Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide US$ 4.2 billion worth of assistance to cash-strapped Pakistan to support its economy, it emerged on Wednesday after Prime Minister Imran Khan held talks with Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Riyadh this week.
'I said, fellas, come on, let's make a deal, let's do some trading, let's not trade nuclear missiles, let's trade the things that you make so beautifully, and they both have very powerful leaders, very strong leaders, smart leaders, and it all stopped.'
The leaders of the grouping who met under India's presidency in New Delhi adopted the Delhi Declaration in which they emphasised the freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
In a tweet, Modi said India is 'delighted to welcome' the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal battled past Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out on Friday to win the Saudi Cup and claim the domestic double, leaving the Portuguese forward in tears at the end of the drama.
"We will soon find out. I'm in no rush. There's no testing... If you look at the end of the Obama administration, it was a disaster. What was going on. You don't have that right now. It's a much different feeling. I think people have...there's always danger, but I think people have much different feeling," he said.
'The surge of Saudi nationalism is the last thing Washington wants,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Sukhu met Modi and discussed various issues related to Himachal Pradesh during the G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim that Washington got involved with India and Pakistan, saying he didn't like what was happening and that he did a good job as he convinced the two countries to let's have peace and let's go and make trade deals.
Saudi Arabia's crown prince and the presidents of Egypt, Turkey and Algeria, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General, are among leaders at the in a tent-shaped stadium ahead of the first match between the hosts and Ecuador.
Though Bajwa met Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Saudi Arabia's military chief of staff General Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili, he failed to meet the crown prince.
Khaled Aedh Alotaibi, a former Saudi royal guard, was arrested at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris while boarding a flight to Riyadh.
'The background for the Saudi-Pakistan agreement is the fact that the regional security order has collapsed due to the Israeli attack on Doha.' 'The Americans have largely abandoned their security guarantee for West Asia and the region has no choice but to look at alternatives.'
During the meeting, Obama expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL, the White House said in a readout of the meeting.
It is not every day that one of the planet's richest men is arrested by his government.
The government will have until June 24, 2018, to implement the new decree
With Modi's international image seriously damaged -- perhaps, irrecoverably -- and Indian foreign policy finding itself in drift, we move on to the New Year in a depressing scenario, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The stage is set for increasing tensions in a highly volatile region as crucial as ever from a geopolitical standpoint,' predicts Claude Smadja.
Trump couldn't care less anymore about the Israeli demand for Iran's 'de-nuclearisation' and 'de-militarisation.' Trump pins hopes on a grand bargain with Iran as a partner in America First, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
Live on one of Gelephu's inhabitable bridges where elephants will saunter past, be it day or night; or be homed in a never-ending building with flying cars and robot maids? asks ambivalent Sandeep Goyal.
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered at the GulfKingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October, and three other journalists were named TIME's Person of the Year, an honour that recognises them for "taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths" and "for speaking up and for speaking out". "For taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts, for speaking up and for speaking out, the Guardians -- Jamal Khashoggi, the Capital Gazette, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo -- are TIME's Person of the Year," the magazine said on Tuesday. Here's all you need to know about TIME's Guardians.
Given all the turbulence created by Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's unexpected tirade against Saudi Arabia, it is likely to be business as usual between the two countries, albeit with a bit of caution on the part of both, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
A prominent Saudi billionaire, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has been released from a two-month detention after paying a settlement in an anti-corruption bust. Alwaleed was being detained at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was detained in November after the new Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman implemented a crackdown on corruption in the wealthy state. Hours after his release, he gave a tour of his palatial 'cell' at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh to counter rumours of torture or mistreatment and gloss over the allegations against him.
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.
India is upset at a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a US state department official while defending the immunity it had extended to Saudi Arabian ruler Mohammad bin Sultan, who is facing allegations of killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Modi held several bilateral and trilateral meetings with world leaders.
Morocco, in second place in their group but tied on 4 points with top team Croatia, play their final game of the group stage against Canada on Thursday.
Doval and Salman also deliberated on a range of bilateral, regional issues including the missile and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities last month and ways to further deepen anti-terror cooperation.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
The highly anticipated historic G20 Leader's Summit begins on Saturday, September 9, in New Delhi.
'We began foolishly bragging about Saudi-Emirati investment plans as indicative of the sheikhs 'distancing' from Pakistan, including on Kashmir,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'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.
China welcomes all initiatives that truly help developing countries build infrastructure and sincere efforts to promote connectivity and common development, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
The IAF has already set up a dedicated operations direction centre for coordinating various aspects of the arrangements with security agencies concerned, they said.
The Middle East's power house is about to get a new ruler who is only 31 and he may lead Saudi Arabia for decades, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The victim's body was dismembered and destroyed following his death by suffocation -- again, in line with advance plans'
Global financial markets are not yet fully factoring in any escalation in the Israel-Palestine geopolitical conflict, said Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies in his latest weekly note to investors, GREED & fear. The pertinent point about ongoing events in West Asia from a financial market perspective, according to him, is that, despite much talk about a pending ground invasion of Gaza, no such invasion has yet happened. "This is beginning to make GREED & fear wonder if it is ever going to happen.
'He may respect others, but he is unlikely to admire them'
'Netanyahu lured Trump into a trap by enticing him with a seductive scenario of massive lucrative business in Gaza's reconstruction.' 'Trump's imagination is running riot, completely disconnected from ground realities,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
