The Indian government on Monday announced plans to divide up the contested Himalayan region of Kashmir and change the constitutional settlement guaranteeing its semi-autonomous status, provoking uproar in Parliament and fears of an imminent clash with Pakistan.

Jammu and Kashmir, which includes the Kashmir Valley, is India’s only Muslim-majority state and the subject of a long-running territorial dispute with Pakistan, which currently administers territory lying west of the Indian-administered state. The nuclear-armed powers have gone to war over Kashmir twice, and there’s a long-running insurgency on the Indian side between separatists and the army that has left at least 40,000 people dead since 1989.

India’s home minister Amit Shah made Monday’s announcement without consulting Kashmir’s state legislature. It came after days of rising tensions. On Saturday, Pakistan accused India of firing banned cluster munitions across the de-facto border dividing the Indian and Pakistan-administe..

(MOSCOW) — Massive explosions at a Russian military ammunition depot in Siberia injured at least eight people and prompted the evacuation of thousands Monday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said a fire triggered the explosions at a storage facility for gunpowder charges near the city of Achinsk in eastern Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region. Authorities declared a state of emergency in the region and ordered the evacuation of residents of several districts in Achinsk, as well as towns and villages within 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of the depot.

Regional Gov. Alexander Uss said 6,000 people were being evacuated under the order.

Air traffic was suspended within 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) of the munitions site. Videos posted by local residents showed powerful explosions sending plumes of black smoke high into the sky.

Ammunition depot explosions are not unusual in Russia. After the most recent incident in May 2018, a fire raged for almost a week before water drops from military aircraft and helic..

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department labeled China a currency manipulator Monday after Beijing pushed down the value of its yuan in a dramatic escalation of the trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies.

The decision, which came hours after President Donald Trump accused China of unfairly devaluing its currency, marks a reversal for Treasury: In May, it had declined to sanction China for manipulating its currency.

The U.S. had not put China on the currency blacklist since 1994.

The designation could pave the way for more U.S. sanctions against China.

Earlier Monday, China had allowed its currency to weaken to an 11-year low, a move that gives its exporters a price edge in world markets and eases some of the damage from U.S. tariffs on Chinese products.

Trump had gone on Twitter to denounce China’s move as “currency manipulation.” He added, “This is a major violation which will greatly weaken China over time.”

In a statement, Treasury said it would work with th..