Washington, Feb 11 (IANS) The United States called India the anchor of South Asia and the western Indo-Pacific, as the Trump administration outlined an “America first” strategy built on trade deals, defence cooperation, and targeted investment across the region.Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Paul Kapur, in a written testimony submitted before the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, said President Donald Trump’s National Secur…
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Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS) Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha, who was recently seen in ‘Jatadhara’, has returned to her “dark hair” after half a decade. On Tuesday, the actress took to her Instagram, and shared a series of pictures featuring her sporting dark hair.She wrote in the caption, “The dark hair makes a comeback into my life, 5 years later. Guess karo kiske liye”.Earlier, Sonakshi and her husband Zaheer Iqbal turned heads as they playfully flaunted chameleons crawling on their bod…
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Pakistan’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries widened sharply by 44.42 per cent to $7.683 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2025-2026 (July-December), compared to $5.32 billion during the same period last year, according to the latest data from the State Bank of Pakistan.The surge in the deficit is largely attributed to a decline in exports, particularly to China, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Pakistan has suspended all trade with Afghanistan, including …
Dhaka, Feb 5 (IANS) As Bangladesh heads to elections next week, radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, in its election manifesto, pledged to pursue peaceful and cooperative relations with neighbouring countries, including India, rooted in “mutual respect and fairness”.“Constructive relations with neighbouring countries: Peaceful, friendly, and cooperative relations will be built with neighbouring and nearby countries — including India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Tha…
New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Adaptive and more country-specific, India’s neighbourhood policy is no longer limited to historical goodwill as it responds to diverse political realities while safeguarding the regional stability, opined top policymakers, industry leaders, and domain experts at an insightful discussion. At the high-level dialogue organised by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) and titled ‘Perspectives From and Within India and Its Neighbourhood’, analysts deliberated on the evolution …
New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) The Union Budget 2026-27 has increased Indian development aid allocations for several neighbouring nations like Afghanistan, Mongolia and Nepal, but allocations to Bangladesh have been slashed by Rs 60 crore. India has increased financial support for Bhutan to Rs 2,288.56 crore, while for Afghanistan, the sum has been increased from Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore, indicating that more Indian projects are in the pipeline for the country.India has allocated Rs 800 crore to Ne…
Kochi, Jan 27 (IANS) Lakshadweep’s traditional tuna fisheries are drawing growing international attention, with an eight-member delegation of seafood traders and fisheries experts from the United States, Thailand, South Korea, the Maldives, Vietnam, and Austria exploring sourcing and export opportunities from the island chain.The visit signals a potential breakthrough for the region’s marine economy, long constrained by logistics and limited market access.The delegation visited key islands, …
New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) Grok, the Artificial intelligence tool on X, stirred a fresh row on Tuesday by misinterpreting the Prime Minister’s post on India’s 77th Republic Day and also taking it entirely out of context by giving a false translation of the same.The misleading translation by Grok saw it inserting “anti-India campaign”, thus turning a message of goodwill exchange between the two leaders into a politically charged statement.The controversy broke out after users flagged ‘wrong transla…
Nicosia, Jan 26 (IANS) As India celebrates its 77th Republic Day on Monday, several world leaders extended wishes to New Delhi, highlighting strong partnership and cooperation with New Delhi. Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides extended his greetings to the people of India on Republic Day, noting that Cyprus values its enduring partnership, shared democratic values and strengthening partnership with India.Sharing his pictures with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Christodoulides stated on X, “Wa…
Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS) Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha’s laughter and smiles is all that her husband Zaheer Iqbal ‘wants to see.’ The actress in a video shared by Zaheer is seen laughing to her heart’s content and giggling. Zaheer mentioned in the caption that it is her smile and laughter that he wants to see all his life.The actress commented on the video with hearts and teary eyed emoticons to which Zaheer replied, “Missing you a little more today.”Sonakshi and Zaheer are known for t…