Ahead of the India-China summit, Mahabalipuram, the ancient coastal town near Chennai, has been virtually turned into a fortress with unprecedented security arrangements while the beautification and other preparations touched a feverish pitch on Wednesday.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will be the chief guest at this year's Republic Day celebrations.
China on Monday said it is keeping a close watch on reports of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan though it was conspicuously missing from her official Asia tour itinerary and warned of a resolute response by its military and strong countermeasures if she went ahead with the trip to Taipei.
One of the most forceful points Rishi raised during the debate was the rise of an inimical China, and how Britain must be prepared to deal with Xi Jinping's Beijing regime.
A powerhouse line-up mixing Hollywood, diplomacy and corporate America streamed into the White House for President Barack Obama's lavish state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Modi-Putin conversation in Samarkand was widely carried by the mainstream American media.
The summit is being attended by more than 30 heads of state and top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.
'In Eastern Ladakh the Chinese attempted salami slicing.' 'Our response has been superb. Our military has responded magnificently.'
The declaration said the SCO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful settlement of disagreements and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultations.
Officials said 387 passengers were aboard two flights from Toronto and Singapore on the day the country ended its strict COVID-19 restrictions for travellers.
'The PLA has continued to do exercises and drills and recently carried out air exercises with fighter jets.'
'Xi is keen that the remaining three territories still outside the Chinese ambit -- Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Senkaku Islands in the East Sea -- be absorbed by the Communist regime by the time the centenary of the revolution rolls around in 2049.'
The state government had on Tuesday sought the court's permission to erect banners welcoming Modi and Xi Jinping, who are slated to meet at Mahabalipuram, for their second informal meet from October 11-13.
'Countries around the world are like passengers aboard the same ship. For the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future, all passengers must pull together'
In Tokyo, hundreds of Japanese citizens came out on the streets to express solidarity with the oppressed people of Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Chinese hubris and the slippery slope it finds itself on have important lessons for authoritarian leaders elsewhere, including in India, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The crushing of Hong Kong's long-held spirit of democracy by a tyrannnical regime is a warning of the dangers and threat from autocrats to all who believe in the spirit of true democracy.
China last year pegged its defence budget at 1.45 trillion yuan, a 7.1 per cent increase. This year the defence spending is increased to 1.55 trillion yuan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who kicked off his India visit on Wednesday from Gujarat, visited the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad where Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted him a copy of the Gita written in Chinese language.
Blinken was expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, and potentially with President Xi Jinping.
China continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq. kms. of Indian territory in the Union Territory of Ladakh for the last six decades, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan informed Lok Sabha on Friday.
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
'On the LAC, China can undertake military action at any place with much fewer resources. It can do 'salami slicing'.'
India, Taiwan and countries with large numbers of Tibetans, Uyghurs and overseas Chinese will be prominent among those that witness elevated United Front activity, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RAW officer.
'Even if there is no full-scale war, Galwan-like skirmishes cannot be ruled out.'
Dulat, however, pointedly said engagement with Pakistan has always been "influenced by domestic politics".
EAM Jaishankar's mission is aimed at strengthening India's strategic autonomy in a complex international environment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Ukrainian athletes were given a warm welcome in Beijing as the Winter Paralympics opened
China on Saturday began military exercises around Taiwan to test the capabilities of its forces to 'seize control of the sea, air and information', days after a meeting between the United States House Speaker and the President of the self-ruled island in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.
Heading G20 will give India a foreign affairs year like it has never had in history. You can trust Narendra Modi to exploit this to India's benefit. And, of course, to his own in his election year, explains Shekhar Gupta.
'The immediate attempt by China is to get its way and gain territory through small steps without having a full-scale war.'
Videos circulating in China's social media showed clinics in Beijing and some other cities flooded with patients with queues extending onto footpaths with people patiently waiting for their turn in the cold winter.
On a mission to cool soaring bilateral tensions, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday held extensive talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on a range of issues, including the Taiwan issue and the Ukraine war.
The lamp has a round base decorated with beautiful patterns. It has slender and intricately -- designed ornamental stem with branches taking off at three levels.
'The Chinese made their point repeatedly after August 5. They backed Pakistan more overtly than in the past.' 'Kashmir is not completely off their radar. But in order to keep the atmosphere surrounding the Chennai meeting, they did not discuss Kashmir.'
It is the first time that Modi and Xi came face-to-face since the Chinese People's Liberation Army occupied Indian territory in Ladakh in April 2020.
The two sides have already held 21 rounds of talks under the framework of SR dialogue which was set up to find an early solution to the border dispute.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Friday for the 2022 Winter Olympics and a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, bringing with him a deal to increase natural gas supplies to China amid rising tension with the West.
Modi held a "productive meeting" with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed Ali on a day when BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders officially endorsed Ethiopia's entry into the bloc.
'This reluctance to respond forcefully to Chinese PLA provocations and outright aggression has as much to do with Prime Minister Modi personally, as with the institutional mindset of the MEA or even the Indian Army.' 'They are scarred by the 1962 War and are still cowed by China.'
