India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing for a two-day trip beginning Sunday, marking the second high-profile visit from India to China in less than one-and-a-half months. The visit comes amidst ongoing border tensions and follows a recent disengagement pact between the two countries in eastern Ladakh. The Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism meeting will focus on the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. The decision to revive this bilateral mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October.
'Pakistan is uncomfortable with the Indian presence in Afghanistan. They want the Taliban to ensure that there is no Indian presence in Afghanistan.'
Bangladesh has demanded a public apology and compensation from Pakistan for the 1971 atrocities, raising "historically unresolved issues" during the first foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries in 15 years. Dhaka also asked Islamabad to pay USD 4.3 billion as its share from the combined assets at the time of East Pakistan's split from West Pakistan in 1971 to form an independent Bangladesh.
World leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, expressing solidarity with India. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group. The attack came during US Vice President J D Vance's maiden visit to India. Prime Minister Modi, who had arrived in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit earlier in the day, cut short his visit and departed for New Delhi on Tuesday night following the attack.
Gor, 38, was among 107 nominees confirmed by the Senate in a single en bloc vote on Tuesday, with 51 senators voting in favour and 47 against.
The Indian government has informed Parliament that there are currently over 10,000 Indian prisoners, including undertrials, in foreign jails. The Ministry of External Affairs shared country-wise data, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE having the highest number of Indian prisoners. The government has assured that it prioritizes the safety and well-being of Indians abroad and provides consular assistance, legal aid, and financial support to those imprisoned.
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday (local time) hailed India as 'one of the top relationships that the US has in the world today' during the Senate confirmation hearing for Sergio Gor, US President Donald Trump's nominee for US Ambassador to India.
The White House mentioned that American companies are replacing US workers with H-1B workers.
'Stage five of this catastrophe has begun: Starvation.'
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a 'Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement', pledging that any aggression against either nation would be treated as an attack on both.
World leaders, including the UN Secretary-General and US President Donald Trump, have urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and seek peaceful solutions to the ongoing tensions. The calls for calm come after India conducted airstrikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to a recent terrorist attack. Leaders from the US, Russia, UK, China, UAE, Qatar, and Japan have expressed concern over the escalating situation and emphasized the need for dialogue and de-escalation.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, describing it as "a big step" in efforts to increase global pressure on Moscow.
When you declare 12th Fail as the Best Film and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani as the Wholesome Entertainer of the year, you have somehow narrowed the range of the awards, suggesting, in effect, that the entire spectrum of possibility in Indian cinema extends from the Filmfare Awards winner for the Best Film to the Filmfare Awards winner for the Best Film (Critics), points out Sreehari Nair.
'Pakistan is an ally who gives the US access.' 'If we have a presence there, it puts us that much closer to China and puts our assets closer to China and Iran.'
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's sudden resignation after only a year in office has thrown Japan into political turmoil, raising doubts about how the country will handle economic and regional challenges, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
A former Bangladesh army officer and close aide of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has suggested that Dhaka should collaborate with China to occupy India's northeastern states if it attacks Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Bangladesh's interim government has distanced itself from the remarks made by Major General (Retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman on his social media account. Rahman's comments come amidst growing tensions between India and Bangladesh following Yunus' remarks in China about India's northeastern states being landlocked and needing Bangladesh's access to the ocean. These incidents have further strained relations between the two countries, with India withdrawing transhipment facilities granted to Bangladesh for exporting goods to the Middle East, Europe, and various other countries.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday by a police party in Leh, two days after violent protests by supporters of the movement for statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule of Constitution left four persons dead and 90 others injured, officials said.
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Teams have been formed and assigned to individual families with a rank of a deputy collector or tehsildar rank officer. Bodies will be handed over to the families and taken in ambulance to the village or district with a police pilot, Pandey said.
The All India Chess Federation did not utilise Rs 3.12 crore out of the central government's allocation of Rs 5.2 crore during FY25.
The possibilities of this serviceable thriller are immense but the makers prefer to play it safe and hold back the daredevil in the diplomat's clothing, observes Sukanya Verma.
He went on to say that even though this has not been discussed, he is going to 'increase trade substantially with both of these great Nations.'
Pakistan has urged India to fully adhere to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), expressing concerns about the level of detail in flood information shared through diplomatic channels.
According to informed sources, Doval will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday to attend the crucial talks, which were expected to provide a way forward for the two countries to normalise the relations.
'Why have we failed to address the issue of ensuring a requisite buffer zone in J&K, given that cross-border links of some J&K politicians are known?', asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
US President Donald Trump shared a video link of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with US-based popular podcaster and computer scientist Lex Fridman on his social media platform Truth Social. During the interaction lasting over three hours, Modi on Sunday said he and Trump connect well as both put their respective countries first and asserted that their mutual trust remained unshaken even when the Republican leader was out of office during Joe Biden's presidency. Modi recalled that during Trump's first term, he ignored security protocol and agreed to Modi's request to take a lap around the stadium hosting the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston. Modi also lauded Mahatma Gandhi's legacy and described himself as a peacemaker who has nudged both Russian and Ukrainian leaders to come to the negotiating table. In the podcast, Modi also opened up on a host of foreign affairs issues and touched on various aspects of his life journey.
The 59-year-old Vikram Misri assumed charge of the key position at a time India is looking to navigate various geo-political challenges, including its frosty ties with China following the lingering eastern Ladakh border row and the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
An influential US lawmaker claims his visit to India helped catalyze "early signals" that New Delhi may reduce its imports of Russian oil, a step he described as "meaningful" in weakening Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.
A big question mark is on whether Shashi Tharoor, who had led the delegation to the US among other countries, will be picked as speaker by the Congress, as the seasoned Lok Sabha member's enthusiastic endorsement of the government's action following the terror attack has soured his ties with his party.
'Trump is not shy when he is frustrated with countries'
'Saudi-Pak defence pact is to anchor the defence and security of Saudi Arabia and not Pakistan, per se, with Islamabad being the junior partner.'
As tensions escalated between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, Iran reached out to both countries, urging de-escalation. Saudi Arabia also expressed concern, with its foreign minister engaging in phone conversations with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, emphasized the importance of bilateral relations, stating Tehran's willingness to "forge greater understanding" at this critical time. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, spoke with both India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. Amidst heightened tensions, India has taken a series of punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and downgrading diplomatic ties. Pakistan responded by shutting its airspace to Indian airliners and suspending all trade. Both countries exchanged warnings, with Pakistan emphasizing its commitment to "respond firmly to any aggression."
He said that in recent times, based on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, China and India have maintained close communication on the border situation through diplomatic and military channels and achieved great progress.
'India has intentionally taken advantage of the war in Ukraine to dramatically increase its purchases of Russian crude, when there are roughly 40 major crude providers that could satisfy Indian demand.'
The UK has strongly condemned a security breach involving a pro-Khalistan extremist rushing towards External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's convoy in London. The incident took place as Jaishankar was leaving the Chatham House think tank on Wednesday evening. The protester was swiftly taken aside by officers of the Metropolitan Police, with no arrests being confirmed so far. The UK said such attempts to "intimidate, threaten, or disrupt" public events are "completely unacceptable". The incident comes after Jaishankar's talks with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, during which both leaders covered the entire gamut of bilateral ties, including the relaunched Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, regional and global issues. The MEA has condemned the security breach and the provocative activities of the "small group of separatists and extremists", calling on the UK to "live up to their diplomatic obligations".
China has objected to Indian Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks on the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, urging India to be cautious on Tibet-related issues to avoid impacting bilateral relations. China insists any future Dalai Lama must receive its approval.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
The announcement on expansion of CPEC was made following a meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing, according to a Pakistani readout.
