United States President Barack Obama has said the military strike against Syria can be put on hold if the Bashar al-Assad regime agrees to turns over the chemical weapons to the international community.
Influential world leaders on Thursday braced for a showdown at the G20 summit over an imminent US-led action against Syria, as United States President Barack Obama's plan to launch military strikes cleared the first hurdle with a key Senate committee narrowly approving it.
The 30-share Sensex declined 590.05 points or 3.18 per cent to close at 17,968.08 and the 50-share Nifty dropped 189.05 points or 3.45 per cent at 5,287.45 levels.
Rupee has lost close to 16 per cent this year making it one of the worst Asian currencies so far.
Markets ended Tuesday's session on an extremely weak note with benchmark indices falling nearly 3% each after the rupee depreciated closer to its all time low level of 68.80.
RIL and ITC accounted for 25% fall in the Nifty.
Despite a year seemingly filled with gloom and near constant reminders of humanity's failings, the Nobel Peace prize will reward a person, or organisation, who's worked tirelessly for peace despite the world's many hurdles.
The G20 summit has failed to heal the rift over US plans for military action against the embattled Syrian regime, as American President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could not reach consensus on Friday during "candid and constructive" talks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said those killed in the town of Khan Sheikhun, in Idlib province, had died from the effects of the gas, adding that dozens more suffered respiratory problems and other symptoms.
In a veiled reference to Pakistan Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said that some countries believe that they can buy peace at home by supporting groups for terror outside, which he said, was "delusional".
US warships deployed in the Mediterranean are ready to "strike hard" on the Syrian regime and degrade its capabilities if ordered by President Barack Obama, a top Navy official has said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that whatever action is required in Syria should be under the UN framework, amid growing pressure on US President Barack Obama from his Russian counterpart and other world leaders not to attack the Arab country.
He issued a presidential decree to this effect on Friday.
All Russian diplomats, connected to the country's intelligence agencies, and their families have been given seven days' time to leave the country.
India on Wednesday asserted there can be no military solution to the lethal Syrian conflict and societies cannot be "re-ordered from outside" as people have the right to choose their own destiny.
'Every single American act to weaken Syrian forces would only tilt the military balance in favour of ISIS whom Trump pledges to vanquish from the face of the earth,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
With two Pakistani groups pledging support to the ISIS, the danger is pretty close to India. Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com reports
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found collapsed after being poisoned last week. Both remain in a serious condition along with a police officer who came in contact with the same substance.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday vowed to work towards a world free of weapons of mass destruction noting that there is a 'new window of opportunity for disarmament and non-proliferation.'
'There seem to be no reason why Assad should have launched such an attack when he was gaining acceptability,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe told media persons that the material had been taken from the al-Muthanna chemical weapons plant north of Baghdad and that the sealed samples had been there since 1996.
The broader NSE Nifty struggled before ending well above the 10,500-mark.
Four of the eight battalions of the National Disaster Response Force have been earmarked specially for responding to such terrorist strikes.
'I am no longer surprised by how cynical university students generally are about American motives. America, no matter who the President, what the circumstances will act like a bully, is their collective belief,' says Ambassador B S Prakash after a recent interaction with students.
The chief inspector said that the main problem lies in locating such chemical weapons as the deadly VX nerve agent Iraq was known to have in 1998 but are not on the Iraqi declaration.
The US defence secretary would not say how large a force the Pentagon was assembling in the Gulf region or provide details on military units slated for deployment.
Coming down heavily on Pakistan, President Pranab Mukherjee has said unless it dismantles the terror infrastructure on its soil, there is no scope for progress in talks between the two countries.
Like the Vietnamese, maybe we too will survive bombs and disasters to see a better day.
In yet another secretary-level change, government appointed Hasmukh Adhia, a 1981 Gujarat cadre IAS officer, as the new Financial Services Secretary replacing G S Sandhu.
After spending most of his time over the weekend calling up and meeting lawmakers, President Barack Obama will go all out on a media publicity blitz over the next two days to convince war-weary Americans that an attack on Syria is needed for the long-term safety of the US.
Significantly, China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation NSG at the just--concluded Seoul plenary, is not a member of 34-nation MTCR.
A United States Senate Intelligence Panel has released 13 videos showing images of the chemical attack in Syria allegedly carried out by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as the White House pressed its case for military action in the strife-torn country.
During the two-day Summit in St Petersburg attended by the world's top leaders including US President Barack Obama and host Vladimir Putin, Singh declared that India has been affected by currency volatility in the past few weeks and was taking steps to finance the current account deficit in an environment that is seen to be friendly for stable foreign capital flows.
Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa on Tuesday told the United Nations General Assembly that Colombo is concerned over the growing trend of international interference in the internal affairs of developing countries in the guise of concern for security and human rights.
The measures announced by the Treasury Department were also aimed at 17 senior Russian government officials. The state-owned Russian weapons trading company, Rosoboronexport, which has long-standing ties to Syria and its subsidiary, Russian Financial Corporation Bank were also targeted under new sanctions.
The 66-year-old former Russian double agent and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a shopping centre bench in the Salisbury town on March 4. They were hospitalised in critical condition after he was found poisoned and spent weeks in critical condition.
Sentiment remained bearish as gold fell in global markets after the US and Russia agreed on a plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons, diminishing demand for the precious metal, traders said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances