Guterres said in Islamabad that he was concerned over the situation in Kashmir, and that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve the long pending issue.
'Could the Chinese have taken a leaf out of our book?' 'That their unprecedented build-up is their attempt at coercive diplomacy with India?' 'And if so, what is it that they could be expecting as a quid pro quo?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
State Bank of India, the nation's largest lender, has stopped processing transactions of Russian entities that have been sanctioned by the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, sources said. To effect this, SBI has issued a circular as it fears that any transaction with entities or sectors under sanction will invite sanction on it as well, sources said. No transactions involving entities, banks, ports or vessels appearing on a US, European Union or United Nations sanctions list would be processed irrespective of the currency of the transaction, they said. Payments due to such entities have to be processed by other mechanism rather than through the banking channel, sources added.
Vajpayee had always felt that India must act with conviction and panache. He decided that, irrespective of the attendant risks, he would undertake what many felt was a precarious course. A fascinating excerpt from N K Singh's Portraits Of Power: Half A Century Of Being At Ringside on Atalji's 96th birthday, December 25.
Notwithstanding its continuing military strikes against Ukraine, Russia has started supplying some components of the second regiment of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system to India, people familiar with the development said on Friday.
The defence minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had an informal summit meeting at Wuhan where it was decided that peace and tranquillity will be maintained at the border.
'Those who follow the workings of the establishment believe that Indian diplomacy has managed more by the individual flair and brilliance of a few individuals than its systemic strength or organisational excellence.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the leaders on the latest situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there last week.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint session of the United States Congress, delivered on Thursday.
December 3, 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of the 1971 War which ended in a decisive military victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. Most analysts of the 1971 War agree that the IV Corps dash across the mighty Meghna river led by the brilliant General Sagat Singh was the turning point in the war, recalls military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The reduction of tension on the Chinese border may have reduced the urgency of a Biden-Modi meeting, but the sooner Modi starts a bromance with Biden the better as he had done with Obama and Trump, suggests Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made a clear break with the past on UK-China relations as he declared that the "so-called golden era" of bilateral ties is over in the face of the "systemic challenge" posed by the Chinese regime to British values and interests.
The further expansion and upgrade of the Chinese military does not augur well for India, which continues to confront an increasingly belligerent China on its borders, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Russia has almost completed the delivery of major components of the second regiment of the weapon systems.
The talks took place on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in the Indonesian city of Bali.
The body of the former minister, wrapped in a tricolour, was brought to the crematorium in the afternoon from the BJP headquarters, where it was kept for few hours for people to pay their respects.
'The MEA, hopefully, made it clear that the Indian PM can't be seen in Xi Jinping's company when China has, for all intents and purposes, annexed over 1,000 sq kms of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh, and essentially that the Wuhan spirit and the Mamallapuram spirit have turned into vinegar.'
The G20's Bali Declaration Wednesday acknowledged differences among members on the Russia-Ukraine war but said it was essential to adhere to international law, including protection of civilians caught in conflicts.
'The border stand-off and the uncertainties that come with it should be a wake-up call on what makes for real rather than illusory power,' observes T N Ninan.
'The fact that Modi and Xi exuded confidence to accelerate the negotiations for a border settlement alone underscores that the Russia-India-China triangle has become very dynamic,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The powerful orator leaves behind the legacy of an easily-accessible leader who played a key role in BJP's emergence in the late 1990s.
On December 10, Kissinger began to encourage the Chinese to take action against India: 'If the People's Republic were to consider the situation on the Indian subcontinent a threat to security, and if it took measures to protect its security, the US would oppose efforts of others to interfere with the People's Republic.' On the 50th anniversary of India's greatest military victory, Claude Arpi recalls how the US suggested that China intervene militarily on Pakistan's side.
'Don't be too much after legacy that it should be solved in my lifetime.' 'It is not going to be solved, because you are not dealing with just any other country, you are dealing with a civilisation, a cultural nation.'
'China is constantly probing India's weaknesses.' 'The challenge is to implement a strategy that will allow India to buy time, gather its strength, and eventually counter China,' recommends Harsh V Pant and Vinay Kaura.
If the FATF lets Pakistan off the hook, which is to be expected, it would signify a big boost to Pakistan's standing in the fight against terrorism. Delhi, on the other hand, loses the propaganda advantage, states Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Suri is currently serving as Indian High Commissioner in Canberra.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has envisioned a whole new role for Bollywood, noting India's 'soft power', especially the film industry, can be put to use as an important instrument of foreign policy.
Former Pakistan Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan and ex-diplomat S K Lambah, the point men for India-Pakistan back-channel diplomacy, will meet in Dubai on Thursday to ease tensions and firm up a planned meeting between the premiers of the two countries, a media report said.
India's tough diplomacy blocked a landmark world trade treaty late on Thursday, despite last-ditch talks to rescue what would have been the first global trade reform since the creation of the World Trade Organization 19 years ago.
Seeking to allay fears on Indian team's security during the Davis Cup tie, Pakistan Tennis Federation president Salim Saifullah Khan assured that the contest will be held in safe and secure environment, promising "impressive hospitality" to the visitors.
'India should not be taken by surprise if the Biden administration seeks China's cooperation at some point,' alerts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China on Thursday told Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that it will always put its "all-weather ally" as a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy as it praised his commitment to promote the USD 60 billion CPEC initiative.
The Defence Ministry said his tenure will be remembered for the 'resolute reply' to the Northern adversary in Eastern Ladakh and for a determined push towards self-reliance in defence besides embracing niche and disruptive technologies to fight future wars.
'An authoritative source in the government tells me that India has emerged as the net security provider of the Maldives,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'Misplaced national priorities have brought the economy to a cul-de-sac,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chinese foreign policy will acquire a more ideological and less pragmatic character. It will be conducted with more nationalist overtones, predicts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Top external affairs ministry officials on Monday briefed a parliamentary panel about efforts to bring back Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine, including plans for 13 evacuation flights in the next two-three days to its neighbouring countries and subsequent increase in the number of daily flights to nine, sources said.
Evidently, something has gone awry in India's regional strategies. Yet, one feels tempted to call this India's "BRICS moment". The Durban summit will show how far India is prepared to go in a new direction. MK Bhadrakumar examines
