India-UK trade deal sparks optimism as Friday brings major global developments

Newdelhi,UPDATED: Jun 26, 2026 20:36 IST

Major developments on Friday ranged from growing optimism over the India-UK trade agreement to diplomatic, security and humanitarian updates from across the world.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said businesses in India and the UK were showing a lot of "excitement and a great deal of optimism" over the trade agreement that comes into force on July 15. Elsewhere, a small aircraft crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper, 35 countries including India backed a US-led AI supply chain initiative, and India raised concerns at the UN Security Council over attacks on schools and children.

In London, Goyal said he hoped the trade deal would open the floodgates to stronger India-UK ties. At a plenary session with business leaders, he said transformational growth should be the prime focus of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement.

In Beijing, a light sport aircraft crashed into the Citic Tower, the city's tallest skyscraper, leading to evacuations.

In Washington, 35 nations, including India, signed on to a US initiative aimed at building trusted and resilient supply chains to power artificial intelligence technologies. In a separate development in the US capital, India's ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, discussed ways to deepen the bilateral trade partnership with the leadership and members of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives.

Also in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed support for Bangladesh in upholding its sovereignty and "rejecting foreign interference" during talks with visiting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

At the United Nations, India said those who target schools and children with impunity must be brought to account, and stressed that protection of children without accountability is incomplete.

In Singapore, the country's main labour organisation said job placements for more than 400 migrant workers, mostly from India and Bangladesh, linked to a case of alleged abandonment by companies owned by an Indian national, would begin next week.

In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Moscow's Defence Ministry said Ukraine launched a major overnight attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and nearby seas, in what appeared to be one of Kyiv's heaviest drone assaults since the full-scale invasion more than four years ago.

In Venezuela, neighbours in cities across the north searched through rubble for loved ones after back-to-back earthquakes killed at least 589 people and injured thousands.

Overall, the day saw a mix of trade, diplomatic and security developments, alongside urgent humanitarian and disaster responses in different parts of the world.

With PTI Inputs

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