Modi Must End India's ‘Inspector Raj' Mindset

It isn't just the Americans. From factories making Louis Vuitton fashion to those churning out kitchen appliances, everyone is waiting for the Indian quality inspector. Indonesia is getting impatient; the Europeans are fuming. The Chinese think it will be easier to get tickets to a Taylor Swift concert than to have them show up in Shenzhen.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a quick deal with the US president, he should offer to dismantle the 'Inspector Raj' that has been weaponized by his administration, ostensibly to create jobs but really to protect powerful local interests.

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33 minutes ago

• Newsweek

China Issues Warning Over US Bombing of Iran

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China accused the U.S. of violating the United Nations charter with its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and warned all parties involved in the conflict to prevent any further escalation. "The U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN charter and has exacerbated tensions in the Middle East. The UN Security Council cannot sit idly by," said Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, at a press briefing on Monday, June 23. Lin said China, Russia, and Pakistan proposed a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire". "Together, we sent out the message of justice that reflects the strong call from the international community," Lin said. "We hope council members can jointly support the draft resolution and enable the Security Council to play its role for the maintenance of international peace and security." Lin added that "China urges parties to the conflict to prevent the escalation of the situation" and said Beijing is "willing to work with well-meaning sides to enhance communication and coordination and play a constructive role in restoring peace in the Middle East." This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

42 minutes ago

Oil gains and US stock futures, Asian shares slip after US strikes Iran nuclear sites

BANGKOK -- Global markets appeared to take the U.S. strike against nuclear targets in Iran in stride as investors watched to see how Iran will react. The price of oil initially jumped more than 2% but fell back slightly on Monday. U.S. stock futures and most Asian shares declined. The big question is what Iran will do, analysts said, while the U.S. military's strike on three Iranian sites raised urgent questions about what remains of Tehran's nuclear program. "I believe what we are thinking is or the thinking is that it is going to be a short conflict. The one big hit by the Americans will be effective and then we'll get back to sort of business as usual, in which case there is no need for an immediate, panicky type of reaction,' said Neil Newman, managing director of Atris Advisory Japan. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was up 1.2% at $77.94 a barrel. U.S. crude also jumped, gaining 1.3% to $74.82 a barrel. The attacks Saturday raised the stakes in the war between Israel and Iran, and the futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. The Nasdaq future contract fell 0.5%. Treasury yields were little changed. The conflict began with an Israeli attack against Iran on June 13 that sent oil prices yo-yoing and rattled other markets. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. Closing off the waterway would be technically difficult to pull off but it could severely disrupt transit through it, sending insurance rates spiking and making shippers nervous to move without U.S. Navy escorts 'The situation remains highly fluid, and much hinges on whether Tehran opts for a restrained reaction or a more aggressive course of action,' Kristian Kerr, head of macro strategy at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, said in a commentary. Iran may be reluctant to close down the waterway because it uses the strait to transport its own crude, mostly to China, and oil is a major revenue source for the regime. Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said disrupting traffic through the strait would be 'economic suicide" and would elicit a U.S. response. "I would encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,' Rubio said. Tom Kloza, chief market analyst at Turner Mason & Co said he expects Iranian leaders to refrain from drastic measures and oil futures to ease back after the initial fears blow over. Disrupting shipping would be " a scorched earth possibility, a Sherman-burning-Atlanta move,' Kloza said. Writing in a report, Ed Yardeni, a long-time analyst, agreed that Tehran leaders would likely hold back. 'They aren't crazy,' he wrote in a note to investors Sunday. 'The price of oil should fall and stock markets around the world should climb higher.' Other experts aren't so sure. Andy Lipow, a Houston analyst covering oil markets for 45 years, said countries are not always rational actors and that he wouldn't be surprised if Tehran lashed out for political or emotional reasons. 'If the Strait of Hormuz was completely shut down, oil prices would rise to $120 to $130 a barrel,' said Lipow, predicting that that would translate to about $4.50 a gallon at the pump and hurt consumers in other ways. 'It would mean higher prices for all those goods transported by truck, and it would be more difficult for the Fed to lower interest rates.' In Asian trading early Monday, Taiwan's Taiex fell 1.4% while the Kospi in South Korea initially lost 1% but then regained some lost ground to fall 0.2% to 3,016.71. Much of East Asia depends on oil imported through the Strait of Hormuz. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.2% lower to 38,344.15, as losses for most shares were offset by gains for defense oriented stocks. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries climbed 0.8% and ShinMaywa Industries, another major weapons maker, surged 1.5%. 'The U.S. strike on Iran certainly is very good for defense equipment,' Newman of Atris Advisory said, noting that both Japan and South Korea have sizable military manufacturing hubs. Australia's S&P/ASX fell 0.4% to 8,475.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng regained lost ground, climbing 0.4% to 23,622.71, while markets in mainland China advanced. The Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.5% to 3,376.65. In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar rose to 147.16 Japanese yen from 146.66 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1515 from $1.1473.

an hour ago

US boosts emergency Mideast evacuations and travel warnings after Trump orders strikes in Iran

WASHINGTON -- The State Department has doubled the number of emergency evacuation flights it is providing for American citizens wishing to leave Israel, ordered the departure of nonessential staff from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and is stepping up travel warnings around the Middle East because of concerns Iran will retaliate against U.S. interests in the region for the weekend strikes on its nuclear facilities. In an alert sent to all Americans worldwide and posted to its website on Sunday, the State Department warned all U.S. citizens abroad to exercise caution. 'The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East,' it said. 'There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.' In a notice, also issued on Sunday, the department said it had ordered nonessential personnel and the families of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to leave Lebanon 'due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region.' The notice made no mention of any potential evacuation flights or other assistance for private Americans wanting to leave Lebanon but said those who want to should try to use existing commercial services to depart. At the same time, the department issued warnings to U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to take extra security precautions given the uncertainty. 'Given reports of regional hostilities, the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia has advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region,' the department said in its notice for Saudi Arabia. In Turkey, the department said U.S. personnel 'have been cautioned to maintain a low profile and instructed to avoid personal travel to the U.S. Consulate Adana consular district,' which includes the NATO airbase at Incirlik. 'Negative sentiment toward U.S. foreign policy may prompt actions against U.S. or Western interests in Turkey,' the statement said. Late Saturday, the department said it was stepping up evacuation flights for American citizens from Israel to Europe and continuing to draw down its staff at diplomatic missions in Iraq. But even before the U.S. airstrikes on Iran were made public by President Donald Trump on Saturday evening in Washington, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had announced the start of evacuation flights for private Americans from Israel. Sixty-seven American citizens left Israel on two government flights bound for Athens, Greece, on Saturday and four more evacuation flights to Athens had been planned for Sunday, according to an internal State Department document seen by The Associated Press. However, due to the closure of Israeli airspace after the U.S. airstrikes on Iran three of those four flights were canceled, according to an update from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The embassy is planning to reschedule the canceled flights to Athens on Monday when it expects as many as six evacuation flights to the Greek capital, along with a chartered flight to Rome and another flight to Cyprus, according to the update. In addition to the flights that have already left, a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 American citizens, including several hundred Jewish youngsters who had been visiting Israel on an organized tour, arrived in Cyprus, according to the document. It also said the evacuation of non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil is continuing. Those staffers had been ordered to leave even before Israel began its military operation in Iran more than a week ago. 'As part of our ongoing effort to streamline operations, additional personnel departed Iraq on June 21 and 22,' the department said. 'These departures represent a continuation of the process started on June 12.' As of Saturday, more than 7,900 Americans had asked for assistance in leaving Israel and more than 1,000 had sought help in leaving Iran, where the U.S. has no diplomatic presence, the document said. There are roughly 700,000 Americans, many of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, in Israel and many thousands of Americans, most of them dual U.S.-Iranian citizens, in Iran. It was not clear how many Americans had successfully made it out of Iran through overland routes, although the document said more than 200 had entered neighboring Azerbaijan as of Saturday since the conflict began. After the U.S. strikes in Iran, security officers at all U.S. embassies and consulates have been instructed to conduct reviews of their post's security posture and report back to the State Department by late Sunday.