Beijing has warned against “stirring up trouble” in the South China Sea after Britain vowed to send a warship through the heart of disputed waters next month. Gavin Williamson, British Defence Secretary, said HMS Sutherland, an anti-submarine frigate, would sail through the sea on its way home from Australia to assert freedom of navigation rights. “She’ll be sailing through the… Read more »
In an unexpected overture at a time of increasing bloodshed in Afghanistan, the Taliban have published an open letter expressing a desire for peace talks and calling on the “American people” and “peace-loving congressmen” to pressurise the Donald Trump administration into negotiations. The letter, released by the Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, comes amid deteriorating conditions for US and Afghan coalition… Read more »
Pakistan is building a fence along its border with Afghanistan, and it wants Donald Trump to pay for it – or at least some of it. The 1,800-mile barrier being constructed will help end “the prolonged agony” of the Afghan war and reduce terrorism inside Pakistan, said Nasir Khan Janjua, the national security adviser to Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the prime… Read more »
More than 10,000 civilians were killed or injured in the violent attacks in the war in Afghanistan last year, the United Nations has said. The annual report released on 15 February by the UN’s mission in Afghanistan (Unama) showed the figure had dropped by 9% in 2017, compared with the previous year. “The chilling statistics in this report provide credible… Read more »
A former Indian ambassador has formally declared that India needs to take a more open approach after China declared that India is “anti-negotiation.” This all happened recently at a conference centered around Indian and Chinese political relations; furthermore, during the modern wake of China’s Silk Road. So, this conference is inevitably a step towards globalization for India, however this was… Read more »
CHENNAI: India ‘s “biggest” foreign policy challenge in the coming years will be to deal with an “increasingly assertive China” but New Delhi has to be more nuanced and self-confident in its approach towards Beijing, a former diplomat said today. Former Indian Ambassador to China, Ashok K Kantha, said enhanced people to people engagement between the Asian neighbours can impart… Read more »
NEW DELHI: In the wake of repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan and terror strikes in the state, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief minister Mehbooba Muftiadvocated dialogue with the neighbouring country as the only way to resolve differences. “We fought and won all wars against Pakistan but even now there is no solution other than dialogue, till when will our jawans… Read more »
NEW DELHI: The anti-trafficking Bill, which proposes that NIA probe human trade, is likely to be tabled in Parliament next month, the Women and Child Development Ministry said. A group of ministers constituted to examine the Draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2017 met late last month and gave its nod to the proposed legislation. The group… Read more »
NEW DELHI: Eminent Kannada writer and Jnanpith award winner Chandrashekhara Kambar was elected president of Sahitya Akademi on Friday. Kambar, the third Kannadiga to head the Indian Academy of Letters since its inception, defeated his closest opponent and Odia writer Pratibha Ray in a secret ballot. Of the 89 members of the general council who voted in Monday’s elections, 56… Read more »