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The EU’s top team arrived in India on an “unprecedented” visit Thursday, aiming to broaden commercial and diplomatic ties and hedge against souring relations with the United States.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and her college of commissioners are to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi during the two-day trip.”In this era of conflicts and intense competition, you need trusted friends,” Von der Leyen posted on X after landing in New Delhi.”For Europe, India is such a friend and a strategic ally. I will discuss with Narendra Modi how to take our strategic partnership to the next level,” she added.The delegation is expected to focus on higher trade with the world’s most populous country, lower tariffs to enter its rapidly expanding market, and resilient supply chains with an eye on the Asia-Pacific and China’s growing regional profile.Von der Leyen began her trip by paying her respects to the revered Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi at New Delhi’s Raj Ghat memorial before meeting with the foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.She is scheduled to meet Modi on Friday to discuss topics ranging from artificial intelligence to energy.”We aim to advance discussions on a free trade agreement, expand cooperation on digital technologies, particularly AI, and accelerate our work on clean technologies like electric vehicles and green hydrogen,” she said in a Times of India interview.Almost all of the EU’s 26 commissioners are joining von der Leyen in what the EU chief is billing as the first visit of its kind to the South Asian giant — and the first outside Europe for the new college that took office in December.Brussels has been working to broaden its horizons since US President Donald Trump won back the White House in November and undercut European allies by launching Ukraine talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. India has long pursued a policy of strategic autonomy in foreign affairs.Historically close to Russia, its traditional supplier of military hardware, it has resisted Western pressure to distance itself from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.The visit “will send the message that Europe is shoring up other partners, including India, as much as they focus on the task of resetting EU-India ties”, The Hindu newspaper reported.- ‘Finish line’ -The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 — more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to Brussels.India’s expanding market offers key opportunities for sectors ranging from defence to agriculture, cars and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.Negotiations for a trade deal could get a boost from a White House bent on slapping tariffs on friends and foes alike.”We are now preparing for a 10th round of negotiations in Brussels,” von der Leyen said in the interview.”There is more work to be done at a technical level, but I’m convinced we can cross the finish line if we both commit to it”.The EU wants greater access to the Indian market for its cars, spirits and wines — all contentious subjects with a strong domestic lobby on both sides.New Delhi meanwhile sees complementarity with the EU in areas including clean energy, urban infrastructure and water management.”They have the technology and competency — and we have the scale,” an Indian foreign ministry official said Thursday. India has long pushed the EU for higher investments, co-ventures with local partners and more streamlined migration for its skilled workforce of IT professionals, engineers and healthcare workers.

The EU’s top team arrived in India on an “unprecedented” visit Thursday, aiming to broaden commercial and diplomatic ties and hedge against souring relations with the United States.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and her college of commissioners are to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi during the two-day trip.”In this era of multiplying conflicts and intense geostrategic competition, Europe wants to strengthen its partnership with India, one of its most trusted friends,” Von der Leyen said in an interview printed in the Times of India on Thursday.”There is a great, positive momentum in our relations. Together, we can drive forward trade, economic security, and resilient supply chains.”Von der Leyen is expected to meet with India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday, before meeting Modi on Friday, with a raft of topics from artificial intelligence to energy to be discussed.”We aim to advance discussions on a free trade agreement, expand cooperation on digital technologies, particularly AI, and accelerate our work on clean technologies like electric vehicles and green hydrogen”, she added.Almost all of the EU’s 26 commissioners are to join von der Leyen in what the EU chief is billing as the first visit of its kind to the South Asian giant — and the first outside Europe for the new college that took office in December.Brussels has been working to broaden its horizons since US President Donald Trump won back the White House in November and undercut European allies by launching Ukraine talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. India has long pursued a policy of strategic autonomy in foreign affairs.Historically close to Russia, its traditional supplier of military hardware, it has resisted Western pressure to distance itself from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.The visit “will send the message that Europe is shoring up other partners, including India, as much as they focus on the task of resetting EU-India ties”, The Hindu newspaper reported.- ‘Finish line’ -The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 — more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to the EU.India’s expanding market offers key opportunities for sectors ranging from defence to agriculture, automobiles and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.Negotiations for a trade deal could get a boost from a White House bent on slapping tariffs on friends and foes alike.”We are now preparing for a 10th round of negotiations in Brussels,” von der Leyen said in the interview.”There is more work to be done at a technical level, but I’m convinced we can cross the finish line if we both commit to it”.The EU team is also expected to pay their respects to revered Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat memorial.The site, one of the most hallowed spaces in the capital New Delhi, is where the apostle of non-violence was cremated in January 1948 after he was shot by a Hindu nationalist ideologue.

Hundreds of exhausted young men lie in an open-sided detention centre in a seedy Myanmar border town, sweating through thick tropical heat by day and prey to clouds of mosquitoes by night.They are among some 7,000 people from more than two dozen countries released from scam compounds who are now enduring a gruelling wait to be sent home through Thailand.Conditions in the overcrowded temporary camp visited by AFP in the town of Myawaddy, near the Thai border, were squalid and those held there were begging to leave.”It’s really no good,” one 18-year-old Malaysian man told AFP, saying the toilets and showers were so dirty they were unusable.”I hope I can contact my parents quickly so I can go.”A Chinese detainee who gave his family name as Wang said he was “very happy” at the prospect of getting out.”I can finally escape this hell… China is the safest,” he said.- ‘Help me, help me, help me’ – Scam centres have sprung up in Myanmar’s lawless border areas in recent years as part of a criminal industry worth billions of dollars a year.Thousands of foreign workers staff the centres, trawling social media for victims to fleece, often through romance or investment cons.Many workers say they were trafficked or tricked into taking the work and suffer beatings and abuse, though the government in China — where most come from — regards them as criminal suspects.Under heavy pressure from Beijing, Myanmar’s junta and allied militias have taken action to curb the centres.The “crackdown” has so far involved armed uniformed men coming to the sites and asking for volunteers to leave and go home, several freed workers told AFP in Myawaddy.But processing the workers for repatriation has been slow, leaving them trapped in limbo, smoking and playing cards to pass the time in the detention facility, which has a roof but no walls to keep the elements and insects out.Many had their passports confiscated by scam centre bosses, and those AFP spoke to said their mobile phones were taken away.An Indian man who said he was tricked into working in the scam centres after applying for a data entry job in Thailand, told AFP he had contacted his embassy in Bangkok several times.He begged them “help me, help me, help me. But no one helps me,” he said.”The feeling is not good because we are in trouble right now.”Myanmar’s raging civil war has complicated efforts to tackle the scam compounds, as most are in areas outside the ruling junta’s control.The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), an independent militia allied to the junta, controls two of the most notorious scam towns, Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko.The BGF released thousands from illegal scam compounds last week and wants to swiftly deport them to neighbouring Thailand for repatriation, saying it is struggling to cope with looking after so many people.”People have to stay in cramped conditions,” said its spokesman Naing Maung Zaw.”We have to cook three meals to feed thousands of people and arrange their healthcare,” he said, adding he was worried about a possible outbreak of contagious diseases.- Struggling to cope – The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people — many of them Chinese men — may be working in Myanmar scam centres against their will.Gangs that run the compounds lure people with promises of high-paying jobs, then force them to defraud people from around the world or face severe punishment and abuse.The sites on the Thai-Myanmar border vary in how they treat their staff, analysts say, and Thai officials have claimed that a majority of workers go there intentionally.Victims released from smaller compounds claim that as a more sophisticated operation, Shwe Kokko — one of the area’s biggest scam hubs — draws more people who willingly go there to commit fraud.But “not everyone living in Shwe Kokko is a criminal,” Naing Maung Zaw said.A Chinese man surnamed Shen denied allegations that the scam centre workers had travelled to Myanmar intentionally, saying he had been tricked and forced.”If I did it voluntarily, I would take all legal responsibilities,” he said.But so far China has treated all returning detainees — 600 were sent back last week — as suspects, with state TV showing them marched off the plane in handcuffs by police on their return home.Thailand, Myanmar and China are expected to hold three-way talks in the coming weeks to arrange logistics for further repatriations, with Thailand saying it is working with over a dozen foreign embassies.One of 14 detained Pakistani men who hoped to return before Ramadan said he felt abandoned by authorities after hearing of other repatriations.”We know we’re safe now. But it’s been eight days. So why can’t we go to Thailand now?” he told AFP.Stretched for resources to look after the hundreds of foreigners in their charge, Naing Maung Zaw pleaded to foreign embassies to “come and take your nationals … They want to go home.” 

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Thursday targeted another big scalp in the form of Australia after knocking England out of the Champions Trophy, with a semi-final spot the prize.The Champions Trophy debutants sent England crashing out of the 50-over tournament with a thrilling eight-run victory in Lahore on Wednesday.Afghanistan similarly stunned then holders England at the 2023 World Cup in India.Next they play world champions Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Friday in their final group match and must win to reach the last four of the eight-nation tournament.”Obviously a win like this boosts every team’s confidence and strengthens them,” Shahidi said after Afghanistan sent England packing.”Our morale has increased even more.”The skipper added: “The upcoming match will be crucial for both teams in the race for the semi-finals. “Australia is a tough and good team. I have said this in previous conferences as well — that we came here to play good cricket.”We will try to play a positive game. Just like we defeated England today, we hope to beat Australia as well.”We won’t put that pressure on ourselves by thinking too much about the semi-final qualification.”Rain is forecast in Lahore but even a washout will keep Afghanistan in contention of reaching the semi-finals, but they will then have to depend on other results or net run-rate.- Zadran sparkles -Afghanistan, a growing force in white-ball cricket, and Australia have played four ODIs previously with the Australians winning all of them.At the 2023 World Cup, Afghanistan had Australia on the ropes at 91-7 when a cramping Glenn Maxwell hammered an unbeaten 201 to pull off victory in hot and humid Mumbai.Afghanistan roared back to beat Australia at last year’s T20 World Cup and they reached the semi-finals in a landmark achievement.Asked about the threat that the big-hitting all-rounder Maxwell poses, Shahidi said: “I know that he played really well in the 2023 World Cup, but that’s part of history.”Afghanistan suffered a 107-run hammering to South Africa in their Champions Trophy opener last week but bounced back to post 325-7 against England.Ibrahim Zadran smashed 177, the highest individual innings in Champions Trophy history, after Afghanistan chose to bat and were struggling on a precarious 37-3.In reply, England were all out for 317 to suffer their second straight defeat.The 23-year-old Zadran, who scored 17 against South Africa, is back in action after a long lay-off following ankle surgery.”Even though he was away from cricket for six months, it’s never easy for a player to return from injury and make such a strong comeback in a high-stakes match,” said Shahidi.”I am extremely happy for him because he is a very talented and hard-working player.”

As a fixture of India’s burgeoning craft beer scene, Varsha Bhat is a rarity twice over: first as a woman who brews alcohol, and second as a woman who drinks it.Bhat is staking a claim to a male-dominated industry in a country where social mores compel most women to stay teetotal. The 38-year-old had for years weathered barbs from male peers questioning whether she had the muscles to carry hefty bags of hops or was calm enough to deal with the job’s pressures.But after a decade in the industry she has risen to become head brewer at one of Bengaluru’s most popular pubs, catering for the city’s moneyed young tech workers.”There’s nothing a woman can’t do that a man can… from recipe development, to the physical work, to managing a team,” Bhat told AFP.”We’ve taken that step to come forward and say that we can do it,” she added. “There was a stigma… we’re breaking those stereotypes and barriers.” Bengaluru has long been renowned for a more liberal drinking culture than the rest of India — a country where 99 percent of women do not drink, according to government figures.Its signature tech industry employs a young and highly educated workforce drawn from elite universities, often arriving without established social connections to the city.That provides a roaring trade to Bengaluru’s thriving craft beer bars, with in-house breweries employing hundreds and a clientele both eager to meet new people and ready to burn money.The city’s workforce is an anomaly in a country where, according to official statistics, only 25 percent of working-age women are formally employed.By comparison, they account for nearly 40 percent of those working at Bengaluru’s tech firms — a testament to the city’s ability to draw ambitious women from elsewhere in India, large numbers of whom are seen chatting raucously with friends in bars after hours.- ‘Role model’ -Among them is Lynette Pires, 32, who moved to Bengaluru to work as a pharmaceutical researcher but quickly found herself drawn to the brewing business.Her path to becoming the brewer at a burgeoning outdoor beer garden in the city’s south forced her to assert herself over male colleagues who refused to take her seriously.”Standing there in mostly a male-dominated room and trying to get your opinion across or trying to get them to listen… you have to learn how to overcome that and move past it,” she told AFP. Four years ago she founded the Women Brewers Collective which, along with more than a dozen other women working in the city’s brewpubs, aims to smooth the path for those who come next. “I definitely want to be a role model for other women brewers,” Pires said. “That’s what it’s all about — to inspire and help develop other women who are entering the industry.”- ‘Bitter men, bitter beer’ -While Bhat and Pires are trailblazers in their own city, women have been the pillars of the brewing industry since ancient times.The first recorded beer recipe is thought to have been written on a piece of clay in 1800 BC as an ode to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of beer.Around the same time in Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi, among the earliest known laws, referred to female tavern owners. Given this history, it was “crazy and a little immature and ignorant when people say it’s a man’s drink”, Girija Chatty, host of a podcast about India’s beer industry, told AFP. Drinking is often frowned upon in India, with independence leader Mahatma Gandhi one of the most strident voices in favour of temperance and abolition.India’s 1949 constitution enjoins the government to ban drinking except for “medicinal purposes”, a clause largely ignored except for prohibitions imposed in some states.Even among the small minority of Indians who do drink, the divide between the sexes is stark — nearly 15 times as many men as women imbibe, according to a government health survey published in 2022. Among the small number of women who frequent bars, that divide and its attendant social expectations are still easy to spot. Chatty cites the regular instance of waiters reflexively handing the drinks menu to any man seated at the table — rather than the woman who asked for it in the first place.”If women can handle bitter men,” she joked, “they can very well handle bitter beer.”

Opener Ibrahim Zadran’s 177 and five wickets by Azmatullah Omarzai helped Afghanistan knock England out of the Champions Trophy with a thrilling eight-run victory on Wednesday.Afghanistan posted 325-7 in a virtual knockout tie in Lahore and then bowled out England for 317 in 49.5 overs to stay alive in the race for a semi-final place while England have no chance of reaching the last four.Joe Root’s 120 went in vain as England lost regular wickets to lose their second straight ODI to the Afghans after their shock defeat in the 2023 World Cup in India.Needing 13 off the last six balls with one wicket in hand, pace bowler Omarzai kept calm to give away just four runs and dismiss Adil Rashid.Playing under the cloud of boycott calls from some British politicians over the plight of women in the Taliban-ruled nation, Afghanistan elected to bat in a bid to bounce back from their opening loss to South Africa.But they soon slipped to 37-3 inside nine overs before Zadran pulled the innings together with a fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 40.Zadran later added 111 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, who hit 40 in 24 balls.Zadran, 23, took the England bowling apart and went past his previous ODI best of 162 in his 146-ball knock laced with 12 fours and six sixes.He not only broke his own record for Afghanistan’s highest individual ODI score but also a tournament record, days after Ben Duckett’s 165 in England’s opening loss to Australia.- ‘One of the best innings’ -“I think it was one of the best ODI innings I have ever seen,” said Shahidi.Mark Wood’s injury in the middle of his fourth over hampered England as the fast bowler managed just eight overs and went off with a knee issue.In reply, England lost two early wickets to be 30-2 after senior spinner Mohammad Nabi struck with his first ball to send back Jamie Smith for nine.Duckett attempted to hit back in a 68-run stand with Root to steady the chase but Rashid Khan trapped the left-handed opener lbw for 38.Harry Brook looked fluent in his 25 but fell caught and bowled to Nabi in a soft dismissal to further put England in trouble.Root kept calm and along with skipper Jos Buttler, who took time to settle before hitting two sixes, put on 83 runs to keep the chase going.Afghanistan bowlers kept up the pressure with dot balls and Omarzai got the skipper out for 38 off a top edge caught at deep square-leg and Liam Livingstone departed soon after.But Root hung on as he reached his first ODI ton in almost five years and 37 innings and with Jamie Overton kept chipping away with regular boundaries.But Omarzai got the prized wicket as he had Root caught behind.”He played an unbelievable innings tonight. The way to handle pressure in a run-chase,” said Buttler. “He needed one of the other top six batters to stay in with him and take the game deeper.”The pendulum kept swinging as Omarzai dismissed Overton but despite Jofra Archer’s late push England went down as the third team to be eliminated in the eight-nation tournament after hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Afghans painted in red, green and black cheered from the sidelines of the Champions Trophy cricket in Lahore and from in front of their televisions in Kabul on Wednesday, brushing aside calls for England to boycott the match. More than 160 British politicians called for the boycott of the key group match in protest against the Taliban government’s restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan.However, the stadium in Pakistan’s northeast was filled with dancing spectators on Wednesday as the two sides met to determine who would make it through to the semi-finals. “Those who are trying to bring politics into sports are misguided,” said Khaybar Khan, a 24-year-old tailor watching the match from the Afghan capital.”They are simply doing their jobs. They have raised their voices for women’s education and we all believe in the necessity of women doctors, engineers, and education for women.”Female participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.That puts the Afghanistan cricket board at odds with International Cricket Council rules, although the men’s team are still allowed to compete.The England and Wales Cricket Board resisted the demand to boycott the match but said they would not schedule a bilateral series against Afghanistan.”The petition against the cricket team to boycott them is baseless and unfair, they have stood with their nation many times,” said Nafas, another 24-year-old cricket fan in Kabul.”There are a lot of issues in Afghanistan, our education, freedom, and cricket are the only things remaining for us. Please don’t take this from us as well.”Afghanistan’s English coach told reporters on Tuesday the players are facing a “tricky situation” and know there are “things that are not correct” in their country.Star allrounder Rashid Khan, who was expected to play a crucial role in the match, has not shied away from proclaiming his support for women’s education despite the high political risk of making such calls.- Remarkable rise -Afghans share close ties with their neighbour Pakistan, where millions of refugees and migrants have arrived and made their home over the past several decades.It was in the refugee camps in northwestern Pakistan that Afghans, fleeing successive wars, first tasted the sport of cricket and they have had remarkable success on the international stage in recent years.”We are so happy for our team to even make it this far,” said 20-year-old Afghan Muhammad Yusaf, who was born in Lahore.”There are former champions like West Indies and Sri Lanka who couldn’t make this tournament but we are here. So they have already made us proud.”Thousands of Afghans in the stands were supported by Pakistanis, rooting for the rising stars.”Afghan cricket’s story is of struggle, hard work, and resilience. Only a few years back, we didn’t know about this team,” said Muhammad Numan, a 37-year-old Pakistani businessman who came with his family to support the Afghans.”It’s their hard work that has brought them this far and, in a few years, they could lift a trophy.”Murad Watan Pall, 36, who travelled from England to support the Afghans, said the boycott call was a “flawed approach” to pressuring the Taliban government.”For us, it’s everything. That’s the only entertainment we have left in our country. We have just one happiness in our country and it’s cricket,” he said.”Don’t snatch the only entertainment we have.” 

Opener Ibrahim Zadran struck a Champions Trophy record of 177 to lift Afghanistan from an early wobble to 325-7 against England in a group match in Lahore on Wednesday.The Group B clash at the Gaddafi Stadium is effectively a knockout with the losing team out of the semi-final race of the 50-over tournament.Playing under the cloud of boycott calls from some British politicians over the plight of women in the Taliban-ruled nation, Afghanistan elected to bat in a bid to bounce back from their opening loss.But they soon slipped to 37-3 inside nine overs before Zadran pulled the innings together with a fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 40.Zadran later added 111 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, who hit 40 in 24 balls.Zadran, 23, took apart the England bowling and went past his previous ODI best of 162 in his 146-ball knock laced with 12 fours and six sixes.He not only broke his own record for Afghanistan’s highest individual ODI score but also a tournament record, days after Ben Duckett’s 165 in England’s opening loss to Australia.England fast bowler Jofra Archer struck three early blows including two in one over starting with Rahmanullah Gurbaz bowled for six.Jofra and new-ball partner Mark Wood worked up fast speeds between 145 kmph and 150 kmph but were soon jolted by an injury to Wood, who twice left the field.Wood’s absence after bowling just four overs allowed Zadran to counter attack, forcing skipper Jos Buttler to rotate his bowling options.Leg-spinner Adil Rashid finally broke the stand as he bowled Shahidi who failed to connect an attempted reverse sweep and the ball rattled the stumps.Zadran reached his seventh ODI ton with a single of Liam Livingstone as he and Azmatullah Omarzai changed gears in a brisk stand of 72 until Omarzai departed on 41.Zadran remained unaffected by the wicket as he kept up the attack and hammered a six and three fours off Archer.Wood went off again after bowling another set of four overs with Buttler left to manage his options against a rampaging Zadran and Nabi.Zadran finally fell to Livingstone, who also sent back Nabi in the final over.Afghanistan previously faced England in an ODI in the 2023 World Cup in New Delhi where they shocked the defending champions with a stunning victory.

Pakistan’s hurting players will be motivated by pride in their dead rubber against Bangladesh on Thursday, head coach Aaqib Javed said, after the hosts were dumped out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage.The defending champions’ hopes of reaching the semi-finals were ended after defeats to New Zealand and India, leaving their final Group A game in Rawalpindi inconsequential.Rain washed out the Australia-South Africa Group B match on Tuesday and more is predicted on Thursday, leaving Pakistan in danger of finishing fourth and last on net run-rate.Whatever happens it will be a disappointing conclusion to Pakistan’s first hosting of a major international cricket competition in three decades.”There are no excuses, there shouldn’t be any in life, but I can assure you that the players are more hurt than the fans and want to leave a mark in the last game,” said Aaqib on Wednesday.”The players are not satisfied, no one is satisfied after losing, but everyone tries hard to win and by doing so we have recently won a series in Australia and South Africa.”Pakistan beat Australia 2-1 in November — their first ODI series win there for 22 years — before whitewashing South Africa 3-0 in the build-up to the Champions Trophy.”This is the Champions Trophy, where the eight best teams are playing, so after two defeats we have to start from zero,” said Aaqib.”Every game is played for pride so we want to leave a mark on Thursday,” said Aaqib.Their Champions Trophy flop left former Pakistan players and fans angry over the continuous failure of the team, having also crashed out of the 2023 World Cup and Twenty20 World Cup last year both in the first round.Aaqib admitted losing to arch-rivals India left fans emotional.”People are more involved in an India-Pakistan match and they do not accept a defeat against India and that defeat in Dubai has left them more dejected,” said Aaqib.Pakistan were below par against a formidable India in Dubai on Sunday, losing by six wickets.”We managed just 241 in batting and when facing a strong batting line-up you attack in order to get wickets and in the process you bowl on both sides,” said Aaqib.A fast bowler himself, who played 22 Tests and 163 ODIs for Pakistan, Aaqib backed his struggling pace trio.”People blamed two, three players, which is not correct,” said Aaqib. “If you assess Shaheen (Afridi), Naseem (Shah) and Haris (Rauf), they are still the best bowlers in the world.”