Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was proud of the manner in which the multi-party delegations presented India's views in various countries on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
United States tech billionaire Elon Musk said he has formed a new political party to give Americans their freedom back, after a dramatic falling out with Donald Trump.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
Shivanand Kanavi remembers his father, the eminent Kannada poet Nadoja Chennaveera Kanavi.
By naming a sworn swayamsevak for vice president, the Modi-Shah duo have sent out a clear and positive message to Nagpur, where the RSS headquarters is located, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as Vice President has led to speculation about underlying political tensions and disagreements with the ruling alliance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said relations between India and Canada are 'extremely important' and the two nations should work together to achieve win-win cooperation in various sectors.
'There are ominous portents of an isolationist administration not only building a physical wall to the south to prevent unwanted immigrants from entering the land of milk and honey, but also trade walls not just against China, but all nations,' foresees Sreekant Sambrani.
'We are now in a situation where our country is not yet free.' 'China is still very strong and militarily powerful.' 'In such a situation, we need the Dalai Lama to bring about a resolution to the cause of Tibet.' 'That's one of the main reasons that at age 90, he has accepted that there should be a 15th Dalai Lama after him.'
Mr Trump's actions, because of their extreme nature and the dangerous rhetoric that accompanies them, receive the most attention, points out Mihir S Sharma.
'Pakistan's army has got a streak of democracy. It is more democratic than the country.'
While naming him as the NDA candidate for the Vice President's post, the BJP had described him as 'Kisan putra', a move seen in the political circles aimed at reaching out to the politically significant Jat community which had participated in huge numbers in the year-long farmers' protests against agriculture reform measures unveiled in June 2020.
Jaishankar said that India is a democratic society and gives nutrition support to 800 million people. He noted that there are parts where democracy is working well and there could be parts where it is not. However, he underscored that it is should not considered a universal phenomenon.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
'If democracy does not exist, if there are no political spaces, there is no media, there is no civil society, what do we rejoice?'
India will either have to create a system in which certain geographical areas will wind up being permanent political outsiders at the Union level or it will have to create a system in which certain votes are weighted more heavily than others, observes Mihir S Sharma.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has underscored the importance of not equating the victims and perpetrators of terror attacks, highlighting the need for global unity in combating terrorism. Speaking at Raisina Tokyo 2025, Misri expressed appreciation for Japan's support following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, India. He also cautioned against the trend of some Western countries hyphenating India and Pakistan in the context of their recent military confrontation. Misri further outlined India's economic aspirations and its commitment to becoming a factor of stability in a turbulent world.
Tharoor also said he is honoured by the invitation of the government to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals to present the nation's point of view on recent events.
Lee Jae-myung's decisive victory in South Korea's snap presidential election marks a major political shift driven by public backlash against authoritarian, with significant implications for domestic reform and the future of the US-South Korea alliance, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar countered a US senator's claim that democracy does not put food on the table, citing India's PMGKAY program which provides food to 800 million people. Jaishankar argued that different parts of the world have different experiences with democracy and that the model of globalization has contributed to issues with democracy in some regions. He emphasized that India's democratic system effectively delivers food security, highlighting the PMGKAY program as an example.
Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP), led by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, has secured a landslide victory in the country's general election. The PAP won 87 of 97 seats, with voters endorsing the party's focus on stability and economic security amidst global uncertainties. Wong expressed gratitude for the strong mandate and vowed to tackle concerns about the cost of living and housing. The results mark a significant win for the PAP, which has been in power since Singapore's independence in 1965.
A statement issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry earlier on Saturday said the all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
'We will inform them how Pakistan not only helps terrorists, it also provide training to them to target India and spread terror.'
Referencing to a decline in manufacturing in democratic countries such as India and the US in recent years as production shifted to China, Gandhi said the shift had produced mass inequality and anger which needed urgent attention and dialogue.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi for his 'surrender' barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it is not only a grave insult to the armed forces and country but also no less than treason.
'A large part of my effort will be solving issues for the whole of Sugar Land, all communities, all populations.'
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
These self-appointed well-wishers of AMU are basically for the control or police model of university governance. They have no faith whatsoever in the democratic functioning of the universities, observes Faizan Mustafa, former dean, Faculty of Law, and Registrar, Aligarh Muslim University.
As the United States focuses on the Indo-Pacific, in particular the Quad, the Biden administration needs to address India's ties with Russia and its 'downward trend of democratic values and institutions', said a report by the Democratic Party of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
The visitor returns not just with the jewel-like beauty of the country imprinted on the mind, the body rejuvenated by hot stone massages, but also with the captivating stories and myths that are built into every important structure -- whether a tourist magnet or an off-the-beaten track spot.
The opposition party's attack came after Shashi Tharoor, not part of the four leaders nominated by the Congress, was named as the head of a delegation to key partner countries to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor.
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
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.
US President Donald Trump has posted a seemingly AI-generated photo of himself in papal attire on his social media, sparking a dueling backlash and praise. The image, which was also posted from the White House's social media handle, prompted many social media users to call it "cosplaying as the next Pope." The photo comes days after Trump had jokingly said last week that he would be his own "number one choice" for the next pope. The president posted the picture at 10:29 pm Friday, without a caption or comment. The post immediately garnered positive and negative reaction online.
The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
India has withdrawn the transhipment facility it extended to Bangladesh for exports to third countries, citing congestion at ports and airports. The decision comes after Bangladesh's interim government halted yarn imports from India and closed three land ports. The move has raised concerns about a downturn in India-Bangladesh relations following political instability and attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
