'China is India's primary strategic challenge, which will not go away.
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
Amid a debate within the government on allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the nodal consumer affairs ministry is insisting on a foreign direct investment cap of 49 per cent in the sensitive sector, sources said.
'There is no question that Putin's preference will be to avoid unpleasantness with Trump, leave alone a collision course,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India on Thursday strongly rejected as 'baseless' allegations of its interference in Canadian elections and asserted that the core issue has been Ottawa's meddling in New Delhi's internal affairs.
India has launched two special category visa for international students intending to pursue higher education in academic institutions in the country.
Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump in the weeks after his inauguration last month.
Vikas Yadav, a former Indian government official charged by the United States authorities for his alleged role in a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, was arrested by Delhi Police in December last year in an unrelated extortion and kidnapping case, police sources said.
India on Tuesday pressed Russia to release all the Indians recruited by the Russian military, following the death of another Indian national in the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone, taking the death toll to 10.
They said according to the Hague Convention, the service upon a foreign entity had to be served through the prescribed rules.
India has confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have died while serving in the Russian military during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Another 16 Indians, who were serving in the Russian armed forces, are listed as missing by Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a total of 126 Indians were serving with the Russian military and 96 of them have so far been discharged.
However, the Maldives government has no intention of removing the doctors from India at Senahiya, a media report said.
"When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously. We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
India and Canada have mutually beneficial political and economic linkages. The two countries should get together and find a solution. The expulsion war should, in the meantime, be a guarantee against any deterioration of the situation, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the first Indian head of mission to be ever expelled by any country.
Doval is in Beijing for the 23rd round of the Special Representatives' talks being held after a gap of five years.
The Union home ministry on Thursday recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the affairs of the Indian arm of the global NGO Oxfam for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, sources said.
Defence sources stated that the disengagement involves removing infrastructure and withdrawing troops from both sides. The process is expected to be completed by Tuesday.
'Our Constitution as well as the Right to Education Act do not make any distinction between Indian or foreigner; it only talks about 'child'.' 'It says that every child has the right to get education.'
PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf on Monday met Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi to discuss the delay in visa issuance to Pakistani fans and journalists for the ongoing World Cup in India.
It would be the prime minister's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump became president for a second term.
China also removed Finance Minister Liu Kun and appointed Lan Fo'an in his place. Liu is the third senior Cabinet minister to be replaced without any explanation.
China has defended its plan to build the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, assuring that the project will not affect riparian states and safety issues have been addressed through decades of studies. The dam, estimated to cost USD 137 billion, has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, but Chinese authorities maintain that the project has been thoroughly studied and safeguards are in place. The dam is part of China's efforts to develop clean energy and respond to climate change.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
The brief exchange and handshake between Jaishankar and Sharif took place at a banquet dinner hosted by the Pakistani prime minister at his residence in honour of the delegates attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
India on Monday described as 'deeply regrettable' an incident of breach of the premises of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in the neighbouring country.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday (local time) took a veiled dig at Pakistan and said that it is very difficult to engage with a neighbour, who practises cross-border terrorism against India.
United States President Donald Trump for the fourth time in recent days claimed that the Biden administration allocated $21 million funding to India for 'voter turnout', evoking a sharp response from the Congress which urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 'talk to his friend' and strongly refute the allegation.
A top Maldivian government official said that during the meeting, Naseer made it clear that the remarks do not reflect the views of the Maldivian government, and reaffirmed Maldives' continued support for its neighbour, the Sun Online reported.
New Delhi said if the reports of Azhar's location are correct, then Pakistan's "duplicity" has been exposed as it has been maintaining that the JeM chief is not in that country.
The United States will deport 119 Indian nationals who were living in the country illegally. The individuals will arrive in Amritsar, India, on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted the need to combat human trafficking. This deportation follows the arrival of a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants earlier this month. Prime Minister Modi and President Donald Trump discussed the issue of illegal immigration during their joint press conference, emphasizing the need to dismantle the "ecosystem" of human trafficking. Modi emphasized India's willingness to take back its citizens residing illegally in the US, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that the issue of illegal immigration was raised during the discussions, stressing the need to address the root causes of the problem. India seeks cooperation from the US to dismantle the rackets and ecosystems that facilitate illegal immigration, potentially involving collaboration between law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Her comments come a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Geneva that roughly 75 percent of the "disengagement problems" with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.
Nepali prime ministers traditionally choose New Delhi for their first foreign visit after being sworn-in.
Taking a dig at a section of Bangladeshi politicians, who said the country has legitimate claims over Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wondered whether Indians 'would have lollipop' when external forces would try to occupy Indian lands.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the BJP spokesperson, saying it insulted Prophet Muhammad.
Jaishankar said that both sides also exchanged views on the next steps in the India-China bilateral ties.
'Canada doesn't want to de-escalate and neither does India. There is war when one party wants it, but peace is won by both parties.'
India has expressed concerns over a rise in violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, reporting 2,200 cases in Bangladesh and 112 in Pakistan this year. The Indian government has urged both countries to take measures to ensure the safety of minorities and has highlighted the issue at international forums. The government has also stated that it is monitoring the situation closely and has shared its concerns with the respective governments.
The United Kingdom has shown its disagreement with India's action after the India-Canada standoff which resulted in the departure of 41 Canadian diplomats from India and called for resolution of differences through discussion.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will travel to India to attend the meeting of G20 foreign ministers on March 2, during which he is expected to hold his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
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