Morning Digest: PM Modi meets world leaders on the sidelines of G7 summit; Trump calls for ‘unconditional surrender’ of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and more-OxBig News Network

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney (centre right) speaks as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre left) and Mr. Carney’s Chief of Staff Marco Mendicino (right) listen before a meeting at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on June 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: The Canadian Press via AP

PM Modi meets world leaders on G7 margins

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with his global counterparts on the margins of the G7 Summit here, with discussions focusing on a range of issues such as trade, investment, counter-terrorism and global challenges.

PM Modi says India-Canada relations ‘extremely important’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said relations between India and Canada are “extremely important” and the two nations should work together to achieve win-win cooperation in various sectors. Prime Minister Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney held bilateral discussions on the margins of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, on Tuesday (June 17, 2025). This was the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Carney assumed office in May 2025.

Trump says U.S. knows where Iran’s Khamenei is hiding, wants unconditional surrender

President Donald Trump said Tuesday (June 17, 2025) the U.S. knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict but doesn’t want him killed “for now.” Mr. Trump sought, in a social media posting, Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” as the five-day conflict continues to escalate.

Trump’s tariffs will offer India certain advantages, says Chief Economic Adviser

The reciprocal tariffs unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2 could offer India certain tariff advantages compared to other countries, V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, has said. Dr. Nageswaran was speaking on ‘Global economic trends: India’s challenges and prospects’ at Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday (June 17, 2025).

Congress questions PM’s silence on U.S. outreach to Pakistan

The Congress on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on the U.S. reaching out to Pakistan while referring to Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir’s visit to the country. In a post on X, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “So now it can no longer be denied by the drumbeaters of the PM and the BJP’s troll army. The man whose incendiary, inflammatory, and provocative remarks were directly linked to the Pahalgam terror attacks is now officially in Washington D.C.”

INDIA bloc intact; SP-Congress to contest U.P. polls together, says Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) that the INDIA bloc is intact and asserted that the Congress and the SP will contest the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh together as part of the opposition grouping.

Army facilitates training of 10 Manipur youth for induction as Agniveers

The Army has felicitated the training of 10 young men from Bishnupur district in Manipur under the Agniveer scheme. “These individuals recently completed their basic military training as proud Agniveers. The event was attended by the Agniveers with their families and Army officers, who came together to celebrate this significant milestone,” said the Defence Ministry, adding that they would soon join the armed forces.

Father-son duo held for siphoning off ₹64 lakh from Indore court bank account

The Indore Police have arrested a father-son duo from Gujarat’s Valsad for allegedly siphoning off more than ₹64 lakh from a State Bank of India (SBI) account belonging to the Indore district court over a period of three months, officials said on Tuesday (June 17, 2025).

Army team leaves for India-French joint exercise

An Army contingent left for France on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) to participate in the eighth edition of the India-French joint military exercise named ‘Shakti’, which will be conducted at Camp Larzac, La Cavalerie, from June 18 to July 1. The Indian contingent comprises 90 personnel, primarily from a battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, besides personnel from other services. The French contingent has 90 personnel from the 13th Foreign Legion Half-Brigade (13th DBLE), the Defence Ministry said.

Former Excise Commissioner Amit Prakash arrested in Jharkhand liquor scam

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) arrested former Excise Commissioner Amit Prakash in connection with the Jharkhand liquor scam. The arrest comes weeks after the agency detained senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey on May 20, in a money laundering case linked to the same alleged scam.

Maharashtra doubles honorarium of Emergency-era prisoners

The Maharashtra cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday (June 17, 2025), doubled the monthly honorarium given to individuals from the State who were imprisoned for over a month during the Emergency. 

North Korea plans to send military construction workers and deminers to Russia

North Korea will send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to support reconstruction work in Russia’s Kursk region, a top Russian official said on Tuesday (June 17, 2025), the latest sign of expanding cooperation between the two nations.