The former Chief of Army Staff said India faces the most complex threats and challenges spanning a full spectrum of possible conflict -- from nuclear to sub-conventional -- but asserted that the armed forces are ready to deal with them.
The lawyer for a domestic help employed by Devyani Khobragade on Thursday said it is frustrating and disappointing that the focus in the case has shifted from the crimes that were committed against her client to the Indian diplomat.
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Two Indians have been abducted in Sirte in war-devastated Libya even as two other nationals remain in the custody of Islamic militants.
The second conference of the Heads of Indian Missions abroad began on Monday morning at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The four-day conference will comprise three days of active sessions with many thematic discussions and debates. Dr Singh will address the diplomats on Tuesday morning.The conference was formally inaugurated by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. In his address, the EAM said, "Development, inclusive economichave to be our main goals".
As part of the mega plan, around 20 bridges, a number of tunnels, airbases and several key roads are being developed in strategically key areas in Arunachal Pradesh to bolster the overall military preparedness, officials said on Monday.
Sun Weidong is an expert on South Asia who worked closely with external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Bhutan's recognition of Bangladesh without waiting for Indian advice was a clever move, but if it did it even before India did, it was a calculated gamble to assert its independence, says T P Sreenivasan.
'The enemy knows he cannot defeat us in a conventional conflict. So today we showcase our ability to punish, our ability to insert and extricate our troops from hostile territories.'
'Taranjit has the ideal temperament to deal with the Americans who understand firmness and appreciate flexibility.' 'He can hold his ground with a cheerful face and still make it clear that India and the US are partners, rivals,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
S Jaishankar, the new Indian ambassador to the United States, on Thursday met top officials of the State Department to convey India's strong protest over the arrest of its senior diplomat in New York over visa fraud charges, even though she had diplomatic immunity.
Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
European governments have stepped up diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, encouraged by Russian President Vladimir Putin's assurance that his country has no intention to annexe the Crimean peninsula or to wage a war against its neighbour.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood to his South Block office and issued a very strong demarche .
If we ignore Pakistan and direct our energies to more important issues at the UN, our position against internationalising Kashmir would be strengthened.
Forty-eight-year-old Verma, who played a quiet but key role in deepening Indo-US ties, will quit before the president-elect assumes charge as his team said the envoys, who are political appointees, will not be given any "grace period" beyond Trump's inauguration day.
In his book Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer, makes a dig at Hardeep Singh Puri, former diplomat, Union minister and BJP nominee from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, for Rajiv's faulty Sri Lankan policy, writes Rasheed Kidwai.
Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday termed as "unfortunate, painful and surprising" the African missions statement describing the attacks on African students as "xenophobic and racial", saying the Indian response to this cannot be called inadequate by any means.
In his first comments since the militaries of India and Pakistan jointly announced on Thursday that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, Khan said Pakistan remains ready to move forward to resolve 'all outstanding issues' with India through dialogue.
'Evacuating' Devyani's maid's family from India on T visas -- associated with severe sex or labour trafficking... The maximum number of persons thus evacuated by the US from foreign countries last year was from India... A thorough investigation of this is required at India's end,' says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, 'with the US warned that such interference in India's judicial system will not be tolerated.'
During her eight-day visit to Asia which began on Sunday, Clinton would be making stops in Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan will showcase India's hospitality at its very best when the doors of its gleaming new guest wing are thrown open on Monday for foreign dignitaries after it remained unused for over two decades.
No theory would ever justify the public humiliation of the acting head of the consulate of a friendly country. Whatever be the eventual solution, grievous damage has been done to her personally and to the relations between the two countries, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The General Assembly hall, where world leaders come together every year for the high-level UN session, was packed with UN diplomats, officials, yoga gurus and practitioners, children and people from various backgrounds as India's Permanent Mission to the UN organised the commemoration of the 5th International Day of Yoga Thursday.
India has been arguing that tax cannot be levied as the diplomatic staff, who occupy the apartments, are exempted from tax, but US District Court Judge Jed S Rakoff ruled Monday that under Vienna conventions, only the residence of head of the mission is exempted. The Indian Ambassador to the United Nations has a residence in a nearby building in Manhattan and the residential apartments in the Mission building are occupied by the junior diplomatic staff.
Yuli Vorontsov will be mourned in India by many, who knew him as a sophisticated and friendly diplomat.
Even without the ISI, ISIS and Al Qaeda, Tamil Nadu, otherwise acknowledged as a progressive and developed State in the Indian context, has been at the centre of 'multiple militancy' for decades now, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will attend an inaugural United Nations conference on peacekeeping operations
Denouncing India's attempts to get Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade full diplomatic immunity, United States law enforcement officials warn that it will set a terrible precedent. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
In a tit-for-tat, Bangladesh and Pakistan have reportedly detained each other's diplomatic staff amid a spat between them over the 1971 war crimes trial.
Ataturk and Nehru, two liberal secular modernisers, are in peril of being disowned by their successors, says Sunanda K-Datta Ray.
An understanding between Pakistan and the United States on reopening the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply routes to Afghanistan after a seven-month blockade may soon be replaced by a new bilateral logistics pact.
"This august forum witnessed a new low on its 75th anniversary. The leader of Pakistan today called for those who incite hate and violence to be outlawed. But as he went on, we were left wondering, was he referring to himself?" First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Mijito Vinito said, making India's Right of Reply.
India on Thursday said the case against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade, arrested in New York on charges of visa fraud, should not be pursued and withdrawn by the US authorities.
At least 50 people, including policemen, were injured as thousands of protesters, angry over an anti-Islam film, on Thursday clashed with security forces and tried to breach the sensitive diplomatic enclave in the Pakistani capital, forcing authorities to call in the army.
Angry over an anti-Islam film, thousands of Pakistani protesters, including many armed with wooden clubs, on Thursday tried to breach the sensitive diplomatic enclave in the heart of Islamabad and clashed with riot police, forcing authorities to call in the army.
"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.
During the interrogation, they were repeatedly threatened that this is how the other members of the High Commission would be treated as well in future.
