Israeli drone strike kills five, including three children, in southern Lebanon
Beirut (AP): An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed five people Sunday, including three children, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said four of the killed, the three children as well as their father, held US citizenship.
Two others were wounded, including the mother in the family.
Officials at the US Embassy in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment.
Since a ceasefire agreement was reached in November to end Israel's monthslong war with the Hezbollah group, Israel has continued to strike southern and eastern Lebanon almost daily.
Under the Washington-brokered ceasefire, both the Hezbollah group and Israel were supposed to withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other. Israeli forces have continue to occupy five Lebanese hilltop points by the border.
Lebanese officials have warned that the ongoing strikes risk the country's recent efforts to disarm the group and further worsen its shaky security situation. Hezbollah has maintained that it no longer has a military presence south of the Litani River, and has refused to speak of disarmament without Israel stopping its attacks and withdrawing from southern Lebanese territory.
President Joseph Aoun, who earlier landed in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, condemned the strike and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop. Aoun, alongside the Lebanese government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, endorsed an agreement last month that would gradually disarm Hezbollah.
“There is no peace above the blood of our children,” said Aoun in a statement from his office.
The monthslong war between Hezbollah and Israel killed some 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced residents across southern and eastern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Salam, who like Aoun, vowed upon his appointment earlier this year to disarm all non-state groups, said the strike was a “message of intimidation targeting our people returning to their villages in the south.”
“The states sponsoring the cessation of hostilities agreement must exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately halt its attacks, withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories, and release prisoners,” said Salam in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Hezbollah officials say the ongoing strikes justify their refusal to give up their arms, and claim that the ceasefire agreement and monitoring mechanism with the United States, France, and United Nations peacekeeping forces is ineffective.
“They have proven once again that resorting to official protection under international auspices has not provided them with security and stability,” said Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah. “All these attacks and killings perpetrated by the enemy will not push our people to abandon their land and rights, and they will only strengthen the people of the south's adherence to the option of resistance.”
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
