Ahead of his crucial talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that his peace plan to end the raging Ukraine war takes into account the 'legitimate' concerns of all parties and reflects the broadest common understanding of the international community.
Elina Svitolina said she will donate her prize money from WTA tournaments to Ukraine's military and to help with humanitarian efforts following Russia's invasion of her country last week.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
New Delhi, while opting not to retaliate yet to the American tariffs, has in recent weeks sought to reinforce its friendship with Moscow, and recalibrate its ties with Beijing rather than surrender to Washington's diktats.
India's GDP is estimated to grow at 7.4 per cent in the financial year 2022-23 with rising prices triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict posing as the biggest challenge to the global economic recovery, Ficci's Economic Outlook Survey released on Sunday said. According to the survey, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to start a rate hike cycle in the second half of 2022, while a repo rate hike of 50-75 bps is expected by the end of the current fiscal. The RBI is expected to continue supporting the ongoing economic recovery by keeping the repo rate unchanged in its April policy review, the survey said.
It also said that certain debates on television channels on the incidents in northwest Delhi had unparliamentary, provocative and socially unacceptable language.
Reserve Bank will have to constantly re-assess the "dynamic and fast changing situation" and tailor its actions accordingly, Governor Shaktikanta Das said during the recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which decided to maintain status quo on key interest rate. According to the minutes of the six-member MPC meet released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, the five other members had also expressed a similar opinion amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict's impact on the global and domestic economies. MPC, which held its meeting from April 6-8, unanimously decided to keep the borrowing costs unchanged at a record low for the 11th time in a row in a bid to continue supporting economic growth despite inflation edging higher in the aftermath of Russia-Ukraine conflict.
India is keen to strengthen its partnership with Russia on Arctic subjects and there is immense scope for cooperation in the field of energy as well, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on the crisis while underlining the need for upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states without 'exception'.
"Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration," Modi said while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution calling for Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law by its invasion of Ukraine and requiring Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv for damages, loss and injury resulting from the war.
In his statement on the situation in the war-torn country, he said that 22,500 Indian citizens have returned safely from Ukraine.
aishankar also declined to predict India's vote in advance on the upcoming draft resolution against Russia in the UN.
Foreign ministers of G20 major economies will meet in the national capital on March 1 and 2 to deliberate on pressing global challenges amid escalating confrontation between Russia and the West over the Ukraine conflict that entered the second year this week.
"India has been deeply concerned over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the ensuing humanitarian crisis," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said.
The government is making efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries and they would then be brought back home, official sources said on Friday.
Stressing that wars are "very bad", Trump said that he seems to have "an ability to end them, to get people together" for which he uses the "power of the United States".
India and Russia always stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" even in the most difficult situations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, against the backdrop of possibly the worst phase in New Delhi's ties with the US in over two decades.
Modi will travel to Poland before visiting Ukraine.
In an address at the Navy Commanders' Conference, he said 'jointness' in operations will be critical in any future wars and restructuring of military commands and establishment of theatre commands is the way ahead.
India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that demanded that Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and urgently withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday and asserted that there can be no military solution to the Ukraine conflict, while also underlining that endangerment of nuclear facilities could have catastrophic consequences.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was representing President Vladimir Putin, left Bali on Wednesday, a day ahead of the scheduled conclusion of the G20 Summit held amid the economic challenges triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov briefly admitted that Russia had suffered a 'significant' loss of its troops in Ukraine, calling the casualties 'a huge tragedy' for the country in an interview with Sky News.
Indian refiners are likely to import 2-2.2 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June - the highest in the last two years and more than the total volumes bought from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, preliminary data by global trade analytics firm Kpler showed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with President Donald Trump and set the record straight that India had paused strikes on Pakistan during Operation Sindoor following a request from Islamabad and not due to mediation or offer of a trade deal by the United States.
Trump's new rules for how countries should treat him have led to the current breakdown in India-US relations, explains Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The move points to a potential escalation of fighting in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal said citing experts.
Putin said the purpose of the West is to weaken, divide and ultimately destroy Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday reaffirmed his commitment to the country's territorial integrity, insisting that Kyiv continues to claim all territories now under Russian control, RT reported.
The foremost lesson for India today is to beef up its air defence to cater for multiple drone attacks. As seen in Operation Sindoor, we have come a long way, but there's room for getting better. We must develop a robust and almost impregnable air cover over ourselves, asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
In his meeting with Putin, Modi said "today's era is not of war" and nudged him to end the conflict.
Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
He then went on to say that, however, he won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for any of his efforts.
Top commanders of the Indian Army deliberated on the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas conflict at a five-day conclave to draw relevant lessons besides focusing on ways to make the force 'future ready' in line with with emerging contours of threats and challenges.
The BRICS nations have expressed concern over the proliferation of trade-restrictive actions in the form of 'indiscriminate rising' of tariffs, particularly measures used as a means of 'coercion', cautioning that such practices risk marginalising the Global South countries.
India, the official said, has a long history of relations with Russia. They have interests with Russia that go back many, many decades.
'But that was not our aim. Our objective was already achieved.'
A top military official has revealed details about India's proposed air defence system, Sudarshan Chakra, describing it as a comprehensive system that will include counter-drone, counter-UAV, and counter-hypersonic capabilities.
With him is a letter he had brought for Melania Trump, thanking her for a letter she sent to Putin on Friday, raising the plight of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.
