Support us by contributing to StratNewsGlobal on the following UPI ID
ultramodern@hdfcbank
Strategic affairs is our game, South Asia and beyond our playground. Put together by an experienced team led by Nitin A. Gokhale. Our focus is on strategic affairs, foreign policy and international relations, with higher quality reportage, analysis and commentary with new tie-ups across the South Asian region.
You can support our endeavours. Visit us at www.stratnewsglobal.com and follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
र 500 per month
र 1000 per month
र 5000 per year
र 10000 per year
Donate an amount of your choice
र 500 per month
Donate र 500 per month
र 1000 per month
Donate र 1000 per month
र 5000 per year
Donate र 5,000 per year
र 10000 per year
Donate र 10,000 per year
Donate an amount of your choice
Donate an amount of your choice
6 Syrian Troops Killed In Renewed Sectarian Clashes In Sweida
At least six members of Syria’s security forces were killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, a security source informed Reuters, after they were deployed to control deadly sectarian clashes that, according to local media, resumed on Monday.
Sunday’s fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribal fighters was the first time that sectarian violence erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, following months of tensions in the broader province.
Intense Clash
The fighting left 30 people dead and prompted Syria’s security forces to deploy units to the city to restore calm and guarantee safe passage for civilians looking to leave, the defence ministry said in a statement.
But intense clashes broke out again on Monday, local news outlet Sweida24 reported. At least six Syrian troops were subsequently killed, a defence ministry source told Reuters.
It marked the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.
Absence Of State Institutions Hurting Region
Sunni Muslim Arab rebel groups which fought Assad during the war agreed in December to dissolve into the defence ministry but efforts to integrate armed factions from minority groups – including Druze and Kurds – have largely stalled.
In southern Syria, efforts have been further complicated by Israel’s stated policy that it would not allow Syria’s new army to deploy south of Damascus and that Sweida and neighbouring provinces should make up a demilitarized zone.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a written statement carried on state media that the “absence of state institutions, especially military and security institutions, is a major cause of the ongoing tensions in Sweida and its countryside.”
Sunday’s violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Far-Right Groups And Migrants Clash In Violent Unrest In Spanish Town
Violent clashes broke out late on Saturday in a southeastern Spanish town as tensions flared between far-right groups, local residents, and North African migrants, following an earlier attack on an elderly man by unidentified assailants.
Five people were hurt and one was arrested during the unrest in Torre-Pacheco, local officials told Reuters, in one of the worst such episodes in the country in recent decades. The town was quieter on Sunday, but government sources said more arrests were expected.
Videos posted on social media showed men dressed in clothes bearing far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags hurling objects at each other in Saturday night’s violence, which followed several days of lower-intensity unrest.
Tensions flared up between local residents and migrants after the elderly man was attacked in the street on Wednesday, causing injuries from which he is recovering at home. The reasons behind the assault are unclear, and no one has been arrested.
Ongoing Investigation
The central government’s representative in the area, Mariola Guevara, told Spanish public TV the attack was being investigated.
She also denounced “hate speech” and “incitement to violence,” as far-right groups moved into the town, and said additional Guardia Civil officers would be deployed to deal with the violence.
Nearly a third of Torre-Pacheco’s population is of foreign origin, according to local government data.
The area surrounding the town, which is located in the Murcia region, also hosts large numbers of migrants who work as day labourers in agriculture, one of the pillars of the regional economy.
Less than two weeks ago, Murcia’s government had to backtrack on a proposal to buy housing to accommodate unaccompanied migrant minors as the ruling conservative People’s Party (PP) was threatened by far-right Vox, whose support the PP needs to pass laws.
In 2000, violent anti-immigration protests broke out in the Almeria town of El Ejido in southern Spain after three Spanish citizens were killed by Moroccan migrants.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Trump’s Ukraine Envoy Kellogg Arrives In Kyiv For Security, Sanctions Talks
U.S. President Donald Trump‘s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Monday for discussions focused on security and sanctions against Russia, according to the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration.
“Defence, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protecting our people, strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the United States — there are many topics to discuss,” Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Sunday that he had instructed military commanders to present Kellogg with information on Russia’s capabilities and Ukraine’s prospects.
Kellogg will also meet the heads of the Security Service of Ukraine and intelligence services, he added.
“Negotiations on further support will take place during the week,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he wanted the United States to understand fully what could be done to “compel Russia to (make) peace”.
Patriots To Ukraine
Trump said on Sunday he would send Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine because they were needed to repel intensifying Russian attacks.
The U.S. President said that the weapons are essential for Ukraine’s protection, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin “talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening,” referring to the ongoing Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities.
He is also expected to announce a new plan to arm Ukraine with offensive weapons in a sharp departure from his earlier stance, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Trump, however, did not give a number of Patriot missiles he plans to send to Ukraine, but he said the United States would be reimbursed for their cost by the European Union.
The U.S. president has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin because the Russian leader has resisted Trump’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Patriot systems are among the most advanced surface-to-air missile platforms and could significantly bolster Ukraine’s ability to intercept incoming threats.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Russia, China Discuss US Ties, Ukraine War In High-Level Talks
Russia and China’s foreign ministers held talks on Sunday to discuss bilateral ties with the United States and explore potential pathways to end the war in Ukraine, according to statements from both countries’ foreign ministries.
President Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Sunday. Lavrov is due to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) foreign ministers in China.
“The parties also discussed relations with the United States and prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.
“The importance of strengthening close coordination between the two countries in the international arena, including in the United Nations and its Security Council, the SCO, BRICS, the G20 and APEC, was emphasised,” the ministry said.
The close contact between the two countries was to “promote the development and revitalisation of each other, and jointly respond to the challenges brought about by a turbulent and changing world,” China’s Foreign Ministry said.
Both sides also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula and the Iranian nuclear issue, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing, days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Putin has sometimes described China as an “ally”.
The U.S. casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat.
China-Russia Ties
The Russia-China partnership has emerged as a defining axis in global geopolitics, driven by shared strategic interests and a mutual desire to counterbalance Western influence, particularly that of the United States.
Over the past decade, ties between Moscow and Beijing have deepened across political, economic, and military dimensions.
Both nations frequently emphasise their “no-limits” friendship, underscored by high-level diplomatic exchanges, joint military drills, and increasing coordination in multilateral forums like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Energy cooperation forms a core pillar of their relationship, with Russia becoming a major supplier of oil and natural gas to China, especially crucial amid Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
Simultaneously, China provides Russia with vital economic lifelines through trade and investment, while benefiting from discounted energy deals and strategic leverage.
(With inputs from Reuters and IBNS)
Gaza Children Killed In Israeli Strike While Fetching Water, IDF Cites Missile Malfunction
At least eight Palestinians, many of them children, lost their lives and over a dozen others were injured on Sunday in central Gaza, according to local officials. The victims had reportedly been gathering water when an Israeli missile struck the area, in what the IDF later described as a misfire caused by a malfunction.
The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad terrorist in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.
“The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,” it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.
The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.
Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centres where they can fill up their plastic containers.
Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, but says over half of those killed are women and children.
Ceasefire Negotiations ‘Hopeful’
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he was “hopeful” on Gaza ceasefire negotiations underway in Qatar.
He told reporters in Teterboro, New Jersey, that he planned to meet senior Qatari officials on the sidelines of the FIFA Club World Cup final.
However, negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire have been stalling, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.
The indirect talks over a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.
Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands – releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive.
Deal To End War?
Families of hostages gathered outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem to call for a deal.
“The overwhelming majority of the people of Israel have spoken loudly and clearly. We want to do a deal, even at the cost of ending this war, and we want to do it now,” said Jon Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was held hostage by Hamas in a Gaza tunnel and slain by his captors in August 2024.
Netanyahu and his ministers were also set to discuss a plan on Sunday to move hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the southern area of Rafah, in what Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has described as a new “humanitarian city” but which would be likely to draw international criticism for forced displacement.
An Israeli source briefed on discussions in Israel said that the plan was to establish the complex in Rafah during the ceasefire, if it is reached.
On Saturday, a Palestinian source familiar with the truce talks said that Hamas rejected withdrawal maps which Israel proposed, because they would leave around 40% of the territory under Israeli control, including all of Rafah.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2 million people, but Gazans say nowhere is safe in the coastal enclave.
Early on Sunday morning, a missile hit a house in Gaza City where a family had moved after receiving an evacuation order from their home in the southern outskirts.
“My aunt, her husband and the children, are gone. What is the fault of the children who died in an ugly bloody massacre at dawn?” said Anas Matar, standing in the rubble of the building.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Trump Announces U.S. Plans To Send Patriot Missiles To Ukraine
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will supply Ukraine with Patriot air defence missiles. He said that the weapons are essential for Ukraine’s protection, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin “talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening,” referring to the ongoing Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities.
Trump did not give a number of Patriot missiles he plans to send to Ukraine, but he said the United States would be reimbursed for their cost by the European Union. The U.S. president has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin because the Russian leader has resisted Trump’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Trump is expected to announce a new plan to arm Ukraine with offensive weapons in a sharp departure from his earlier stance, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Patriot systems are among the most advanced surface-to-air missile platforms and could significantly bolster Ukraine’s ability to intercept incoming threats.
Ukraine Needs More Weapons
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked for more defensive capabilities to fend off a daily barrage of missile and drone attacks from Russia.
“We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then bombs everybody in the evening. But there’s a little bit of a problem there. I don’t like it,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington.
“We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment. They are going to pay us 100% for that, and that’s the way we want it,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks came during a campaign event, and the Pentagon has yet to release an official timeline for the deployment.
He plans to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Ukraine and other issues this week.
(With inputs from Reuters)
FAA And Boeing Privately Assure Fuel Switch Locks Are Safe Amid Air India Probe: Sources
As investigations continue into the Air India crash, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing have quietly issued statements affirming the safety of fuel switch locks on Boeing aircraft, according to a document and four sources.
The FAA’s Continued Airworthiness Notification on July 11 came after a preliminary report into Air India’s Boeing 787-8 crash, which killed 260 people last month, raised questions over engine fuel cutoff switches.
The FAA’s notification to Civil Aviation Authorities said: “although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787.”
Boeing also referred to the FAA notification in a Multi-Operator-Message sent to the airlines in the past few days, which said the planemaker is not recommending any action, two of the sources with direct knowledge said.
The preliminary investigation report into the crash by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), referred to a 2018 FAA advisory, which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure it could not be moved accidentally.
The report said Air India had said it had not carried out the FAA’s suggested inspections as the FAA 2018 advisory was not a mandate. But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.
The report noted “all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied on the aircraft as well as engines.”
Pilot Error Dismissed
ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, in a statement on Saturday rejected the presumption of pilot error and called for a “fair, fact-based inquiry.”
“The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers,” ALPA India President Sam Thomas said on Sunday.
ALPA India, in a letter posted on X, said the preliminary investigation report referred to the 2018 FAA advisory “concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction.”
In the flight’s final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.
It said fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped during the flight.
Two U.S. safety experts said on Saturday they backed ALPA India’s request to be observers in the probe, but said the investigation report did not suggest a bias toward pilot error.
John Cox, a pilot and former ALPA U.S. representative, said AAIB’s report seemed objective and fair.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Activists Jailed Under Security Law File Appeals In Hong Kong
Twelve pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong on Monday filed appeals against their convictions and prison sentences in a high-profile national security case that has drawn international criticism and highlighted Beijing’s continuing crackdown on dissent.
The appeal stems from the “47 democrats” case, named for the number of activists who were arrested and charged with ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’ in early 2021.
The court eventually found 45 of the defendants guilty of organising and holding an unofficial primary election in July 2020 after massive pro-democracy protests brought the city to a standstill. Prosecutors considered the action to be a “plot” to undermine the Hong Kong government.
‘They’re Not Criminals’
Security was tight around the West Kowloon law courts building as scores of police officers, some with police dogs, patrolled the area and occasionally searched passers-by.
“I want to see all of them,” said an elderly man surnamed Wong who was among around 100 people queuing to get a public ticket for the hearing. “They’re not criminals.”
‘Politically Motivated’
Foreign diplomats from over half a dozen countries were in attendance for this latest stage of the legal saga that began with dawn police raids on the homes of high-profile democrats in early 2021.
Some countries such as the United States have condemned the case as “politically motivated” and are calling for the immediate release of the democrats who were sentenced last November to prison terms of up to ten years.
Judiciary Independent Says Authorities
Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, however, have defended the independence of the judiciary and say no one is above the law and the democrats have received a fair trial.
Of the 16 democrats who pleaded not guilty during the trial, 11 have decided to appeal, including Gordon Ng, Gwyneth Ho and Owen Chow, who were all jailed for over seven years. Another democrat, Prince Wong, who pleaded guilty, is appealing her sentence.
One defendant, Michael Pang, decided to withdraw his application on Monday.
The appeals are expected to take around 10 days, and will also include a government appeal against the acquittal of one of the democrats, barrister Lawrence Lau.
Hong Kong National Security Law
A years-long crackdown under a China-imposed national security law has resulted in arrests, the closures of liberal media outlets and civil society groups. The last two remaining pro-democracy parties, the Democratic Party and the League of Social Democrats, disbanded this year citing growing pressures.
The case is one of the most prominent so far under a 2020 national security law that was imposed by China in response to mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
(With inputs from Reuters)
EU Holds Off Retaliation Amid Trump Tariff Threat
The European Union (EU) on Sunday announced that it would extend its suspension of retaliatory measures against US tariffs until early August, while continuing to push for a negotiated settlement, even as the administration of US President Donald Trump demanded further concessions from its trading partners.
Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from August 1, adding to similar warnings for other countries and leaving them less than three weeks to hammer out framework deals that could lower the threatened tariff rate.
‘Deals Need To Be Better’
White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that countries’ trade deal offers so far have not satisfied Trump and “the tariffs are real” without improvements.
“The president thinks that deals need to be better,” Hassett told ABC’s This Week program. “And to basically put a line in the sand, he sent these letters out to folks, and we’ll see how it works out.”
‘Prefer A Negotiated Solution’
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU’s executive Commission which handles trade policy for the 27 member states, said the bloc would maintain its two-track approach: keep talking and prepare retaliatory measures.
“We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now,” von der Leyen told a press conference, adding that the bloc would extend its halt on countermeasures until August.
Von der Leyen’s decision to resist immediate retaliatory measures points to the European Commission’s desire to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation in the trade war while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he was “really committed” to finding a trade solution with the US, telling German public broadcaster ARD that he will work intensively on this with von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron over the next two and a half weeks.
Asked about the impact of a 30% US tariff on Germany, Merz said: “If that were to happen, we would have to postpone large parts of our economic policy efforts because it would interfere with everything and hit the German export industry to the core.”
Test Of Unity
The latest salvo from Trump and the question of how to respond may test the unity of member states, with France appearing to take a tougher line than Germany, the bloc’s industrial powerhouse whose economy leans heavily on exports.
Macron said the Commission needed more than ever to “assert the Union’s determination to defend European interests resolutely”, and that retaliation might need to include so-called anti-coercion instruments.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Sunday the EU should be ready to take firm action if talks failed.
“If a fair negotiated solution does not succeed, then we must take decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and companies in Europe,” Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, also vice chancellor in the ruling coalition, told Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
While the EU has held back from retaliating against the US in the months since Trump hit the bloc with tariffs, it has readied two packages that could hit a combined 93 billion euros of US goods.
A first package, in response to US levies of 50% on imported steel and aluminium that would hit 21 billion euros in US goods, was suspended in April for 90 days to allow time for negotiations. The suspension had been due to expire on Monday before the extension was announced.
A second package in retaliation against Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs has been in the works since May and was set to target 72 billion euros of US goods. These measures have not been made public and the final list requires approval by member states.
Anti-Coercion Instrument
Von der Leyen said on Sunday that the use of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument was not yet on the table.
The instrument allows the bloc to retaliate against third countries that put economic pressure on EU members to change their policies.
“The (anti-coercion) instrument is created for extraordinary situations, we are not there yet,” she said.
Possible retaliatory steps could include restricting EU market access to goods and services, and other economic measures related to areas including foreign direct investment, financial markets and export controls.
In a sign of the EU’s desire to strike deals with more trading partners at a time of deepening uncertainty in trans-Atlantic relations, von der Leyen said a political agreement had been reached to advance an EU-Indonesia trade deal.
France’s cheese producers warned of the damaging consequences of a 30% tariff for the local dairy industry, which exports nearly half its produce, including to the United States.
“It’s a new environment we will have to get used to – I don’t think this is temporary,” Francois Xavier Huard, CEO of dairy association FNIL, told Reuters.
($1 = 0.8555 euros)
(With inputs from Reuters)
US Senate Report Slams Secret Service For Trump Rally Lapses
A US Senate report released on Sunday has revealed that a “cascade” of security failures enabled a gunman to open fire at former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year, while criticising the Secret Service for lapses in discipline and the absence of any dismissals following the incident.
The report, released a year after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear, accused the Secret Service of a pattern of negligence and communications breakdowns in planning and execution of the rally.
‘Cascade Of Preventable Failures’
“This was not a single error. It was a cascade of preventable failures that nearly cost President Trump his life,” the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report said. The Secret Service is charged with protecting current and former presidents and their families, as well visiting foreign leaders and some other senior officials.
One attendee of the July 13, 2024, rally was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was subsequently shot to death by Secret Service agents.
‘Complete Breakdown Of Security’
“This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level — fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats,” the committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, said in a statement.
Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the Secret Service 10 days after the shooting, amid harsh scrutiny of the agency’s role, and six Secret Service agents on duty during the attempt received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday.
Committee Demands More Punishment
The committee said more than six officials should have been punished, and that two of those who were disciplined received lighter punishments than it had recommended. It highlighted the fact that no one was fired.
Current Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that the agency has received the report and will continue to cooperate with the committee.
“Following the events of July 13, the Secret Service took a serious look at our operations and implemented substantive reforms to address the failures that occurred that day,” Curran said.
(With inputs from Reuters)