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Philippines officially cancels chopper deal with Russia

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 The Philippines is officially cancelling a 12.7-billion-peso ($227 million) contract to purchase 16 Russian military transport helicopters, the government said on Wednesday.

“The Department of National Defence is formalizing the termination of the contract with SOVTECHNOEXPORT LLC of Russia for the procurement of 16 units of Mi-17 heavy-lift helicopters for the Philippine air force,” dpa news agency quoted Arsenio Andolong, the Department’s spokesman, as saying.

Andolong said the Department’s contract review committee will “undertake the appropriate processes and exercise due diligence in formalizing the termination of the project’s contract”.

“We are also preparing to initiate a diplomatic dialogue with the Russian side regarding matters arising from the project’s cancellation,” he added in a statement.

Former Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the decision to cancel the contract was made in the last days of administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte due to fears of US sanctions amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said the decision was made after the Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez warned that “the disadvantage that (the Philippines) will get is more than (the advantage) if we get the choppers”.

Lorenza said he was not certain if the government would still be able to recover a 2-billion-peso down payment made for the contract.

National

CJI Gavai administers oath of office to three SC judges

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New Delhi, May 30: Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai on Friday administered the oath of office to three new judges of the Supreme Court.

Justices N.V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and Atul S. Chandurkar took oath as apex court judges after the Centre on Thursday cleared their appointment to the Supreme Court.

The top court Collegium, headed by CJI Gavai, on Monday forwarded its recommendations to the Centre. “The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 26th May, 2025 has recommended elevation of the following Chief Justices / Judge of the High Courts, as Judges in the Supreme Court: (i) Mr. Justice N.V. Anjaria, Chief Justice, High Court of Karnataka, (PHC: High Court of Gujarat) (ii) Mr. Justice Vijay Bishnoi, Chief Justice, Gauhati High Court, (PHC: Rajasthan High Court) (iii) Mr. Justice A.S. Chandurkar Judge, High Court of Bombay,” said a statement uploaded on the website of the apex court.

Acting swiftly on the SC Collegium’s recommendations, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Law & Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a post on social media platform X on Thursday said the President, after consultation with the CJI, was pleased to appoint Justices N.V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and Atul S. Chandurkar as apex court judges.

Justice Anjaria was elevated as Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in November 2011, and in September 2023, he was confirmed as a permanent Judge. He took oath as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on February 25 last year.

Justice Bishnoi, now former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, was appointed as Additional Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in January 2013 and took oath as a permanent Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in January 2015.

Justice Atul S. Chandurkar was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in June 2013.

As per the existing Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), the CJI, along with the four senior-most SC judges, commonly known as the Collegium, forwards its recommendation to the Centre to fill up the vacancies in the top court.

The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the CJI.

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International

‘Op Sindoor’ outreach: Delegation concludes Saudi Arabia visit, reiterating India’s stand against terrorism

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Riyadh, May 30: The Indian all-party delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, on Friday concluded a productive visit to Saudi Arabia, reaffirming India’s zero tolerance and ‘New Normal’ approach to terrorism.

The delegation, a part of India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ outreach campaign, conveyed India’s firm stance against terrorism and its continued efforts to combat this global menace in all its forms and manifestations.

The visit reaffirmed the shared commitment of India and Saudi Arabia in the fight against terrorism.

“On departure, Abdulrahman Alharbi, Chair of the Saudi-India Friendship Committee of the Shura Council bid farewell to the delegation,” Indian Embassy in Riyadh posted on X.

The delegation on Thursday held extensive interactions with a cross-section of the Indian community highlighting India’s continued efforts to combat terrorism, and countering radicalism and extremism, to ensure peace and prosperity in the nation.

The delegation also expressed satisfaction that the Indian community in Saudi Arabia has remained connected to Bharat’s progress and continues to be law-abiding residents, and is contributing to further strengthening the growing India–Saudi Arabia partnership. They also appreciated that Saudi Arabia has always stood with India in condemning acts of terrorism.

“Our Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia continues to make India proud through its success, contributions & standing in local society. Today, our all-party delegation engaged with them, sharing India’s united national stance, the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’, and our unwavering commitment to combat cross-border terrorism with a zero-tolerance approach,” Panda posted on X.

They visited Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) in Riyadh and held interactions with the President of the University, Abdulmajeed Albanyan. The delegates shared strong concerns about cross-border terrorism and India’s position of zero tolerance against terrorism.

“The delegation appreciated the ongoing cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia in security sciences, and between NAUSS and Indian institutions. It conveyed India’s approach to terrorism and explored avenues for collaborations in new technologies such as AI, Quantum in countering cross-border terrorism,” the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said in a statement.

“The delegation also visited the Gulf Research Centre in Riyadh, a premier research institution in the country, and met with Chairman Abdulaziz Sager. The Indian delegates spoke on India’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations, underlining that India has suffered the menace of cross-border terrorism for more than three decades, leading to the loss of innocent lives and civilian property. The Indian delegation highlighted that ‘Operation Sindoor’ has carved out a new benchmark in India’s fight against terrorism,” the statement added.

The delegation, led by Panda, includes BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP Phangnon Konyak, BJP MP Rekha Sharma, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi, BJP MP Satnam Singh Sandhu, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, and former Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

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Business

Indian stock market opens flat amid stable institutional investments

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Mumbai, May 30: The domestic benchmark indices opened flat on Friday amid negative Asian cues, as selling was seen in the IT and auto sectors in the early trade.

Stable institutional flows — both FII and DII — are keeping the market steady even in the absence of positive triggers. The ongoing consolidation phase is likely to continue in the near-term, according to analysts.

At around 9.29 am, Sensex was trading 11.77 points or 0.01 per cent up at 81,644.79 while the Nifty added 13.20 point or 0.05 per cent at 24,846.80.

Nifty Bank was up 81.20 points or 0.15 per cent at 55,627.25. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,707.65 after rising 250.40 points or 0.44 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,927.15 after climbing 37.75 points or 0.21 per cent.

According to analysts, the Nifty posted a smart recovery in the final minutes of trading on Thursday, after spending most of the first half in the red.

“Although the Nifty is still caught in a sideways market defined by the 24,462 and 25,116 range, yesterday’s rebound traced a long lower shadow and a small real body that was closer to the day’s high, and that’s a bullish sign. Immediate support and resistance lie at 24677 and 25000 respectively,” said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan and Hindustan Unilever Limited were the top losers. Whereas, Adani Ports, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki and Sun Pharma were the top gainers.

In the Asian markets, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, China and Japan were trading in the red.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 42,215.73, up 117.03 points, or 0.28 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 23.62 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 5,912.17 and the Nasdaq closed at 19,175.87, up 74.93 points, or 0.39 per cent.

“Investors should understand two distinct big trends that will weigh on markets: One, India’s macros are strong and improving. Two, this positive trend in macros is not getting reflected in corporate earnings,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd.

This is the fundamental reason for the range-bound movement of the market.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they bought equities worth 884.03 crore on May 29, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth 4,286.50 crore.

According to market watchers, steadily improving macros like resilient GDP growth, down trending inflation and interest rates and declining fiscal and current account deficits lay the foundation for a strong economy and earnings recovery in the medium term.

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