The United States enjoys a 'close and cordial' relationship with India, a senior official in the Joe Biden administration has said here on Monday, even as he voiced his country's 'concerns' to New Delhi about Russia.
The incident took place early on Saturday, when the statue was defaced by some unknown persons, the Consulate General of India in New York said.
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.
India on Friday said it accidentally fired a missile two days back that landed in Pakistan and that the "deeply regrettable" incident was caused by a technical malfunction in the course of its routine maintenance.
India's total purchase of oil from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has met top Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman, and held substantive discussions with them on the strategic bilateral ties and regional and global issues like the current situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized Kabul.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing that "the Indian side should fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama."
Blinken blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for a backlog of visa applications from Indian nationals.
"The embassy remains open and we plan to continue our diplomatic work in Afghanistan. The United States will continue to support consular services, and that includes the processing and operations of the Special Immigrant Visa Program, and we'll continue to engage in diplomacy with the Afghan government and the Afghan people. Additionally, we will continue our focus on counterterrorism," he said.
A US drone killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri at a house in Kabul, where he had been living with his family, on Saturday.
The US continues to have its concerns over India purchasing the multi-billion missile defense system from Russia.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad high court delivered a reserved verdict during which he also fined the petitioner Maulvi Iqbal Haider Rs100,000, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
The press briefing seemed a deliberate decision to let the army convey its angst to Imran directly, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RAW, India's external intelligence agency.
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty Sunday contradicted Aam Aadmi Party legislator Atishi's claims that 'officials from Kerala visited a government school in Delhi to understand and implement the city's education model', asserting that his state's Department of Education never sent any officials to the national capital.
India on Thursday condemned Omar's visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan summoned a senior US diplomat here and lodged a strong protest over America's alleged "interference" in its internal affairs, according to media reports on Friday.
The UN Security Council Resolution 2309 calls governments to meet their responsibility to keep citizens secure while travelling by air.
A US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body on Wednesday asked the Joe Biden Administration to designate four nations, including India, as "countries of particular concern", alleging that religious freedom conditions there in 2020 continued their negative trajectory.
India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.
In its first decision, the Punjab cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.
Both countries have reached a mutual agreement for disengagement of troops from the most contentious area of North and South Pangong Lake.
It is learnt that China placed a hold on the proposal by India and the US to designate Mahmood as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.
Defence is at the heart of the India-United relationship, so it is interesting that General Lloyd Austin, the US secretary for defense, was not among the officials present when Joe Biden met Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi for their first meeting since Biden became president in January.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned of the potential use of chemical weapons in Ukraine after Moscow alleged the United States was housing biological weapons in Ukrainian territory.
Amid growing concerns of surging COVID-19 cases, the US has announced that it will waive the in-person interview requirement for a range of visa applicants during the entire year in 2022, including for H-1B workers and students, many of whom are from India. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
It is going to be a long-term proposition for India -- which has a decades-old relationship with Moscow -- to reorient its foreign policy away from Russia, the US has said, insisting that re-aligning one's approach is not like flipping a light switch.
The shooting incident took place outside the building on the Metro Bus platform, which is a major entrance to the Pentagon used by thousands of personnel every day entering and leaving the building.
The demand for action by Pakistan was made through a joint statement issued after the 2+2 ministerial attended by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
"We've been told every time that... (the phone call) will happen, it's technical reasons or whatever. But frankly, people don't believe it," he said. "If a phone call is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options," he added, refusing to elaborate.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
The remarks of the top Biden administration officials this week came amid growing disquiet in Western capitals over India's refusal to directly condemn the Russian aggression in Ukraine and its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.
The US state department, which issued the revised travel advisory, on Wednesday said that the exemptions have been given under the national interest category.
Hafiz Talha Saeed is a senior leader of the LeT and is the head of the cleric wing of the terrorist organisation.
Representatives from the United States and Qatar, the UN, China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the EU, Germany, India, Norway, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan joined a regional conclave on Thursday to discuss ways to contain the escalating security situation in Afghanistan.
'Do not travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism'
Recognising that peaceful protests are a hallmark of a thriving democracy, the United States has said that it encourages dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Indian government to resolve their differences.
Hassanain is being charged with Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Third Degree, and Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, and will be arraigned on Saturday, it added.
India has secured approval of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the export of domestic mangoes to America in the new season, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. The export of Indian mangoes has been restricted by the US since 2020 as the USDA inspectors were unable to visit India for inspection of irradiation facilities due to restrictions imposed on international travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 23, 2021, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the USDA signed a framework agreement for implementing the "2 Vs 2" agri-market access issues.
Pakistan's Opposition leaders have ridiculed Khan's allegation, and the US has dismissed it.
Responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi suggesting that China and Pakistan are closer due to the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price in a press briefing said, "I will leave it to the Pakistanis and the PRC to speak to their relationship. I certainly would not - would not endorse those remarks."
