The Times of India

First time since independence centre of power to move out of South Block

India and Germany finalized 19 agreements, enhancing cooperation in defense, critical technologies, and clean energy during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit. Key outcomes include visa-free transit for Indian nationals, a joint declaration on defense industrial cooperation, and significant German climate finance commitments.

India has intensified its engagement with German authorities regarding Ariha Shah, an Indian child in foster care for over 40 months, urging a humanitarian approach. New Delhi is working to ensure Ariha remains connected to Indian culture and language while in Germany, with the issue raised at the highest political levels.

For Tamil Nadus political culture, shaped by decades of Dravidian assertion and a strong emphasis on regional autonomy, such an explicit pre-election claim has few precedents. The reaction within the AIADMK has been wary, if not outright resistant, as the BJPs clout in the South remains lean. The pre-poll power-sharing deal, however, is only one strand in a much larger and more byzantine political development.