The increase in home-grown radicalised Islamic groups and the rise of Islamic State and Al Qaeda in Bangladesh should be a matter of worry for India, which shares a 4,100 km border with its eastern neighbour, says Rajeev Sharma.
All people deserve to have a voice in their government and be treated with respect no matter who they are, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday while noting that Indians and Americans believe in human dignity, in equality of opportunity, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion and belief.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi in Delhi, ending two-day suspense over his decision amid reports that there was stiff opposition from hardliners in the establishment.
It is important the SCO focus strongly on economic development and regional integration that leads to greater benefits for the least developed regions of member-countries, writes Sana Hashmi.
Whatever be Kamala Harris's preference for her identity, many Indians in the US will rally around her as she is the first person with Indian blood in her veins to get close to the White House, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'This includes increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights activists and journalists'
The Australian Cricket team delayed its planned departure to Bangladesh after been warned by the Australian government that there is a potential security risk from militants.
Don't be surprised if Imran invites Modi and other South Asian leaders for his swearing-in ceremony, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi's invite to the heads of governments of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation-member countries has the stamp of approval of not only President Pranab Mukherjee but also the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
'India will soon have the world's largest and youngest population -- just imagine what tomorrow's citizens of India will be able to accomplish, given the right education, training, and opportunity.'
'He told senior journalists a few days after the Babri Masjid demolition, 'Jo hua theek hua. Maine isliye hone diya ki BJP ki rajniti hamesha ke liye khatam ho jaye.'
Key to China's decision regarding Taiwan will be its leadership's assessment whether the US will come to Taiwan's defence, explains Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
He last visited India in November 2019 and also celebrated his 71st birthday with schoolchildren in Mumbai and earlier this week he told British Indian peer Lord Karan Bilimoria at a pre-Coronation reception that he looks forward to making a State Visit to India soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington, DC, on Wednesday on an official visit to the United States during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.
The United States, Blinken said, is committed to looking at everything done from day one through the present and draw lessons from it.
China, the Ukraine crisis and Quad will dominate the discussions, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
How the two South Asian neighbours will interact with each other in the coming months will be decided by the two prime ministers in Washington.
Pakistan and Israel will define the relationship between the Modi government and the Middle East. While the region is concerned that India-Pakistan relations may become prickly in the Modi regime, it is also worried that the BJP government will give greater weightage to its ties with Israel.
The Singapore Minister applauded Prime Minister Modi's effort to make India the manufacturing hub of the world.
Ahead of his two-day maiden visit to Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was looking forward to it with a great sense of "enthusiasm and delight" as the two sides readied a host of pacts to be signed including one on enhancing connectivity.
Leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also decided not to attend the summit, which now has to be cancelled as per the SAARC charter.
In a statement ahead of his visit to the Indonesian city for the G20 leaders' summit, Modi said he will also highlight India's achievements and its 'unwavering commitment' to collectively address key global issues.
Determined to keep the Olympic dream alive despite the long-standing administrative mess, a spirited Indian boxing team, featuring the likes of M C Mary Kom and Shiva Thapa, will take off on Monday night for the Asian Qualifiers in Qian'an City, China. Ten men and three women form the 13-strong team which will be in action from March 25. In the men's competition, only the top three boxers in each weight category will make the Olympic cut with the third spot decided via a box-off between the two bronze-medallists. In the women's draw, only the gold and silver medal winners will qualify for Rio de Janeiro. In the absence of a recognised federation, the Indians will once again compete under the flag of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). "It is going to be a very tough tournament because not many from the Asian region qualified during last year's World Championships. I am expecting around 30 countries and more than 250 boxers to be there at this event," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told PTI ahead of the team's departure.
'India has ramped up infrastructure on its side, so the Chinese military is finding Indian soldiers in locations where they are not used to seeing an Indian footprint,' points out Harsh V Pant.
"The government's position for bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn't changed."
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold its first in-person summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on Thursday after two years, shaking off Covid fears and providing a rare opportunity for all its eight heads of state to meet on the sidelines of the event to have face-to-face talks on pressing global and regional issues of common concern.
Xi arrived at the Nyingchi Mainling Airport on Wednesday and was warmly welcomed by local people and officials of various ethnic groups, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is very much aligned with the foreign policy priorities of the Modi 2.0 government, says Sana Hashmi.
India wants good relations with Pakistan but the neighbouring country must stop terror activities directed against it as talks will get subdued under the din of bomb blasts, Sushma Swaraj said after taking charge as External Affairs Minister on Wednesday.
'The curtain is coming down on India's leadership role as a regional power even before the drama of the Asian Century truly began,' warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The President was apparently unaware of the Narendra Modi visa ban controversy till April. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com has the scoop.
The US side had pushed for removal of price caps on medical equipment such as coronary stents and a commitment by India to reduce trade imbalance
India has become the 37th country to join the list of Strategic Trade Authorization-1 category, the only South Asian nation.
'If we could break through this symbolic barrier of sanctions and a dysfunctional relationship, we could do anything.'
China remains the elephant in the room and has to be tamed, which the United States alone is unable to do and therefore calls allies to come on board.
India provides an intrinsic and important link between the developing and the developed world, and maintains a distinct relationship with the United States and China on individual basis, says External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
'We should not have waited for the political crisis in Nepal to erupt before being galvanised into action,' says Shyam Saran. 'We should have seen what was coming and not accepted assurances from the leaders of the political parties at their face value.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initial weeks in office and the composition of his national security team give a sense of his government's foreign policy and national security priorities, says Harsh V Pant
