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J D Vance in Delhi to meet Modi amid tariff tensions
US Vice-President JD Vance has arrived in the Indian capital, Delhi, where he is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid global trade tensions sparked by Washington’s tariff policies.
The talks are likely to focus on fast tracking a much-awaited bilateral trade deal between the two countries.
Vance is also expected to go on a sightseeing tour of Agra and Jaipur with his family.
His visit comes as countries across the world rush to negotiate trade deals before US President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends on 9 July.
“The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” India’s foreign ministry said ahead of Vance’s visit.
The vice-president is accompanied by his children and wife Usha Vance whose parents migrated to the US from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
After his arrival in Delhi on Monday morning, Vance visited the Akshardham temple complex in the city.
He is due to meet the Indian prime minister for formal talks later in the day and Modi is to host Vance for dinner in the evening.
The visit comes amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and several countries after Trump announced steep reciprocal tariffs on them.
Trump, who has repeatedly called Delhi a tariff abuser, had announced a tariff of 27% on India before he temporarily paused it on 9 April.
India has already slashed tariffs on some US goods, with further cuts expected as the balance of trade is still stacked heavily in favour of Delhi, which enjoys a $45bn trade surplus.
India’s average tariffs of around 12% are also significantly higher than the US’s 2%.
Until recently, the US was India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $190bn (£144bn).
Prime Minister Modi was among the first leaders to meet Trump after his inauguration. Modi hailed a “mega partnership” with the United States following his meeting with the president.
Trump and Modi set an ambitious target to more than double bilateral trade to $500bn, as the two leaders announced a deal for India to import more from America, including oil and gas.
Weeks later, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard visited India, followed by a US delegation led by Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch.
Vance’s India tour is also seen as significant as Trump is likely to visit the country later this year for the Quad summit, which will also host leaders of Australia and Japan.
Speaking about Vance’s engagements in India, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal last week said Delhi was “very positive that the visit will give a further boost to our bilateral ties”.
[BBC]
United States President Donald Trump says that Iran has his administration’s proposal regarding its rapidly advancing nuclear programme as negotiations between the two countries continue.
Trump made the remarks on Friday on board Air Force One as he ended his trip to the United Arab Emirates. It is the first time he has acknowledged sending a proposal to Tehran after multiple rounds of negotiations between US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump told a journalist when asked about the proposal. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said. “But most importantly, they know they have to move quickly, or something bad is going to happen.”
On Thursday, Araghchi spoke to journalists at the Tehran International Book Fair and said that Iran had not received any proposal from the US yet.
Araghchi also criticised what he called conflicting and inconsistent statements from the Trump administration, describing them as either a sign of disarray in Washington or a calculated negotiation strategy.
Witkoff at one point suggested that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67 percent, then later said that all Iranian enrichment must stop.
“We are hearing many contradictory statements from the United States – from Washington, from the president, and from the new administration,” Araghchi said.
“Sometimes we hear two or three different positions in a single day.”
Araghchi later stressed that Iran will not give up uranium enrichment. “Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes,” he wrote in a social media post.
Iranian diplomat Kazem Gharibabadi also reiterated on Friday that the right to enrich uranium is Tehran’s “absolute red line”.
Iranian and American officials have met in Oman and Rome in recent weeks for the negotiations mediated by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, a trusted interlocutor between the two nations.
The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the Islamic republic.
Trump has previously threatened to launch attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme if a deal isn’t reached.
Some Iranian officials have warned that Tehran could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Separately on Friday, Iranian officials also met officials from Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul to discuss their nuclear negotiations with Washington.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended the talks in the Turkish city, said in a post on X: “We exchanged views and discussed the latest status of the indirect nuclear negotiations and the lifting of sanctions.”
Gharibabadi added that if necessary, Tehran would meet with the so-called E3 – the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with China, Russia and the United States – once again to continue discussions, after several meetings since last year.
Trump had effectively torpedoed the deal during his first term by unilaterally abandoning it in 2018 and reimposing sanctions on Iran’s banking sector and oil exports.
A year later, Iran responded by rolling back its own commitments under the deal, which provided relief from sanctions in return for UN-monitored restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.
[Aljazeera]
Roston Chase has been appointed West Indies’ new Test captain. The allrounder’s first Test as captain will be his 50th; his 49th, against South Africa in Johannesburg, came more than two years ago. West Indies have played 13 Tests since then.
Chase has previously led West Indies in one ODI and one T20I. His first assignment in the longest format will be the three-Test home series against Australia, which begins on his home ground in Bridgetown on June 25. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican will be Chase’s vice-captain.
The series will be the first of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for both teams.
CWI said that Chase had been appointed from a shortlist of six after a “detailed assessment process that included psychometric testing to evaluate leadership style, behaviour, and overall suitability for the role”. The other candidates interviewed were John Campbell, Tevin Imlach, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, and Warrican.
Shai Hope, West Indies captain in the white-ball formats, asked not to be considered in order to focus on his exciting leadership roles.
“This selection process is one of the most comprehensive and forward-thinking we have undertaken,” CWI president, Kishore Shallow, said. “I am deeply impressed by the professionalism, objectivity, and strategic thinking that shaped the final decision. It sets a new benchmark for leadership appointments in West Indies cricket.”
West Indies head coach, Daren Sammy, said: “I fully endorse this appointment. Our new captain has earned the respect of his peers, understands the responsibility that comes with the role, and has shown the leadership qualities we need to take this team forward. I urge fans across the region to rally behind him–we’re building something special.”
The 33-year-old Chase takes over from Kraigg Brathwaite, who resigned in March after 39 matches in charge of the Test team. West Indies won 10 of those Tests, lost 22 and drew seven.
At the time of Brathwaite’s resignation, CWI had handed Hope – already West Indies’ ODI captain – the T20I reins, but had held back on naming a new Test captain, announcing that they would do so “in the coming weeks”.
Brathwaite’s tenure was notable for a young West Indies team beginning to find ways of winning in different conditions with a growing pool of fast and spin bowlers. Notable performances included a 1-0 home series win over England in 2022, the Gabba Test win of January 2024, and a 1-1 draw in Pakistan in Brathwaite’s last series in charge, in January 2025.
Chase has scored 2265 runs at an average of 26.33, with five hundreds, and taken 85 wickets with his offspin at 46.00. One of his first tasks as captain will be to repair his batting numbers, which have fallen steadily following a promising start. He made a century in just his second Test, to help save the Jamaica Test against India in 2016, and scored two more over his first 10 Tests, across which he averaged 48.53. Since then, however, his numbers have declined significantly.
CWI announced Chase’s appointment via X, formerly Twitter, and said it had been “unanimously approved by the CWI Board of Directors” during a meeting on Friday.
[Cricinfo]
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each after the first face-to-face talks in three years
The date for the transfer has been set, but is not being made public, Ukraine’s defence minister says
Ukraine also requested direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – Moscow says it “noted” this request
Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, facilitated the peace talks – which both sides said included some discussion of a possible ceasefire
[BBC]
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