SATURDAY 08 AUGUST, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard UKRAINE SWEEPING RUSSIA SANCTIONS BILL CLEARS US SENATE BY A BIG MARGIN DRONES REACH DEEP INSIDE RUSSIA CHINA, INDIA COULD PAY HEAVY TARIFFS Ukrainian long-range drones hit a warehouse of Russia’s biggest online retailer in the Ural Mountains, over 2,000 kms from the two countries’ border A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  The punishing Russian sanctions package, passed 86-11 by the Senate, was the result of a year-long campaign by the late Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Richard Blumenthal to reinforce US support for Ukraine and to try and control Putin. It allows Trump to impose humongous tariffs on the world’s top five purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas, including China and India | P9 PAGES 12 Nato-style Pak-Saudi-Turkey pact New Delhi says it is closely monitoring the trilateral defence agreement signed in Mecca EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi AMID escalating tensions in West Asia due to the lingering Iran war, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Friday signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, a NATO-style pact under which an attack against one will be treated as an attack against all three. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the trilateral agreement in the holy city of Mecca early on Friday . India said it is closely monitoring it. “This is a development that we are closely following, and we shall keep you updated,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, in response to questions at a media briefing. When asked about reports of a separate defence cooperation agreement between Pakistan and Somalia, Jaiswal said: “We continue to follow the develop- RAIN RITUAL People walk at the Kartavya Path amid rainfall on Friday. Heavy rains jammed city roads, but allowed walkers to enjoy the weather | PTI | P3 Downpour: Wettest first August week since 2011 Traffic: Vehicles stuck on roads for long hours Heavy rain put large parts of Delhi and NCR towns under up to four feet of water on Friday. Delhi received 127 mm of rainfall during the first seven days of August. Several weather stations recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall on Friday, prompting India Meteorological Department to issue a red alert. The MCD received complaints of tree fall and waterlogging from across the city. However, rain brought down the maximum temperature. City saw waterlogging in many parts, especially low-lying areas. It brought traffic to a crawl across several arterial roads in the city. Heavy congestion was reported on the MehrauliBadarpur Road, ITO, Wazirabad Road, Patel Road, Rohtak Road, Shankar Road, the Kirti Nagar stretch, the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, Peeragarhi and Shaheen Bagh. Many people were seen dragging their vehicles on waterlogged roads after their engines stopped. HC asks govt to shut down Jantar Mantar as protest venue Buzz back on Akali-BJP pact ahead of Punjab polls as Badal meets Modi U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Friday questioned the government on why it was not considering shutting down Jantar Mantar as a protest venue, asking, “Why should the city be put to ransom unnecessarily?” “According to me, these things should not happen in the city, but it is the government’s call,” Justice Amit Mahajan said. He made the remarks while hearing a petition filed by the All India Dalit Christian Rights Protection Committee, which sought directions to the Delhi Police to decide its plea for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar. The judge then asked Additional SoliciCase in SC tor General Chetan SharThe ASG said the ma why the Supreme Court gover n ment was seized of the can’t shut matter about down the site. whether “Jantar “According to Mantar can at all me, why don’t be a designated protest site”. you shut this The petitioner’s down? It counsel said the shouldn’t be apex court has inside Delhi,” underlined the Justice Maright to protest. hajan said. The ASG replied the Supreme Court was hearing whether “Jantar Mantar can at all be a designated protest site”. The petitioner’s counsel then said that the Supreme Court in the Shaheen Bagh case had said that the right to peaceful protest is there. “Of course. But don’t put the city to ransom,” Justice Mahajan said. Meanwhile, the ASG informed the court that Section 144 of CrPC was in place in the area since Independence Day is around the corner. EXPRESS READ Gold seized from flyers Customs officials have made two separate gold seizures from international passengers at the Delhi airport that amount to nearly 1.9 kilogrammes. A flyer from Jeddah concealed cut pieces of gold in the tyres of an electric scooter, while a traveller from Istanbul hid gold in silver armlets. The cache is worth about `3 crore. H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh SHIROMANI Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office in the Parliament House complex, triggering speculation that the Punjab-based party may revive its alliance with the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections less than six months away . However, Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon sought to downplay its implications. “The PM is for everyone; anybody can meet him,” he said in Chandigarh. And sources close to Badal described the interaction as informal. The SAD walked out of the NDA in 2020 over the three farm laws, ending more than two decades as one of the alliance’s oldest constituents. The laws were later withdrawn. Observers believe state-specific issues such as deteriorating law and order, recurring Kejriwal’s poser The first to take note of the meeting was AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who asked if an alliance between SAD and BJP was in the works. ”Are the two parties coming together?” he posted on X paper leaks, drug menace and other challenges may have figured in the talks. A few days earlier, Badal met Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini at the latter’s residence, where it is believed the meeting with PM was discussed. With elections due in Punjab in six months, both parties face internal pressures. In the BJP’s Punjab unit, senior leaders including former minister Tikshan Sud have publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the state leadership. The SAD, too, is battling factionalism, with several leaders having joined the SAD (Punar Surjit), and the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) of jailed MP Amritpal Singh seeking to expand in rural areas. Sources said the present situation could favour an alliance, given infighting in the Congress and the AAP government’s poor record. Yet both sides have repeatedly ruled out a tie-up. In June, BJP national president Nitin Nabin said the party would contest all 117 seats independently. Badal has likewise said the SAD will go it alone. SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal was cautious. “Details of the meeting have not been shared yet,” he said. Honour killing: 52-yr-old OPPOSITION CAN’T DICTATE WHO arrested for drowning SPEAKS IN HOUSE pregnant teen daughter Union minister Kiren Rijiju said Oppn “won’t be able to digest” when Amit Shah speaks in Parliament | P7 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi IN a suspected case of honour killing, a 52-year-old man was arrested, along with his relative, for allegedly killing his unmarried 18-year-old pregnant daughter by drowning her in Agra’s Chambal river, police said on Friday . The Tigri police station got a PCR call on July 31 mentioning the murder of a girl allegedly by her father. According to the sources, the accused, along with a relative, reportedly took the girl to Agra on the pretext of getting her medical treatment and drowned her in the Chambal river near Basoni. The man told his neighbours that his daughter died in Agra, where the last rites were also performed, the sources stated. A neighbour grew suspicious and called up the PCR to inform police, following which police started an investigation sus- pecting murder. Initially, the father tried to mislead police, but he broke down during questioning. During the probe, it came to light that the father was terrified of social stigma; hence, he conspired with a relative to get rid of her. According to the sources, on July 28, both accused took the girl to Agra. After staying overnight at a relative’s house, they took her the next day to the banks of the Chambal, where they allegedly drowned her. “Investigation has revealed that the accused father, fearing social stigma, conspired with his relative and took her to the bank of the Chambal River near Basoni, Agra, in UP where , she was intentionally drowned,” deputy commissioner of police (south) Anant Mittal said. Both the accused have been arrested, and further investigation is in progress. Efforts are on to trace the body . From left: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sign a trilateral defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Friday | SAUDI PRESS AGENCY VIA AP Paper agreement does not offer security, says Iran The trilateral defence agreement was signed a day after Iran said it was in the final stages of an agreement with Oman on a framework for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei said the trilateral “paper agreement” will not bring security ments between Somalia and the other country mentioned.” The trilateral pact brings together oil-rich Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan and Turkey which has NATO’s sec, ond-largest military and a rapidly growing defence industry . Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the pact is aimed at strengthening security. “The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against RIPOSTE TO CHINA India assigns names to 27 Arunachal sites M U K E S H R A N JA N @ New Delhi Land areas, mountain pass named All the 27 identified locations include settlements, mountain passes, water bodies and memorials spread across the state. The land areas and localities include Longju, Maja, Bisa, Bara Kundun, Chhota Kundun, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Buddhamandir, Jairampur, Teritnagar, Ramnagar, Jaswant Garh, Sagar, Padma and Jyotinagar THE Centre has assigned standard names to 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, reinforcing its cartographic records amid the boundary dispute with China. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Friday that the exercise was carried out in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh government. The newly designated names have been incorporated into the official maps of the Survey of India (SoI), providing uniform legal, administrative and cartographic recognition to the identified places. The move comes against the backdrop of Beijing’s attempts to rename locations in Arunachal, which China refers to as “South Tibet”. The Centre has rejected such actions, maintaining that Arunachal is an integral part of India and that unilateral changes in nomenclature do not alter the ground reality or India’s sovereignty . The standardisation exercise intends to eliminate ambiguities in geographical references while ensuring consistency across official maps and government records. “It is expected to improve administrative coordination, infrastructure planning, disaster management and public service delivery by establishing a uniform reference for all government agencies,” the MHA said. The notified features include the Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La and Thag La, the Sambho Sarovar and the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial. them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three States.” Saudi Arabia, which is bracing for attacks from the Tehranbacked Houthis, said the pact would not affect the kingdom’s existing partnerships. “The agreement does not represent any orientation toward building a military axis or sectarian/religious bloc, and it is not linked to nuclear endeavors or an arms race, but rather to building sustainable self-reliant capabilities,” its statement read. A Turkish government official described the agreement as “purely defensive in nature” . The pact comes amid heightened instability in West Asia and follows Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its security partnerships after attacks on its critical infrastructure. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia already have a bilateral defence pact, under which an attack on one country would be treated as aggression against both. Vande Mataram to make Red Fort debut on I-Day J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi VANDE Mataram will be played at the Red Fort on August 15, marking the first time the national song will feature as a scheduled item in the Independence Day programme, a defence ministry official said. The national song will be rendered immediately before the national anthem at the close of the Prime Minister’s address. The addition comes just over a week after Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, extending to Vande Mataram the protection the 1971 law affords to the national anthem. The full Red Fort programme is yet to be released. The government has already invoked an Independence Day precedent for the song. Replying during the parliamentary debate, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that on August 15, 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had asked Pandit Omkar nath Thakur to render the complete Vande Mataram on All India Radio at 6.30 am to mark the beginning of India’s first Independence Day . His reference to the complete rendition assumes significance because the government has not indicated whether the Red Fort ceremony will feature only the two stanzas in national use or a longer version. LATEST TWIST CM Vijay’s wife withdraws divorce petition EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai TAMIL Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s wife Sankgeetha on Friday withdrew her divorce petition filed before the Chengalpattu Family Court. Appearing before the court through video conference, Sankgeetha informed Judge D Sujatha that she did not wish to pursue the matter. Recording that the counsel for the respondent (Vijay) had no objection, the court permitted her to withdraw the case with liberty to initiate fresh proceedings if required. Sankgeetha, in her divorce petition filed in February this Court stamp: Grants liberty for fresh proceedings Recording that the counsel for the respondent (Vijay) had no objection to it after being served a notice, the court permitted her to withdraw the case with liberty to initiate fresh proceedings if required year, had sought dissolution of the marriage and sought permanent alimony and the right to continue residing at the couple’s Neelankarai residence. She had alleged that Vijay was in an extramarital relationship with his female co-star, and this has been causing her emotional and mental suffering. She further stated that repeated attempts at rec- onciliation between 2021 and 2025 through legal counsel and personal discussions failed due to her husband’s continued association with the co-star, which she said was a “violation and betrayal” of marital trust. Rumours of the couple’s separation began surfacing after Sankgeetha’s absence from Vijay’s film events. Their relationship has largely stayed private throughout their marriage, despite Vijay’s public profile. Sankgeetha’s divorce plea became a huge talking point in the state elections earlier this year. Social media was divided in its support for her, as some thought it was politically motivated, while others stood by her in solidarity . Vijay, in a speech before the elections, asked his cadres not to indulge in the conversation, as it was his personal issue. Nevertheless, the conspicuous absence of Sangkeetha and their children, Jason Sanjay and Divya Sasha, in TVK events remained a subject of debate across social media platforms.