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India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals after a gap of five years starting from July 24. This comes nine days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said during a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng that relations between both countries were “steadily improving”.

New Delhi had suspended all tourist visas in February 2020 on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. China had also suspended visas to Indian citizens and other foreigners during the pandemic, but these restrictions were lifted in 2022 for students and business travellers.

In June that year, border tensions between India and China escalated when a violent face-off took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control.

Since then, India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve their border standoff. Read more.

The Uttar Pradesh Police have unearthed a fake “embassy” operating in Ghaziabad and arrested a man claiming to be an ambassador of a non-existent country called West Arctica. The man, Harsh Vardhan Jain, also claimed to be the diplomatic representative of other fictitious countries such as Saborga, Poulvia and Lodonia, the police said.

Additional Director General of Police Amitabh Yash claimed that Jain was running a bogus embassy from a rented house, and also travelled in vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates.

Jain reportedly used the setup to pass himself off as a powerful global player.

Preliminary investigations suggested that Jain brokered deals by falsely promising job placements for companies and individuals in foreign countries. More on Scroll.

The Delhi High Court has granted anticipatory bail to NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha in two alleged foreign funding violations cases. One of the cases was filed by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police and the second one registered by the Enforcement Directorate.

In June 2021, the court had granted Purkayastha interim protection from arrest in the matter, which has since been extended periodically.

The Delhi Police had filed the case against Newsclick for allegedly violating Foreign Direct Investment norms in August 2020. The Enforcement Directorate initiated an investigation into the case based on the police’s FIR.

Purkayastha had been arrested in October 2023 in a separate Unlawful Activities Prevention Act case. The Supreme Court, however, declared Purkayastha’s arrest in the case invalid and ordered his release in May 2024. Read more.

Renowned Manipur theatre personality and Padma Shri recipient Ratan Thiyam died in Imphal at 77. He was known for writing and staging plays that blended traditional Manipuri art forms with modern themes.

Thiyam was the founder of the Imphal-based Chorus Repertory Theatre and served as the director of the National School of Drama between 1987 and 1988. He also served as the vice-chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Thiyam was awarded the Padma Shri in 1989.

The Manipur government on Wednesday described Thiyam as a “towering figure in Indian theatre and a cultural icon “ of the state. More on Scroll.

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