The race for the UN secretary-general for 2022-2027 is already over and another term for Antonio Guterres is a foregone conclusion, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
India has not been invited to a crucial meeting being convened by Russia on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan that is expected to see the participation of Pakistan, China and the US, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.
Abstaining in the UN General Assembly on a vote to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, India on Thursday asserted that if it has 'chosen' any side, it is the side of 'peace and it is for an immediate end to violence.'
Criticising the UPA government for its soft approach towards terrorism, Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Tuesday alleged that the Central government has neither a policy nor the political will to deal with the menace.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on Tuesday flagged the responsibilities which come along with a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, saying India may also be required to send its troops on UN-backed missions to defend peace on foreign shores.
Hosting a summit of leaders of Germany, Japan and Brazil under the G-4 format, the PM said the UNSC "must include the world's largest democracies, major locomotives of the global economy, and voices from all the major continents" to carry "greater credibility and legitimacy".
The government believes that the matter should remain within the jurisdiction of the International Atomic Energy Agency and not be referred to the United Nations Security Council.
Pakistan on Tuesday said it has expressed "serious concern" to the United Nations over a draft bill in the Indian Parliament over the map of Kashmir and called upon the world body to uphold its resolutions and urge India to stop such acts which are in "violation of international law".
The United States will host a team from India at the State Department over two days beginning on Monday to discuss strategy for a way forward toward UNSC expansion.
Is this the time to use India's forex reserves to bail out Dubai? The emirate might be grateful, but how would the others in the United Arab Emirates react? asks TVR Shenoy.
In an interaction that followed his keynote speech at a conference on US-India Relations, Barack Obama administration's point man for South Asia, Robert Blake was asked how he saw the Indo-US partnership playing out in the UN Security Council in the wake of the US endorsement.
The Obama administration has rationalised India's abstention on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 last month, calling for a no-fly zone in strife-torn Libya, as based on part misinformation and part going along with its Brazil, Russia, and China partners.
Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the protesters on Sunday broke open the makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistan flags inside the Consulate premises. Two consulate personnel soon removed these flags.
The council's appeal came in a presidential statement at the end of a day-long discussion on crimes against women.
The 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has announced to take over all the international operations in Libya, including military operations to enforce no-fly-zone, enforcement of arms embargo and the civilian protections.
United States President Barack Obama has assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the United Nations Security Council resolution asking non-Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty states to sign the proliferation treaty is not directed against India and that his country would fulfill all obligations with regard to the nuclear deal.
An estimated 400 people, an average of 40 a day, have been killed in Syria in the days following the arrival of the Arab League monitors in the country, a top United Nations official has said.
Richard Fontaine, director of the Task Force convened by the Centre for New American Security, fears that India's abstentions of key votes at the United Nations Security Council and a divide on the issue of Iran when it does come up may dissipate Washington's enthusiasm to push for India's bid for a permanent seat.
Analysts suggest that with the Indo-US nuclear deal in limbo, New Delhi could be balancing foreign policy with an eye to the polls. They say that India's sharp response to the US State Department's 'advice' on Iran was one such move. While some felt the response was a case of dangerous over-reaction, others said it was merely an act of diplomacy where relations with other countries, particularly the US, are balanced to suit India's interests.
"Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi told Geo TV in an interview.
Diplomats said that France, whose original draft is being opposed by Moscow, is working on fresh resolution that would try to harmonize the two opposing drafts even as most members stressed the need to have resolution, which could be adopted unanimously.
The Russian ambassador clashed with American and Georgian envoys in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council as he rejected a new draft on South Ossetia conflict circulated by France, saying it was 'one-sided'.Rejecting the draft, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said, "Russia is explicitly complying with the six principles proclaimed in the Kremlin on August 12. We and the whole international community need the support of the Security Council."
Karl F Inderfurth, who was Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Clinton administration, and Nicholas Burns, who was Under Secretary of State in the Bush Administration, told rediff.com that Obama's endorsement during his address to a joint session of Parliament thus made his visit to India transformational too in a sense as had the trip by Clinton in March of 2000 and Bush in March 2006.
China's increasing presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was not discussed, but both nations did discuss Pakistan, China and other issues related to maritime disputes and the security situation in the Indian Ocean.
Jaishankar said the world has experienced its consequences in terms of higher costs and shortages of foodgrains and fertilizers and fuel.
Hitting hard at countries that have been blocking the expansion of United Nations Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, India on Thursday dared such nations to schedule a straw poll in the UN General Assembly to prove that they had the numbers.
India will make a strong pitch for comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council to create an equitable system that is reflective of current realities when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the UN General Assembly on Saturday.
What is being exposed is we have no real doctrine and no idea how to deal with the world, asserts Aakar Patel.
The sanctions list subjected him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo.
Diplomats inside the meeting said, however, that only 22 of the 35 board nations voted for the United States-backed European Union motion, reflecting the divisions over the referral
India found support in Africa in becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. During Dr Manmohan Singh's meet with the leaders of the African Union in Addis Ababa, the voice of Africa was unanimous in India bagging a permanent seat.
The government has banned more than a hundred terrorist outfits linked to Al Qaeda from across the globe. Terror outfits like Jemaah Islamiyah (involved in Bali bombing) of Indonesia, Islamic Jihad Group of Libya, the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad were declared as terrorist organisations by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Days after the United States backed India's quest for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, Germany on Tuesday suggested that New Delhi will have to continue to work under the format of G-4 to achieve it, arguing that no country could alone get the required votes.
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