- 13 hours ago
In this special report, the focus is on the intensifying election debate in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed readiness to hold national polls within 60 to 90 days, provided the US and European allies guarantee security. The programme also highlights the Indian Rupee crashing past 90 against the dollar and a corruption scandal at Nepal's Pokhara International Airport involving a Chinese firm. Additionally, it covers the revocation of 85,000 US visas and the IMF's bailout of Pakistan.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Geeta Mohan and you're watching India Today Global.
00:04Now, after a long wait, Ukraine's election debate has indeed intensified.
00:08President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's ready to hold national polls within 60 to 90 days,
00:14provided the United States of America and his European allies guarantee security amid the ongoing war.
00:21Mahashweta Lala with this report.
00:30As pressure builds to end the Russia-Ukraine war after multiple meetings between major stakeholders,
00:38including the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and European countries,
00:42Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's ready to conduct elections in the next 60 to 90 days.
00:49Thank you so much.
00:51But Zelensky has one condition.
00:52He has urged President Trump and the European allies to provide security guarantees to conduct elections.
01:00And since this question is raised by President of the United States, our partners,
01:10I will answer very briefly.
01:11I'm ready for the elections.
01:13Moreover, I ask now and I declare it openly the United States of America to help me,
01:19including together with European colleagues, ensure security for the elections.
01:24And then, the next 60 to 90 days, Ukraine will be ready to hold the elections.
01:28And I personally have the will and readiness for this.
01:36Zelensky put forth the difficulties in conducting the election amid war raging on.
01:43To hold the elections, there are two questions.
01:47First of all, security.
01:49How to do it under the strikes, under the missiles and in the relation to our troops?
01:54The question is how to vote.
01:56You know it.
01:57I don't want to repeat.
01:59And the second question is legislative basis for the legitimacy of the elections.
02:07The Ukrainian president's election comment followed Donald Trump's interview to Politico
02:13that Zelensky was using war as an excuse not to hold elections.
02:17To hold an election, do you think?
02:22Yeah, I think so.
02:24It's been a long time.
02:25It hasn't been doing particularly well.
02:28Yeah, I think it's time.
02:29I think it's an important time to hold an election.
02:32They're using war not to hold an election.
02:36Trump was slammed that there are only talks about democracy while it does not really exist.
02:41This is a political...
02:43They talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it's not a democracy anymore.
02:48Earlier, Zelensky met NATO chief and EU's Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa in Brussels.
02:58He also met Italian prime minister, Georgia Melanie.
03:02After discussing the U.S.-backed peace plan with NSAs of Europe and NATO,
03:06Zelensky believes that a refined proposal will be submitted to the U.S.
03:10Meanwhile, Russia said its armed forces had taken control over one more settlement
03:16in the Dnipropetros region while Ukraine reported repelling attacks from the Russian side.
03:24Russian forces said that they carried out strikes on Ukrainian military industrial facilities,
03:30energy and transportation infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian military
03:34and long-range drone launch sites.
03:38Mahashvita Lala, Beira Report, India Today.
03:46Will there be elections in Ukraine or not?
03:48To discuss this and more, I'm being joined by Ambassador William Taylor,
03:51former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
03:53He's joining me from Washington, D.C.
03:55Ambassador Taylor, thank you so much for joining us.
03:58Now, we are looking at Zelensky announcing elections with guarantees from U.S. and EU.
04:03But all this comes after a lot of pressure from Trump.
04:07Is this an election that we're looking at under DURES?
04:11Well, Gita, there will not be an election in Ukraine unless there is a ceasefire,
04:19unless the Russians stop attacking Ukraine.
04:22And President Zelensky made that clear.
04:25You can't have an election.
04:27You cannot have an election while the Russians are bombarding cities
04:31and if people are lining up to vote at polling stations,
04:36they are vulnerable to be attacked by the Russians.
04:39So there will not be an election in Ukraine until the Russians stop their aggression,
04:46stop the bombardment, enter into a ceasefire with the Ukrainians.
04:50President Trump says war is an excuse for Zelensky to continue staying in power.
04:57How would he react to the statement by the American president?
05:02And is that the case really here?
05:05No, it is not the case.
05:07It is not the case.
05:08President Zelensky has made it clear before,
05:10and he's made it clear again today,
05:13that he's ready to go to elections.
05:15He can't go to elections while the Russians are attacking him.
05:19Legally, he can't go to elections while there is martial law,
05:23which is in place during the Russian aggression.
05:27So President Zelensky is very clear.
05:29He's ready to go for elections.
05:30He has been and is and will be,
05:33but it cannot be an election.
05:36He cannot conduct an election until the Russians stop the ceasefiring.
05:41So Zelensky is not using this as an excuse.
05:44Well, Ambassador Taylor, we recently spoke with President Putin himself,
05:49and when asked about the negotiations and the endgame,
05:53he actually for the first time spoke about negotiations,
05:55and that if there needs to be a resolution,
05:58it has to come through the negotiating table.
06:01What are the red lines over here?
06:02Do you envisage a final draft where there could very well be a resolution
06:07to the entire conflict that we're seeing between the two countries?
06:11If President Putin is willing to stop the war,
06:15stop attacking Ukraine,
06:17recognize Ukraine as a sovereign nation,
06:21freeze the front line along the current lines,
06:24yes, I think it's possible.
06:26But I have to tell you, Gita,
06:28there is no indication that I've seen
06:31that President Putin is ready to end this war and negotiations.
06:36Well, but then again, you know,
06:38we're seeing a lot of flip-flop from the American Trump administration.
06:43How do you think the European Union is going to carry forward
06:46and support Ukraine should U.S. walk out of the entire support structure?
06:50Because that's the security guarantee
06:52that President Zelensky is really asking for.
06:55And in a recent Doha summit or conversation forum,
07:00Donald Trump Jr. made it very clear
07:02that almost saying that they're siding with Russia
07:06because the conversations with Russia have moved forward,
07:09but none with Ukraine.
07:11Actually, that's not true, Gita.
07:13It's just not true.
07:15The Ukrainians and the Americans have come to an agreement
07:17several times on ceasefires.
07:20And when they took that agreement,
07:21those agreements, to the Russians,
07:24the Russians said no.
07:25Putin has said no.
07:26So there's been plenty of relations and agreements
07:29between the Americans and the Ukrainians.
07:32The Russians have turned it down.
07:34President Trump is not going to walk away from Ukraine.
07:39President Trump has a lot invested.
07:41He has been at this to his credit.
07:44He's been working on this since before the election,
07:47before his election.
07:49He's not going to walk away.
07:50He wants to end this war.
07:52That's what needs to happen.
07:53The way this war ends is Putin stops fighting.
07:57Putin started this war,
07:59and Putin can end this war.
08:01And President Trump has the leverage
08:03to force Putin to stop this war.
08:07Okay.
08:07A very significant statement coming from you,
08:09Ambassador Taylor.
08:10You're saying President Trump
08:11is not going to walk out of this one.
08:14He's not walking back.
08:15Thank you so much for joining me.
08:16Thank you for having me.
08:22Amid Rao over changes in H-1B visa
08:24and immigration policies,
08:26the U.S. State Department has confirmed
08:2885,000 visas have been revoked since January.
08:32In a post on X,
08:34the State Department said
08:3585,000 visa revocation since January.
08:38President Trump and Secretary Rubio
08:40adhere to one simple mandate,
08:42and they won't stop anytime soon.
08:44It also posted a picture of Trump
08:46with text,
08:48Make America Safe Again.
08:50According to a department official,
08:528,000 of the revoked visas
08:54belonged to students,
08:55and key reasons for revocation
08:57were driving under influence,
09:00theft, and assault.
09:01Earlier visas of those
09:03who were accused of celebrating
09:04the killing of activist Charlie Kirk
09:06were also revoked.
09:07International students
09:08who have joined in pro-Palestine protests,
09:11too, have come under scrutiny.
09:12The administration has also increased
09:14vetting of H-1B visa applicants,
09:17a key program for U.S. employers
09:19seeking specialized foreign talent.
09:25Now, it was a major embarrassment
09:27for Pakistan when its interior minister,
09:29Mohsin Nakweeskar,
09:31was stopped by British officials
09:33outside the U.K. foreign office
09:34in London for a thorough search.
09:36Though it's unclear whether it was
09:38a routine check or prompted
09:40by specific reasons,
09:42the video of the search of his vehicle
09:44has gone viral.
09:46Nakwee was in the U.K.
09:47to hold discussions,
09:48reportedly including talks
09:50on the extradition of individuals
09:53such as Shahzad Akbar
09:54and Adil Raja,
09:55people we've spoken with
09:57who sit in London
10:00but also question
10:01the establishment in Pakistan.
10:03The video was first shared
10:04by Pakistani journalist
10:06Sayyid Yousafzai.
10:08Though there are no official confirmation,
10:10reports suggest that the authorities
10:12were searching the Pakistani minister's car
10:14for materials which included
10:16explosives and narcotics.
10:17India's economy is booming
10:26but the rupee has just crashed
10:28past 90 per dollar
10:30for the first time,
10:31triggering shockwaves
10:32across markets and households.
10:35Rising imports and foreign outflows
10:37are piling under pressure
10:38on the currency.
10:40So is this a temporary slide
10:41or India's new normal?
10:44Shorik Saha reports.
10:47This week,
10:52the rupee delivered
10:53a shock of its own,
10:54crashing past 90 per dollar
10:56for the first time ever.
10:58So how can a booming economy
10:59and a falling currency coexist?
11:04Experts say it's simple.
11:06GDP tells you
11:07what's happening inside India.
11:09The rupee tells you
11:10what's happening to India
11:11in the world outside.
11:14Right now,
11:15global forces are hitting
11:17the rupee from all sides.
11:19A strong U.S. dollar,
11:21high American interest rates,
11:23geopolitical tensions
11:25and rising global commodity prices.
11:28They're all pulling the rupee down.
11:31At the same time,
11:32India's own growth,
11:33it's creating its own pressure.
11:36A fast-growing economy
11:37needs more oil,
11:38more electronics,
11:40more metals,
11:40which means more dollars going out.
11:43And in the delayed India-U.S. trade deal,
11:47record high prices
11:48for crude metals and gold
11:50and nearly 18 billion
11:51in foreign investor outflows.
11:54And the slide was almost inevitable.
11:58But what about the RBI?
12:00It's holding its fire.
12:02The central bank is letting the rupee find its level
12:05instead of defending any specific number,
12:09stepping in only to curb wild swings,
12:12not to hold a line.
12:13So what does all this mean
12:16for people watching at home?
12:19Travel, education and imported goods
12:22will get a little more expensive.
12:25Business dependent on foreign inputs
12:27will feel the pinch.
12:28But exporters,
12:29IT firms,
12:30families receiving remittances
12:32actually benefit
12:33when the rupee weakens.
12:35The bottom line,
12:38a strong economy
12:39doesn't always mean
12:40a strong currency.
12:42And right now,
12:43India's domestic engine
12:44is roaring,
12:45even as global headwinds
12:47keep the rupee under pressure.
12:51The question is,
12:52will the rupee bounce back
12:54or is 90 the new normal?
12:57With Saurik Saha,
12:58Bureau Report,
12:59India Today Global.
13:03Nepal's Pokhara International Airport
13:05has exploded into a corruption scandal
13:07with Chinese contractors
13:08CAMCE accused
13:10of doubling costs,
13:12leaving work incomplete
13:13and creating technical failures.
13:16What was billed
13:17as modern progress
13:18is now a financial
13:19and operational burden.
13:21How did it unravel?
13:23Jyoti Shukla with this report.
13:25Nepal's shiny new Pokhara International Airport
13:36was meant to be a symbol
13:37of modern aviation.
13:39Instead,
13:40it has turned into the centre
13:41of one of the country's
13:42biggest corruption scandals
13:44and this time,
13:45the finger is pointed straight
13:46at Beijing's construction arm.
13:49Nepal's anti-graft agency,
13:51the CIAA
13:52has charged
13:5355 individuals
13:54including China,
13:55CAMC Engineering,
13:57a state-linked giant
13:58over what investigators
14:00call
14:00inflated costs,
14:02false billing
14:02and deliberate manipulation.
14:05The numbers are staggering.
14:07Pokhara Airport
14:07was cleared
14:08at $145 million
14:10but the cost
14:11ballooned
14:12to $286.5 million
14:14almost double.
14:16Investigators say
14:17that didn't happen
14:18by accident.
14:20According to the Commission
14:21for the Investigation
14:22of Abuse of Authority,
14:23China's CAMC
14:24acted with bad intentions,
14:26pushed up costs
14:27without justification
14:28and pressured
14:29Nepali officials
14:30to uptrove inflated figures
14:32to secure
14:32illegal benefits.
14:34Letters were allegedly
14:35sent to bureaucrats
14:36asking them
14:37to raise the project price
14:38even before
14:39the tender process
14:40moved ahead.
14:41And the problems
14:41didn't end
14:42with the accounting.
14:43A parliamentary sub-panel
14:44found that millions
14:45were paid for work
14:46simply never done.
14:47$5.5 million
14:49for suitable soil
14:51delivered?
14:52No.
14:53$4.4 million
14:54to level
14:55and press the runway
14:56completed?
14:57Also no.
14:58Drainage worth
14:59costing $10.6 million?
15:01Again,
15:02nothing on the ground.
15:04Even AC installation
15:05turned into
15:06a billing mess
15:07with Nepal
15:07forced to pay
15:08an extra $742,000.
15:11Add to that
15:12a tax exemption
15:13worth $2.2 billion
15:14granted to the Chinese firm
15:16despite a contract
15:17that explicitly
15:18required them
15:19to pay taxes.
15:21And the airport
15:22itself
15:22operational
15:23yes
15:24but flawed.
15:26A high-level
15:26aviation report
15:27says design
15:28limitations
15:29now restrict
15:30aircraft load
15:30capacity,
15:32impact takeoffs
15:32and keep
15:33most international
15:34airlines away.
15:35Only one foreign
15:36flight currently
15:37operates
15:38a weekly
15:38Pokhara-Lasa route
15:40notably
15:40via a Nepal-China
15:42joint venture.
15:43So now
15:44what was once
15:45showcased as
15:46China-backed
15:47development cooperation
15:48has turned into
15:49a legal and
15:49diplomatic headache.
15:51Nepal's investigators
15:52want accountability,
15:54Beijing's state
15:54contractor
15:55stands accused
15:56and the Pokhara
15:57airport
15:57meant to make
15:58Nepal sore
15:59is struggling
16:00to get off the ground.
16:02With Jyoti Shukla,
16:03we'll report
16:03India Today Global.
16:06And let's take a look
16:07at some other stories
16:08we couldn't touch upon
16:09in detail
16:10in World at a Glance.
16:12Venezuelan opposition
16:24leader Maria Corina
16:26Machado was awarded
16:27this year's
16:27Nobel Peace Prize
16:28in absentia.
16:30Her daughter
16:30Anna Corina Sosa
16:31Machado
16:32accepted the
16:33prestigious
16:33Nobel Medal
16:34and accompanying
16:35certificate
16:36at the awards
16:37ceremony
16:37in Oslo City Hall.
16:39The Norwegian
16:40Nobel Committee
16:40announced in
16:41October that
16:42it had selected
16:43Machado
16:43as the recipient
16:44of the 2025
16:45Peace Prize
16:46because of her
16:47commitment
16:48to the democratic
16:49rights of the
16:50Venezuelan people
16:51to whom she
16:52dedicated her award.
16:54Machado,
16:54who lives in
16:55hiding,
16:56is a staunch
16:56opponent of
16:57Venezuelan's
16:58authoritarian
16:58president,
16:59Nicolas Maduro.
17:00As tensions rise
17:05between Beijing and
17:06Tokyo, Russian and
17:08Chinese air forces
17:09conducted joint patrols
17:10over the East China Sea
17:12and the western part
17:13of the Pacific Ocean.
17:14Two Russian Tu-95
17:16nuclear-capable strategic
17:18bombers flew from the
17:19Sea of Japan towards
17:21the East China Sea to
17:22rendezvous with two
17:23Chinese H-6 bombers.
17:24Chinese fighter jets
17:26made round-trip flight
17:27between Japan's
17:28Okinawa and Miyako
17:30Islands.
17:31This is the 10th joint
17:32strategic air patrol
17:33organized by the two
17:34militaries since 2019.
17:41Congolese president
17:42has accused
17:43neighboring Rwanda
17:44of violating its
17:45commitments just days
17:47after attending a
17:48ceremony in Washington
17:49to sign deals
17:50that aimed to end
17:51years of conflict
17:52in the country's
17:53mineral-rich East.
17:55The Congolese
17:55president has made
17:56the acquisitions
17:57in a speech
17:58to lawmakers.
17:59There was no
18:00immediate response
18:01from Rwanda.
18:02Meanwhile,
18:03deadly clashes
18:04have marred efforts
18:05to begin implementing
18:06the terms of
18:06U.S. and Qatar
18:07brokered agreements
18:08signed in recent months
18:10between Congo,
18:11Rwanda and
18:12the rebel group
18:13M23.
18:18Australia's
18:18world-first
18:19social media ban
18:20is taking effect,
18:22legally barring
18:22children younger
18:23than 16 from
18:24holding accounts
18:25with Facebook,
18:26Instagram,
18:27Kik,
18:27Reddit,
18:28Snapchat,
18:29Threads,
18:30TikTok,
18:31X,
18:31YouTube and
18:32Twitch.
18:33The platforms
18:34face fines of
18:35up to $49.5
18:36million Australian
18:37dollars if they
18:38fail to take
18:39reasonable steps
18:40to remove the
18:40accounts.
18:42A Directions
18:42hearing will be
18:43held in late
18:44February to set
18:45a hearing date
18:46for the
18:46constitutional challenge
18:47that will be
18:48heard by the
18:49full bench
18:49of seven judges.
18:51Meta,
18:51which owns
18:52Facebook,
18:52Instagram and
18:53Threads,
18:54was the first
18:55tech giant to
18:55react,
18:56beginning to
18:57exclude suspected
18:58young children
18:58from last week.
18:59That's all on
19:03this edition of
19:03India Today
19:04Global.
19:04But before I
19:05go, here's a
19:05deep dive.
19:06The IMF is
19:07writing billion
19:08dollar checks,
19:09Washington is
19:09rolling out the
19:10red carpet and
19:11Pakistan is
19:12suddenly strategically
19:13important again.
19:14But beneath the
19:15glamour lies the
19:16old machine of
19:17proxies, leverage
19:18and shadow
19:19networks.
19:20How long will
19:21the world pretend?
19:22Watch
19:22Straight Craft to
19:23find out.
19:24Goodbye and take
19:25again.
19:25The IMF is
19:37bailing out
19:38Pakistan yet
19:39again and the
19:40world is supposed
19:40to pretend it
19:41doesn't know the
19:42script by heart.
19:43The crisis, the
19:44plea, the bailout,
19:46the promises, the
19:47quiet diversions and
19:49the inevitable return
19:50to the same pit of
19:51denial.
19:52This time, however,
19:54the story is wrapped
19:55in something more
19:56dangerous, something
19:57more calculated,
19:59something more
20:00politically loaded.
20:01Because 2025 isn't
20:03just another year of
20:04Pakistan running out
20:05of money.
20:06It's the year Islamabad
20:08discovered a fresh
20:09source of confidence.
20:10It's new, carefully
20:12engineered closeness to
20:13the United States of
20:14America.
20:15Washington is
20:16warming up again.
20:17The doors of the
20:18White House are open to
20:19Pakistan's army
20:20chief.
20:21And right in the
20:22middle of this
20:22diplomatic choreography
20:24comes the IMF,
20:26signing off on
20:27billions while the
20:28entire world knows
20:29exactly where
20:30Pakistan's free fiscal
20:31space tends to
20:32flow after every
20:34bailout.
20:35At what point does
20:36this cycle stop
20:37pretending to be
20:38about economics and
20:39start admitting what
20:41everyone is thinking?
20:43Hello and welcome.
20:43You're watching
20:44Stagecraft with me
20:45Geeta Mohan.
20:50Delhi's argument is clear.
20:55Money is fungible.
20:57If the IMF covers
20:58Pakistan's fiscal fire,
21:01Islamabad's own revenue
21:02can quietly slip into the
21:03shadows where it has
21:05historically maintained
21:06state-sponsored assets.
21:08India bluntly warned
21:10that these bailouts risk
21:12enabling exactly the
21:13behavior Pakistan claims
21:15to be reforming.
21:16And when the
21:17Pahalgam terror attack
21:18unfolded, followed by
21:19India's military response,
21:21the IMF itself quietly
21:23added new conditions,
21:25not because of
21:26compassion, but because
21:27geopolitical heat
21:29affects economic risk.
21:31Why does the IMF
21:32pretend otherwise?
21:34Pakistan's entire
21:36struggle with the
21:37FATF sits like a ghost
21:39over this entire
21:402025 bailout drama.
21:42Only in October 2022
21:43did Pakistan finally
21:45fight its way off
21:46the FATF grey list
21:47after years of
21:48warnings, humiliations
21:50and pressure.
21:51For four long years,
21:53the FATF found that
21:54Pakistan's legal,
21:55supervisory and
21:57enforcement systems
21:58simply were not
21:59preventing terror
22:00financing.
22:02Charities used as
22:03fronts, informal
22:04money networks
22:04untouched, political
22:06reluctance to go after
22:07certain groups.
22:08And the timing is
22:10not subtle.
22:12Pakistan's lobbying
22:13machine in Washington
22:14has been aggressively
22:15reactivated, hiring
22:16firms close to the
22:17Trump administration,
22:19organizing high-level
22:20visits, pushing
22:21conferences and
22:22executing a
22:23deliberate charm
22:24offensive fronted by
22:26its military
22:26leadership.
22:27None of this is
22:29accidental and none
22:30of this is divorced
22:31from the IMF's
22:33willingness to keep
22:33Pakistan afloat.
22:35Can anyone still
22:36pretend the IMF is
22:37apolitical?
22:38While IMF money
22:40cannot be used for
22:41defense or terror
22:42financing, of course,
22:44explicitly prohibited
22:45in the program, the
22:47logic of fungibility
22:48remains the central
22:50concern.
22:51When IMF money
22:52fills the external
22:53financing gaps,
22:54Pakistan's domestic
22:56resources become
22:57unshackled.
22:59And that is exactly
23:00what India warns the
23:02world about.
23:03If Pakistan wants to
23:04keep feeding certain
23:05networks, certain
23:06proxies, certain
23:08operations, all it
23:09needs is fresh
23:10oxygen for its budget
23:12lines.
23:13The IMF doesn't fund
23:15terrorism directly, but
23:16it indirectly enables a
23:19state with a long
23:20record of tolerating
23:21terror financing
23:22structures.
23:24India's abstentions
23:25weren't diplomatic
23:26theater.
23:27They were a direct
23:28shot at the heart of
23:29Pakistan's credibility.
23:32IMF can deny it.
23:33Pakistan can spin it.
23:35The U.S. can
23:36overlook it.
23:37But India will
23:38continue reminding the
23:39world that money is
23:40fungible, terror networks
23:42thrive on shadows, and
23:44Pakistan's history carries
23:45weight.
23:46The U.S.
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