The World Today focusses on India's diplomatic offensive following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
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00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Geeta Mohan and you're watching World Today.
00:19Now in a rare display of political unity, India is gearing up for a diplomatic offensive like none other.
00:25Lawmakers from across party lines are set to take India's message global.
00:31Following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack and the country's military response,
00:35take a look at our report as India shifts the global opinion with its domestic unity.
00:44In a move that blends diplomacy with domestic unity,
00:49India is set to launch an unprecedented international outreach mission.
00:53And it is not just the government leading the charge.
00:58According to reports, a delegation of Indian MPs from across party lines will soon fly out to capitals across the world,
01:06including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Qatar and the UAE,
01:12with one mission, to tell India's side of the story.
01:15Especially in the aftermath of the April 22nd Pahalgam terror attack in Operation Sindhuur,
01:22which saw India retaliate against Pakistan-based terror camps.
01:27Now the diplomatic front takes centre stage, led by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijuju.
01:33The government has reportedly reached out to opposition MPs like Shashi Tharoor,
01:40Salman Khurshid,
01:42Asad Duddin Ovesi,
01:44Kanimori and Supriya Suley,
01:46inviting them to join the delegations.
01:48In other countries, if there is an invitation,
01:53if there is a invitation,
01:54or someone asks if there is a great deal,
01:57that the Congress party will be a general community,
01:59the we will be a general public.
02:01And what we should do is we should do.
02:04The government is the first thing.
02:05And what has happened to it?
02:07Each team will comprise five to six senior MPs drawing from parliamentary standing committees tasked with explaining India's stance to global leaders.
02:37The objective? To counter Pakistan's narrative, share evidence of its involvement in cross-border terrorism and secure international support for India's position.
02:48But this isn't the first time India is taking such a step.
02:53Many will recall 1994 when the Prime Minister PV Nassima Rao had dispatched opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Geneva to counter a Pakistan-sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission.
03:08A diplomatic victory is still remembered in foreign policy circles.
03:12This latest initiative seems to echo that strategy.
03:16However, Pakistan is not without allies.
03:20Islamabad has found support from China, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
03:24And it is Turkey's position that is drawing particular concern.
03:30In a move that sparked outrage in India, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a leader of a NATO country, has publicly backed Pakistan, referring to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif as his dear brother.
03:43Ardugan reaffirmed Turkey's unwavering support, calling it a bond of true friendship.
03:51For many in India, a NATO member siding with a state linked to terrorism sends the wrong global message.
03:57One that questions the West's commitment to fighting terror without bias.
04:02But for now, the message from New Delhi is clear.
04:06India stands united and it is prepared to take that unity to the world stage.
04:13Through diplomacy, dialogue and a show of political unity rarely seen in recent times.
04:19India is engaging the world diplomatically but also focusing on the neighbourhood.
04:31India has made a move that could make Islamabad sweat.
04:35And it isn't across the border.
04:37It is in Kabul.
04:39On the 15th of May, a phone call changed the game.
04:42India's External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jai Shankar, dialed up Afghanistan Taliban's acting foreign minister,
04:49marking the first high-level political and ministerial engagement since the Taliban took over three years ago.
04:57The key agenda?
04:58India's renewed commitment to building the Shahtooth Dam,
05:01a major $236 million hydroelectric and irrigation project on the Kabul River, fully supported by India.
05:09When completed, this dam will provide clean drinking water to 2 million Afghans
05:14and irrigate over 4,000 hectares of farmland.
05:19But here's why Pakistan is alarmed.
05:22The Kabul River flows from Afghanistan into Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkwa province.
05:27It's part of the Indus Water Basin and a critical water source for Pakistan's agriculture too.
05:35This comes days after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty,
05:38after the Pahalgam terror attack, to add to Pakistan's worries.
05:43The Taliban has also announced plans to build another major dam on the Qunar River,
05:48which merges with the Kabul River before entering Pakistan.
05:53There's currently no water-sharing agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan,
05:58and they share nine river basins, including the Kabul, Qunar, Gomal and Qurram.
06:05Any major project upstream could reduce water flow into Pakistan, affecting agriculture and livelihoods.
06:13So India has not just weaponized water on its side, but also is looking to weaponize water in Afghanistan.
06:20Now, the India-Pakistan tensions and Turkey's stance of siding with Islamabad
06:29have made major diplomatic ramifications when it comes to the two countries,
06:34with India's major airports severing ties with Turkish aviation firm Chilebi
06:39after the government revoked its security clearance, citing national security concerns.
06:44Chilebi's operations at airports in Delhi, Bengaluru, Bombay, that's Mumbai, and Ahmedabad,
06:51where it had long managed ground handling services, have been terminated.
06:56Karishma Asudani explains if Chilebi Aviation India
06:59has any political affiliations or links to any foreign government and individuals or not.
07:05In a stunning move this week, India's aviation security regulator, the BCAS,
07:13which is Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, revoked the security clearance of Chilebi Airport Services India,
07:21citing national security concerns.
07:24But why is this Turkish-linked company suddenly in the spotlight,
07:28and what are the facts behind the backlash?
07:30Well, Chilebi Airport Services India is a key ground handling operator across nine major Indian airports,
07:37including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
07:40It manages crucial operations like cargo handling, baggage services, and check-ins.
07:46Last year alone, its India wing handled close to 58,000 flights and moved over 5.4 lakh tons of cargo.
07:53The company directly employs 10,000 Indians and claims to have pumped in more than $200 million
08:00in long-term infrastructure investments.
08:04But this week, Chilebi's India's presence hit a wall.
08:08The government security agencies flagged concerns,
08:11and BCAS, which is the security regulator, revoked its clearance with immediate effect.
08:16This essentially stalls most of Chilebi Airport Services India activities,
08:22creating immediate logistical concerns for multiple airlines.
08:27This revocation comes amidst growing diplomatic tensions with Turkey.
08:32Following Ankara's support for Pakistan just last week during the India-Pakistan conflict,
08:38Indian voices on social media and in political circles
08:41have called for boycotts and a re-look at Turkish firms operating in India.
08:47In fact, it was during the operation Sindur when things worsened with the public sentiment.
08:54So, is Chilebi really a Turkish entity?
08:57Chilebi's Indian arms strongly denies this.
09:01In a detailed statement, it said it is truly an Indian enterprise,
09:05majority owned by international investors from the US, Canada, UK, and the UAE.
09:10It rejected online rumours linking it to Sumer EdoÄŸan,
09:15granddaughter of current Turkish president, calling them factually incorrect.
09:19The company said no political figures hold any stake.
09:23In fact, only just two individuals from the founding Chilebi family retain minority stakes.
09:29The company stressed its record of regulatory compliance,
09:32transparency with the government and the Indian management.
09:36It also pointed out that its facilities are audited regularly
09:39by the Indian aviation and securities.
09:43But the key question remains,
09:44in times of heightened geopolitical tension,
09:47can a company with even partial Turkish links
09:49be trusted with sensitive airport operations?
09:53For now, India's aviation ministry is siding with caution.
09:56Meanwhile, operations at airports must adapt quickly.
09:59Airlines who were using this will now have to coordinate
10:02with alternators like AI Airport Services,
10:05Air India Sats, or even the Bird Group.
10:07Now, Ukraine and Russia met for the first time in Istanbul since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
10:19After much dilly-dallying and a highly anticipated meet that never took place
10:23between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin,
10:29U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not have high expectations from the peace talks,
10:34and that only a meeting between President Trump and President Putin can make things really progress further.
10:42Now, speculations had been rife that the talks called for by President Putin
10:46and agreed to by Ukrainian President Zelensky would see the leaders of two warring nations meet
10:52for the first time since the invasion.
10:54U.S. President Donald Trump was likely to reschedule his trip to the Gulf
10:58and meet Putin and Zelensky in Turkey, but that too did not happen.
11:04Trump had earlier said the peace talks would not see the light of the days
11:08unless the President met with the two presidents, that's the Russian and the Ukrainian.
11:16Zelensky had criticized the low-level delegation sent by Kremlin for peace talks,
11:20suggesting that Russia was not serious about real talks.
11:24Ukraine had, however, sent a delegation headed by its defense minister to Istanbul
11:29while Zelensky was in Ankara.
11:32He questioned whether the Russian delegation of deputies and policy experts
11:36were actually authorized to make any decision at all.
11:40Trump was asked when is he likely to meet the Russian president.
11:44He said, very soon.
11:46Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange a thousand prisoners of war
11:50from each side after talks ended in Istanbul.
11:53If the exchange goes ahead, it would be the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years
11:58since Russia's invasion.
12:01In response to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire called by European leaders in Ukraine,
12:06Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed direct talks in Istanbul on the 15th of May.
12:12Zelensky then had challenged Putin to meet him in person.
12:15Vladimir Medinsky, who was heading the Russian delegation in Istanbul for talks with Ukraine,
12:21said Moscow saw the talks as a continuation of failed negotiations in 2022
12:27after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine.
12:31So now the question is, when will President Trump meet President Putin
12:35and will this meeting pave the way for peace in Europe?
12:39So till this meeting happens, efforts made by European leaders and Ukraine is indeed a failed effort
12:47because Russian officials have signaled that talks are based on a document
12:51that was under negotiation in the year 2022 but never agreed upon.
12:56Kiev did not accept the document because it gave Russia a veto over Western military assistance to Ukraine
13:02in case of resumed conflict.
13:04Putin and Zelensky had met only once in 2019 in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron
13:11and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the earlier Ukrainian peace process
13:17based on the Minsk agreements.
13:20The meeting had failed to resolve the crisis caused by Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
13:27When do you think you'll meet the president?
13:29As soon as we can set it up.
13:31Well, we're going to, I think it's time for us to just do it.
13:35I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going
13:40and I said, if I don't go, I guarantee Putin's not going.
13:44And he didn't go.
13:44And I understand that.
13:46But we're going to get it.
13:47We're going to get it done.
13:48We've got to get it done.
13:505,000 young people are being killed every single week on average.
13:55And we're going to get it done.
13:56We don't have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow.
14:00And frankly, at this point, I think it's abundantly clear that the only way we're going to have a breakthrough here
14:05is between President Trump and President Putin.
14:10It's going to require that level of engagement to have a breakthrough in this matter.
14:14I don't think anything productive is actually going to happen from this point forward
14:18until they engage in a very frank and direct conversation, which I know President Trump is willing to do.
14:26Israeli air and artillery strikes pound northern Gaza, forcing Palestinians to flee after a truth collapse in March
14:33and a new ground offensive expected soon.
14:37U.S. President Donald Trump again mentioned about U.S. takeover of Gaza for redevelopment.
14:42Now, during his visit to Qatar, Trump suggested U.S. takeover of Gaza in an attempt to rebuild the Palestinian enclave.
14:51But this is not the first time that the U.S. President has spoken about the future of Gaza.
14:56Earlier, Trump said he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in Gazans when talking about Gaza-Riviera idea.
15:04He had shared this vision even when the Israeli Prime Minister, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
15:11visited the White House at the beginning of the year.
15:14President Trump had also shared an AI video on his social media platform, Truth Social, depicting Trump-Gaza.
15:22The video included AI-generated images of a golden statue of the U.S. President in Gaza,
15:29luxury cars and skyscrapers in a reconstructed Gaza strip.
15:33The clip had drawn criticism from Gazans.
15:38Well, we're working very hard on Gaza, and Gaza's been a territory of death and destruction.
15:44The United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone, have a real freedom zone.
15:53Now, has Elon Musk just become father of the 14th and 15th time?
15:58I mean, father, for the 14th and 15th time.
16:01Amber Heard's surprise Mother's Day post announcing the birth of her twins
16:06has reignited speculation about a past embryo dispute between the two.
16:11With no father named and an old report linking Musk to preserved embryos with Heard,
16:16the Internet is asking, are these latest additions secretly part of the ever-growing Musk dynasty?
16:23Take a look at this report.
16:24Amber Heard just announced something nobody saw coming.
16:32The Aquaman actress took to Instagram on Mother's Day to announce that she is now a mother of twins,
16:39daughter Agnes and son Ocean.
16:42In her post, Amber wrote, and I quote,
16:45Mother's Day 2025 will be one I will never forget.
16:48Today, I officially share the news that I welcomed twins into the Heard gang.
16:55My daughter Agnes and my son Ocean are keeping my hands full.
17:00She emphasized that her motherhood journey was deeply personal.
17:05And I quote,
17:05Becoming a mother by myself and on my own terms, despite my own fertility challenges,
17:11has been the most humbling experience of my life.
17:15While most netizens were happy for her,
17:18there was a huge number of people who wanted to know who is the father
17:21and it did not take long for the Internet to settle on a conspiracy theory.
17:26So who exactly the Internet thinks is the father?
17:31It's Elon Musk.
17:32If the rumours are true, this would be Elon Musk's 14th child.
17:37Musk and Heard are no strangers to each other.
17:41They dated on and off from 2016 to 2018.
17:44While it has been six years since they split,
17:49the reason why people think that he is the father
17:51is because of a report by Daily Mail
17:53about a legal dispute between Heard and Musk over embryos.
17:58According to court documents cited in that report,
18:01Elon allegedly wanted the embryos destroyed.
18:05Amber, on the other hand, wanted to preserve them,
18:08reportedly intending to have children with or without him.
18:11Fast forward to 2025.
18:14And the timing of Heard's twin announcement
18:17has reopened the case in the court of public opinion.
18:21Heard hasn't named a father for any of her children.
18:24Not for Una in 2021 and now not for Agnes and Ocean.
18:29That mystery plus the resurfaced embryo reports
18:33has turned online forums into speculative war zones.
18:37Is Elon the father?
18:39Did Amber use frozen embryos to expand her family?
18:42Could these twins, potentially Musk's 14th and 15th children,
18:48be part of that controversial chapter?
18:51Neither Amber nor Elon have responded.
18:54Musk, known for being very active on Twitter, has been quiet.
18:58And Heard, still recovering from the wreckage of her 2022 defamation trial
19:03with Johnny Depp, continues to keep her comment section disabled.
19:06Her silence, perhaps, saying more than any caption could.
19:11With Rishika Aradhyay, Bureau Report, India Today Global.
19:14Well, this past week, President Trump was on a whirlwind trip
19:23and surely he made a lot of news.
19:26Let's take a look at the segment, Viral Portis,
19:29where we talk about how some of his clips,
19:32some of his videos, some of his statements
19:33made news and went viral.
19:36In a viral moment during his visit to Saudi Arabia,
19:44U.S. President Donald Trump was seen saluting
19:47a seemingly endless line of government officials
19:50and military members.
19:52The sheer number of people involved in the greeting
19:55led to wild scenes and widespread reactions
19:58across social media,
20:00with many commenting on the scale of the salute.
20:03In a widely circulated video,
20:10a drink is served to both Trump and the Crown Prince.
20:13While Prince Mohammed appears to sip from his glass,
20:17Trump is seen holding his for a few minutes
20:19before placing it on the table
20:21without visibly taking a sip.
20:24This gesture has sparked a wave of speculation
20:27between Saudi and American citizens.
20:29While many American users argued
20:33that Trump may have declined the drink,
20:36some suggested he drank it.
20:38The social media is now divided into two sides.
20:42One that say he drank it,
20:44while some suggest he did not.
20:50During his visit to Saudi Arabia,
20:53Donald Trump was caught on camera,
20:55struggling to keep his eyes open,
20:57sparking a wave of viral reactions online.
21:01The footage shows him blinking heavily
21:03and nodding off.
21:05Trump's sleeping video went viral
21:07and the social media has erupted
21:09into a meme fest.
21:11While some made fun of Trump,
21:13many also came in support,
21:15calling it jet-lagged.
21:18Users are calling Trump dozy dawn
21:20and is now going viral on social media.
21:28During a high-profile signing ceremony in Riyadh,
21:31President Trump appeared visibly confused,
21:34walking in the wrong direction
21:36before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
21:38guided him back to his seat.
21:42The moment caught on camera
21:44quickly went viral with social media users,
21:47comparing it to gaffes
21:49made by former President Joe Biden.
21:54I'm very close to India
21:56and I'm very close to Pakistan,
21:57as you know.
21:58They've had that fight for a thousand years in Kashmir.
22:02In a viral moment,
22:03Trump said that he would like to work
22:05with India and Pakistan
22:06to see if,
22:08after a thousand years,
22:09a solution can be arrived
22:11at concerning Kashmir.
22:12The statement about the 1,000-year Kashmir issue
22:16quickly went viral,
22:18catching the attention of the internet
22:19and prompting netizens
22:21to give him a history lesson.
22:28Well, these past few weeks
22:30have shown how the country
22:31has come together domestically
22:33on the issue of terrorism
22:35emanating from Pakistan,
22:37across parties,
22:38across states.
22:39Here is our visuals
22:41that we're showing you
22:42of people carrying out
22:43a candlelight vigil in Goa.
22:45The vigil was led
22:47by Minister Vishwajit Rane
22:49in solidarity with armed forces
22:51after Operation Sindhu.
23:11That's all in this edition of World Today.
23:17But before I go,
23:18I'll leave you with these visuals
23:19from the UAE trip
23:21where President Trump was received
23:23with a very, very unique welcome.
23:26Trump was greeted
23:26with a traditional Al-Ayala performance,
23:30a cultural art form
23:31from the Sultanate of Oman
23:33and the UAE,
23:34which involves women
23:35tossing their hair
23:36from side to side
23:37in sync with drums and chants.
23:39Take a look.
23:40Goodbye and take a look.
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