Russian officials and state media on Saturday celebrated United States President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky's unprecedented clash at the White House.
By proposing the addition of six permanent members this year, it may appear that it was a major concession, but in actual fact, it will make no difference to the privilege of the permanent five as the new six will have no veto, ever! points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told an all-party meeting that at least 100 terrorists were killed in the Indian strikes on terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under 'Operation Sindoor'. Leaders from various parties showed maturity and extended all support to the government and armed forces.
United States President Donald Trump has ordered the dismantling of the government-funded news agency Voice of America (VOA), accusing it of promoting biased media reports, as reported by Fox News.
This is the first case involving India and the US at the WTO after both sides decided to withdraw all seven pending cases at the WTO during the Biden administration.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over Operation Sindoor on Wednesday, saying this is the first time that Indian representatives have been sent abroad to convey about the country's victory in an armed conflict.
China appears determined to upgrade Pakistan's military capabilities, sufficient to ensure local parity with India, alerts former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
This came after Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday stated that Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had tasked him to lead a delegation to present Pakistan's case on the recent escalations of tensions between the two nations.
Tharoor said that though India's case might not be at the top of the agenda for the US media, India can get its message across easily.
China and Pakistan are in a tight strategic alliance. India must deal with them one at a time, but be prepared in case they decide to collude, points out Shekhar Gupta.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had also made an impassioned plea for the UN to reflect today's world.
Leaders of Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed to strengthen their ties for the mutual benefit of their peoples, as well as for regional peace and prosperity. The understanding was reached at the Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral summit in Lachin, Azerbaijan, attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alongside presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan announced a USD 2 billion investment in Pakistan's economy. Turkey expressed support for the ceasefire between Pakistan and India and hopes that it evolves into permanent peace.
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
The United Nations Security Council on Monday passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the month of Ramzan, a breakthrough coming after more than five months since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In a strong retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre, India's armed forces early Wednesday destroyed nine terror sites including that of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) using deep strike missiles in a 25-minute-long 'measured and non-escalatory' mission.
On the 83rd anniversary of the Quit India movement, Utkarsh Mishra recalls the conditions under which the Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, launched the final struggle for independence.
The United States had received intelligence from a human source about an Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump weeks before the assassination attempt against the former US President on Saturday, according to national security officials.
Security experts have warned that using Signal for discussions of this nature violates every established protocol for handling classified information.
'Fears in Washington began to intensify when it was realised that subsequent Pakistani and Indian attacks on major military facilities -- which were significant in terms of geographic scope and intensity -- could rapidly take both sides to where neither actually wanted to go.' 'The US objective was to stop the fighting as soon as possible. Everything else was secondary.'
In his address, Singh said there should be "no double standards" in combating terrorism and urged the SCO member nations to condemn the menace with unity.
All-party parliamentary delegations on Friday met leaders and diplomats from several countries to galvanise international action against terrorists and decisively counter the tactics of those who perpetrate, support and sponsor cross-border terror activities against India.
Noting that Israel is not interested in escalation of situation in the Middle East, country's Ambassador to India Reuven Azar said on Saturday that Israel defence forces attacked military targets in Iran 'in a very precise way' and that 'there is a price to pay when you attack the state of Israel'.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
India has voiced hope that Palestine's bid to become a full member of the United Nations, which was blocked by the United States last month, will be reconsidered and its endeavour to become a member of the world organisation will get endorsed.
Confronted by outrage in Greenland, the US has scaled down a proposed visit to the island.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday failed to adopt a resolution calling for humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war after a veto by the US.
Trump may temper his approach from time to time, but to think that he will change his basic philosophy is delusional, asserts T T Ram Mohan.
The leaders also noted the "negative impacts" of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least-developed countries.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
India has expressed concern to the US authorities over the treatment of deportees on a flight that landed on February 5, particularly with respect to the use of shackles, especially on women. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also registered its concerns regarding the need to accommodate the religious sensitivities and food preferences of the deportees. The US side has confirmed that no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on 15th and 16th February, 2025.
'The president and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable'
Trump on February 1 had announced tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China. He imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports and a 10 per cent on goods from China.
India abstained on two UN General Assembly resolutions calling for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine. The resolutions were adopted on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the UN Secretary General stressing that the war in Ukraine stands as a grave threat to the peace and security of Europe and the core principles of the United Nations.
Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to President Trump and as National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, said she expected the same bumps for India and the US, as in Trump's first term, including tariff, dependence on Russia over arms supply and oil purchase from Iran. Curtis, however, said both countries could never enter an alliance but develop a partnership that is "short of an alliance". She hoped them to achieve a cooperation that deters China, but also prepares both countries in case of a crisis or conflict, be it in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or another flare-up on the India-China border.
India has voted in favour of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that expressed deep concern over Israel not withdrawing from the Syrian Golan.
At the end of the day, for many worldwide, the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and Iran would seem a contest devoid of any moral high ground and only a bout between two ordinary adversaries, one that nevertheless risks spinning out of control into a larger conflagration, notes Shyam G Menon.
Leterme contended that there is a need for the United Nations Security Council to adapt to the realities of the 21st century as it requires representation that goes beyond the structures established in the 20th century.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The UN Security Council Resolution 2309 calls governments to meet their responsibility to keep citizens secure while travelling by air.
'Modi's intention was to create goodwill that will allow India to be seen by Trump as more than just a bad tariff problem.' 'He succeeded brilliantly on that count but none of these wins are unfortunately permanent.' 'Modi will have to do this again and again if Trump's grievances are to be durably assuaged.'
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