Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Modi to host Chinese president Jinping  

INDIA'S prime minister Narendra Modi will host Chinese president Xi Jinping for an informal summit later this week, the Indian foreign ministry said, with the talks coming at a time when ties have been strained over Kashmir.

The meeting in the southern Indian city of Chennai on Friday (11) and Saturday (12) is aimed at enhancing the rapport formed by the two leaders when they met in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year to help stabilise ties.


But New Delhi’s decision in August to withdraw special status for Kashmir drew sharp condemnation from Pakistan and its ally China, which took the matter to the United Nations Security Council.

"The forthcoming Chennai Informal Summit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarching issues of bilateral, regional and global importance and to exchange views on deepening India-China Closer Development Partnership," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday (9).

India says its revocation of the special status of Muslim majority Kashmir is an internal matter and aimed at faster economic development of the Himalayan territory.

China, which has been criticised by the US for its treatment of Muslim ethnic minorities, said it believed India and Pakistan must refrain from taking unilateral action in Kashmir and has expressed concern over human rights violations in the territory.

India has dismissed those concerns.

"The second informal meeting as such is significant given these ominous signals at bilateral, regional and global levels," said Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of Chinese studies at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

"Stabilizing relations is important as both are seized with a number of issues – domestic as well as regional," he said.

Ahead of Xi's trip to India, China invited Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan for talks on bilateral issues.

China supports Pakistan in safeguarding its independent sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday (8) as he met Khan.

During Xi's visit, Modi is expected to raise economic issues, including India's $53bn trade deficit with China in 2018-19, and the smaller presence of Indian companies in China compared with other major economies.

China, for its part, is expected to urge New Delhi to take an independent decision on telecom equipment maker Huawei’s bid for India’s proposed 3G network and not be swayed by US pressure that it was a security risk.

Sources had said in August that Beijing had warned of "reverse sanctions" on Indian firms engaged in business in China should India block Huawei Technologies because of pressure from Washington.

During the upcoming meeting, officials said Modi and Xi will tour the coastal town of Mamallapuram, near Chennai, home to an 8th-century temple.

(Reuters)

More For You

Farage pledges Reform UK election push as Tories, Labour falter

Nigel Farage gestures as he speaks during the party's national conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, Britain, September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Farage pledges Reform UK election push as Tories, Labour falter

POPULIST leader Nigel Farage vowed to start preparing for government, saying the nation's two main parties were in meltdown and only his Reform UK could ease the anger and despair plaguing the country to "make Britain great again".

To a prolonged standing ovation by a crowd at the annual party conference on Friday (5), Farage for the first time offered a vision of how Britain would be under a Reform government: He pledged to end the arrival of illegal migrants in boats in two weeks, bring back "stop-and-search" policing and scrap net zero policies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shabana Mahmood

Newly appointed home secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives at Number 10 at Downing Street as Keir Starmer holds a cabinet reshuffle on September 5, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Shabana Mahmood named home secretary, Lammy deputy to Starmer in major reshuffle

Highlights:

  • David Lammy becomes deputy prime minister while keeping foreign affairs brief
  • Angela Rayner resigned after admitting underpaid property tax
  • Lisa Nandy to stay on as culture secretary
  • Reshuffle marks first major shake-up of Starmer’s government

SHABANA MAHMOOD has been appointed home secretary in a major reshuffle of prime minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet following the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping protests

The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration. (Photo: Getty Images)

Asylum seeker convicted of sex assaults case that led to protests

AN ETHIOPIAN asylum seeker, whose arrest in July led to protests outside a hotel near London where he and other migrants were housed, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman.

The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles (30 km) from London, triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Angela-Rayner-Getty

Rayner, 45, announced she would step down as deputy prime minister, housing minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party. (Photo: Getty Image)

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner resigns after admitting tax mistake

Highlights

  • Rayner steps down after admitting underpaying property tax
  • Resigns as deputy prime minister, housing minister and Labour deputy leader
  • Becomes eighth minister to leave Starmer’s government, and the most senior so far
  • Her departure comes as Labour trails Reform UK in opinion polls

DEPUTY prime minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she had underpaid property tax on a new home. Her resignation is a fresh setback for prime minister Keir Starmer, who had initially stood by her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Migrants boat
Migrants swim to board a smugglers' boat in order to attempt crossing the English channel off the beach of Audresselles, northern France. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK pauses refugee family reunion route amid migration reforms

Highlights:

  • Refugee family reunion scheme suspended as part of migration reforms
  • Nearly 21,000 visas issued in the past year, mainly to women and children
  • New rules to include contribution requirements and longer waiting periods
  • Government expects first migrant returns to France later this month

THE GOVERNMENT has announced it is suspending a scheme that allowed families of refugees in the UK to apply to join their relatives, as part of efforts to cut irregular migration.

Keep ReadingShow less