Nearly three months after he had to resign as union law minister in a blaze of controversy, Ashwani Kumar has been appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his special envoy to visit Japan in the rank of a Cabinet minister.
'Putin will not be bound by any kind of deal he would sign with the US.'
As the crisis in Maldives deepened, India on Friday sent its special envoy to Male to assess the situation in the island where former President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in a coup. M Ganapathi, secretary (west) in the external affairs ministry left for Male with a brief to assess the situation in the Indian Ocean atoll, which has plunged into a crisis after the ouster of Nasheed. "I have sent an envoy to Maldives to assess the situation," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the nomination of popular Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, as his defence secretary.
During the meetings, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Special Envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan S K Lambah and the top US officials discussed the progress made in Afghanistan so far and how the two countries can work together to achieve their common objective of defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban, and help in the emergence of a stable and democratic Afghanistan.
India has sought a long-term solution that addresses legitimate concerns of all parties in the region.
The envoy will have an 'informal confidential exchange' of views with National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra.
'Netanyahu lured Trump into a trap by enticing him with a seductive scenario of massive lucrative business in Gaza's reconstruction.' 'Trump's imagination is running riot, completely disconnected from ground realities,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a remarkable comeback to power, Donald J Trump Monday took oath as the 47th president of the United States and immediately promised a blitz of executive orders as he announced the beginning of a 'golden age' of America.
Ganapathi, secretary (West), ministry of external affairs, has been tasked to once again take up the matter and convey the government's views on the issue to the Norwegian authorities, official sources said.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he understands the Russian feeling with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) being on their doorstep.
The United States has rejected the idea of appointing a special envoy to resolve differences between India and Pakistan, saying American ambassadors in the two nations have reached out to the host governments to encourage dialogue while ruling out any change in its Kashmir policy.
US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya met the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala on Thursday and discussed the rich traditions of freedom and democracy in the United States and India.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution introduced by Pakistan and co-sponsored by China on Islamophobia, asserting that the prevalence of 'religiophobia' against Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and other faiths facing violence and discrimination must also be acknowledged rather than singling out just one religion.
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
China is also ready to promote high-quality Belt and Road Initiative cooperation, and push for new progress in the future-oriented, all-round friendly and cooperative partnership between the two countries, she added.
Holbrooke is currently in Afghanistan after completing a two-day visit to Pakistan. He is said to have told the Pakistani leadership during his visit that there was a need to keep India informed about developments taking place in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In 2017, a retired R&AW officer conveyed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was keen to get monarchy restored in Nepal and suggested that I support these efforts.
Meanwhile, Israel has expressed its "deep disappointment" with China's response to the war.
Muizzu's request came when India's Union Minister Kiren Rejiju paid a courtesy call on the new president at the latter's office, the Maldivian President's Office said in a press release.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his country's stance against an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during his meetings with key Middle Eastern leaders on Saturday, CNN reported.
Vouching for preserving its independence and sovereignty, Muizzu made a firm commitment to ensure that the Maldives remains "free of any foreign military presence."
India urgently needs to bring substantial strategic depth to its dealings with Pakistan as well as Afghanistan, argues E D Mathew, political commentator
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting to review the Ukraine crisis amid the ongoing exercise to evacuate Indian nationals, mostly students, from the country facing attack from Russia.
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'.
People familiar with the development said on Friday that the Chinese envoy held wide-ranging talks with the external affairs ministry's point person for Afghanistan J P Singh.
Marc Grossman, former United States under secretary of state for political affairs, is expected to replace the late Richard Holbrooke as Barack Obama administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The post has been vacant since Richard Holbrooke, 68, who was the Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan for two years, died suddenly last December.An announcement in this regard is expected to be made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Angelina met injured children affected by the war and later visited NGOs helping the injured and displaced.
The invitation for the meeting to India was extended by Qatari special envoy for conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani during his visit to the national capital last week.
Special envoys of China, Russia and Pakistan have met the top officials of the Taliban's interim government as well as Afghan leaders Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul and discussed the formation of an inclusive government, combating terrorism and humanitarian situation, a top Chinese official said on Wednesday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal were part of the meeting chaired by Modi, besides several top bureaucrats.
New Delhi
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Lavrov will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Friday.
China said that it would not attend the security dialogue on Afghanistan convened by India due to "scheduling reasons".
Tirumurti voiced deep concern for the safety and security of thousands of Indian citizens, including students, stranded in Ukraine.
The United States' mounting pressure on Pakistan -- to go after the Afghan Taliban inside Balochistan -- could affect the cohesion of the Pakistan army and lead to the destabilisation of the government, according to US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke.Earlier, Holbrooke said, "We will not be able to succeed in Afghanistan unless our Pakistan policy is equally successful".
A US special envoy met senior Taliban representatives in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and discussed the issue of Afghan central bank reserves.
Singh said some students who returned without anyone's help were neither sad nor unhappy.
Separately Indian embassy in Kyiv also urged its nationals who are still in Ukraine to register themselves for the evacuation process under 'Operation Ganga'.
In recent years, the twin demands of both religion and defence have been added to the development argument to sweep aside environmental and terrain considerations while undertaking infrastructure development in the Himalayan zone, points out former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
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