A young girl from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, who has been tackling the problem of child labour, has been conferred with the first United Nations Malala Award for spreading education among child labourers. Razia Sultan, 15, will be felicitated as United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education's Youth Courage Award for Education
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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Organisers of next year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games are introducing some of the "best practices" of the 2010 New Delhi Games, Senator Hugh Segal, Canada's Special envoy for CWG renewal, said.
With the world commemorating November 10 as 'Malala Day' in honour of Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extended his support to the young girl and her fight for education, describing her as the "global symbol" of every girl's right to an education.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's two special envoys, in talks with Beijing since 2002, have resigned citing the "deteriorating" situation in Tibet and frustration over lack of positive response from Chinese side to the dialogue process.
In further escalation of tension with the United States, Pakistan has asked for the visit of President Barack Obama's special envoy to be put on hold till it formulates its policies towards Washington, in the wake of the deadly strike by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. Obama's Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman was scheduled to visit Pakistan as part of his ongoing tour to the region.
Despite dependence on the ISI for years of sustenance, Taliban leaders may harbour resentment over the ISI's excessive control, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
Talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to improve the relations got off on a rough note at the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, with Xie launching a blistering attack on Washington, accusing it of being the "owner of coercive diplomacy".
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
United States special envoy Marc Grossman on Thursday met Pakistan's top civil and military leadership as part of efforts to salvage bilateral relations following the covert American operation in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden.
Pakistan's efforts to secure an apology from the United States for a cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year has run into rough weather, with the issue emerging as the biggest hurdle in resetting ties between the two sides.
The US will send its top energy expert to India next week to help the country reduce dependence on Iranian oil, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said as she lauded the steps taken by New Delhi on the issue.
Blinken and Indian leaders on Wednesday will discuss a plethora of pressing issues such as the fluid situation in Afghanistan, regional security concerns, COVID-19 response and ways to boost Indo-Pacific engagement, people familiar with the agenda of talks said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Special Envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan S K Lambah met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and discussed a range of issues related to the bilateral ties, including plans for continuing the US-India Strategic Dialogue.
The forthcoming summit would review the implementation of the inter-Korean summit agreement signed between the two countries during the first meeting in Panmunjom.
India has said it was "deeply worried" over the potential nexus between clandestine proliferation of nuclear weapons and terrorism and favoured "transparent verification procedures" to prevent such materials falling in dangerous hands.
America's top commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley A McChrystal, and his advisors have reportedly ridiculed United States Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama's Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard C Holbrooke and the US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry.
Indian Ambassador to Egypt Chinmaya Gharekhan, a former special envoy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for West Asia, tells Sheela Bhatt that India should welcome the changes taking place in Egypt and it should not be doubting the Muslim Brotherhood at all.
United States President Barack Obama joined world leaders in paying rich tributes to late Special Envoy for Af-Pak region Richard Holbrooke, calling him a leading light who served the country until his final moments. "It is no coincidence that his life story so closely paralleled the major events of his times," Obama said, eulogising Holbrooke, who died on December 13, at a memorial ceremony, also attended by visiting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday.
United States President Barack Obama would meet his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari at the White House in WashinGton, DC on Friday and hold talks on issues of bilateral importance including combating terrorism.
China and Tibet have agreed to resume formal dialogue and a date will soon be finalised, the Dalai Lama's special envoys Kasur Lodi and Gyaltsen Gyari said on Thursday in Dharamshala.
Veteran ethnic Indian leader Samy Vellu, Malaysia's new envoy on infrastructure, is heading to New Delhi this week to scout for opportunities for Malaysian businesses to foray into the Indian market.
Even in his final moments, United States troubleshooter Richard Holbrooke was "worried" about Pakistan and Afghanistan, reflecting his "relentless" pursuit of the policy that he crafted to help the region tackle terrorism.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Mourning the death of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special envoy to Af-Pak region, President Barack Obama on Tuesday described him as one of the true giants of American foreign policy who has made the country stronger, safer and more respected.
Richard Holbrooke, United States special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has died after undergoing surgery to repair a torn aorta.
Addressing New Delhi's concerns about peace talks with Taliban, the United States told India that it will not let the rebels enter a power sharing agreement in Afghanistan, according to leaked US cables by Wikileaks.
United States President Barack Obama's Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said that while Washington supports renewed contacts between Pakistan and India and wants the process to continue, Pakistani leaders should not burden the nascent process with insistence on 'core issues,' specifically Kashmir.
Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, America's Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke identified the Lashkar as the group, which planned and executed the 26/11 attacks.
Wen, on his part, said that "a healthy, stable and dynamic China-India relationship is of far-reaching significance to the two nations, Asia and the whole world at large."
India and China on Sunday discussed the possibility of working in collaborative projects in third countries, including joint initiatives in Afghanistan to tap large mineral resources, as part of efforts to broad base their relationship.
India's concerns over China's plans to build two nuclear reactors for Pakistan and bilateral issues are set to figure prominently during talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy Shiv Shankar Menon and the Chinese leadership in Beijing from Saturday.
Putin said Russian air strikes allowed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military to turn the tide of war and helped create conditions for peace talks.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla terms India's relationship with China as "complex".
Even after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's special envoy Shashank Shekhar Singh struck a midnight deal with protesting farmers in Aligarh, sharp divisions have developed among the agitators on the issue of enhanced compensation for their land acquired to build the Noida-Agra Yamuna expressway.
The Mumbai terror attacks, which were carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror outfit, closed the door for any Indo-Pak discussions on Kashmir, according to a top American diplomat.
United States President Barack Obama last week appointed his Deputy Associate Counsel at the White House, Rashad Hussain, 30, to serve as his Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference -- which comprise over 50 member states and is the second largest inter governmental organisation in the world.
India and China plan to resume the next round of talks to resolve differences over demarcation of borders and conduct joint military exercises so as to boost bilateral ties, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday.
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