Key discussions focused on major defence procurements, including India's plan to acquire six additional P-8I aircraft for anti-submarine warfare. The deal, estimated at around Rs 30,000 crore, is under advanced negotiations.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
At least 101 people are missing and 78 are injured after a suspected submarine attack on an Iranian naval ship off Sri Lanka's southern coast on Wednesday, Reuters quoted sources in Sri Lanka's Navy and defence ministry as saying.
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.
US President Donald Trump signed the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026 into law, highlighting broadened engagement with India and addressing the challenge posed by China in the Indo-Pacific region.
He added that current measures, including an oil quarantine and large naval deployments, are aimed at pressuring the Venezuelan regime.
The United States on Wednesday struck an alleged drug vessel, an eighth such attack by the US, on the Pacific side of South America, according to Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, as reported by CBS News.
Senior officials from India and the US engaged in virtual talks to discuss bilateral ties, focusing on trade, investment, critical minerals, and energy security, including civil nuclear cooperation.
The Department of War was originally established by President George Washington when he created the Army. The name was later changed in 1949 during President Harry Truman's broader reorganisation of the military.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says Operation Sindoor conveyed India's resolve to act against terrorism, following UN Security Council's call to bring Pahalgam attackers to justice.
This is part of the reason the US advised some Americans to leave the region earlier Wednesday, with the State Department ordering non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq due to 'heightened regional tensions', CBS News reported.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Trump is "pulling a military dragnet" across Los Angeles.
The latest deployment comes on the same day California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a judge to declare the deployments unconstitutional.
After his remarks at the White House. Trump, in his Truth Social pos,t warned that any retaliation from Iran would be met with "force far greater than what was witnessed tonight."
In a Truth Social Post, Trump said, "This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days."
United States President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday.
The closed-door luncheon meeting came amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran with Trump exploring Washington's possible involvement.
Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, has urged President Donald Trump to help ease tensions with India, highlighting the Kashmir issue as a "flash point" in nuclear terms. He believes that the US should take a more comprehensive and sustained approach to address the situation rather than just immediate de-escalatory measures.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stranded on the ISS for nine months after reaching there in June last year. They were supposed to stay there for about a week.
China has toned down its rhetoric on fighting a trade or any other type of war with the US, saying that no such wars should be fought because they cannot be won. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded to US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth's remarks that his country doesn't seek a war with China, but will rebuild the military and prepare for war. However, on Tuesday, Lin had said that China is ready to fight till the end if the US wants a trade war or any other type of war. Hegseth said on Wednesday that the US is not actively seeking conflict with China, but is rebuilding its military and establishing deterrence.
United States Deputy Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter, who played a critical role in boosting Indo-US defence ties, on Friday said that he will step down in December.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX on Wednesday scrubbed the launch attempt of the agency's Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station due to a 'hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A' at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It was one thing to hold India to ransom and periodically threaten nuclear blackmail. But it was not going to work against the US. The US, as always, learned the hard way that it was not or need not be all that dependent on Pakistani cooperation and generosity, says Vikram Sood.
Kash Patel, the first Indian-American to head the FBI, has traced his roots to Bhadran village in Gujarat's Anand district. Patel's family migrated to Uganda 70 to 80 years ago, before selling their ancestral houses and moving to foreign countries. Patel was born in New York and is a trained lawyer who is an ice-hockey fan.
The heated exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy and the resulting outpouring of support for the Ukrainian leader highlighted the deep fissures that have emerged between America and Europe over Ukraine.
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).
Soros, 94, in the recent past has spoken openly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ruling BJP believe that he tried to interfere in Indian elections.
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
It's a strategic approach in which the country's military and defence mechanisms evolve continuously in tandem with emerging threats. The new strategy anticipates events and prepares to counter those proactively.
The leak occurs at a particularly delicate time in US-Israel relations and is likely to infuriate Israel, which has been preparing to retaliate against Iran following a missile barrage on October 1.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Kash Patel, a close confidante, as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This appointment would make Patel the highest-ranking Indian American in Trump's incoming administration. Patel has previously served in various roles in the Trump administration, including Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Trump praised Patel's work in uncovering the "Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax" and his commitment to "bringing back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI." Patel, who has extensive experience in law enforcement and national security, is known for his work on the Russia investigation and his criticism of the "deep state."
The United States has called for a 21 day ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border to prevent an escalation of war and give diplomacy a chance there and in Gaza.
The United States will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy ships to West Asia in order to defend Israel, the US Department of Defence said.
The two countries also signed a 'Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers', which will facilitate the posting of one military officer from each country with the military of the other.
He said that the Sri Lankan authorities have arrested more of their associates but it won't be right to reveal any more details on them as the investigation is going on.
Additional United States military assets that were moved into the Middle East before Iran's attack on Israel will remain in place, CNN reported, citing Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder.
The Pakistan Army chief arrived in Washington last week on his first official visit to the US.
There was a clear difference in the welcomes for Lloyd Austin and Antony Blinken.
It is expected that FBI chief Wray will hold talks with senior Indian security officials.
After the October 7 attack by Iranian-backed Hamas forces on Israel, the United States military has blamed other Iranian-backed proxy groups for near-daily attacks against its forces in Iraq and Syria.
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