if the airline is operating there or if the victims have ties to these countries.

The law firm also said apart from this, Articles 17 and 21 of the convention put unlimited liability on the airline, in cases of passengers deaths or injuries, The Economic Times report added.

Meanwhile, Keystone’s team is also looking at Air India’s insurer Tata AIG’s early settlement offers to the families of the victims, while conducting a technical probe on the Ahmedabad crash. 

The two countries exchange lists of prisoners and fishermen twice a year, on January 1 and July 1, under provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access. This is among a limited number of bilateral mechanisms and arrangements that remain operational between the two sides, another being the exchange on January 1 of lists of nuclear installations that cannot be attacked during hostilities.

India shared the names of 382 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen in its custody who are Pakistani or believed to be Pakistani, the external affairs ministry said. The Pakistani side provided a list of 53 civilian prisoners and 193 fishermen in its custody who are Indian or believed to be Indian.

The lists were simultaneously exchanged through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad, the ministry said.

“The government of India has called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, fishermen along with their boats, and missing Indian defence personnel from Pakistan’s custody,” the ministry said.

Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 159 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners who had completed their sentences. Pakistan was also asked to provide immediate consular access to 26 civilian prisoners and fishermen in its custody who are believed to be Indian and have not been provided such access so far, the ministry said.

India urged Pakistan to expedite the process of verifying the nationality of 80 civilian prisoners and fishermen in India’s custody who are believed to be Pakistani, and whose repatriation has been held up for lack of confirmation of their nationality by Islamabad.

“Pakistan has been requested to ensure the safety, security and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be-Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen, pending their release and repatriation to India,” it said.

The external affairs ministry said efforts by the Indian government have resulted in 2,661 Indian fishermen and 71 civilian prisoners being repatriated from Pakistan since 2014. This includes 500 fishermen and 13 civilian prisoners repatriated since 2023.

“India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country. In this context,” the ministry said.

India and Pakistan have not had any sustained talks since New Delhi called off the composite dialogue in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by a 10-member team of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Following the Pahalgam terror attack in April, India announced a raft of punitive diplomatic and economic measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.