Morning Digest: Clashes in Nagpur amid Aurangzeb’s tomb row; Trump says Xi Jinping to visit U.S. in ‘not too distant future’, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on March 18, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit the United States “in the not-too-distant future” for talks as economic tensions escalate between the powers. “He’ll be coming,” Mr. Trump said, “in the not-too-distant future.”

Violence erupts in Nagpur as Bajrang Dal, VHP protest for removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb

The protests over demands to demolish Aurangzeb’s tomb turned violent as tension triggered in Nagpur’s Ganeshpeth, Mahal, and Gandhibagh areas on Monday afternoon, with stone-pelting and arson reported. According to police, tension escalated when the rumour of burning the holy book of the Muslim community during the protest spread in the area. The videos of the Bajrang Dal demonstration went viral, leading to outrage and dispute between the two communities.

India and the U.S. are “proactively engaged” in boosting trade between the two countries, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Monday. “We are proactively engaging with the U.S., and discussing mutually beneficial issues which can increase the trade between the two countries,” Mr. Barthwal told presspersons on Monday in response to questions on U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2. He described the talks as “positive”.

The allocation for Railways has increased to ₹2.5 lakh crore from ₹25,000 crore in the past 10 years, and the sector has come out of the difficulties it had faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Replying to a debate on the workings of the Railway Ministry, he said that the Railways was fulfilling its expenses from its own income because of the good performance.

A special court in Mumbai acquitted gangster Chhota Rajan in the 2011 killing of the driver/bodyguard of Iqbal Kaskar, brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Special Judge A.M. Patil, designated under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), acquitted Rajan. A detailed copy of the order will be made available later. Rajan, who is presently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail, was produced before the court via videoconference. The court informed him that he has been acquitted in the case.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has served a show-cause notice on Air India after an 82-year-old woman passenger suffered brain injuries from a fall at the Delhi airport following a delay in providing her with a wheelchair, Minister for Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu informed Parliament.