Resisting US pressure to further scale down oil imports from sanction-hit Iran, India on Monday made it clear that it has to look at the issue involved beyond the energy trade as it has "vital" security stakes in the Gulf region.
After India firmly told China that its violation of the border pacts has "eroded" the entire basis of bilateral ties, China's defence ministry on Friday said the situation at the border is "generally stable" and both sides should put the boundary issue in an "appropriate position" and promote its transition to "normalised management".
Pakistan-India bilateral relations remained frozen for the fourth year over the vexed Kashmir issue but analysts hope the strained ties could be repaired if Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister for a record fourth time in the general elections in February in the absence of his main challenger Imran Khan who is in jail in multiple cases.
A wide range of bilateral and global issues, including trade and developments relating to Syria and Iran, are likely to figure in talks External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will have with top Chinese leaders during his visit here to inaugurate the new USD 10 million Indian embassy building.
Retired senior US diplomats Teresita and Howard Schaffer believe the 'US cannot afford to continue restricting its contacts with Narendra Modi.' Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
In a move that may thaw the 34-year-old icy relationship between the United States and Iran, US President Barack Obama on Friday called his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and "exchanged pleasantries" in a 15-minute conversation.
The United States on Monday assured India that its concerns over Taliban insurgents gaining legitimacy without severing their terror links will neither be "overlooked or undermined" during the talks with the Islamic fundamentalist group.
"India is doing great," Trump told the CNN in an interview on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will be the other two participants at the conference. Uncertainty had loomed over the meeting following the cross border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on Monday evening.
President Xi Jinping on Monday vowed to build China's military into a "Great Wall of steel" to protect its sovereignty and developmental interests as he sought a bigger role for Beijing in global affairs, days after brokering a Saudi Arabia-Iran detente, regarded as a diplomatic coup.
State Bank of India (SBI) is willing to work with Russian banks not facing sanctions and remain on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network to open a special rupee vostro account (SRVA) for invoicing in Indian currency. The country's largest lender in a statement said it has not been identified as the nodal bank for handling Russia-related transactions. In July, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed banks in India, including SBI, to open an SRVA to promote invoicing in Indian rupee, subject to certain safeguards. Accordingly, the bank in a statement said it is "making necessary arrangements and processing requests received from various banks, including Russian banks", following guidelines laid out by the RBI.
India may dump Iran for Yemen and Qatar as a possible source of liquefied natural gas after the ministerial level talks failed to finalise a deal for New Delhi to buy five million tonnes of LNG.
Differences over the price of natural gas to be imported through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline persisted on Friday, but the three countries agreed to appoint an international consultant to look into the issue.
The Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland is planning to set up a multi-million dollar plant in Iran for assembling CNG trucks and buses.
As per the Israeli Air Force, the fighter jets attacked a number of terrorist targets of the terrorist organization Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip. Among other things, the planes attacked a military compound and a weapons warehouse.
The pipelines will be from Iran to India through Pakistan, from Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan, and from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh, Mani Shankar Aiyar said.
There was no question of speaking with Pakistan on the proposed Indo-Iran oil pipeline as Tehran and New Delhi have decided to undertake a feasibility study for an offshore pipeline
Bale's fitness has been a major concern for Wales, with the 33-year-old yet to play a full match for Los Angeles FC due to injury issues.
Pakistan's demand for gas stands at 8 billion cubic feet while the current production is 4 billion cubic feet.
Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Wednesday met United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and held a series of meetings at the State Department and the White House on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
'It is only because we were facing US threats that we were able to successfully develop a nuclear programme of our own.'
The Jesuit priest thanked the government for its efforts to secure his release
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold its first in-person summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on Thursday after two years, shaking off Covid fears and providing a rare opportunity for all its eight heads of state to meet on the sidelines of the event to have face-to-face talks on pressing global and regional issues of common concern.
The Democrats, especially the Biden administration, wanted to deliver a sharper message to Mr Modi than would be possible in a formal summit setting. So, why not get the most prominent Democrat in decades to deliver it?, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Aseem Chhabra highlights 10 films that moved him, films that may show up in theatres near you.
In the case of Iran, the lifting of sanctions has paved the way for direct relations.
Trump suggested a stronger military response is imminent.
The Indian side expressed readiness to provide extensive humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Mujahid was quoted as saying by Afghanistan's Tolo News.
"I complimented him for his vision, for his courage in giving diplomacy yet another chance," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told media persons in a joint media interaction with Obama inside the Oval Office of the White House, following an hour long meeting between the two leaders.
He said the onion farmers need to get a good price for the crop and the affected farmers get compensation.
'The Modi government would chaff at the very idea of holding talks with Pakistan, facilitated by Washington and under close US monitoring, when the 2019 poll is sailing into view.' 'But in politics and diplomacy, there may be moments when drinking from the chalice of poison is necessary,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan is making efforts at multiple levels for the Taliban government to have a soft landing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China has said it will not attend the regional security dialogue on Afghanistan being hosted by India on November 10 due to a 'scheduling issue,' sources said.
Some of these nations are India's biggest export market. India is also dependent on these countries to meet its energy needs.
'The Modi government will be wasting its time talking to Nawaz Sharif.' 'It would be better if it were to open a direct channel with the Pakistan army,' says Rajeev Sharma.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
India is likely to discuss the fate of the proposed $4.16 billion Iran-India gas pipeline during talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz next week.
The external affairs minister reiterated India's position on Afghanistan and highlighted its humanitarian support to the war-torn country, including the supply of wheat, medicines, vaccines and clothing.
'For him to suddenly leave the way that he did, it shattered me.' 'It took me a long, long, time to come to terms with it.' 'Because the loss of such a friend can destroy you.' 'The loss was and continues to be immense.'
