India news: Myanmar president arrives to boost ties

DK Shivkumar has been elected the new leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP), and will succeed Siddaramaiah as the next Karnataka chief minister. 

Top Congress leaders, including Shivakumar, met at the Vidhana Soudha for the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, where he was named as the leader of the Karnataka legislature party.

Shivkumar's swearing-in ceremony will reportedly take place on June 3.

Siddaramaiah will continue as caretaker chief minister until a new arrangement is decided.

US Ambassador Sergio Gor said India and the United States were very likely to sign a trade deal in the "next few weeks and months."

He said only "1%" of the deal remained to be concluded and Indian and US negotiators were working on that.

Speaking at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi at an event focused on the US-India TRUST Initiative, Gor confirmed that an Indian delegation went to Washington last week to discuss the remaining outstanding points, and that a US team would arrive in New Delhi shortly to conclude the discussions.

The progress in the trade deal was confirmed by the spokesperson for India's External Affairs Ministry, Randhir Jaiswal.

"We had a trade team which visited the United States in the month of April… and now we are expecting a team from the United States to visit India next week, where negotiations will be taken forward. So far, we have had a positive and constructive engagement," Jaiswal said.

Surat's diamond industry is in deep crisis as sanctions and the US-Iran war disrupt supply chains, cut exports and leave thousands of workers without jobs.

India's coastal regions are facing an imminent climate crisis that will reshape lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems within the next couple of years, a new report by Bengaluru-based Azim Premji University has warned.

It underlined that the window for adaptation is rapidly narrowing as the 1.5°C warming threshold is expected to be reached across India's administrative regions in the near future.

"Climate change is not some distant future challenge. It is the reality of today. 2040 is just 14 years away," said Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation.

"This dataset brings to life the impacts of climate change with much greater immediacy, highlighting how we must restructure our infrastructure and governance to ensure we collectively address this crisis."

The report looks at changes from 2021 to 2040.

"In this period, average temperatures in India are likely to rise by 1.5°C. The effect of this change is dramatic in the Himalayas and in the coastal regions of India, where the minimum temperatures will rise, increasing the number of heat waves and the intensity of heat waves," the report said.
 

Myanmar's junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, is on a five-day visit to India — his first overseas trip since he assumed a civilian role.

During his visit, the former general is going to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and focus on strengthening ties between the neighboring countries.

"President U Min Aung Hlaing will hold discussions with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 1 June 2026 on further strengthening the historical and civilisational ties between the two countries," India's External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said.

Min Aung Hlaing kicked off his trip to India by landing in the city of Gaya, in the eastern state of Bihar, to visit the Mahabodhi temple, a Buddhist pilgrimage site. He is expected to arrive in Delhi in the evening.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed Min Aung Hlaing in a post on X.

"A warm welcome to President U Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on his arrival in Bodh Gaya," Jaiswal said.

"The visit reflects the strong spiritual, historical and people-to-people ties that bind our two countries and the depth of our ongoing cooperation," he added.

 India shares a 1,643-kilometer (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. 

New Delhi has maintained ties with Myanmar’s military-backed administration despite Western sanctions imposed after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Myanmar has been mired in a nationwide armed conflict and humanitarian crisis since the coup.

The visit by Myanmar president marks an opportunity for India to weaken China's influence on the country and open access to its critical rare earths, and bolster security along the border, analysts told Reuters news agency.

 

After Siddaramaiah stepped down from the Karnataka chief minister post, the Congress Party is expected to meet Saturday to formally elect DK Shivakumar as the next chief minister.

Congress leader Priyank Kharge asserted Saturday that it depended on the party's central leadership in New Delhi to decide on the leaders who will form the next government in Karnataka, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The swearing-in of the new chief minister is likely to take place on Sunday or Monday, as reported by the Indian media.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka has alleged "backdoor politics" within the Congress Party to secure the post of deputy chief minister. 
 

Good morning! This is Midhat from New Delhi, bringing you the latest from India today.

The Myanmar president is visiting India to ramp up efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries.

The southern state of Karnataka is preparing for a government transition after senior Congress Party leader Siddaramaiah stepped down as chief minister.

Meanwhile, India's weather agency has issued alerts for Delhi as it forecast rain over the weekend.

Stay tuned with us as we bring you the latest developments from India.