US President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the American ambassador to India, Sergio Gor has said that India-US trade deal issues will be sorted within weeks. At a Senate committee hearing for the position of US ambassador to India, Gor said, “We’re not that far apart on a deal on these tariffs.”The US aims to settle the dispute with India in the coming weeks regarding penalties enforced on Russian oil purchases, according to the senior American diplomat.“I do think it will get resolved over the next few weeks,” Sergio Gor said during his Senate committee hearing, according to an AFP report.“We’re not that far apart on a deal on these tariffs”, he said. Gor, who presently leads the White House Presidential Personnel Office, is a trusted associate of Donald Trump.The US ambassador-designate to Delhi, Sergio Gor, emphasised that India’s role as a strategic ally will influence regional and international developments, whilst affirming his dedication to strengthening America’s interests in this crucial partnership.President Donald Trump’s decision last month to elevate Gor, who serves as Director of Presidential Personnel, to the position of US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, marks a significant appointment.

Sergio calls India a strategic partner for US

Gor said, “India is a strategic partner whose trajectory will shape the region and beyond. Under President Donald Trump’s strong leadership, I’m committed to advancing America’s interest in this important partnership.”Upon confirmation, Gor, at 38 years of age, will become the youngest US representative to serve as ambassador to India.He highlighted India’s significance, noting that its geographical location, economic development and military strength are essential for regional stability and vital for promoting shared security interests between both nations.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who introduced Gor, noted, “who is the nominee to India, which is, I would say, one of the top relationships the US has in the world today, in terms of the future, what the world is going to look like.”Acknowledging Rubio’s introduction, Gor reinforced that India represents one of America’s most significant global relationships.He outlined his objectives, stating, “If confirmed as ambassador, I will work to deliver on the presidential agenda and advance US interests by increasing our defence cooperation, ensuring fair and beneficial trade, deepening energy security and furthering technology.”

London Underground has invited union leaders to talks next week in a bid to resolve a dispute over pay and hours which led to strikes.

The company said it wanted to hold talks next Wednesday.

Tube services are expected to return to normal by late morning on Friday after the strikes which have caused travel chaos all week.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out, leading to services been crippled since Monday with few underground trains running.

Commuters have switched to buses, bikes or trains not affected by the dispute to get to and from work.

London Underground said there will be no service before 8am on Friday, with normal service on all lines by late morning.

The Docklands Light Railway will be running a normal service after it was hit by a strike over a separate issue on Thursday.

An RMT source said: “This is a step in the right direction from TfL (Transport for London) and has only occurred due to the industrial pressure from RMT members this week.”

Commuters trying to get home on South Western Railway also suffered delays due to a tree blocking the railway between Clapham Junction and Earlsfield, which led to some lines towards Wimbledon being blocked.

SWR said it expected there may be cancellations, delays or alterations to services until 8pm.

SWR services towards Putney were also blocked because of a fault on a train at Clapham Junction, with delays or alterations expected until 6pm.

Wall Street traded near record highs on Thursday as fresh US economic data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week to support growth. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in early trade after setting new records in the last two sessions, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 95 points and the Nasdaq composite added 0.4%, AP reported. Treasury yields stayed steady, signalling calm after the latest economic reports.Markets were buoyed by anticipation of a Fed rate cut, even as inflation remains above the 2% target and labour market data continues to show weakness. “Traders were already convinced the Fed will deliver its first cut to interest rates of the year at its next meeting, but they need inflation data until then to be mild enough not to derail those expectations,” analysts noted.Wall Street is betting the US economy can manage a “soft landing” — slowing enough to prompt monetary easing, but not collapsing into recession. An encouraging sign came from Wednesday’s wholesale inflation report, which showed price growth unexpectedly slowed in August.Among individual stocks, Opendoor jumped 36% after naming Shopify COO Kaz Nejatian as its new chief executive, with co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu returning to the board. FedEx slipped 1.3% and UPS fell 2.1% after Bank of America downgraded both companies.In global markets, Europe’s major indexes gained at midday, with Germany’s DAX up 0.3%, Britain’s FTSE 100 advancing 0.5%, and France’s CAC 40 climbing 0.9%.In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.2% to 44,372.50, with SoftBank Group rallying 8.3% for a second straight day. Japan’s producer prices rose 2.7% year-on-year in August, up from 2.5% the prior month. China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 1.7% to 3,875.31, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.4% to 26,086.32. Chipmakers Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and Hua Hong Semiconductor rose 6% and 3.8% respectively, while Cambricon Technologies gained 9%.Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9%, Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.1% higher, and India’s Sensex gained 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3%.