March 15, 2025, Saturday, marks the 50th anniversary of India's landmark victory over Pakistan in the final of the 1975 hockey World Cup.
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives and injured many, the government ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave the country and revoked their visas.
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 16.93 per cent to $8.83 billion in May, while imports dipped by 5.76 per cent to $3.62 billion during the month, according to the commerce ministry data. During April-May, the country's exports to the US increased by 21.78 per cent to $17.25 billion, while imports rose by 25.8 per cent to $8.87 billion, the data showed.
The Indian government has informed Parliament that 25 Indian nationals have been sentenced to death in the UAE, but the judgments are yet to be implemented. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that 10,152 Indian prisoners, including undertrials, are currently incarcerated in foreign prisons. The government provides assistance to Indian nationals sentenced to death abroad, including consular access and legal aid. In the past five years, Indian nationals have been executed in Malaysia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The UAE authorities have not shared any data regarding the execution of Indians, but informal information suggests no executions have occurred since 2020.
India's Veer Chotrani advanced to the semi-finals of the World Squash Championships Qualifying (Asia) after a come-from-behind win over home favourite Mohammad Syafiq Kamal in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Debutant left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma (5/5) recorded the best-ever figures in the ICC Under-19 Women's World Cup, including a hat-trick, to lead India to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Malaysia.
Kalyan Chaubey alluded to lack of goals from the Indian strikers, which he said could be one of the reasons for the poor show by the team under Manolo Marquez.
'We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to counter Pak-backed terrorism is the choice of parties, not of the Centre'
Clubbed with Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia in Group A, India comfortably advanced to the final, defeating Bangladesh 64-23, Thailand 76-21, and Malaysia 73-19 to top their pool with three wins.
India has closed its airspace to flights operated by Pakistani airlines in a retaliatory move following the Pahalgam terror attack. The ban will be in effect until May 23 and applies to all aircraft registered in Pakistan, as well as planes operated, owned or leased by Pakistani airlines and operators. This comes a week after Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers. The move is part of various measures taken by the Indian government against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung deserves to be complimented in telling his life story and that of his people, as subaltern communities within this vast and diverse nation of ours clamour for recognition and a plea for their voices to be heard and their aspirations to be met, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy.
Compound mixed team in bronze play-off, Deepika, Salunkhe in recurve individual semis
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto fought hard to beat Hoo Pang Ron and Su Yin Cheng of Malaysia to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships.
Pakistan has been excluded from the upcoming Azlan Shah Cup in November due to an outstanding debt owed to the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF).
India had a successful outing at the Archery World Cup Stage 2, bagging two gold medals, a silver and bronze, in Shanghai, on Saturday. The gold medals were won by Madhura Dhamangaonkar and the compound men's team, while the women's compound team won silver and the mixed team bronze.
Various industry bodies have sought immediate government intervention through the imposition of anti-dumping duties, claiming India has seen a surge in imports of Chinese goods over the past two weeks.
P V Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to advance to the Round of 16.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
Malaysia and India took the top-two spots in their pool to make the semifinals which guarantee them at least a bronze.
Interacting with reporters in Kolkata, the Trinamool national general secretary reiterated that his party stood with the government in matters of national interest, combating cross-border terrorism, and safeguarding sovereignty.
Her statement came after a controversy broke out that TMC MP Yusuf Pathan was forced to opt out of the multi-party diplomatic delegation.
'We recently launched Yesintek in the immunology space.'
Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Banerjee said, "We have been in talks with them (Pakistan) for decades, despite changes in various paradigms and governments. But one thing remains constant, the conflict with Pakistan."
'A small boat with a single sail cannot withstand the stormy waves, and only by working together can we sail steadily and far,' Xi told the Vietnamese leadership.
If Beijing succeeds in this multipronged effort to challenge the current dominant power, it will have not just economic but political and security consequences. There is no let-up in the South China Sea nor any de-escalation moves on the India-China border. This portends to ominous signalling from Beijing, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Covid is growing milder with time but an occasional surge in cases is expected because the virus that causes it is now endemic and constantly evolving, say scientists while assuring that there is no cause for concern.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
What are you going to watch on OTT this week? Sukanya Verma lists your options.
India briefed envoys of the US, UK, France, China, Russia, Germany and several other countries on the Pahalgam terror attack and its link to cross-border terrorism. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri apprised the diplomats about various aspects of the dastardly terror attack on innocent civilians and India's firm policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism. The briefing was held a day after India announced a raft of measures against Pakistan including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post. The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmed up the punitive measures against Pakistan in view of the cross-border links to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. Diplomats of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Norway, Italy, Indonesia and Malaysia were also part of the briefing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish terrorists behind the strike and said India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached their second successive semi-final after humbling China's Ren Xiang Yu and He Ji Ting in straight games.
The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashed out in the second round of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday. Sen lost to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in three games, while Satwik and Chirag lost a close match against Thai combination of Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.
'Right now, silver -- and especially platinum -- are very cheap compared to gold. If I were buying today, I would choose platinum.'
Agriculture, pharma, electronics, and engineering goods together accounted for over 50 per cent of India's merchandise exports in 2024-25, according to government data, highlighting the country's growing strength in diverse sectors amid efforts to boost manufacturing and value-added exports.
India stayed on course to make it a hat-trick of men's junior Asia Cup hockey titles, defeating Malaysia 3-1 to enter the final.
World No. 15 Sindhu, who will be eyeing her third Olympic medal at the Paris Games in two months time, will face second seed and world no. 7 Wang Zhi Yi of China in the summit clash.
Sindhu saw off Sim 21-13, 12-21, 21-14 in a 59-minute women's singles second-round match to register her third win over the Korean world number 34.
India finalised a free trade agreement with the UK, its 16th so far as the country aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. The other regions and countries with which India has signed such agreements include the four-nation European bloc EFTA, Japan, Korea and Australia.
Kidambi Srikanth registered a superb come-from-behind win over World No 5 Indonesian Jonatan Christie.
Shetty had earlier shocked former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games in his opening round.
