World leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, expressing solidarity with India. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group. The attack came during US Vice President J D Vance's maiden visit to India. Prime Minister Modi, who had arrived in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit earlier in the day, cut short his visit and departed for New Delhi on Tuesday night following the attack.
The Air Chief Marshal also said that India's rise in the Global South marks a "pivotal point" in international affairs.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said that China's ambitions and aspirations to global power presented an 'omnipresent danger' to stability in South Asia.
Soon after he was sworn in by Vice President J D Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Penny Wong from Australia and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi for his first multilateral meeting as the top American diplomat.
Their favourite alternatives: Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Note, India is missing from that list. And this is despite an attractive financial incentive scheme for OSAT players. The reason, said a senior executive of a US chip company who had a meeting in Taiwan just a few weeks ago, is that "they want more predictability in government policy because they plan to put in big money."
In their first structured bilateral talks in nearly five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday agreed that India and China can have a 'peaceful and stable' relationship by displaying maturity and mutual respect and endorsed the pact on the resolution of the dragging eastern Ladakh border row.
Former South African captain Graeme Smith is confident that his country will end its long wait for an ICC trophy in 2023, with the Champions Trophy and World Test Championship final on the horizon. He believes the team is in a strong position to break their drought and is focused on developing the nation's cricket ecosystem ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
'Putin dreams about his legacy. He wants to forcibly restore the Russian empire.' 'Unfortunately, after three years of large-scale war with massive human losses, Putin will not budge from his goal because human life is the cheapest resource in the Russian State.'
Gold demand in India witnessed a 5 per cent on-year rise at 802.8 tonnes in 2024 supported by reduction in import duty, and purchases related to weddings and festivals, and going ahead consumption of the yellow metal in 2025 is likely to be between 700-800 tonnes, according to the the World Gold Council. The World Gold Council (WGC) in a report on Wednesday said gold demand in the country in 2024 stood at 802.8 tonnes, as against 761 tonnes in 2023.
In Week 3, rediffGURU Pushpa R guides you on how to do the Kaliasana, also known as the Goddess Pose.
In India, the Indian-American diplomat will also meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening US-India partnership, the state department said in a release on Friday.
"We are opposed to nuclear proliferation as well as an arms race in the region," he said, adding that Pakistan believes the launch of the Indian nuclear-powered submarine will affect strategic stability.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China believes that state-to-state interactions should be in line with the trend of the time which is peace and development rather than exclusivity.
India's Navy has commissioned its new Russian-made guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, in the Russian coastal city of Kaliningrad. The ship, part of a $2.5 billion deal for four stealth frigates, is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Navy's capabilities in the Indian Ocean. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and other senior Indian officials. Singh described the commissioning as a testament to India's growing maritime strength and a milestone in its long-standing ties with Russia. The INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, boasts advanced stealth features and stability characteristics, and incorporates 26% indigenous content thanks to collaboration with Indian naval specialists and Severnoye Design Bureau.
In view of the unprovoked firing by the Pakistani army killing two Indian soldiers, the United States hoped that the two neighbours would work together to maintain peace and stability in the region.
US spokesman Sean McCormack, in response to a question on infiltration in Afghanistan, said it was not just Pakistan but the region as a whole, including India has an interest in the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan.
'Regulatory challenges exist everywhere. What we look for is regulatory stability over time.'
India on Tuesday said it was for peace and stability in the region and hoped that democratic institutions and processes had consolidated in Pakistan.
The fall of the Assad regime that brutalised, tortured and killed thousands of innocent Syrians over the past half a century is a historic opportunity for the people of the country, outgoing United States President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday briefed US President Joe Biden in a phone conversation on his visit to Ukraine and conveyed India's full support for the early return of peace to the region through dialogue and diplomacy.
Defence and strategic experts on Monday said that China's posturing in the Indian Ocean will disturb stability and peace in the region.
'We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures,' the declaration said.
Two days ahead of his crucial visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he was looking forward to sharing perspectives with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.
The escalation of conflict in the West Asian region is expected to push already high logistics costs besides hurting trade in sectors such as oil, electronics and agriculture, according to exporters. They said that insurance costs for exports to the countries directly involved in the war could also go up, which will impact Indian exporters' working capital. Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) stated that the conflict is already hurting India's trade with countries like Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday concluded a crucial visit to Male, assuring the country's top leadership that the Maldives remains an important partner of India in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.
An old bridge across Kali river in Uttara Kannada district collapsed in the small hours of Wednesday, resulting in heavy traffic along National Highway 66, connecting Goa to Karnataka.
In their first summit, the leaders of Quad countries on Friday decided to launch a mega vaccine initiative under which coronavirus vaccines will be produced in India for the Indo-Pacific region with financial assistance from the United States and Japan while Australia will contribute in logistical aspects.
India is "an anchor of stability" in the region and will have to play significant role at the international level, a top US official said on Wednesday.
Noting that Israel is not interested in escalation of situation in the Middle East, country's Ambassador to India Reuven Azar said on Saturday that Israel defence forces attacked military targets in Iran 'in a very precise way' and that 'there is a price to pay when you attack the state of Israel'.
In Amman, Biden will meet with King Abdullah of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
The Budget should undertake further reductions in import tariffs and seriously consider an announcement of India's intention to join one or both of the two Asian mega-regional free trade agreements, suggests Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
The assailants believed to be Pakistani terrorists, meticulously studied the site layout before executing their plan.
In an address at the Global Dialogue Security Forum, he underlined the need for India to put greater focus on having strong bilateral, trilateral and multilateral arrangements with like-minded countries to maximise its strategic leverage in the region.
The China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to revive diplomatic ties should not be a matter of concern for India as the pact would provide regional stability and would be beneficial for New Delhi's interests as well, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi said on Friday.
Corroded nuts and bolts likely contributed to the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue by causing a failure in steel members forming the frame inside the statue, according to a structural engineer.
This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
India has supported efforts to provide necessary humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population in Gaza sending consignments of essential items.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Thursday pledged to stand with Israel in its "darkest hour" and welcomed the opening of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza as he held talks with the country's top leadership during his two-day visit to the Middle East aimed at preventing further escalation of conflict in the region.
United States President Barack Obama and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari discussed the war or terror, promotion of regional stability and Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law during their 'closed press' meeting at the White House on Friday. "The discussion focused on our shared efforts to fight terrorism and promote regional stability, specifically on the importance of cooperating towards a peaceful and stable outcome in Afghanistan," said a White House readout.
