Moscow, Aug 15 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday lauded India’s massive progress and the “well deserved respect on the global stage” while extending greetings to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the country’s 79th Independence Day.”India has achieved widely recognised success in socio-economic, scientific, technical, and other fields. Your country enjoys well-deserved respect on the global stage and actively contributes to addressing ke…

Seoul, Aug 15 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday he would pursue “forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation” with Japan through active “shuttle diplomacy” while expressing hope that Japan will squarely face up to its history of wartime aggression. Lee made the remarks in his speech marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule as he was set to visit Tokyo for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Is…

Moscow, Aug 15 (IANS) One person was killed and 10 others were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building in Russia’s Kursk region early Friday, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said on his Telegram channel. The drone hit a building in the city’s Railway District, igniting a fire that engulfed the top four floors, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing preliminary reports.”To our deep sorrow, one woman died. I offer my sincerest condolences to her family,” Khinshtein wrote …

Tokyo, Aug 15 (IANS) Japan’s economy grew an annualised real 1.0 per cent in the three months through June, marking the fifth consecutive quarterly expansion, the Cabinet Office reported on Friday. The latest real gross domestic product (GDP) data followed a revision to the January-March period’s results to 0.6 per cent growth, reversing from a previously announced 0.2 per cent contraction, Xinhua News Agency reported.Adjusted for inflation, Japan’s GDP in the April-June period increased 0.3 per…

Brasilia, Aug 15 (IANS) Brazil will not bow down to the United States, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, countering the claim by his US counterpart Donald Trump that Brazil is “a horrible trading partner.” “It is a lie when the US President says that Brazil is a bad trading partner. Brazil is good, it just won’t bow down to the US government,” Lula said during an event in the northeast state of Pernambuco on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported.Earlier in the day, Trump said Brazil is a…

Wellington, Aug 15 (IANS) New Zealand’s food prices rose 5 per cent in the year to July 2025, up from 4.6 per cent the year before, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Friday. The grocery food group rose 5.1 per cent, led by dairy price hikes, with milk up 16 per cent, butter 42.2 per cent, and cheese 29.5 per cent, Stats NZ said, adding that since July 2020, milk prices have jumped nearly 34 per cent, the biggest driver of overall food inflation, Xinhua News Agency reported.Meat, poultry…

Colombo, Aug 15 (IANS) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on Friday extended his warm wishes to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, as well as to the government and people of India, on the occasion of the country’s 79th Independence Day. “Warmest felicitations to the Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, and to the Government and people on your 79th Independence Day. May the enduring friendship between our nations continue to inspire peace, prosperity, and mutual respect,…

Bangkok, Aug 15 (IANS) On 79th Independence Day, several diplomatic missions across the globe organised a series of vibrant events reflecting the spirit of patriotism and unity among the Indian diaspora and friends of India worldwide. Ambassador of India to Thailand, Nagesh Singh, hoisted the national flag during a ceremony at the Indian Embassy in Bangkok. The event was attended by over 500 members of the Indian community and friends of India from different walks of life.“Greeting the guests …

New York, Aug 15 (IANS) Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sounded notes of optimism as they prepared to meet Friday in an effort to end the disastrous Ukraine War, which, if successful, could in turn stave off the punitive 25 per cent US tariff India is facing for importing Russian oil.“I believe now he (Putin) is convinced that he’s going to make a deal”, President Trump said during a Fox Radio interview on Thursday. “He’s going to make a deal”.Briefing his advisers at the …

Washington, Aug 15 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has estimated that his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the US state of Alaska has a 25 per cent chance of not being successful. In an interview with Fox News Radio, Trump said on Thursday that his meeting with Putin is like “a chess game,” adding that he believes Putin is arriving with the intention of making progress toward reaching a deal on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.He added that if positive progress is made durin…