DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 INDIA-CHINA SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES’ TALKS TODAY Wang Yi begins India visit, Jaishankar says de-escalation process must move forward Putin calls up PM Modi, others, ‘shares insights’ on meeting with Trump Chineseforeign ministersetto meetPMtoday SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 EAM S Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi on Monday. PTI E EXPLAINED AS CHINESE Foreign Minister Wang Yi began his two-day visit to India on Monday — his first sinceIndiaandChinacompleted the disengagement process along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in November last year, and days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely first visit to China in seven years — External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underlined that the “de-escalation process” must “move forward”. While he is in Delhi for the 24th round of talks between the India-China Special Representativesontheboundaryissueon Tuesday, Wang will also call on Modi — he did not get a meeting with Modi during his last visit in April 2022. Wang and National SecurityAdvisorAjitDovalarethe designated Special Representatives for the boundary talks. Doval travelled to China in Decemberlastyearfortalksafter five years of the border standoff. This is the first visit by a Chinese Minister since Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the BRICS leaders’ summit in Russia's Kazan in October 2024, whentheysetthestagefordisengagementoftroopsattwofriction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and resumption of patrolling. Kremlin: Leaders discussed prospects of long-term resolution to Ukraine crisis Ahead of PM’s ● likely visit FOR BEIJING, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit is a key step towards facilitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to China at the end of this month. For Delhi, it serves as an important leverage to get Beijing to agree to de-escalation within a time frame. Amid the US tariffs, the meetings will also provide an opportunity to discuss economic issues of concern. Trump aide: India must act as strategic partner to be treated as one SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 CLAIMINGTHATIndiawas“now cozying up to both Russia and China”, White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro has said India needs to start acting like a strategic partner of the US if it wants to be treated like one. In a very sharply-worded opinion piece in The Financial Times, Navarro, one of US President Donald Trump’s closestadvisors,wrote:“Indiaactsas BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs.” NewDelhiwas“nowcozying up to both Russia and China”, he THREE DAYS after he met US President Donald Trump in Alaska, Russian President Vladimir Putin called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and “shared his insights” on the meeting. This came hours before Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. “Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Monday. AP meeting with President Trump in Alaska. India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD TRUMP-ZELENSKYY MEET P 15 U.S. TO BACK EUROPEAN SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE: TRUMP ZELENSKYY SAYS OPEN TO TRILATERAL TALKS: ‘IT'S A GOOD SIGNAL’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 MAHARASHTRA: 7 DEAD ; 550 MM RAIN POUNDS MUMBAI SINCE I-DAY PAGE 11 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan, who is the ruling NDA’s candidate for the Vice-Presidential elections, in New Delhi on Monday. PTI OPP NARROWS DOWN V-P LIST: MAHATMA’S GREAT GRANDSON, EX- ISRO SCIENTIST Opp alliance targets CEC: Looking at both legal, constitutional measures against him Kharge,otherOppfloorleadersdiscuss noticeformotiontoremovetheCEC JATIN ANAND NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 TAKING EXCEPTION to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s comments at a press conference a day earlier, the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties on Monday said it was considering “both legal and Constitutional measures” against the poll panel chief. It is learnt that the Opposition is considering moving a notice for impeachment againstKumar,whomitaccused of “talking like a BJP spokesperson” instead of answering questions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Biharandallegedvoter-listirregularities. On Sunday, faced with THE EDITORIAL PAGE QUESTIONS & QUESTIONS The EC faces many, it undermines itself in the shrill and adversarial way it responds to them PAGE8 mounting questions from the Opposition, Kumar asked Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to either submit allegations of vote theft on a sworn affidavit or apologise to the nation. According to sources, the matter of the CEC’s impeachment was discussed at a meeting of Opposition floor leaders CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THESUPREMECourtonMonday sought the response of the Centre and the armed forces in a suo motu case based on reports published in The Indian Express about officer cadets who were discharged from the nation's top military training institutes on medical grounds and have since been battling severe disability with poor benefits. The affected cadets and their parents described the court’s intervention as “a ray of light” and TheIndianExpressreportson August11ontheissue a sign that “their struggle is finally being seen”. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notice to the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) in the Ministry of Defence; Department of Defence in the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Chief of DefenceStaff;and,heads of the Army, Air Force and Navy. The court inquired whether the Centre can implement a scheme for ex-cadets, such as a group medical insurance plan or CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE SURAT, AUGUST 18 DIAMONDS WORTH over Rs 25 crore were stolen from a Suratbased firm by unidentified thieves, who broke open a metal safeanddecampedwiththeprecious gems, the police said. According to police, the incident took place between August 15 and 17 at D K Sons at Kapodara area of Surat, during which CCTV cameras at the building were vandalised and the video recorder was taken away in an attempt to destroy evidence. Since the company had de- clared a three-day holiday in view of Independence Day and Janmashatmi, neither employees nor security guards were present at the unit when the diamonds were stolen, police said. Kapodara police registered a theft case based on a complaint filed by DK Sons owner Devendra Chaudhary. Speaking to The Indian Express, Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Alok Kumar said they were on the lookout for a former security guard at the diamond firm, who was fired a month ago for suspicious activities. “We have found a couple of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ‘India there for us... can put pressure In major reshuffle, Gujarat transfers on Israel to end the conflict in Gaza’ 105 IAS, SPS officers and a DGP PM MEETS V-P PICK GOVT & POLITICS Opposition INDIA bloc leaders address the media in New Delhi on Monday. ANI Diamonds worth Rs 25 crore stolen from Surat Cadets disabled in training: SC firm, police on look out notice to Centre, armed forces for ex-security guard CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ex-cadets, parents welcome top court decision: ‘Ray of light’ EXPRESS NETWORK CEC TALKING LIKE BJP SPOKESPERSON: OPP PAGE10 BJP CALLS V-P NOMINATION FOR RADHAKRISHNAN ‘MOMENT OF PRIDE’ DIVYA A NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 WITHISRAELannouncingaplan to take control of Gaza — and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it the “best way” to end the war — Palestinian Ambassador Abdullah Abu Shawesh spoke to The Indian Express aboutTelAviv’sdecision, EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE whether US President Donald Trumpcanbringpeacetothebesieged strip, and Palestine’s expectations from India. Excerpts: What do you have to say on Gaza takeover plan mooted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? They are calling it the Gaza takeover plan; some others are CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AHMEDABAD, AUGUST 18 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW ABDULLAH ABU SHAWESH PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR THE GUJARAT government on Mondayeffectedamajorreshuffle in the police department, transferring 105 IPS (Indian Police Service) and SPS (State Police Service) officers. The Cyber Centre of Excellence(CoE)inGandhinagar, which was set up to tackle the rising cybercrime cases across the state, got its first appointment.WhileRajdeepsinhNJhala was appointed as SP of the CoE andASPsSanjaykumarKeshvala andVivekBhedawerepromoted to senior time scale and appointed as SPs at the CoE. On the other hand, DharmendraSharmaandMayur Patil were kept “waiting for orders”. In a separate notification, DGP Manoj Agarwal, who had been serving as Director of Civil Defence and Commandant of Home Guards, was on Monday appointedtothevacantex-cadre post of DGP (CID, Crime & Railways). Ahmedabad:9newDCPs, 3internaltransfers Harshadkumar Patel, SP of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 In Kerala village, ‘living lab’ provides local weather forecast, landslide alert PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHAJU PHILIP KANICHAR (KERALA), AUGUST 18 BEFORE HE ventures for rubber tapping each morning, Anil T R scrolls his WhatsApp for weather updates. The informationthathegetsisn’tfromfar-off weather stations — it’s specifically for his gram panchayat Kanichar, sourced from the neighbourhood and localised just for people like him. Anil’svillageof Kanichar—60 km from Kannur — is India’s first village panchayat where a living lab approach has been adopted forenhancingclimatesensitivity and people’s resilience capacity. ImplementedbytheKeralaState DisasterManagementAuthority (KSDMA), the project has one aim — making the 4,600-odd household owners in the panchayat resilient to natural disasters. The living lab approach is an ecosystem that integrates realworldsettingswithresearchand innovation to create and test solutions. First developed in the Netherlands, the approach is marked by the involvement of severalstakeholders—including government, experts, private agencies and civic society — to find real-world solutions. For the village, which saw three people being killed and 36 hectares of farmland being destroyed in a series of landslides in 2022, this has come as a relief. “Every day, we get data on rains and wind from an automatic weather station installed at the village,” 55-year-old Anil says. “When there’s heavy rain, there are frequent alerts and updates about the situation.” The village currently has one automaticweatherstationtopro- Kanichar village in Kerala’s Kannur district; (right) an automatic weather station installed to provide local weather data in the landslide-prone area. Express vide local weather data in the landslide-pronepanchayat,with authoritiesnowplanningadozen moreinthepanchayat’s13wards. Another highlight is that the panchayat will have an early landslide warning system installed by IIT-Roorkee. ThisistheonlyplaceinKerala where KSDMA has opened a resilience centre and appointed a resilienceofficer,whoisengaged instrengtheningthedisasterpreparednessandsocialresilienceof the people. The panchayat has madereadya60-memberemergency response team, with each person given a specific task. This is the first time in the country that the concept is being implemented with landslide as thefocaltheme.“TheNetherlands was first to use the living lab approachtofindsolutionsforurban issues.TheconceptisnewinIndia, andKeralaisthefirsttotakelandslides as a theme for this approach,” SDMA member secretary Sekhar Kuriakose says. After the landslides of 2022, KSDMA conducted investigations in the region at the request of the panchayat. Subsequently, thegovernmentdirectedtheKSDMA to set up a living lab. “Developing a living lab in a hilly region has figured in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad