'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
Vietnam was wonderful and the people warm and hospitable, Radhika Mittal discovered over a 11-day stay.
The challenge before us is to translate institutions into activities, conventions into programmes, official statements into popular sentiments. Declarations at summits and official level meetings do not amount to regional cooperation or integration. Regional cooperation should enable freer movement of people, of goods, of services and of ideas. It should help us re-discover our shared heritage and build our common future.
Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday clinched the title at the Golden Spike meet in his maiden appearance in Ostrava, Czech Republic, his back-to-back win in a top-class competition.
Jaishankar said the UN Security Council condemned the attack and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of the reprehensible act and bring them to justice.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
India's women's team will hope to produce a strong all-round effort against a tricky Sri Lanka and win the ODI tri-series final in Colombo on Sunday.
India secured their play-off berth in the Billie Jean King Cup by finishing second following a 2-1 victory against South Korea in their last Asia-Oceania Group 1 fixture.
Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the G7 Summit of the presidents of the US and France; the prime ministers of the UK, Japan, Italy and Canada; and the Chancellor of Germany is taking place in Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada, from June 15.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl said the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry. Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1. The first three are more prevalent, Dr Behl said. "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants." The ICMR DG said there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India. All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said. "Whenever cases increase, we look at three things. It's dependent on three factors with the first being how transmissible it is, conversely how fast the cases are increasing. Previously we saw Covid cases double in two days, but this time it is not that cases are increasing rapidly. "Secondly, are the new variants evading our previous immunity? When new variants come, they evade immunity -- be it natural or from the vaccine. But there's nothing to worry about at the moment," Dr Behl said. He also said that the third factor is the percentage of severe cases in all Covid instances. "Are we getting a very severe disease without comorbidities? As of now, the severity is generally low. There's nothing to worry about. We should be vigilant and we should always be prepared," the ICMR DG asserted. Dr Behl also informed reporters that the Union Health secretary chaired a meeting on Sunday that was also attended by the director general of health services and himself. "We have been closely monitoring the situation. We should be vigilant at this moment, but there is no cause to worry. The general public should be vigilant. There is no need to take any such action as of now," he said. The officer added that the WHO database has been showing that the new variants were not causing severe disease. "People do not need to take any immediate action. They should follow normal precautions. So, there is nothing special to do right now." Asked about the need for a booster dose, he said there is no need for vaccination as of now. "India has the capability to make vaccines and if need be, we can make any vaccine in no time."
Political parties, cutting across affiliations and ideologies, Friday welcomed the Kashmir rail link inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping for a boost in trade and tourism in the valley.
Chandragupta Maurya was the first king to establish an empire in India. He died a monk.
The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
'Surgical strikes or air strikes, or both, are likely on the table.'
Asserting that Pakistan developing sophisticated missile technology will give it the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States, a top White House official said on Thursday that the Asian country's actions are an emerging threat to the United States.
Take a look at the numbers and narratives that made Edgbaston Test one for the ages.
India shouldn't play Pakistan even at ICC events till terrorism ends: Gambhir
The Indian Embassy in Thailand, in coordination with its counterpart in Yangon, Myanmar, has repatriated 549 Indians after rescuing them from scam centers operating near the Myanmar-Thailand border. The nationals were lured with fake job offers and forced to work in scam centers. The Indian Embassy has advised citizens to verify credentials of foreign employers and check the antecedents of recruiting agents before accepting job offers.
The Kananaskis gathering on June 16-17 is the Prime Minister's 6th consecutive participation in the G7 Summit.
The underrepresentation of women in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant risk of perpetuating the prevailing societal biases into future technologies, according to a top Microsoft executive. Himani Agrawal, chief partner officer, Microsoft India and South Asia, believes that inclusion is a shared responsibility and if AI continues to be shaped without diverse perspectives, the biases of today risk becoming hardwired into the technology of tomorrow.
'We are too important to want to be paired with Pakistan but too intensely connected to it to successfully detach ourselves,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Let's revisit the landmark women and moments from India's Miss World history.
The Women's Asia Cup is set for a blockbuster start when defending champions India take on arch-foes Pakistan in Dambulla on Friday.
Sindhu has been off colour this year, struggling for form.
'The AIFF is happy to have the government's strong support in our bid to host the AFC Asian Cup 2031. The Asian Cup is the biggest football tournament in Asia and it is important for India as a nation to showcase what we have, not just to Asia but to the rest of the world.'
Following the recent declassification of 70,000 files, the ministry of external affairs is in the process of finalising a major project to declassify another set of 220,000 files-records covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka, East Asia, Eurasia and the Americas
The lawmakers also hailed the strong strategic partnership between India and the US during a meeting with an all-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who briefed them on the cross-border terrorism faced by India and the country's strong and resolute stance in the fight against terror.
Such tests contribute to the charged atmosphere and make it harder to prevent a costly and destabilising nuclear and missile arms race in the region, officials said in Washington.
S&P Global Ratings on Monday said several Asia-Pacific economies could face higher tariffs under the Trump administration, while India, South Korea, and Thailand could be most vulnerable to trade retaliation. In its report titled 'Asia-Pacific Economies Likely To Be Hit By US Trade Tariffs', S&P said economies like Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea have relatively greater economic exposure to the US, meaning that tariffs, if imposed, would have the largest economic impact.
Bangladesh has demanded a public apology and compensation from Pakistan for the 1971 atrocities, raising "historically unresolved issues" during the first foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries in 15 years. Dhaka also asked Islamabad to pay USD 4.3 billion as its share from the combined assets at the time of East Pakistan's split from West Pakistan in 1971 to form an independent Bangladesh.
Acutely conscious that he's left with less than four years to create his legacy, Trump is undoubtedly a man in a hurry, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We sacrificed a lot for the last 10-15 years. Finally we won this award, this trophy'
It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest'. It is not, simply because Pakistan's existence -- that is synonymous with its army -- means peace has no chance, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd). It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
Tharoor, who is leading the all-party delegation to the Americas during his Bogota visit, had expressed dismay over the South American country's stance during a press conference on Thursday.
The Iran-Israel conflict has further increased global economic uncertainties, impacting world trade, including India's exports, as it is expected to drive up both air and sea freight rates, exporters say. They said that India's exports to Europe and counters like Russia may get impacted due to this war.
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