Israel destroys cross-border tunnel from Gaza
Jerusalem, April 15: The Israeli Army on Sunday claimed to have discovered and destroyed a tunnel allegedly extending tens of metres into Israel from Gaza and that belonged to the Islamist movement Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus confirmed the destruction of the tunnel, the fifth such tunnel to have been found in the last five months, which the Army said started from Jabalia in northern Gaza and ended near the Israeli community of Nahal Oz, Efe news agency reported.
"The route of the terror tunnel was identified by security forces early on and monitored thereafter," the Israel Army said on Twitter.
Israeli Army also claimed that "violent riots that have been taking place in the area of the security fence are an attempt to mask the terror attacks intended to take place above and below ground".
Since March 30, thousands of peaceful Palestinian demonstrators have set up protest tent camps along the Gaza-Israel border, and the Israeli military has killed at least 33 demonstrators during marches that have taken place near the border each Friday.
According to the United Nations, over 3,700 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli forces during the Friday marches; 969 Palestinians on April 13, another 1,350 people on April 6 and 1,416 people on March 30.
The protests are calling for the right of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, who according to the United Nations make up around two thirds of Gaza's population, to return to their homeland inside what is now Israel.
The route of the terror tunnel was identified by security forces early on & monitored thereafter. In recent months & especially over the last two weeks, Hamas has turned the area near the security fence into an area of terror & fighting pic.twitter.com/6bJlbpgbmk
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) April 15, 2018
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India, US trade team to start three-day talks from Dec 10: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): India and the United States will commence three-day talks on the first phase of their proposed bilateral trade agreement here from December 10, sources said.
The visit is crucial as India and the US are working to finalise the first tranche of the pact.
"The three-day talks will start on December 10. It will conclude on December 12, and it is not a formal round of talks," said one of the sources.
The US team will be led by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer.
This visit of the US officials marks their second trip since the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market due to the purchase of Russian crude oil.
On September 16, the US officials last visited India.
On September 22, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also led an official delegation to the US for trade talks. Goyal had also visited Washington in May.
While the USA's chief negotiator for the pact is Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, the Indian side is led by Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Darpan Jain.
The talks are also important as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has recently stated that India is hopeful of reaching a framework trade deal with the US this year itself, which should address the tariff issue to the benefit of Indian exporters.
While noting that the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) will take time, Agrawal has added that India is engaged in protracted negotiations with the US on a framework trade deal that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters.
India and the US are having two parallel negotiations -- one on a framework trade deal to address tariffs and another on a comprehensive trade deal.
In February, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate an agreement.
It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025. So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held. The agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, from the current USD 191 billion.
The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports).
The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of its imports, and 10.73 per cent of its total merchandise trade.
According to exporters, the agreement is important as India's merchandise exports to the US declined for the second consecutive month in October, falling by 8.58 per cent to USD 6.3 billion due to the hefty tariffs imposed by Washington.
