India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
'You know why? Because they know they can't vet them, and they don't want Hamas in their neighbourhood'
With the human rights issues in Saudi Arabia, seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton expressed unease over travelling to the country for the upcoming Jeddah Grand Prix.
If military power is all it would take to finish the menace of an awful terrorist organisation like Hamas, how come five Israeli wars in Gaza since 2003 have failed to do so? asks Shekhar Gupta.
With developments like the Russia-China alliance and the rise of China in the Middle East, India's role has diminished though the India-Israel-US-UAE grouping may assume some importance in the future, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Drivers met for more than four hours at the Jeddah Corniche circuit
International oil prices jumped to the highest level since 2014, topping $87 a barrel but domestic petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the 74th day in a row - a freeze that may be linked to ensuing assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Brent - the key global oil benchmark - soared to $87.7 per barrel mostly due to rising geopolitical tensions and supply-side disturbances due to Yemen's Houthi group's attack on oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates. Also, global inventories are waning. The attack, some analysts believe, may lead to more hostile behaviour between the two power centres in the Middle East - Iran and Saudi Arabia.
At least 29 people have been killed and many others wounded in a suicide bomb attack that ripped through a Shia mosque in Yemen's capital Sanaa.
Speaking in the Security Council briefing on 'Threat to International Peace & Security Caused by Terrorist Acts' on Wednesday, Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti reiterated India's firm belief that terrorism in one part of the world is threat to peace and security of entire world.
Disputing reports that 20 Indian nationals were killed in air strikes by Saudi-led coalition forces at Yemen's Hodeidah port, the MEA said 13 Indians crew members "are alive and 7 are reported missing".
The assault on Saudi Aramco's processing plant in Abqaiq and at the Khurais oil field caused huge fire but no casualty was reported, Gulf News reported.
A Keralite, 49, has been taken captive allegedly by a 6 member armed group at Sanaa in strife torn Yemen, according to information reaching the family in Malappuram.
Two Indians were among three persons killed when a missile fired from strife-torn Yemen struck Saudi Arabia's southwestern border city of Najran
'In my hospital, there must be at least 150, 200 Indian nurses. There are other hospitals nearby, and my calculation is that there may be at least 600, 700 Indian nurses working there.' 'All of us are worried. I want the Indian government to help us get out of here,' says an Indian nurse working at a maternity hospital in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran which was shelled early this week by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants.
Any Indian government at this juncture would have voted and spoken exactly this way. It isn't just about the vast Indian dependence on Russian-origin military equipment. It is also about trust, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in Turkey on a day-long official visit to hold discussions with the country's top leadership on the Yemen crisis.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said Pakistan stands with Saudi Arabia and will react strongly if there is a threat to its integrity, but kept mum on Riyadh's request for military assistance to fight Houthi rebels in war-ravaged Yemen.
One Indian was killed and two were injured in mortar attacks from Yemen around Samtah General Hospital in Jizan Region of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan's parliament on Friday voted unanimously against military involvement in the Yemen war, tacitly rejecting a call by oil-rich Saudi Arabia to become part of its coalition that is fighting against Houthi rebels.
The 16-month civil war has killed more than 6,500 people and displaced more than 2.5 million people.
Nearly two weeks after drone and missile attacks on its vital oil facilities, Saudi Arabia has said it is enhancing cooperation with India to combat terrorism, including choking funds to terror networks and exchange of information and intelligence.
'Today, I am taking new actions to restrict Iran's nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. My Administration will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, nor will we allow Iran to endanger the rest of the world with a fresh supply of ballistic missiles and conventional arms,' Trump said in a statement.
Recounting their ordeals, evacuees from Yemen have narrated their tales of horror during their stay in that war-torn country.
Trump says his visit to the Middle East is "paying off" to end the "horror of terrorism"
'Qatar has been funding and supporting terrorist organisations.' 'It has used its media to spread lies and create unrest in neighbouring countries.'
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
All the action from around the world last week, in case you missed it.
A photo symbolising "love and compassion" of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months from a nurse through a transparent "hug curtain" has been named the World Press Photo of the Year. This year, according to organisers, 74,470 images were submitted for judging, made by 4,315 photographers from 130 different countries. World Press Photo has been kind enough to allow to share some of this year's winning photos here with you.
India on Wednesday asked all its nationals not to travel to Yemen in view of the ongoing conflict and fragile security situation there.
'If UAV technology is used by the adversary to target VIPs or strategic targets it would be a different ball game altogether,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said the evacuation of 348 Indian nationals from strife-torn Yemen was a national effort involving various aspects of the country's assets like the Air Force, Navy and Air India.
'The attacks made clear to all the Gulf States that Pakistan was the nursery and sanctuary of extremist violence and that this violence threatened all the countries in the region.'
The Saudi-led coalition is also engaged in a military operation in Yemen since March 2015 when Houthis drove out the government led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is believed to be in exile in Saudi Arabia.
The news of the week gone by that shaped the world
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images
Nawaz Sharif will lead a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia in a bid to cool tempers in the kingdom over Islamabad's refusal to provide troops for the war in Yemen.
'The bigger challenge and dilemma for Pakistan would be if the US and Saudi Arabia go full throttle against Iran and enforce regime change in Tehran.' 'That would be bad news for Pakistan, especially with the current instability in Balochistan,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Pakistan has announced that it would send a top civil-military delegation to Saudi Arabia to assess security situation after Riyadh's request that it join a coalition to defend Yemen's president.
How long can Pakistan remain neutral in the Saudi Arabia-led Yemen conflict?
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