Sanae Takaichi is on her first visit to India since becoming PM, and has held talks with Narendra Modi to boost bilateral ties.
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Here is a roundup of some of the top headlines that had India talking on Thursday, July 2:
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India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has denied reports claiming that Russia is buying fuel from India.
Puri said Indian companies were not selling fuel to Russia, but it is possible that refined fuel originating from India is being sold to Russia via traders, he added.
A report by Reuters news agency earlier quoted industry sources who saidRussia had turned to India to meet its fuel needs amid a shortage triggered by Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
According to the report, at least 60,000 metric tons of gasoline had been dispatched from India to Russia. Another source quoted by the news agency had said that two tankers, with parcels of 30,000 to 40,000 tons each, have been sent.
A third source said Russia plans to import a total of 400,000 tons of gasoline from various countries each month, including neighboring Belarus.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia was in contact with other countries and discussing imports of fuel at acceptable prices.
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India has said that its deputy foreign minister and a state governor will represent the country at the state funeral of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Governor of Bihar, Syed Ata Hasnain, and Deputy Foreign Minister Pabitra Margherita will visit Iran on Friday, July 3, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The high-level representation in the ceremony underscores the importance of civilizational ties, including people-to-people connections, between the two countries, providing a robust foundation to political and economic engagements,” the ministry said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had earlier invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the multi-day funeral that begins on Saturday. However, Modi won’t be taking part as he is scheduled to leave for a three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand on Monday.
Iran has also invited Congress Party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Salman Khurshid and Pawan Khera and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Nitin Nabin and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to attend Khamenei’s funeral.
Tehran has also invited Indian-administered Kashmir’s former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, to attend the funeral.
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Indian PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, have signed deals more than $10 billion after a meeting on Thursday.
Addressing a joint press statement after the bilateral talks, Modi said the India-Japan investment partnership was “steadily strengthening.”
The agreements include fresh Japanese investments in artificial intelligence, defence, energy and next-generation mobility, and a renewed target of attracting ¥10 trillion ($62 billion, € 54.3 billion) in Japanese investment over the next decade.
The two leaders also expanded their defence cooperation by signing an agreement for their first joint defence co-development project.
“We will now jointly develop defense technologies that strengthen regional peace, maritime security and the rules-based order,” Modi said.
The agreements came as Modi and Takaichi held the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
Meta’s WhatsApp has come under the Indian government’s scrutiny over its newly announced username feature.
India has asked WhatsApp to justify the implementation of the feature and to freeze its rollout, according to a government letter reviewed by Reuters news agency.
The new feature, which was announced earlier this week, lets users reserve a unique username and eventually message others without sharing their phone numbers.
The government has issued a notice to WhatsApp over concerns of impersonation and fraud, and ordered the company not to roll it out until a thorough consultation on the subject, The Indian Express reported.
The government has asked Meta to provide a detailed explanation of the username feature in the next three days.
In a statement, WhatsApp said it plans to roll out the features slowly later this year, but clarified that it has built safeguards.
WhatsApp has said that users will still require a phone number to use WhatsApp and that it has built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames.
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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is on her first official trip to India, where she and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will hold their annual summit.
Modi welcomed Takaichi on her arrival in New Delhi as she began her three-day visit.
“I look forward to exchanging views across a wide range of fields tomorrow to further deepen the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” Modi said in a post on X.
After her welcome ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official presidential residence, Takaichi then headed to the Hyderabad House for a meeting with Modi.
Ahead of the trip, the Japanese PM said that her visit would focus on expanding bilateral cooperation through both government and private sector participation, including the Japan-India Economic Forum. Over 150 members of Japan’s business community are set to take part.
During her visit, Takaichi and Modi will inaugurate Maruti Suzuki India’s manufacturing facility in the north Indian state of Haryana.
Good morning! This is Midhat from the New Delhi Bureau, bringing you the latest developments from India.
The capital city has woken up to cooler weather, with monsoon rains finally bringing much-needed respite from the soaring temperatures.
Several parts of Delhi are likely to receive more rain throughout the day.
The capital also welcomed Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as she embarked on her first visit to the country on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a new feature by Meta’s WhatsApp is facing hurdles in India.
Stay tuned as we bring you all this and more.
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