• India de-facto permanent UNSC member - report

    With the unequivocal backing of the United States for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, India’s two-year temporary term, due to end in December 2012, will continue well after that, the Hindustan Times reports.
     
    “We have no intention of leaving the Security Council. We are working to dovetail one into the other,” a senior Indian diplomat told the paper, referring to Delhi's present temporary and future permanent seats.
     
    India’s case will be bolstered by additional endorsements in the weeks ahead from both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, the paper said.
     
    Meanwhile, interestingly, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns wouldn't say if the US backed veto power for India, the Wall Street Journal reported.
  • China cool on UNSC reform

    China favours “democratic and patient consultations” on the question of reforming the United Nations Security Council, the government said a day after United States President Barack Obama endorsed a permanent seat for India, The Hindu newspaper reported Tuesday.

  • Obama: India cannot ignore abusive states

    US President Barack Obama Monday criticised India for shying away from condemning rights abuses in repressive states, saying those states with global aspirations should not remain silent and ignore "gross violations" in other countries.

    "If I can be frank, in international fora, India has often shied away from these issues," Mr. Obama said.

    “Speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering in the affairs of other countries. It is not violating the rights of sovereign nations, it is staying true to our democratic principles."

  • UK war crimes law strains relations with Israel
    Israel has cancelled its special strategic dialogue with London to protest a law that enables Britain to arrest visiting foreign officials for alleged war crimes, press reports in both countries said Wednesday.
     
    This week Israel's deputy prime minister Dan Meridor was forced to cancel a visit to London following warnings he could be arrested for alleged war crimes, the Daily Mail reported.
     
    He did so after Britain’s Foreign Office and Ministry of Justice warned him he could face an arrest warrant from pro-Palestinian activists.
  • Menon: Indo-China ties 'strategic'

    New Delhi has an 'overriding strategic interest' in developing better relations with China, Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said this week.

  • US mid-terms and foreign policy

    Ahead of Tuesday’s mid-term elections in the United States, the question of what the outcome might mean for US foreign policy seems to have a consensus answer: no change.

  • Chinese firm wins massive Indian order for electricity generators

    A Chinese company, Shanghai Electric Co Ltd, has secured a $10bn contract to supply coal-fired generators to India’s Reliance Power Ltd, in a deal financed by Chinese banks, business press reports said. 

    Shanghai Electric is China’s biggest power-equipment maker by market value, and Reliance Power’s order may be the world’s largest for generators, Bloomberg reported.

  • China-India trade to top $60 billion
    Trade between China and India is expected to touch $60 billion this year. It has already crossed over $30 billion, with China having a slightly greater than 60% share of the trade.
  • China's growth no longer export led - report

    Noting that the question of what is - now - driving China’s seemingly relentless economic growth is one of significance to international policy makers and business executives alike, a leading business journal has conducted new research.  Arguing that conventional wisdom of export-led growth is wrong, the McKinse

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