��������

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday he had held a conversation with Donald Trump, with the US president saying the pair had discussed trade as the countries negotiate a deal that could mend strained ties.
Relations plummeted in August when Trump raised tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to 50 percent and US officials accused India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying Moscow’s discounted oil.
During a ceremony to mark Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Tuesday, Trump told reporters he had spoken by phone with Modi.
“We talked about trade — we talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade,” Trump said while lighting candles for the celebration at the White House. “He’s very interested in that.”
Modi thanked Trump for the call, saying on X that he hoped “our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope.”
India has yet to secure a formal trade deal with the United States, despite being among the first nations to initiate negotiations with Washington after Trump began his second term.
Trump also repeated his claim — first made on October 15 — that India would cut Russian oil purchases. New Delhi has neither confirmed nor denied any policy shift.
India, one of the world’s largest crude oil importers, relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85 percent of its oil needs.
Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern producers, New Delhi started buying heavily discounted Russian crude in 2022, taking advantage of Western sanctions that limited Moscow’s export options.
Several other sources of friction have strained Washington’s relationship with India this year.
They include Trump’s assertions that he achieved a ceasefire between India and Pakistan to end an intense four-day conflict over the contested region of Kashmir in May. Modi has said there was no such mediation by a world leader.
And last month, the Trump administration hiked fees for H-1B skilled-worker visas to $100,000. Indians make up roughly three-quarters of all H-1B recipients.
Trump and Modi may yet meet this month at the ASEAN summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Malaysia, which Trump is set to attend.
New Delhi has not confirmed whether Modi will participate, as India is not a member of the 10-nation bloc.
But some Indian newspapers have reported that he may attend.

BERLIN: Germany plans to pay some 11,000 local employees at US military bases in the country whose paycheques have been impacted by the government shutdown in Washington, the finance ministry said Wednesday.
“The federal government will initiate an unscheduled expenditure to ensure that October salaries are paid on time,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
The trade union Verdi on Tuesday said that local staff have continued being paid during past US government shutdowns, but expressed fears that the current Trump administration appeared likely to halt paycheques.
The union contended that doing so would be a clear violation of German law, and urged a solution to prevent any missed pay.
The finance ministry spokeswoman told AFP on Wednesday that it currently remains unclear whether US payments might still come through despite the shutdown.
But the federal government in Berlin and the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate struck the deal to guarantee salaries will be paid and avoid any issues, she said.
The German government anticipates being reimbursed for the payroll cost once the US side makes payment, according to the spokeswoman.
Berlin’s contribution is “a sign of solidarity with the US armed forces stationed in Germany and their civilian employees,” she added.