INTERNACIONAL
India’s Modi speaks with ‘dear friend’ President Trump amid hopes of furthering ties
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sent ripples across the globe, but India remains largely optimistic about his second term. Just over a week into Trump’s presidency, India is signaling its readiness to adapt to his transactional style of diplomacy.
Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a «productive call» on Monday, focused on «expanding and deepening cooperation.»
According to a White House readout, the leaders discussed geopolitical issues and bilateral trade. Trump emphasized the importance of India increasing its purchases of American-made security equipment to help balance the trade relationship between the two countries. The call is believed to be among the first Trump has taken from foreign leaders since his return to office.
TRUMP’S TARIFF THREATS GO BEYOND ‘TRADE AGREEMENT’ TO ADVANCE AMERICAN INTERESTS: EXPERT
«Expectations are high for U.S.-India relations with Trump having taken office. He and Modi have a strong chemistry, given their similar worldviews and governance styles,» Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, told Fox News Digital.
Modi has enjoyed a strong rapport and personal bond with Trump. «We have a very good relationship with India,» Trump told reporters on Air Force One after his call with Modi.
In 2020, Modi threw a massive rally for Trump in his home state of Gujarat, where both leaders spoke admiringly of each other in front of a crowd exceeding 110,000 people. The previous year, Trump likened Modi to Elvis Presley for his ability to draw large crowds at a joint rally in Texas. However, Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown is raising some concerns for Indians.
According to the Pew Research Center, India is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the U.S. An estimated 725,000 Indians were residing in the U.S. illegally as of 2022. Furthermore, Customs and Border Patrol encountered nearly 90,500 Indian citizens in fiscal year 2024 alone. The immigration unease also comes as H-1B visas, one of the most common legal pathways of entry for Indians, have been a hotly contested topic by Trump’s supporters. On Monday, however, Trump dismissed immigration concerns, expressing confidence India will «do what is right.»
TRUMP SAYS HE’S NOT CHANGED HIS MIND ON H-1B VISAS AS DEBATE RAGES WITHIN MAGA COALITION
President Donald Trump, flanked by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and first lady Melania Trump, tour Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, India, on, Feb. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trade is another possible point of contention that could affect U.S.-India relations.
Just a day after Trump held his call with Modi, he denounced India, China and Brazil as «tremendous tariff maker(s).» Speaking to House Republicans in Florida, Trump emphasized that the nations harm the U.S. with high tariffs. He highlighted plans to target the countries, asserting that «we’re not going to let that happen any longer because we’re going to put America first.»
Trump threatened high tariffs on imported goods throughout his presidential campaign and slammed India as a «very big abuser.» During his first term, Trump dubbed India the «tariff king» amid trade disagreements. In 2019, he revoked India’s special trade privileges. In retaliation, India slapped tariffs on more than two dozen U.S. goods.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS CLEAR PATH FOR TRUMP TO ACT ON TARIFF PLANS
Modi is casting India as a rising global player and seeks to enhance trade ties with the U.S., especially in the face of Trump’s international tariff threats. Trump has proposed a «universal» tax of 10% or 20% on all international imports, and India would be no exception. India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, aims to boost bilateral trade with the U.S. while reducing dependence on China. The two countries are India’s top trading partners.
Recent legal allegations have also tested the burgeoning relationship between India and the U.S. Last year, American prosecutors charged Indian government agents with what they said was a plot to assassinate an American citizen on U.S. soil. Months later, the Justice Department indicted Indian tycoon Gautam Adani on fraud and bribery charges. Despite these challenges, the bilateral relationship has endured.
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«There will be challenges to navigate, for sure, both those inherited from the Biden administration — like the Justice Department investigation of an alleged Indian government involvement in a murder-for-hire plot in New York, and new ones like trade,» Kugelman explains. «But we can see from New Delhi’s recent signaling that it’s prepared to act preemptively to lower the risk of tensions.»
In the days since Trump took office, India has said it would explore lowering tariffs, taking back some of the illegal Indian migrants and importing more U.S. oil to reduce imports from Russia.
President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pictured, held a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2017. (Sipa USA via AP)
As India works to bolster defense, technology and trade ties with the U.S., the nation is expressing confidence that it is better positioned than others to weather Trump’s «America First» administration. «I know today a lot of countries are nervous about the U.S., let’s be honest about that. We are not one of them,» Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar said days after the November election.
Washington views India, the world’s largest democracy, as a counterbalance to China’s growing assertiveness. Additionally, Trump is largely unconcerned with Modi’s policies, which have been deemed problematic by many global leaders. The two align in style and rhetoric, particularly when it comes to national pride.
Kugelman told Fox News Digital, «The U.S. and India will continue to share a number of strong policy and strategic convergences, chief among them countering China.»
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Trump’s administration also features prominent Indian-Americans. His pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, faces a high-stakes Senate confirmation hearing this week. If confirmed, he will be the FBI’s first Indian American leader, as well as its youngest director. Trump has also picked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for director, National Institutes of Health, and Harmeet K. Dhillon as assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. Others, like former 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and senior policy adviser for AI, Sriram Krishnan, already hold significant advisory roles in the administration. While they brought hope to many Indian immigrants, Krishnan, a first-generation Indian, has become a MAGA lightning rod. Additionally, while not a member of the cabinet, Vice President JD Vance’s wife, Usha, is the first woman of Indian origin to be second lady.
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India remains optimistic about strengthening its relationship with the U.S. under Trump’s leadership, viewing it as an opportunity to further its strategic interests on the global stage. Modi is expected to meet with Trump as soon as next month. Meanwhile, Trump is expected to visit India later this year to attend a Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by New Delhi.
«The fact that India, with its nationalist government and strong confidence as a rising power, would so quickly and publicly acknowledge a willingness to consider making concessions to the U.S. says a lot about just how much it wants its partnership with Washington to work in the second Trump administration,» Kugelman said.
Romania’s central election authority has banned Calin Georgescu, a populist candidate and frontrunner, from running in May’s presidential election re-run.
«Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!» Georgescu said in a post on X, following the decision. «I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall!»
Trump’s administration has taken an interest in Romania’s presidential election since it was canceled in May because of Russian collusion allegations in Georgescu’s favor.
SpaceX CEO and DOGE leader Elon Musk chimed in and shared his reaction to the decision.
ROMANIAN FAR-RIGHT PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER JD VANCE’S REBUKE OF EUROPEAN ELECTIONS
Calin Georgescu, the winner of Romania’s first round of presidential election, annulled by the Constitutional Court, uses crutches walking between supporters gathered for a protest outside the Romanian parliament in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre, File)
«This is crazy,» Musk wrote on X.
Kari Lake, Trump administration senior advisor for the US agency for global media, also reacted and compared what is happening in Romania to what «they tried with Trump here in America.»
«Do you love your country & want to put it first?» Lake posted on X. «Then, the Globalists want you removed from the ballot & silenced. They tried it with Trump here in America. They did it to Bolsanaro in Brazil. Now, they’re doing it to Georgescu in Romania. The people should dictate their country’s future. Not the international order & their captured court.»
Georgescu, who won the first round of Romania’s canceled presidential election last year, was taken into custody for questioning by the country’s top prosecutors back in February.
ROMANIA ANNULS FIRST ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE WON BY FAR-RIGHT CANDIDATE
Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for presidency who won the first round of presidential elections, speaks after an interview with the Associated Press in Izvorani, Romania, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Romania’s Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the election two days ahead of the Dec. 8 runoff after Georgescu’s first-round win. He had polled in single digits and declared zero campaign spending, according to The Associated Press. Allegations of Russian interference and electoral violations quickly emerged. After the election cancelation, prosecutors launched an investigation into alleged campaign funding fraud, as well as alleged antisemitism and hate speech.
The Trump administration has criticized Romania for canceling last year’s presidential election, with Vice President JD Vance alleging that the court’s ruling was based on «flimsy suspicions» and «enormous pressure» from Romania’s neighbors.
JD Vance and Romania presidential frontrunner Georgescu. (Getty Images)
Vance said in December, «Romania straight up canceled the results of a presidential election based on the flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors.»
He also warned European leaders that they cannot win a «democratic mandate» by «censoring your opponents or putting them in jail,» nor by «disregarding your basic electorate on questions like who gets to be a part of our shared society.»
«To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,» Vance said.
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Georgescu, a staunch critic of NATO and Western support for Ukraine, has sparked controversy in the past for describing Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders from the 1930s and 1940s as national heroes, according to The AP.
He has also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past as «a man who loves his country,» and has called Ukraine «an invented state.»
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
INTERNACIONAL
Pope Francis now eating solid foods, showing ‘slight gradual improvements,’ Vatican says
Pope Francis continued his therapy and prescribed diet, which now includes eating solid foods, the Vatican said in an update on Sunday.
The Vatican said he did respiratory and motor physiotherapy and his condition «appears stable, with slight gradual improvements.»
«However, the overall situation remains complex, prompting doctors to maintain a guarded prognosis,» the Vatican also warned in its update.
Earlier on Sunday, the Vatican said the pope was responding well to treatment and had shown a «gradual, mild improvement» in recent days as he remains in the hospital recovering from double pneumonia.
POPE FRANCIS SHOWS ‘SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT’ DURING FOURTH WEEK IN HOSPITAL, VATICAN SAYS
Pope Francis waves to believers as he leaves the Cercle Cite after a meeting Luxembourg’s Prime Minister during a four-day apostolic journey in Luxembourg and Belgium, in Luxembourg City on September 26, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty)
The night was quiet; the Pope is resting,» the Vatican said in its earlier statement.
Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.
This is the fourth Sunday in a row that the pope will not appear for his weekly noon blessing, but the Vatican plans to distribute the message he would have delivered.
The pope’s condition has remained stable, as he has had no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors said. The doctors said that his stability «as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy.»
This marks the first time doctors have reported that Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed when he was younger, was responding well to the prescribed therapies since he was admitted to the hospital more than three weeks ago.
Pope Francis waves from his popemobile after the weekly Angelus prayers, at Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican on October 20, 2024. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty)
Despite Francis’ absence, the Vatican’s daily operations continued alongside celebrations of its Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century Jubilee that brings pilgrims from around the world to Rome. The Holy Year is celebrating volunteers this weekend, and many are extending their pilgrimage to pray for Francis outside the hospital.
POPE FRANCIS CONTINUES TO REST IN HOSPITAL AS VATICAN’S HOLY YEAR PROCEEDS WITHOUT HIM
Pope Francis attends a mass at the Esplanade of Tasitolu in Dili, East Timor, on September 10, 2024. (Tiziana Fabi/Pool/AFP/Getty)
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Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny will preside over the Holy Year Mass on Sunday for the volunteers.
The pope has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
OTTAWA, Canada – Former Central Bank Governor of Canada Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after winning the Liberal leadership race on Sunday night. Carney told cheering supporters that «Canada will never become part of America in any way, shape or form.»
Carney received 86% of the vote, or 131,764 votes of the 151,899 ones cast from the nearly 400,000 party members who registered to participate in the leadership election.
The new Liberal leader told members that they should be prepared to fight «the most important election of our lives» where the «stakes have never been higher.»
He said, Canada is the «greatest country in the world and now our neighbors want to take us. No way,» said the incoming Canadian prime minister referring to President Donald Trump’s repeated desire for the U.S. to annex Canada as the «51st state.»
TRUMP CRITIC MARK CARNEY POISED TO REPLACE TRUDEAU AS CANADA’S PRIME MINISTER
Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to supporters in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025.. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
When Trump announced his tariffs against Canada last month, Carney issued a statement that «Canada will not bow down to a bully. We won’t stand by as illegal U.S. tariffs hurt our workers and their families. As Canadians, we need to face this challenge as one united team.»
In December, outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly approached Mark Carney to serve as Canadian finance minister, which caused the incumbent, Chrystia Freeland, to leave the Cabinet and publicly release her resignation letter in which she wrote that she and the prime minister had «found [themselves] at odds about the best path forward for Canada.»
FILE – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves as he leaves the offices of Salesforce on Feb. 8, 2018, in San Francisco. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP, File) (AP)
Less than a month later, Trudeau announced his intention to step down as Liberal leader and prime minister, in which he conceded that if he’s «having to fight internal battles, [he] cannot be the best option» in a general election scheduled to be held no later than Oct. 20.
But opposition parties have vowed to force an earlier national vote through a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons against the Liberal minority government when Parliament is recalled on March 24.
On Saturday, Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper reported that Carney will likely call a snap election the week before the March 24 resumption of Parliament, with voting day on either April 28 or May 5.
The new Liberal leader is expected to meet with Trudeau on Monday to discuss the transition that will find Carney and a slimmed-down Cabinet sworn into office by Friday.
WHO IS PIERRE POILIEVRE? CANADA’S CONSERVATIVE LEADER SEEKING TO BECOME NEXT PRIME MINISTER AFTER TRUDEAU EXIT
Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, during the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Prime Minister Trudeau has been under fire over the past year due to Canada’s soaring cost of housing, and is trailing badly in the polls to Poilievre, who’s the favorite to win the next election. (David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But regardless of the Liberals having a new leader with some momentum in the polls, Canada’s Conservatives under their leader Pierre Poilievre are ready for a «change election,» said Laura Kurkimaki, who served as deputy national campaign manager for the Conservative Party during the last federal election in 2021.
«We’ve had 10 years of a Liberal government and Canadians are tired of that,» said Kurkimaki, who also served as principal secretary to former Conservative official opposition leader Erin O’Toole whose party won the popular vote but not enough House seats to win the 2021 election.
Furthermore, she said the new Liberal leader would be running on «Trudeau’s record,» and while Carney wasn’t a member of the prime minister’s government, he was appointed last September by the Liberal Party to chair a task force on economic growth for Trudeau.
«The next election will be about who is going to make life more affordable for Canadians,» said Kurkimaki. «What’s going on in the U.S. impacts that, of course, and creates economic uncertainty in Canada.»
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President Trump looks toward likely Trudeau successor Mark Carney of Canada. (Getty Images)
She added that the longer Carney waits to call an election, the Conservatives get more time to launch their attack-ads against him.
During an election, parties face spending limits. But before the writ is dropped to launch the election period, parties can spend as much as they want on advertising, and the Conservatives raised more than double (about $29 million) last year than the Liberals, at about $11 million.
In an interview with The Spectator, President Trump, commenting on the Conservative party leader, said Poilievre’s «biggest problem is he’s not a MAGA guy … He’s not a Trump guy at all.»
The Canadian Conservative leader replied on X, stating: «Mr. President, it is true. I am not MAGA.»
«I am for Canada First. Always,» Poilievre posted. «Canada has always been America’s best friend & ally. But we will NEVER be the 51st state.»
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