"The bear hugs have gone. The smiles have curled into sneers." The former friendship between Donald Trump and Indian PM Narendra Modi has descended into acrimony, said Amrit Dhillon and George Grylls in The Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and India's Narendra Modi will meet in New Delhi by the end of year, but no dates have been finalised yet, a Russian embassy official in India said on Wednesday.

"The frequent visits by Prime Minister Modi and Union Ministers to the North-East are having a very positive impact on this region. PM Modi will visit Assam and bring the gift of many schemes to the people. Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in the Panchayat Conference... Assam is progressing very rapidly," he told ANI.

India expects consumption tax cuts announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give a boost to the economy without hurting the government’s fiscal deficit, helping to offset the fallout from higher US tariffs.

During his Friday speech, Modi also hinted India would continue its unilateral suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. The treaty, which India suspended after the April massacre, allows sharing of the Indus River that runs about 2,897 kilometers (1,800 miles) through South Asia and is a lifeline for both countries.

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A call between the leaders of Russia and India affirmed the countries’ close ties despite Washington’s demands for New Delhi to wean itself off Russian oil. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked his “friend,

Your PM gives you homework?’ That’s what people joked with astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla after Prime Minister Modi asked him to document his historic trip to space.

Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti intervened, stating that such remarks were unparliamentary and should be expunged from the official records. DHNS