Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto have significantly advanced the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, securing crucial agreements on defence, critical minerals, and maritime security, including BrahMos missile supply and Sabang port development.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kick-started a three-day visit to India on Tuesday to advance bilateral ties in energy, trade and investment, defence, critical technologies, and exchange views on the West Asia crisis.
The BRICS grouping adopted a consensus joint declaration in New Delhi, successfully navigating differences on the West Asia conflict but notably omitting any direct mention of US strikes on Iran or Iranian military attacks on Gulf Arab nations. The declaration also criticised Israel's actions in Gaza and called for a concerted approach against terrorism.
The Union Home Ministry has designated 23 individuals based in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for their involvement in infiltration, recruitment, logistics, financing, and operational planning targeting India.
Indian investigators are tracing the supply chain of a US-manufactured GoPro camera found with Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, revealing a potential external logistics network supporting terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Quad grouping has expanded cooperation in critical minerals and energy, while unveiling new measures to boost maritime surveillance and port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific. This move comes against the backdrop of China's growing military posturing in the region, with ministers reiterating strong opposition to destabilising actions and expressing serious concerns over militarisation of disputed features.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the SCO summit in Bishkek, called for a united front against terrorism and its financing, rejecting double standards. He emphasised resolving conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, not battlefields. Modi also highlighted that connectivity projects must respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, a veiled reference to China's Belt and Road Initiative. India's vision for SCO rests on security, connectivity, and opportunity.
The NIA's investigation into the Delhi Red Fort blast case has revealed that the main accused used a false identity to obtain chemicals for making explosives.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has affirmed India's commitment to ensuring issues like a free, open, and rule-based maritime order, seafarer safety, and countering terror financing receive due attention at the UN Security Council during its 2028-29 term.
Delhi Police dismantled an illegal arms manufacturing unit in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, arresting two individuals, including a supplier previously charged under the UAPA for supplying weapons to Khalistani terrorists.
The camera was activated on January 30, 2024 at Dongguan--an industrial metropolis in China, and is among various material objects and electronic devices found and examined by the investigators connected with conspiracy.
'They talked bad about our leaders. They said India was a dead economy. They were not sensitive to the Indian psyche.'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praises India's measured and professional investigation into the Red Fort car explosion, calling it a terrorist attack. The US has offered assistance, but acknowledges India's capabilities in handling the investigation.
Increasing cooperation in critical minerals will top Prime Minister Modi's agenda during his discussions with leaders of Ghana, Argentinia, Brazil and Namibia.
In a world fractured by uncertainty, India stands out for its policy consistency, paired with sustained ambition, points out Pritam Banerjee.
Security agencies have uncovered a vast network of 'mule accounts' in Jammu and Kashmir used to launder money for global scams, raising concerns about potential links to separatist activities.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticizes Pakistan's attempts to protect a terror group at the UN Security Council, highlighting the need for urgent reforms within the global body.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, on Friday said ample stocks of petrol, diesel and cooking gas LPG are available in the country and there is no need for panic buying of fuel. The statement comes after social media was flooded with posts and videos showing people queuing at petrol pumps to stock fuel as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated.
The BRICS nations have expressed concern over the proliferation of trade-restrictive actions in the form of 'indiscriminate rising' of tariffs, particularly measures used as a means of 'coercion', cautioning that such practices risk marginalising the Global South countries.
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
The BRICS nations condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, advocated for a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, and criticized rising tariffs during their summit in Rio de Janeiro. They also addressed global challenges and called for reforms in international institutions.
'The world cannot remain a mute spectator. We could have televisions blowing up in our homes, smartphones blowing up in a gym or mobile phones blowing up on aircraft.' 'Our adversaries are not going to sit quiet. They have got an idea that they will encash to our detriment,' warns Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
India said on Tuesday that terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries must be dismantled immediately and terrorist supply chains disrupted for enduring peace in Afghanistan as it called for zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border attacks.
Ten days after the devastating car explosion near the Red Fort, in which 13 people lost their lives and several others were injured, investigators say the incident is part of a broader terror conspiracy involving a professional network of radicalised individuals based in Faridabad, Saharanpur and Kashmir.
'Those who call for war from far-off places should realise the repercussions it has on the people who are actually affected.'
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asserted that India has zero tolerance for terrorism and will never give in to nuclear blackmail, emphasizing that New Delhi will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally. He made these remarks during a joint press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, where he also highlighted the importance of the strategic partnership between India and Germany, emphasizing the need for a free trade agreement between the two nations.
The PM said that while terrorists are using 21st century technology, our responses are rooted in the past.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Abdul Karim Tunda has told his interrogators that Pakistan's intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence used to run the entire supply chain of Fake Indian Currency Notes being smuggled into India.
"China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan," Tharoor said.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Thursday flagged serious concerns over inordinate delays in various defence acquisition projects and failure to stick to delivery schedules for supply of key platforms even as he hailed Operation Sindoor as a 'national victory'.
These issues were raised at the 5th India-UK home affairs dialogue held in New Delhi, the statement said.
India must be prepared to deal with climate disasters, geopolitical confrontations, and social strife linked to global events, asserts Jayant Sinha, chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
The two sides are also expected to explore ways to deepen defence collaboration, including exercises, defence transfers and technologies ahead of the next edition of the 2+2 defence and foreign ministerial dialogue to be held in the US later this year, they said.
'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'
The BRICS nations on Friday underlined the need for using local currencies in international trade and financial transactions besides committing themselves to supporting rule-based open and transparent global trade. A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, also pressed for a robust Global Financial Safety Net with a quota-based and adequately resourced International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre. It further said the process of IMF governance reform under the 16th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, should be completed by December 15, 2023.
Modi said New Delhi has emphasised on dialogue and diplomacy along with restraint to deal with the situation arising out of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that the Canadian allegations with regard to the death of a Khalistani separatist was discussed during his meeting with the Secretary of State Tony Blinken a day earlier and noted that the two delegations came out better informed after the meeting.
