Morning Digest: Pakistan High Commission staffer expelled for espionage; India reasserts Kashmir stand after Trump poser, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on May 14, 2025

Amid continuing tensions between India and Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declared an official of the Pakistan High Commission “persona non grata” (PNG), expelling him for espionage. The decision concerning the official, who was not named by either side, was conveyed to Pakistan Charge d’Affaires Saad Warraich, who was issued a demarche, asking the staffer to leave India within 24 hours. 

Responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on the Kashmir issue, India on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) reiterated its “long-standing national position” that regards Jammu and Kashmir as a “bilateral” issue to be addressed within the framework of India-Pakistan ties.

The nine persons convicted in the Pollachi sexual assault case operated a notorious racket out of the otherwise calm rural Pollachi region in Coimbatore district, where numerous films have been shot for its picturesque landscape. The accused sexually assaulted the victims at several locations, including the house of a survivor, investigators found. However, a private guest house of K. Thirunavukkarasu, 34, one of the convicts and a budding financier, at Chinnappapalayam near Pollachi was the place where a majority of the sexual assaults had taken place.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) that the U.S. will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria, and secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the United States on a trip to the Gulf. The U.S. agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to the White House which called it “the largest defence cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) said it has resolved the long-pending problem of duplication of voter ID card numbers and issued fresh elector photo identity cards (EPIC) to those who faced the issue. The electors photo identity card (EPIC) number is the 10-digit voter ID card number issued by the EC to each elector. The number is a unique alphanumeric code assigned to each registered elector to prevent impersonation.

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official blasted Israel on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) for “deliberately and unashamedly” imposing inhumane conditions on Palestinians, including the risk of famine — one of the strongest condemnations by a high-ranking U.N. official during the war in Gaza.

Pakistan on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad “persona non grata” for engaging in activities what it called “incompatible” with his privileged status. A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that the concerned official has been directed to leave Pakistan within 24 hours.