| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: China claims Galwan Valley as part of 'historical rights' A top Chinese strategic expert has linked China's claim to the entire Galwan valley in Ladakh to "historical rights" going back to the Qing Dynasty. The statement seems to tie into an expansion of Beijing's previously known territorial claims in the area. The claim was made by a leading Chinese strategic expert on border affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), an official think-tank, in an interview to State media. Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu's former Beijing correspondent, writes that the claims mark a shift from the past, and suggest that China now claims territory west of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and possibly up to the confluence of the Galwan and Shyok rivers. While most Chinese maps show almost all of the Galwan river within Chinese territory, the western edge of the river where it meets the Shyok was not shown as Chinese territory previously in earlier maps. "Multiple accounts from the Qing Dynasty [1644-1911] and Western literature have recorded that the Galwan valley was China's territory. Based on the principle of 'historic rights,' China has jurisdiction over the valley area," Zhang Yongpan, a research fellow of the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies at CASS, told the Global Times. In another development, shortly after The Hindu reported that China had on Thursday freed ten Indian soldiers that it had held captive, Chinese government spokesman Zhao Lijian today said that no Indian soldiers were "currently" being held. The Indian government had maintained all week that no Indian soldiers were "missing", which raises the question: if no soldiers were ever missing, how did ten of them end up in Chinese custody in the first place? The Indian soldiers freed by the Chinese included a Lieutenant Colonel and three Majors. All-party meet on border stand-off An all-party meeting on the border stand-off called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi began this evening via video conference. The meeting had not concluded at the time of publishing this newsletter. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao, JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar, DMK's M K Stalin, YSR Congress Party's YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray were among those who attended the meeting. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) were not invited. In her intervention at the meeting, Gandhi raised pointed questions. Stating that "even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis," Gandhi asked: "On which date did the Chinese troops intrude into our territory in Ladakh? When did the government find out about the Chinese transgressions into our territory? Was it on May 5, as reported, or earlier? Does the government not receive, on a regular basis, satellite pictures of the borders of our country?... Did the military intelligence not alert the government about the intrusion and the build-up of massive forces along the LAC, whether on the Chinese side or on the Indian side? In the government's considered view, was there a failure of intelligence?" Chinese attack was pre-planned, Rahul says Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi once again took aim at the government, alleging that it was 'sleeping' while the Chinese troops carried out a 'pre-planned' attack in Galwan valley in Ladakh and Indian soldiers paid the price. Gandhi's attack against the Centre came hours before the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation along the India-China border.  Rahul Gandhi "It's now crystal clear that the Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned. The Government of India was fast asleep and denied the problem. The price was paid by our martyred jawans," the Congress leader said on Twitter. He also tagged a report that quoted Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik as saying the attack was pre-planned by China and the Indian forces will give a befitting reply. Supreme Court refuses to stay work on Central Vista The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the groundwork for the Central Vista project. The Centre said there was "no overreaching of the process" in granting clearances for the ₹20,000-crore project that seeks to transform the landscape pf the capital's power corridors. Appearing before a Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, advocate Shikhil Suri, for petitioner Rajiv Suri, said the government was "churning out approvals" for the project regardless of pendency of challenge in the top court. The court appeared to side firmly with the Centre. "Can we restrain authorities from acting as per law?" Justice Khanwilkar asked.  The petition against the Central Vista project, reminded that Article 49 of the Constitution provided for protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance. A file picture of the President's Bodyguards during their rehearsal as part of the Republic Day Parade at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for another petitioner, said clearances were being sought and obtained continuously. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the government, said a consolidated reply to the allegations would be filed. The court asked the government to file its reply by July 3. Covid Watch: Numbers and developments The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 3,87,677 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 12,757. The Health Ministry said 13,586 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, making it once again the biggest single-day increase in cases. The Supreme Court, while hearing a plea today, said there should be uniformity in Covid-19 testing charges in all the states. It also directed all states to constitute a panel of experts who will inspect hospitals to ensure proper care of Covid-19 patients.  A view of the N.S.C. Bose Road and Esplanade Road junction in Chennai. The usually busy and crowded stretch now wears a deserted look, on June 19, 2020. Further, a high-powered committee set up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recommended fixing the cost of an Covid-19 isolation bed in private hospitals in Delhi in the range of ₹8,000 to ₹10,000, and an ICU bed with ventilator at ₹15,000-₹18,000 per day. In other news from the capital, the condition of Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who had tested positive for coronavirus, has worsened. He will be shifted to a private hospital, a spokesperson for the Delhi government today. In Brief: Suspended Jammu and Kashmir DSP Davinder Singh, arrested while ferrying two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists in a vehicle on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway earlier this year, was granted bail by a Delhi court on Friday. Singh and another accused in the case — Irfan Shafi Mir — were granted relief by the court in a case filed by a special cell of the Delhi Police. The court noted that the probe agency had failed to file the chargesheet within 90 days from his arrest, as prescribed under law. Twitter has slapped another label on a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump, this time warning that a video he shared was manipulated. After Trump tweeted the video late Thursday, Twitter took the rare step of adding a warning that it was "manipulated media" and linked to a page that said multiple journalists had confirmed the clip was edited to make it look like a CNN broadcast. The video remains visible on Trump's timeline. The Sri Lankan government has ordered a probe into the 2011 World Cup final. Sri Lanka's former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had earlier this week claimed that the final, in which India had beaten Sri Lanka, had been "fixed". Evening Wrap will return on Monday. | 
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