Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of raising questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after his marriage to a British citizen. Sarma alleged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with the Pakistani establishment, including working for an organisation allegedly a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Gogoi has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its own failures.
The first issue in engaging with Pakistan is the cessation of terrorism, India's envoy at the United Nations said, underlining that India has been a long-standing victim of cross-border and global terrorism and has zero tolerance towards the scourge.
In an interim relief, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the status quo and said the Delhi High Court-appointed three-member Committee of Administrators (COA) will not take over the affairs of the Indian Olympic Association.
India has expressed serious concern over the increasing incidents of violence and extremist rhetoric against minorities in Bangladesh, urging the interim government to fulfill its responsibility of protecting all minorities. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that India has consistently raised the issue of threats and targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities with the Bangladeshi government. Jaiswal emphasized that these developments cannot be dismissed as mere media exaggeration and called upon Bangladesh to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of minorities.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
Poet, writer and former IPS officer Keki N Daruwalla, whose magic with words gained him national and international repute, has died at a Delhi hospital after prolonged illness and a spell of pneumonia. He was 87.
In 1911, French pilot Henri Pequet flew the world's first official airmail, carrying over 6,500 letters and postcards, during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, now Prayagraj. The flight, which covered five miles in 13 minutes, marked a significant milestone in aviation and postal history. The mail included letters to Jawaharlal Nehru and King George V, and special commemorative postcards signed by Pequet are now prized collector's items. The event, which coincided with the Kumbh Mela, highlights the intersection of spiritual and technological advancements in India's history.
He also said that India was a parliamentary democracy and the decision to abrogate Article 370 provisions, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was taken after detailed discussion in Parliament and with the support of majority of the members.
Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse sentenced to death in Yemen for the alleged murder of a Yemeni national, faces imminent execution despite the payment of blood money. Despite the lack of bilateral ties between India and war-torn Yemen, family members and human rights activists are clinging to hope for a last-minute pardon. The family has raised funds through a crowdfunding campaign to cover legal fees and negotiations, and is prepared to pay any additional amount required. However, the execution order received presidential approval despite ongoing proceedings, leaving little time for intervention. Priya's family is burdened by debt and seeks urgent support from the Indian government to save her life.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's younger son Jeet on Friday married fiance Diva Shah at a small and intimate, traditional ceremony with a close group of friends and family in attendance.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating a complex network of agents and facilitators in India, Canada, and the US who assist Indians in illegally entering the US through fraudulent admissions to Canadian colleges. Over 8,500 financial transactions are under scrutiny by the ED in a case related to money laundering, stemming from a 2023 Gujarat Police crime branch FIR. The investigation includes international financial companies involved in remittances abroad, with the ED conducting 35 searches in the past year and seizing assets worth Rs 92 lakh. The issue has gained significant attention following the deportation of 104 Indians from the US on Wednesday. The investigation is linked to the tragic death of an Indian family in January 2022, who perished while attempting to cross the Canada-US border illegally. The ED has identified a network of agents and facilitators who manage and facilitate the stay, transportation, visa arrangements, and legal matters of illegal immigrants who gained admission to Canadian colleges through fraudulent means. The investigation has revealed that the fees paid to Canadian colleges were remitted back to individuals' accounts, with around 8,500 transactions identified between September 2021 and August 2024. The ED suspects that approximately 370 individuals have entered the US using this illegal immigration scheme. The agency has recorded statements from parents and guardians of students enrolled in Canadian colleges and continues its investigation.
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe met Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Primer Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday and discussed India's intent to host the 2036 Olympics and development of athletics in the country.
Union Minister George Kurian on Saturday said the much-awaited visit of Pope Francis to India is likely to happen after 2025, which has been announced as the 'Jubilee Year' by the Catholic Church.
'Modi's intention was to create goodwill that will allow India to be seen by Trump as more than just a bad tariff problem.' 'He succeeded brilliantly on that count but none of these wins are unfortunately permanent.' 'Modi will have to do this again and again if Trump's grievances are to be durably assuaged.'
The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
In the talks, China emphasised that the two sides should proceed from the fundamental interests of China, India and adhere to the strategic height and long-term perspective of China-India relations, the readout said.
Ministry of External Affairs officials summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at its office in South Block in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against a US State Department official's remarks on Kejriwal's arrest.
The BRICS nations on Friday underlined the need for using local currencies in international trade and financial transactions besides committing themselves to supporting rule-based open and transparent global trade. A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, also pressed for a robust Global Financial Safety Net with a quota-based and adequately resourced International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre. It further said the process of IMF governance reform under the 16th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, should be completed by December 15, 2023.
Protesters in Bangladesh have attacked and torched houses of leaders of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League across the country, while murals of the country's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were demolished and defaced in nearly two dozen districts. The unrest sparked after a live online address of Hasina, who is living in India following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League's 16-year regime. The protesters have also called for scrapping the 1972 Constitution and changing the national anthem.
The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) said the tournament will go ahead on schedule irrespective of India's participation.
As the US gets tougher with visas, the prayers of US-bound devotees in India are getting more fervent, and their purse strings looser. Called Visa Hanuman temples (there are half a dozen all over India), some of them ask for a 'fee'.
China on Wednesday criticised United States President George W Bush's high-profile meeting with the Dalai Lama, saying that Washington's bid to meddle in its internal affairs was doomed to fail. Terming the meeting as "gross interference in China's internal affairs", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said it has severely violated the basic norms of international relations and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.
Bangladesh has summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka over border tensions, accusing India of violating a bilateral agreement by constructing fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border. The development comes after Bangladesh officials alleged that India had halted construction of barbed wire fencing due to strong opposition from the Border Guard Bangladesh and local residents.
A peace keeping role for India is a distinct possibility. Indian military has both the numbers and experience to carry out this job, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
Jailed former premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has distanced itself from a party leader's invitation to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to join its protest, asserting that no foreign country has a role in its political struggle.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day after repeated disruptions amid uproarious scenes as members of treasury and opposition benches traded charges on the Soros and Adani issues.
Former spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't 'expect' the Indian team to travel to Pakistan for next year's ICC Champions Trophy.
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
Rubbishing the allegations by the United States on India for a foiled assassination plot against pro-Khalistan radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Washington, DC has not yet provided any reliable evidence of the involvement of Indian citizens in the case.
India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other 'targeted' officials from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a major downturn in already frosty ties between the two nations.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said he interacted with soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army along the Sino-Indian border near Tawang during a visit to an Indian Army post on Diwali.
BJP leader and India Foundation founder Shaurya Doval said there may be certain perceptions that need to be set right initially as India "went long on relations with Sheikh Hasina".
India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as the two sides agreed to take certain people-centric steps to 'stabilise and rebuild' ties.
I-League 2 team Sudeva FC launches collaboration with VfB Stuttgart for grassroots development
When asked the reason for India's abstention from a resolution in the UN General Assembly on October 27, 2023, regarding the protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, Jaishankar said there were many resolutions in the UN General Assembly and in some India abstained and in some, it voted in favour.
Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Images from the first One-Day International between India and England at the Barabati Stadium, in Cuttack, on Sunday.
Bangladesh's interim government on Sunday said it will seek Interpol's assistance in repatriating deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India, and other 'fugitives', to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
Chess governing body FIDE's general assembly agreed to consider lifting parts of a ban on Russian and Belarusian players imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in a vote on Sunday in Budapest.