The hotlines or secure lines of communication between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama and their national security advisors have recently become operational, though it has not been put to use during its short lifespan so far.
According to top official sources, the foreign secretaries will meet only after the Special Investigation Team from Pakistan arrives in India and makes concrete progress in the probe.
During the visit, apart from attending the SAARC meet, Singh is likely to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other SAARC member-countries, including Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The ban results from a penalty Lamptey awarded to South Africa in a 2-1 win over Senegal in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in November.
Rio-Olympics bound Tintu Luka grabbed the spotlight as she won the gold in women's 800m race on an uneventful third and final day of the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
India has told China not to "shift goalposts" and "confuse" managing the border affairs and restoring peace at the frontiers with the larger issue of the resolution of the boundary question, which is dealt with by different designated mechanisms.
A powerful senatorial committee on Wednesday is set to consider a bipartisan resolution to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, pushing back against China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
The 2+2 was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh respectively.
On Thursday, November 6, the Washington Post newspaper reported that controversial American diplomat, Ambassador Robin Raphel, had her office and home searched by the FBI. This most unusual development likely raised much cheer at India's ministry of external affairs, in whose flesh Raphel had been a thorn through much of her tenure in the first Bill Clinton administration in the early and mid-1990s by her anti-India and pro-Pakistan stand. Seventeen years ago, as she was about to step down as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Raphel granted an exclusive interview to Aziz Haniffa and India Abroad, the leading Indian-American weekly newspaper, which is now owned by Rediff.com The July 1997 interview, which provoked a raging controversy in both capitals, Washington, DC and New Delhi, is reproduced here...
In his first bilateral meeting with international leaders after assuming charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held talks with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
Modi said the coming together of SAARC leaders will lead to effective outcomes and benefit citizens in the fight against coronavirus. The PM on Friday had proposed formulation of a joint strategy by the SAARC nations to fight coronavirus, a suggestion that was backed by all the member states.
It is the first visit to India by a senior minister of a member nation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation after the controversial remarks triggered anguish in the Arab world.
More becomes only the ninth person in the world to complete the marathon swim
'If the Chinese are bringing Pakistan more 'behind the curtain,' in terms of intelligence and military cooperation, it will be tailored to their common interests like confronting India over territorial disputes'
Chinese officials have refuted allegations of the country's army assisting militants in northeast India, saying such charges are "absurd" and such a linkage is "impossible".
Lawmakers were not going to be in town on that particular day, and would be in their constituencies preparing for the mid-term elections in November. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports
With the country's boxing administration in a shambles, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said on Wednesday that the top pugilists may not be able to compete in the upcoming Asian Games under the national flag if the elections are not held as per schedule next month.
'No Match' crowed the front page of an Indian newspaper, on Monday
"It was a formal courtesy call, nothing else," an official said.
Only the future will tell if Modi can leave his mark on the Ukraine crisis. Nonetheless, it is both a challenge and an opportunity for India's diplomacy, notes Rup Narayan Das.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday planted a sapling of a Banyan tree at a resort in Dhulikhel, a tourist paradise where the SAARC leaders held deliberations in an informal setting.
'Putin is in danger of losing face in his Ukrainian adventure. His bluster is a response to this.'
China on Tuesday urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to stop sowing discord between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties, and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Nepal said it would take necessary initiatives and hold discussions with member-states to press for holding the 19th SAARC Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $1 million ad-hoc grant for the operational budget for the BIMSTEC secretariat and another $3 million assistance to revive the grouping's centre for weather and climate.
In the ongoing Women's World Boxing Championship, Preeti, Nitu Ghanghas and Manju Bamboriya clinched thumping wins on Saturday.
Despite the government's hectic efforts to avoid voting on the no-confidence motion against Khan, the joint Opposition succeeded in its month-long efforts to oust Khan from the prime minister's office as 174 members of the 342-member National Assembly voted against him in the wee hours of Sunday after a day of high drama.
The Sikh taxi driver was assaulted by an unidentified man, who knocked off his turban and also used expletives against him.
"Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration," Modi said while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
'After a strategic pause though, Beijing will revive its policy of slowly creeping towards acquiring sovereignty over the South China Sea.'
During a regular press conference on Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the unmanned Chinese civilian airship into US airspace is entirely caused by 'force majeure'.
'We have worked to create road blocks in the path of those who thought that there was space for conventional war despite Pakistan's nuclear weapons.' 'Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme is not open-ended and aligned with India only.' 'In this unstable regional environment, one nuclear power is trying to teach lessons to another nuclear power through the medium of small arms and mortar shells on the Line of Control, and bluster.' 'A historic opportunity of a lifetime beckons the leaderships of India and Pakistan to grasp, sit together and explore the possibilities of conflict resolution.'
The South Korean foreign minister on Tuesday 'regretted the offence' caused to the people and government of India by the social media post on the so-called Kashmir solidarity day by the Hyundai Pakistan, a day after New Delhi summoned the RoK envoy to express 'strong displeasure' over the 'unacceptable' post.
New Delhi appeared to relent on Wednesday by stating that it had approved travels of 19 Pakistan High Commission officials and was prepared to consider more such requests.
India is 'patiently' awaiting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's response to the invitation for swearing in of Narendra Modi as 'short duration bilateral meetings' are being set up with all the other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation leaders, who have decided to attend the ceremony on May 26.
'There are all sorts of characters moving around acting as unofficial representatives of the government and engaging in their own personal foreign policy initiatives. Clearly, the government needs to shut these characters down if it wants to continue enjoying any credibility, both domestically and internationally,' says Sushant Sareen.
India and Indians can ignore Pakistan, but that cannot be said of other nations in the neighbourhood, where New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy constantly reverberates. Four of the eight SAARC member-nations are Muslim -- Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The rulers decide the nation's India or anti-India policy in the first two, and street-opinion contributes to the same in the latter two, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Defence and strategic experts on Monday said that China's posturing in the Indian Ocean will disturb stability and peace in the region.
Jaishankar said the last few years have been a "period of serious challenge", both for the relationship and for the prospects of Asia, noting that continuation of the current impasse will not benefit either India or China.
