Archive August 6, 2025

BREAKINGBREAKING,

As repercussion for the Russian oil import, President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that will add an additional 25 percent tariff on goods from India.

The 25-percent tariff that India already faces on Wednesday adds up to one of the US’s highest import tax brackets, at a total of 50 percent, making it subject to one of Trump’s highest import taxes.

Trump argued in his executive order that India, a major consumer of petroleum products, needed to be subject to more tariffs because Russia’s continued military operations in Ukraine constitute a “national emergency.”

Trump wrote that, “I believe, Indian government is currently importing Russian Federation oil directly or indirectly.”

The Russian Federation’s government continues to threaten its national security and foreign policy in an unusual and extraordinary way.

21 days after the announcement, the tariff increase will go into effect, opening up the door for negotiations between India and the US.

However, the action could make US-Indian relations even more difficult. Only one other nation has a 50 percent overall tariff rate, excluding Brazil.

In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s announcement, India and the US held five trade talks. US Vice President JD Vance even made the trip to New Delhi in April to assist with the negotiations.

However, months of negotiations have failed to yield a trade agreement, and experts claim that US-Indian ties are now at their worst point in years.

The announcement on Wednesday coincides with rumors that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would travel to China for the first time in more than seven years this month.

In a move to ease tensions with China, an Indian government source revealed to Reuters that Modi would attend a security summit in Tianjin in response to previous disputes over borders and water rights.

More than 100 people are missing and at least four people have died after flash floods swept through the village of Dharali, in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Teams from the army and disaster response forces are operating in the area to rescue people trapped under debris, local authorities have said.

“A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement”, the Central Command of the Indian Army said in a post on X.

Flash floods in Uttarkashi, where Dharali is situated, were triggered by intense rainfall known as a “cloudburst”, which caused the Kheerganga river to swell, at around 1: 30pm local time (08: 00 GMT) on Tuesday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that heavy rainfall will continue for the next few days.

What is a cloudburst?

A cloudburst is an intense downpour that delivers a large volume of rain in a short time. It is often accompanied by thunder and hail and can cause flash floods.

At any given time, clouds blanket about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. &nbsp, Cloudbursts are often associated with cumulonimbus clouds, which contain large amounts of water.

The&nbsp, IMD said that over the past 24 hours, extreme rainfall of 21cm (8.3 inches) or more had been recorded in parts of northwest India, including Uttarakhand, where the flash floods happened – more than the 10cm (3.9 inches) of rain per hour required to be classed as a cloudburst, according to the IMD.

Cloudbursts tend to occur over a small geographical region of 20 to 30 square kilometres (7.7 to 11.6 square miles)

Is this caused by climate change?

Uttarakhand, which has a large amount of mountainous and often unstable terrain, is prone to monsoon-related flooding. Dharali village is nestled in the Himalayas between the villages of Harsil and Gangotri.

Uttarakhand is particularly vulnerable to climate change given the fragility of the Himalayan region. In particular, it is exposed to excessive precipitation, cloudbursts, flood events and periods of very cold weather (cold waves), according to a study published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

That study found that districts in higher regions are more exposed to these effects because of their inability to adjust to weather-related and climate changes and because the ecosystems in these areas are more sensitive to such changes.

According to experts, mountain temperatures will rise more quickly than the average due to global warming.

As temperatures rise, which is closest to Dharali, will become more frequent, causing catastrophic flooding that has historically affected Uttarakhand.