The readouts by the Indian and Chinese sides on the meeting on Monday between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow bring out that divergences are crowding into the centrestage of their relationship, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The first career diplomat to be appointed as the EAM, Jaishankar paid homage to his predecessor in his first tweet from his official account on May 31. A surprise addition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second Union Cabinet, the former foreign secretary certainly has big shoes to fill.
India has told China not to "shift goalposts" and "confuse" managing the border affairs and restoring peace at the frontiers with the larger issue of the resolution of the boundary question, which is dealt with by different designated mechanisms.
Swaraj was targeted by trolls following the transfer of Passport Seva Kendra official.
Young Indians seem genuinely enthusiastic about craft brands that are hip, aspirational and have plenty of the novelty quotient, says Dhruv Munjal.
Swaraj thanked Saudi Arabia for according the 'Guest of Honour' status to India at the Janadriyah festival, an official statement said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Tuesday raised the issue of two marines, who are currently facing trial in India for allegedly shooting down two Indian fishermen, with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
An alert government in Delhi should have begun government-to-government discussions with Moscow the moment it came to know that Russians were developing a vaccine. That is to say, almost an year's time has been lost, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'No other leader in our history, or that of our neighbours, has been able to produce anything of the quality that Nehru did,' says Aakar Patel.
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi wrote, "Problem: 39 Indians dead; Govt on the mat, caught lying. Solution: Invent story on Congress & Data Theft. Result: Media networks bite bait; 39 Indians vanish from radar. Problem solved."
In his address at an extraordinary video conference of the G-20 leaders, Modi also urged the grouping to come out with a concrete action plan to fight the pandemic and said human beings rather than economic targets should be put at the centre of its vision for global prosperity and cooperation.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Islamabad and discussed connectivity, terror threats to the war-torn country and the peace and reconciliation process there.
"We will soon find out. I'm in no rush. There's no testing... If you look at the end of the Obama administration, it was a disaster. What was going on. You don't have that right now. It's a much different feeling. I think people have...there's always danger, but I think people have much different feeling," he said.
Runaway wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to clear his dues amounting to Rs 1.5 million.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor was back on Twitter on Thursday, describing as "excellent" his meeting with senior minister S M Krishna, who had publicly ticked him off for questioning the new visa rules on the social networking site.
A day after he was publicly chided by his senior minister S M Krishna, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said on Monday that he has missed "brouhaha" on the issue but refused to add anything to his earlier comments.
The poll came after Swaraj was trolled for days in connection with her helping an inter-faith couple to get their passports, who were allegedly harassed over religion by officials.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda E P Chet Greene on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly and raised the extradition issue of Choksi, who is currently in the Caribbean island.
Sushma Swaraj, like Clinton, has a strong political base in her own party and is likely to have her imprint on foreign policy, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'No matter what Modi may boast about 'new India', the geopolitical reality is that India's stature diminishes when it needs a small country like Saudi Arabia under an autocratic ruler to help out with what is arguably one of the most critical templates of its diplomacy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
"We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said.
Modi and Trudeau held extensive talks, exploring ways to boost ties in several key areas, including trade and energy.
Condolences continued to pour in from world dignitaries for former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who breathed her last due to cardiac arrest on Tuesday night.
India's soft power diplomacy came into play during this cataclysm affecting the world as the pandemic defies barriers and borders, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The flight arrived at Wuhan's Tianhe International Airport on Friday evening. While the official number of students to be airlifted in the two flights is not known, Indians who reached the Wuhan airport on Friday said they were told that 374 were expected to be airlifted by the Air India flight. India has taken an undertaking from the Indians travelling in the two flights that they would be quarantined for 14 days after their arrival, besides undergoing special checks at the Wuhan airport.
Catch all the action from the Monsoon session of Parliament, LIVE
On Thursday, in a big win for India, the International Court of Justice stayed the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav. The ICJ instructed Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it. Following the order, reactions poured in from all over celebrating the big win.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'India's preference today seems to be to exploit the deepening chill in relations with China to breathe new life into its meandering partnership with the US,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan on Wednesday informed India that Indian inmate Kirpal Singh died of a heart attack at a jail in Lahore two days back after the issue of his mysterious death was taken up with the Pakistani authorities even as the government said it was awaiting further details in the case.
Sources also said that India meets the criteria for a US sanctions waiver for procuring S-400 missile defence systems from Russia and the Trump administration has 'enough flexibility' on the issue.
The hits and misses of the week.
Here are snapshots from Day 6 of Trudeaus visit.
'The better film will take the lead,' promises Ajay Devgn.
China has been trying to build lobbies of influence and mould public opinion in India since at least 2017, and large sums have been invested in the effort, reveals former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
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