In a significant development, India for the first time on Thursday abstained from voting on the United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged human rights violation which was passed by 23 votes in favour as against 12 in opposition and 12 abstentions in the United Nation's Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Top external affairs ministry officials on Monday briefed a parliamentary panel about efforts to bring back Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine, including plans for 13 evacuation flights in the next two-three days to its neighbouring countries and subsequent increase in the number of daily flights to nine, sources said.
This year saw no improvement in bilateral ties as India accused Pakistan of cross-border infiltration and re-activation of terror-launching pads near the LoC.
China on Thursday voiced its opposition to India's reported plans to hold the next year's meeting of G-20 leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters at an event here to mark the 75th anniversary of the Indian troops' Budgam landing, Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C) of Western Air Command, Air Marshal Amit Dev, also said the people in PoK are not being treated very fairly by the Pakistanis.
The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted. The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Russia.
Representatives from the United States and Qatar, the UN, China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the EU, Germany, India, Norway, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan joined a regional conclave on Thursday to discuss ways to contain the escalating security situation in Afghanistan.
According to the report, floods (43.4 per cent) and storms (28.2 per cent) are the two most frequently occurring disasters.
During his speech, he recalled the role of sport and the Olympic Games to build bridges, bring people together and shape the peace.
'It's like your own private Boeing 747 which you can fly yourself. This concept brings the aeroplane closer to passengers and opens the cockpit to everyone.'
India, which abstained during the vote on a strong resolution against Sri Lanka's human rights practices at the UNHRC, on Tuesday urged Colombo to fulfill its commitments on the devolution of political authority, to carry forward the process of reconciliation and address the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation.
Questioning Lodha Committee's fresh clarifications, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) legal advisor Ushanath Banerjee pleaded for a review saying it made a clear departure from the earlier stand and misconstrued the order.
Pakistan on Friday agreed to let India transport 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving drugs as humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan on Afghan trucks through the Wagah border crossing, after a row erupted between the two countries over the modalities of transportation.
'It may serve the interests of the rule of law if the Supreme Court were to appoint the UNHCR as amicus curiae in the CAA case,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the country that provides shelter to "maximum number of UN-proscribed terrorists" should not even attempt to play the victim card.
A total of over 75 Heads of State and Foreign Ministers will be meeting with Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan during the week across various platforms.
The Gupta brothers are accused in South Africa of using their relationship with former president Zuma to profit financially and influence senior appointments, charges that they have vehemently denied.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 3-day visit to the US, hundreds of Indian-Americans from across the country have joined hands to give him a rousing welcome in front of the United Nations headquarters and the White House.
The PM expressed his anguish over the deteriorating situation and the humanitarian crisis in the war-hit country, while reiterating India's appeal for cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue.
Pak's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said that Modi's statement shows India's nervousness over the situation in Kashmir.
The Indian side expressed readiness to provide extensive humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Mujahid was quoted as saying by Afghanistan's Tolo News.
Nasal droplets fall within 2 metres from a COVID-19 infected person and the aerosols can travel in air up to 10 metres, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser said on Thursday, adding that proper ventilation can decrease the risk of transmission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that India stands ready to contribute in any way to the peace efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine
'Under Narendra Modi's leadership, we will be able to regain our rightful place in the community of nations,' veteran diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who joined the BJP on January 2, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Gunmen kidnapped an American national working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, after killing his driver in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, on Monday. John Solecki, the head of the UNHCR in Balochistan, was on his way to office when the gunmen intercepted his car shortly after he had left his home and opened fire.His driver, Syed Hashim Raza, was hit by bullets and died in the hospital, police said. The gunmen then took Solecki with them.
United Liberation Front of Asom chief Golap Barua alias Anup Chetia has moved the United Nations for refugee status and political asylum in a safe country in the event of his release from a Bangladesh jail. The Indian government wants his to be extradited.
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka's rights record, in a setback to Colombo, which made determined efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday is scheduled to have as many as eight meetings, including with Vice President Kamala Harris, on the first working day of his current US trip.
Sawant, 47, said he is asymptomatic and under home isolation.
'Even, amidst the ongoing pandemic, terrorism continues to pose a critical threat to international peace and security'
India has expressed concern that foreign fighters involved in the conflict in Syria have moved to other places as mercenaries, as New Delhi underlined that it is ready to play a constructive role in the Security Council to help realise the objective of the West Asian country reclaiming its place in the comity of nations.
Career diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who recently retired as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Leaders of Sri Lanka's main Tamil party TNA on Friday told officials from the United Nations human rights body that the Tamils displaced in the LTTE war were facing problems with resettlement and discrimination at the hands of authorities
Biden's reference to the hate crime against Asian Americans was welcomed by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna.
Little did this doctor from Bangalore realise that she was falling into the trap of a con artist. In the end, she ended up losing Rs 4.69 lakh.
'I made it known through diplomatic channels that I was unhappy.' 'So, he called me and tried to explain, but I said this is something that doesn't happen between friends.'
'If the new regime in Kabul wants diplomatic recognition, or to unlock the billions that are currently frozen, they will have to ensure safe passage for those who wish to leave the country, to respect the rights of women and girls, to prevent Afghanistan from, again, becoming an incubator for global terror, because that would be disastrous for Afghanistan'
The memorandum of understanding on mutual logistics support is the first such major agreement that Vietnam has signed with any country.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, along with his wife and family, fled his official residence -- Temple Trees -- and took shelter at the naval base in Trincomalee.
