The elections in the country should be held within the stipulated time of 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
United States President Donald Trump for the fourth time in recent days claimed that the Biden administration allocated $21 million funding to India for 'voter turnout', evoking a sharp response from the Congress which urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 'talk to his friend' and strongly refute the allegation.
Security experts have warned that using Signal for discussions of this nature violates every established protocol for handling classified information.
China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area Zangnan.
India on Friday strongly trashed the criticism against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), including by the United States, and said 'vote-bank politics' should not determine views about a 'laudable initiative' to help those in distress.
In an unusually hard-hitting response to criticism against it in a United States government report on religious freedom, India on Friday described the findings as 'deeply biased', visibly driven by 'votebank' considerations and a mix of imputations and selective usage of facts.
The Telugu Desam Party, a key member of the National Democratic Alliance, will react to allegations of the Adani Group paying bribes for solar power contracts in Andhra Pradesh only after studying the issue.
US President Donald Trump cut short discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday after he and Vice President JD Vance confronted Ukraine's leader in a tense Oval Office exchange.
An independent United States Congressional research report has alleged that the scope and scale of human rights abuses in India has increased under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Today, Ambassador Ryan Crocker confirmed to the Afghan Government, US Mission Afghanistan, and the ISAF community that he intends to depart his post for health reasons in mid-summer, following the Kabul and Tokyo conferences," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday.
The Congress on Wednesday expressed sadness over 'pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated' while being deported from the United States and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to India diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then United Progressive Alliance government retaliated sharply.
'Indian private universities can provide world-class education at one fourth the cost, home comforts, and direct links to Indian and global industries.'
The Biden administration has approved a $450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan to help it meet current and future counterterrorism threats, in Washington's first major security assistance to Islamabad in four years.
Appliances and consumer electronic major Samsung has welcomed trade body CITU's decision to call off over one month long strike at its Tamil Nadu-based plant and said it would not take any action against workers who merely participated in the strike. Samsung India also thanked the Tamil Nadu government, which held extensive discussions with the concerned parties at various stages, according to a company statement.
The State Department condemns the recent reports of attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh, a spokesman said.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India next week to attend the meeting of G20 foreign ministers and meet senior Indian officials to reaffirm America's strong partnership with the country.
"We have not made any decisions with regard to releases," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told media persons when asked about news reports regarding release of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo as part of the reconciliation process.
Biden also called for Israel to respect humanitarian law and minimise the loss of civilian life, saying he counselled Israeli officials during his trip to Tel Aviv "against letting their hurt and rage mislead them into making mistakes we ourselves have made in the past."
The blast outside the United States embassy in Turkey on Friday that claimed two lives was a terrorist attack, the US State Department has said. "We can confirm a terrorist blast at a check point on the perimeter of our embassy compound in Ankara, Turkey, at 1.13 PM local time," said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.
Downplaying the Afghan Taliban's recent praise of India in not kowtowing to the West, the US State Department has said the Obama administration is pleased with the support that New Delhi is giving to strengthen the security, stability, prosperity of Afghanistan.
Ramaswamy is still mulling on the exact date to formally announce his Ohio Governor run, which is slated to be in 2026.
"Some of the senior staff who spoke to her about half an hour ago say that she's sounding terrific, upbeat, raring to go. She's looking forward to getting back to the office," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told media person.
After United States President Donald Trump again raised the issue of alleged US funding of $21 million for voter turnout in India and 'kickbacks', the Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that the money was used to sustain 'deep state assets' in India and demanded a probe into the matter.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
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.
US has sent out a warning bell to India for carrying out business with Russia.
Russia has already begun delivery of the first S-400 systems, and the question of sanctions, or of a waiver to sanctions, preoccupies New Delhi.
The United States is in touch with several countries, including India and Turkey, on how to "significantly reduce" their dependence on Iranian oil to avoid American sanctions in this regard, a State Department official has said. "We are working hard with India to see if we can help with regard to reducing the country's dependence and the dependence of any of the other countries on Iranian crude, and looking at alternative sources of supply as well," said a spokesperson.
Kerry called Hasina on Sunday to offer support in the wake of the "outrageous attack" on the Holey Artisan restaurant in Dhaka's high-security diplomatic zone, he said.
A drunk SUV driver, identified as Usman Khan, a Congress leader, allegedly hit multiple pedestrians and vehicles in Jaipur, killing three people and leaving six others seriously injured. The incident occurred on a narrow city road in the Nahargarh area. Khan, who is the Congress' Jaipur district vice president, was driving recklessly and under the influence of alcohol, according to police. Following the incident, locals gathered at the Nahargarh police station and blocked roads to protest and demand compensation for the victims. The Congress has expelled Khan and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. The BJP criticized the Congress, alleging that the party is full of people with criminal tendencies.
Amid strained ties with Pakistan, the United States has disbursed USD 2.2 billion (Rs 11,440 cr) civilian aid to Islamabad in the past two years under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill, the State department has said.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland threw enough hints which could be interpreted that Grossman could have had encounter with Taliban representatives, but did not respond directly to such a question at her press conference.
Simultaneously, the US has urged both India and Pakistan to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions.
We encourage India to promote respect for human rights, the Biden Administration said.
'We are not anti-national like these armed secessionists. We have no intention of breaking away from the Indian Union.'
The Siachen issue between India and Pakistan is to be primarily resolved through dialogue, but the United States is willing to help the two neighbors in whatever way it could, a State Department official said on Monday.
India on Friday reacted sharply to the United States State Department's remarks on Anna Hazare, who plans to launch hunger strike against corruption next week, saying the utterances are "needless".
United States would consider giving India further access to David Headley, who has pleaded guilty in the Mumbai terrorist attacks case, for questioning by its investigating agencies once New Delhi makes such a request, the state department has said.
The official confirmed that these are the first four Americans that "we've facilitated in this manner" since the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Continuing to maintain silence on granting a visa to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi, United States has said the heads of state and government are eligible for A1 visas and no individual automatically qualifies for an American visa.
