Morning Digest: India-U.S. trade deal unlikely until competitor countries probed; Sri Lanka High Court convicts 14 in Easter Sunday blasts case

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U.S. President Donald Trump with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File | Photo Credit: AP

India and the U.S. are unlikely to sign a trade deal until the U.S. launches a series of fresh ‘Section 301 investigations’, concludes them, and places tariffs on India’s competitors such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, a person familiar with the process has said. It was a “strategic mistake”, according to the person, that Pakistan was not included in the list of countries probed in the excess capacity 301 investigations opened in March 2026.

Sri Lanka’s High Court on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) convicted 14 of the 24 men accused of direct involvement in the Easter Sunday terror bombings that shook the island nation in April 2019, killing 279 people and injuring hundreds.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Tuesday (September 22, 2026) for countries to recommit to international laws and the UN system over a resurgent “law of the jungle.”

U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) that he had to choose whether to “annihilate” Iran if it fails to make a deal to end the war in West Asia.

India on Monday (September 21, 2026) joined the Partnership for Multilateralism , endorsing the “non-superpower” grouping originally launched by the European Union (EU), Brazil, Canada and Kenya, and became an additional co-sponsor of the initiative along with Australia and Barbados.

Prominent activist and educator from Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk, on Tuesday (September 22, 2026), said civil society groups would constitute a “people’s tribunal” to probe the “police excess and firing” which led to the death of four persons, including a Kargil war veteran, on September 24, 2025, if the government-appointed judicial panel did not table its report soon.

Certain miners holding on to their acquired blocks without commencing timely operations — or ‘squatting’ — is a cause for concern that the industry must look to address , Union Mines Secretary Keshav Chandra said at the 60 th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of the Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) here on Tuesday (September 22, 2026).

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) set a target of December 31, 2029, to “uproot” drug trade from the country . He said the country’s anti-narcotics strategy should shift from merely seizing drugs to dismantling the networks behind the trade.

Indian badminton teams had a mixed day at the Asian Games, with the men assuring themselves of a medal after winning 3-0 against host Japan in the quarterfinal, while the women went down 1-3 to the home team at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Tuesday (September 22, 2026).

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