Indian and Chinese forces have clashed along their disputed border – the first such incident between the two nuclear powers since deadly confrontations in 2020.
They clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a disputed border that separates the two Asian countries high up in the Himalayan mountain range.
Indian troops prevented Chinese soldiers from entering Indian territory on Friday during a border scuffle that led to injuries on both sides, India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.
But China blamed India for the incursion, accusing Indian troops of “illegally” crossing the border to “block” a routine patrol by Chinese border soldiers.
“We urge the Indian side to strictly control and restrain the frontline troops, and work with China to maintain peace and security on the border,” a spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said.
The incident occurred in the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders southern China and is also claimed by Beijing.
Soldiers on patrol from both sides came face-to-face at one of the peaks there and in an ensuing hand-to-hand fight, some soldiers fell on the rocky surface and injured themselves, an Indian defence source told Reuters news agency.
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Two other sources said around half a dozen Indian soldiers suffered minor injuries.
Mr Singh told Indian politicians: “These are skirmishes that keep happening, and they are not major. This was not major.”
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He said the scuffle led to “injuries to a few personnel on both sides” but that there were no “serious casualties on our side”.
“PLA troops tried to transgress the LAC in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector and unilaterally change the status quo,” he said.
“The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner. The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts.
“The Chinese side was asked to refrain from such actions and maintain peace and tranquillity along the border.”
The issue has also been taken up with China through diplomatic channels, he added.
Twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops died after fatal clashes on the disputed border in June 2020.
They were the first fatalities between the two sides for decades, with both sides accusing the other of incurring on to sovereign territory.
Until then, the 2,360-mile frontier between the two nations had stayed largely peaceful since a war in 1962.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.