
High-level military engagement continues despite trade friction and stalled market access talks.
AI-generated summary
The US and India have been engaged in trade deal negotiations since February last year. Admiral Paparo previously visited India in February of this year.
A second visit by one of the top US naval officers to India this year has raised expectations that the two countries can insulate their growing military ties from trade tensions.
US Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, who leads the US Pacific Command, is scheduled to leave India on Thursday after spending six days meeting with senior Indian defence officials and others.
The talks, which follow Paparo’s visit to India in February, come as Washington weighs further tariff pressure on India over its purchases of Russian oil and the trade imbalance in Delhi’s favour.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that negotiations for a trade deal with the United States had reached a plateau, the strongest acknowledgement by Delhi that talks on market access had stalled since they started in February last year.

Kim Yo-jong, head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued a statement on the 8th, strongly condemning South Korea's proposal for medical equipment assistance, calling it a "serious provocation" and a violation of sovereignty against North Korea, and emphasized that North Korea refused to engage in any form of material exchange or contact with South Korea.

Russia launched a massive air strike in Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 32 people and injuring 100 across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the move as a "birthday gift" for Putin. Casualty data were confirmed by Ukraine's Ministry of Interior and emergency services.

Abascal, an 87-year-old Spanish woman, was evicted because she could not afford the rent increase, and later died in hospital. The incident triggered thousands of people to take to the streets in Madrid to protest against housing justice. The incident had previously forced Prime Minister Sanchez to call early parliamentary elections.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr stated in Singapore that his country is resigned to managing its South China Sea dispute with Beijing to prevent dangerous escalations from accidental missteps.
Kim Yo-jong, minister of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said on the 8th that South Korea's claim to provide "medical equipment assistance" to North Korea was a "serious provocation" against North Korea and a serious violation of sovereignty. She emphasized that the hostile nature of inter-Korean relations will not change and North Korea will never need assistance from South Korea.

Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to Russia's president, arrived in China on Thursday to hold maritime cooperation talks, with his visit closely watched for potential signs of a trilateral summit with the US next month.