September 10, 2025

THE CLIFF NEWS

National Daily Bilingual Newspaper

Category: International

Modi, Putin Reaffirm Strategic Partnership at SCO Summit; Discuss Ukraine, Bilateral Ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their commitment to the “special and privileged strategic partnership” between India and Russia during a bilateral meeting following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) heads of state summit in Tianjin, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday. In a symbolic gesture, Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin travelled together to the venue of the talks in the Russian leader’s car, conversing privately for nearly an hour. Indian officials said Mr. Putin waited for Mr. Modi and later extended their conversation for another 45 minutes even after reaching the venue. “Had an excellent meeting with President Putin… Discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in all sectors,” Mr. Modi posted on social media, adding that both leaders also “exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.” Mr. Putin hailed Mr. Modi as a “dear friend,” describing Moscow’s relationship with New Delhi as “special, friendly, and trusting.” He reiterated that Russia and India’s historic ties would remain the foundation of their future engagement. On Ukraine, Mr. Putin maintained that the conflict stemmed from NATO’s eastward expansion and a Western-backed coup in Kyiv. “This crisis wasn’t triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but by the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO,” he said. The meeting followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s phone call to Mr. Modi last week, in which he urged the Indian leader to send a “signal” to Moscow. Mr. Modi’s emphasis on a ceasefire contrasted with US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks urging Kyiv to “make a deal” instead of insisting on a truce. The Modi–Putin engagement also came against the backdrop of Washington’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods, imposed in retaliation for New Delhi’s continued purchase of discounted Russian crude oil. While Trump administration officials have accused India of “profiteering,” the MEA’s statement steered clear of the tariff dispute, noting instead that the leaders “discussed bilateral cooperation including economic, financial, and energy sectors” and expressed satisfaction with the growth of ties. Mr. Modi said he was looking forward to welcoming Mr. Putin in New Delhi for the 23rd India–Russia annual summit later this year.

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Mitchell Starc Retires from T20Is to Focus on Tests and 2027 ODI World Cup

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has announced his retirement from T20 internationals, saying he wants to prioritise the team’s heavy Test schedule from 2026 onwards and the 2027 ODI World Cup. Starc, 35, made his T20I debut in 2012 and played 65 matches, claiming 79 wickets — the second-most for Australia in the format. He was a key member of the side that won the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, and last featured at the 2024 edition in the Caribbean. “Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority,” Starc said. “Looking ahead to the Indian tour, the Ashes, and the 2027 ODI World Cup, this is the best way for me to stay fresh, fit, and at my best for those campaigns.” Selectors acknowledged the void Starc leaves in Australia’s T20 setup, especially his pace and new-ball swing. Chair of selectors George Bailey said: “We might not replace Starcy like-for-like, but we’ve seen promising signs from Nathan Ellis, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, and Xavier Bartlett.” Australia have won 14 of 17 T20Is since Starc’s last appearance. His retirement comes as the selectors named the squad for October’s T20I series against New Zealand, with Marcus Stoinis, Matt Short, and Mitchell Owen returning, while Ellis will miss the tour for the birth of his first child.

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UK Announces £1 Million Aid for Afghanistan Earthquake Victims

An Afghan man was seen standing amidst the rubble of a collapsed house in Dara Noor, Jalalabad, after a deadly magnitude-6 earthquake struck Afghanistan around midnight on September 1, 2025. The quake, one of the country’s worst in recent years, has killed more than 800 people and left at least 2,800 injured, according to authorities. Rescue operations are still underway. In response to the tragedy, Britain has pledged £1 million ($1.35 million) in emergency support for those affected. The UK government clarified that the funds would not be directed to Afghanistan’s Taliban administration but instead channelled through international partners to ensure accountability. The assistance will be divided between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Red Cross (IFRC) to provide critical healthcare services and deliver emergency supplies to the hardest-hit areas. “The UK remains committed to the people of Afghanistan, and this emergency funding will help our partners deliver critical healthcare and emergency supplies to the most hard-hit,” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in an official statement. Afghanistan’s disaster response has been severely hampered by shrinking international funding, particularly following U.S.-led aid cuts, further complicating relief efforts in the wake of Sunday’s devastating quake.

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Liverpool Agree Record £130m Deal to Sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle

Premier League champions Liverpool have agreed a British record transfer to sign Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak for around £130 million ($176 million), according to multiple media reports on Monday. The Swedish forward is set to undergo a medical before completing a six-year deal with the Merseyside club, The Athletic reported. The fee will surpass the previous Premier League record of £106 million that Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in 2023. Isak, 25, enjoyed a stellar campaign last season, scoring 23 league goals — second only to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah — as Newcastle secured Champions League qualification. His future has been the subject of a prolonged transfer saga this summer, with the striker training separately from the Magpies squad after making his desire to join Liverpool clear. Newcastle had earlier rejected a £110 million bid, but the deal gathered momentum after they signed German international Nick Woltemade on Saturday for a club-record fee of up to £69 million. For Liverpool, Isak becomes the latest marquee signing in a summer of heavy investment. The club has already secured German midfielder Florian Wirtz, French forward Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, full-back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, and left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe had hinted on Friday that Isak could be allowed to leave, citing the financial relief such a sale would bring. The club has faced challenges with Profit and Sustainability Regulations, previously selling Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to avoid penalties. Despite their big-money arrivals, Liverpool are still seeking to rediscover last season’s relentless form that saw them clinch the league title with four games to spare. However, they currently top the table after three consecutive wins, including a 1-0 victory over last year’s runners-up Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday. Newcastle, by contrast, are struggling, sitting 17th after a goalless draw with Leeds United.

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Owaisi Slams Modi–Xi Talks, Says Meeting Failed to Address Key Concerns

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, alleging that the talks failed to address “critical questions” important to Indians. In a post on X, the Hyderabad MP said, “The @PMOIndia meeting with Chinese President today has failed to answer the critical questions that Indians have been looking for. On the top of that list is China’s support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and the extension of CPEC into Afghanistan. We have not heard a word on the sharing of hydrological river data by China.” Owaisi also raised concerns over the situation in Ladakh, claiming Indian soldiers were unable to patrol buffer zones and local graziers had been denied access to areas since 2020. He further alleged that Beijing had made no commitments on resuming the supply of rare earths and other critical materials, nor on importing more goods from India. “These are the issues that matter to Indians, not the photo op, the colour of jacket or the length of the carpet. Sadly, Modi–Xi meeting has failed to deliver on substantive issues,” he said. Meanwhile, an official Indian readout of the talks, held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, stated that Modi and Xi agreed to work towards a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” solution to the boundary issue and vowed to boost trade and investment ties. PM Modi underlined that peace and tranquility in border areas were essential for the continued development of bilateral ties, adding that India was committed to advancing relations based on “mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity.” The discussions largely focused on expanding trade, reducing deficits, and cooperating on regional and global issues, including terrorism and fair trade in multilateral platforms. The talks came amid ongoing disruptions in global trade following sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, including a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods.

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Study Reveals Beta-Blockers May Be Risky for Women After Heart Attack

Beta-blockers, long considered a cornerstone drug for heart patients, may actually put some women at higher risk after a heart attack, according to a major international study. Key Findings About the Study Why Are Women Affected Differently? Experts suggest several factors: Dr. Andrew Freeman (National Jewish Health, Denver) noted: “Gender has a lot to do with how people respond to medication. Some of it is size, some of it is biology, and some factors we still don’t fully understand.” Why Beta-Blockers Are Prescribed But they also carry side effects: fatigue, low blood pressure, slow heart rate, mood changes, erectile dysfunction (in men). Impact on Future Guidelines Dr. Valentin Fuster, senior study author, said: “These findings will reshape international clinical guidelines… and should spark a long-needed, sex-specific approach to treatment.”

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Scientists May Have Finally Identified the 300,000-Year-Old Petralona Skull

A mysterious skull discovered over six decades ago in Petralona Cave, northern Greece, may finally have its identity confirmed. Using uranium-thorium dating, researchers have determined the fossil—long debated among anthropologists—to be at least 286,000 years old, belonging to the extinct human ancestor Homo heidelbergensis. The Skull’s History Latest Findings Significance The study, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, notes that the Petralona skull supports the idea of coexistence between evolving Neanderthals and other hominins during the Middle Pleistocene in Europe. Researchers also observed similarities between the Greek skull and the Kabwe (Broken Hill) skull found in Zambia, which is also attributed to Homo heidelbergensis and dated to around 300,000 years ago. Broader Implications The new evidence places the Petralona hominin within a distinct, more primitive group than both Neanderthals and modern humans, reshaping our understanding of the complex evolutionary web in Eurasia before Homo sapiens arrived.

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Trump Drops Plans to Visit India for Quad Summit, NYT Reports Strain in Modi-Trump Ties

United States President Donald Trump has “no longer plans” to travel to India later this year for the Quad Summit, The New York Times (NYT) has reported, citing people familiar with his schedule. The Quad — comprising India, the US, Japan, and Australia — was expected to meet in New Delhi this fall, but growing strains in Indo-US relations appear to have derailed the plan. Report Highlights Breakdown in Ties According to NYT’s report “The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled”, Trump initially told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would attend the summit in India, but has since dropped the plan. The publication detailed how the relationship between the two leaders has soured in recent months. The paper notes Trump’s frustration over New Delhi’s continued import of Russian oil, refusal to open agricultural and dairy markets to US exports, and lack of progress on trade talks. His administration recently imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports, half of which was described as a penalty for India’s Russian oil purchases. US Pressure, Nobel Prize Angle The report also claims that Trump has been touting his administration’s alleged role in brokering a temporary ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May, presenting it as an achievement to bolster his Nobel Peace Prize aspirations. New Delhi, however, has strongly refuted suggestions that Washington mediated any such settlement. Implications for Quad The uncertainty around Trump’s visit adds to speculation over whether India will go ahead with hosting the Quad summit this year. On Friday, PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed their commitment to deepening Quad cooperation, but a US withdrawal of interest could undermine the grouping. Strategic experts warn that if Washington disengages, the Quad mechanism — seen as a counterweight to Beijing’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific — could lose momentum. In such a scenario, China would emerge as the key beneficiary.

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Hamas Confirms Death of Gaza Military Chief Mohammad Sinwar

Months after Israel’s claim, Hamas has officially confirmed the death of its Gaza military chief, Mohammad Sinwar. The Palestinian militant group announced his death by publishing photographs of Sinwar alongside other deceased leaders, referring to him as a “martyr,” but did not provide details on when or how he was killed. Following Sinwar’s death, Izz al-Din Haddad, who currently oversees operations in northern Gaza, is expected to assume leadership of Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Who was Mohammad Sinwar? Mohammad Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas chief in Gaza and one of the key masterminds behind the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. Mohammad became the seventh commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in July 2024, following the death of previous commanders. Known as the “shadow” by Israeli security services due to his secretive operations, Sinwar was believed to have worked largely behind the scenes. He reportedly played a central role in the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner swap that included his brother Yahya Sinwar. Over the years, Israel launched multiple assassination attempts against him—first in 2000 during the Second Intifada, and again in 2006, 2008, 2019, and 2021. During the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas even faked his death to conceal his whereabouts, leading Israeli intelligence to wrongly believe he had been killed until evidence of his survival emerged nearly a decade later. Israel’s May Strike Israel said it eliminated Sinwar in May 2025 during a targeted strike on an underground compound beneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza. The operation reportedly involved bunker-busting bombs and the sealing of tunnel exits. Soon after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Sinwar had been killed, grouping him with other slain militant leaders such as Mohammad Deif, Hassan Nasrallah, and Yahya Sinwar. “We eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists… We’re taking control of their food distribution and money machine. This is what destroys their governing capabilities. That’s what we promised,” Netanyahu said. With Hamas’ confirmation, Israel’s claim of Sinwar’s death stands validated, marking the loss of yet another senior figure in the group’s leadership.

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Putin, Xi Vow Joint Push Against ‘Discriminatory Sanctions’ Ahead of SCO Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tianjin on Sunday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, where he underscored Russia and China’s united opposition to “discriminatory sanctions” that he said obstruct the socioeconomic development of BRICS member countries. In a written interview with China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Mr. Putin said Moscow and Beijing are committed to mobilising resources for critical infrastructure projects while working together to strengthen BRICS’ ability to tackle pressing global challenges. “We take a common stand against discriminatory sanctions that hinder the socioeconomic development of BRICS members and the world at large,” Mr. Putin said. His remarks came against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump threatening BRICS countries with 10% tariffs. BRICS, which originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has recently expanded to include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet Mr. Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit, which runs from Sunday to Monday. Mr. Putin also stressed that Russia and China support reforms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, while advocating a new global financial system based on “openness and true equity.” Such a system, he said, should provide equal and non-discriminatory access to financial tools for all countries and reflect the real standing of member states in the global economy. “We seek progress for the benefit of all humanity. I am confident that Russia and China will continue to work together towards this noble goal, aligning our efforts to ensure the prosperity of our great nations,” he said. During his visit, Mr. Putin will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and also attend China’s V-Day parade marking the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II. Looking ahead, Mr. Putin expressed hope that the SCO Tianjin Summit will provide “powerful new momentum” to the 10-member bloc, enhancing its ability to address contemporary challenges and consolidate solidarity across Eurasia. “The SCO’s appeal lies in its simple but powerful principles: commitment to its founding philosophy, openness to equal cooperation, non-confrontation, and respect for the uniqueness of each nation,” he said. “Drawing on these values, the SCO contributes to shaping a fairer, multipolar world order, grounded in international law, with the central role of the United Nations.”

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