NewsBytes

The BJP parliamentary board on Sunday nominated Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan as the NDA candidate for vice-president. Announcing the nomination, BJP president J P Nadda said a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Naredra Modi decided Radhakrishnan's name after an extensive deliberation. Nadda hoped the opposition parties will support the NDA candidate. The vice-presidential election, necessitated by the resignation of incumbent Jagdeep Dhankhar last month, is scheduled for September 9. The last date for filing nomination is August 22.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India beginning Monday, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The meeting, to be held on Tuesday, assumes significance as it is taking place days before Modi's planned trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Before calling on the prime minister, Wang will hold separate talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval that could see both sides deliberate on a range of key issues including border situation, trade and resumption of flight services. The Chinese foreign minister's visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. The two sides are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Wang's visit, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Wang's trip is also seen as important as it comes amid increasing tensions in India-US relations following President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent that included an additional penalty of 25 per cent for purchasing Russian crude oil.

European and NATO leaders announced on Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with the possibility of US security guarantees now on the negotiating table. Leaders from France, Britain and Germany are rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump's summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to be at Zelenskyy's side at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office encounter. “The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr Zelenskyy to the hilt,” said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations.

American lawmakers are using a trip to South Korea and Japan to explore how the United States can tap those allies' shipbuilding expertise and capacity to help boost its own capabilities, which are dwarfed by those of China. Sens Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, and Andy Kim, D-NJ, who are scheduled to land in Seoul before travelling to Japan, plan to meet top shipbuilders from the world's second- and third-largest shipbuilding countries.  The senators want to examine the possibilities of forming joint ventures to construct and repair non-combatant vessels for the US Navy in the Indo-Pacific and bring investments to American shipyards. Their trip comes as President Donald Trump demands a plan to revive US shipyards and engage foreign partners. The Pentagon is seeking $47 billion for shipbuilding in its annual budget.  The urgency stems from the fact that Washington severely lags behind China in building naval ships, a situation raising alarms among policymakers who worry the maritime balance of power could shift to China, now the world's number 1 shipbuilder.