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India and China agree to de-escalate border tensions

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India and China have agreed on patrolling arrangements to de-escalate tensions along a disputed Himalayan border which has seen deadly hand-to-hand clashes in recent years, India’s top diplomat has said.

Vikram Misri said on Monday the two sides have agreed on “disengagement and resolution of issues in these [border] areas that had arisen in 2020”.

He was referring to the Galwan Valley clashes – the first fatal confrontation between the two sides since 1975, in which both sides suffered casualties.

Relations between the neighbours have been strained since then.

“An agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020,” Mr Misri said.

Mr Misri, however, did not give any details about the disengagement process and whether it would cover all points of conflict along the disputed border.

The Indian foreign secretary’s statement comes just a day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Russia for a meeting of Brics nations which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Mr Misri didn’t confirm if a bilateral meeting between Mr Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was on the agenda.

His remarks on Monday mark a major development between the two nuclear-armed nations since the Galwan clashes.

Troops in the Galwan Valley fought with clubs and sticks because of 1996 agreement between the two countries that prohibited the use of guns and explosives near the border.

Several rounds of talks between their diplomats and military leaders in the last four years had not resulted in a major breakthrough.

Troops from the two sides clashed in the northern Sikkim area in 2021 and again in the Tawang sector of the border in 2022.

Border tensions have cast a long shadow on India-China relations for decades. The two countries fought a war in 1962 in which India suffered a heavy defeat.

Business relations between the two Asian giants have also suffered due to the tensions.

The root cause is an ill-defined, 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long disputed border. Rivers, lakes and snowcaps along the frontier mean the line often shifts, bringing soldiers face to face at many points, sparking a confrontation.

The two nations have been also competing to build infrastructure along the border, which has sparked further tensions.

(BBC News)

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Nepal bans Telegram app

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Nepal on Friday barred access to the Telegram app, citing the use of the social media platform for criminal activities.
The Nepal Telecommunications Authority issued a notice ordering telecom service providers to immediately stop access to the app.

“The number of online frauds has been continuously increasing in Nepal with the use of the Telegram app and it has been understood that the app has been used in serious crimes such as money laundering,” the notice said.

“Therefore, all telecommunication service providers are instructed to immediately restrict or shut down access to the Telegram app,” it added.

(Xinhua)

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Pakistan extends airspace ban for Indian flights till Aug. 24

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Pakistan has extended the closure of its airspace for flights operated by Indian airlines by another month till August 24, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said.

No aircraft operated by Indian airlines, or military and civilian flights that are Indian-owned or leased, will be allowed to use Pakistani airspace, according to a NOTAM (notice to airmen) that came into effect at 3:50 pm India time on Friday.

The ban will remain in place till August 24 at 5:19 am (India time), the PAA said.

The Indian airspace is also closed to all Pakistani aircraft till July 24 after a ban was imposed first on April 30 as part of measures taken by the Indian government against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on April 22.

Pakistan shut its airspace for Indian aircraft on April 24 and the tit-for-tat restrictions by the two nations have been extended multiple times. 

(PTI)

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White House says Trump diagnosed with vein condition

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Donald Trump is suffering from a chronic vein condition, the White House announced on Thursday, after days of speculation regarding photographs showing bruising on the US president’s hand.

After recently experiencing swelling in his legs, Trump underwent a “comprehensive exam” including vascular testing, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt said Trump’s bruised hand was consistent with “tissue damage from frequent handshaking” while taking aspirin, which she said is “part of a standard cardio-vascular prevention regimen”.

Trump, 79, has regularly touted his good health and once described himself as “the healthiest president that’s ever lived”.

The president’s recently discovered vein condition is called chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when leg veins fail to pump blood to the heart, causing it to pool in the lower limbs, which can then become swollen.

Veins and valves “propel the blood up and out of the leg” and back toward the heart, Dr Meryl Logan, assistant professor of vascular surgery at the University of Texas at Austin told the BBC.

Blood flowing from the legs to the heart is moving against gravity, which can make that process more difficult.

“So what chronic venous insufficiency is, is when those veins and valves don’t work and blood goes backwards down the legs,” she said.

Leavitt said that there was “no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease” and that all results from the test were “within normal limits”.

According to a note from White House physician Sean Barbabella released to reporters, the condition is “benign and common”, especially in people over age 70.

Additional testing showed “no signs of heart failure, renal impairment, or systemic illness” in Trump, Barbabella said in the note, which confirmed the information from Leavitt’s earlier briefing.

Overall, Trump is in “excellent health”, the doctor wrote.

Photographers captured what appeared to be Trump’s swollen legs during the Fifa Club World Cup final in New Jersey on 13 July, with subsequent photos taken earlier this week showing his bruised hands during a meet with Bahraini Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the White House.

A bruise on the president’s hand had previously been photographed during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in February.

His swollen legs and bruising prompted online speculation and rumours that the president may have been experiencing an illness that hadn’t been made public.

Following an annual physical exam in April, Barbabella wrote that Trump “exhibits cognitive and physical health”.

Trump was 78 years and seven months old when he was sworn in for his second term in January, making him the oldest president to ever be inaugurated as US leader.

Doctors told the BBC they agree with Barbabella’s assessment on the severity of chronic venous insufficiency.

“It can be associated with serious conditions, but in and of itself it is not a serious condition, and one that is very common,” Dr Matthew Edwards, chair of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Wake Forest University, told the BBC.

“People in his age (group), I would say probably somewhere between 10 and 35% of people would have this.”

Experts say other risks include being overweight, having a history of blood clots, and having jobs that require patients to be on their feet for long durations.

Wearing custom-made medical-grade compression stockings can help manage the condition, and experts also recommend patients elevating their legs at night.

“I tell my patients to use a good creamy lotion all over their legs and feet every day, and then controlling other potential risk factors such as obesity,” Dr Logan said.

Chronic venous insufficiency only affects the lower part of the body, so the condition is unrelated to the bruising seen on the president’s hand, which generated speculation in recent days.

The president’s doctor said the bruising was a result of handshaking and a side effect of him taking aspirin, a medication which can help prevent heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes.

Dr Edwards said he agrees with the White House doctor’s explanation that Trump’s aspirin intake along with his age could be responsible for the bruising.

“We are all more prone to bruising as we get older, and you see that a lot in people that take aspirin and other blood-thinning agents.”

“I’m sure it could if someone squeezes your hand hard enough, (you could get a bruise),” Dr Edwards said.

“That would be a pretty stiff handshake.”

(BBC News)

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