Libyan Ambassador to India Ali al-Essawi has reportedly resigned in protest against his government's violent crackdown on demonstrators.
Referring to their ties with China, India and Japan on Monday agreed that it was essential to engage China in a closer, more open and productive dialogue as both Tokyo and New Delhi are desirous of peace in the region. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan discussed the issue of boundary disputes with China -- while India faces border issues over land, Japan is engaged in a maritime territorial row -- in Tokyo.
Thnew deal will likely usher in a new era of cooperation and broad-basing of economic relationship between the two Asian powers.
India's demand that Pakistan should do more to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to justice is not an "unrealistic" one, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said.
India and the United States will hold the second round of their strategic dialogue in New Delhi on April 6 during which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would lead the American side, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has announced in Washington.
The United States has assured India of providing 'fair solution' to Indian students affected by the shut down of California-based Tri Valley University, which has been accused of a massive visa fraud.
Ahead of its engagement in the process of bridging "trust deficit" with Pakistan, India has asked it to "shed its insecurity" on asymmetries in sizes and capabilities between them, including the strategic leverage gained after Indo-US nuclear deal, as they were not targeted against it.
Hoping that India and Pakistan could come to a satisfactory conclusion about what is required for the 26/11 trial to go ahead, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday said that 'justice has to be done' by bringing to book all those responsible for Mumbai terror strikes.
India has demanded stopping "forthwith" the "patronage of powerful forces and institutions" within Pakistan to the groups involved in anti-India acts, saying it faces "hostile forces" from across the border with that country.
Amid speculation about an Indo-Pak bilateral meeting in New York this week, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Tuesday said that talks between the two neighbours were necessary but asked Pakistan to first stop supporting terrorism against India originating from its soil. Rao, however, did not respond to a question about an assertion made by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahomood on Monday that Islamabad had sent 'suggestions' to India through diplomatic channels.
Nepal Maoist chief Prachanda sought to allay India's concerns that his party was strongly anti-Indian, but underlined that the two countries need to redefine the 'unequal' accords of the past given the dramatic changes of the past few years. On the second say of her three-day visit, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met the Maoist chairman who also told her that his party was committed to honour the agreements signed in line with the peace process in Nepal.
The External Affairs ministry was at odds with the Jammu and Kashmir government over reports on Chinese intrusion in Ladakh, saying no such incident had taken place and the media reports carrying the same were "baseless".
The parents of Nirupama Pathak, who was allegedly murdered by her family members on Thursday, were taken into custody for interrogation on Monday, a senior police official said."We have detained the parents of Pathak, who was attached with a reputed English business daily from New Delhi, for interrogation in connection with her murder," Koderma Superintendent of Police Kranti Singh said.The mysterious death of the journalist turned out to be a case of murder.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani held 'very good talks' in a 'free and frank' manner, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters, after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit, for 50 minutes on Thursday.Dr Singh told Gilani that cooperation between the two nations was vital for the progress of SAARC's goals and peace in south Asia.
India on Thursday asked Sri Lanka to move beyond the resettlement of people displaced due to the civil war in the country's north and find a political solution to the long-pending Tamil question.
India on Tuesday assured Tamils displaced by the 30-year-old civil war in Sri Lanka's north of all possible assistance in their resettlement process, as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao visited the war-ravaged towns and interacted with locals.
After protracted re-negotiations, India and Russia have ended the stalemate over contentious price and technical issues for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier which had become an irritant in bilateral ties.
No bilateral meeting has been fixed so far between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani in Bhutan during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on Thursday."As of now, no such meeting has been set up between the prime minister and Gilani," she said, adding that Dr Singh will have separate meetings with leaders from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will undertake a three-day visit to Sri Lanka from Monday. She is expected to visit the north eastern provinces of Sri Lanka -- including Vayunia, Yazhpanam and Trincomalee -- to check the rehabilitation of the Tamil population, who were displaced by the military's offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Rao is also expected to prepare the ground work for the official visit of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Colombo.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao today got a seven-month extension with the government deciding to have a tenure of upto two years in the key post.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who visited Sri Lanka last week and met President Mahinda Rajapakse and senior Sri Lankan officials, has said that India had been reassured over the Lankan government's efforts to return internally-displaced persons to their homes and also hopeful over a future political process to alleviate the lot of the Tamil-speaking community and other minorities.
'The Indian side -- S M Krishna, Nirupama Rao and Sharat Sabharwal -- was the picture of tranquillity, poise and perseverance. Krishna spoke in measured tones, but firmly and convincingly. Except for failing to defend the home secretary, Krishna's performance was faultless.'
India and China held their fourth round of strategic dialogue to discuss a host of issues such as New Delhi's concerns relating to issuance of stapled visas by Beijing for Kashmiris and its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Was the visit connected to China's recent actions vis-a-vis Pakistan?
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Friday called on External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and discussed relations between the two estranged neighbours. Bashir, who was in New Delhi for talks with his counterpart Nirupama Rao, spent approximately an hour talking to Krishna.They are understood to have taken stock of the bilateral relations and reviewed the discussions that were held between the two foreign secretaries on Thursday.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday to kick off a dialogue between the two countries after a hiatus of 14 months. India had suspended the composite dialogue with Pakistan after the terror attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which was planned and carried out by Pakistani terrorists.
India is likely to put before Pakistan a set of specific demands related to tackling terrorism when their foreign secretaries meet next week, and Delhi's political circles believe that its response will determine the future course of such talks. Expectations from the talks between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir, to be held in New Delhi on February 25, are 'realistic', informed sources said.
Dr Singh briefed Obama about the peace initiatives with Pakistan, but made it clear that Islamabad should abide by its commitment of not to allow terrorism emanating from its soil directed against India.
The Cabinet Committee on Security today took stock of the situation arising out of the Pune bomb blast and is understood to have discussed issues related to the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
India has told Pakistan that the proposed talks with it will focus on terrorism and other issues "hurting" bilateral relations and has given no indication about the full-fledged resumption of the stalled composite dialogue process, official sources said on Friday.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in Islamabad on June 24 to finalise the agenda for an upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Taking a serious note of the killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, India on Tuesday told Colombo that the use of force against them should not be repeated and asked it to take a decision that will not upset bilateral ties. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna also directed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to convene a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on the issue around February 15 to discuss the issue.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had things their way as India ruled the tennis courts at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday. The top seeded and favorites sailed into the men's doubles quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Sri Lanka's Thangarajah Dineshkanthan and Amresh Jayawickreme in the first round.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Monday said that New Delhi would continue to give more financial aid to Sri Lanka for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the war-ravaged Tamil-dominated northern areas.
India and the US will have a series of high-level meetings starting from this week with the visit of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to that country to set the agenda for President Barack Obama's tour in November.
The mother of scribe Nirupama Pathak, who was arrested last week in connection with the alleged honour killing of her daughter, was released on Sunday on parole for three days to attend the post-death rituals. Koderma Jail Superintendent Martin Ranjan said that Subha Pathak was allowed to go to her Jhumritilaya home to attend the 'shradh' rituals following a local court's permission.
A case of rape and abetment to suicide has been filed against the boyfriend of Delhi-based journalist Nirupama Pathak, an alleged victim of 'honour killing', following charges leveled by her arrested mother. The FIR was lodged by the police on Friday evening on directions from a local court and investigations are going on, Koderma Superintendent of Police G Kranthi Kumar said on Saturday.
The papers on the basis of which terror suspects David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana were issued visas by the Indian Consulate in Chicago may have gone mysteriously missing and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said she has asked for a factual report from the diplomatic mission.
"You have caught the imagination of millions across the world, including the people of India who are anxiously waiting for your visit."
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