Biden's special envoy urges North Korea to return to talks
The Hindu
The special envoy reiterated that the Biden administration has no hostile intent toward North Korea
U.S. President Joe Biden's special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim said he's ready to meet his North Korean counterparts “anywhere and at any time” on August 23 as he held discussions with South Korean officials over stalled nuclear talks with the North. Mr. Kim's visit to Seoul comes amid declining expectations for a quick resumption of talks and new tensions over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises. North Korea has described the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and has threatened unspecified countermeasures that would cause a “security crisis” for the U.S. and South Korea. After meeting with senior South Korean diplomat Noh Kyu-duk, Mr. Kim reiterated that the Biden administration has no hostile intent toward North Korea and that the joint drills are routine and defensive in nature.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












