India has sought to explain its decision to vote in favour of the UN Security Council resolution on Syria by stating that it does not want a regime change in the turmoil-ridden Arab country.

It might be sheer coincidence, but the leaders of two strategically important Indian Ocean nations, the Seychelles and Mauritius would have set foot on Indian soil within a span of less than a week.

As India walks the tightrope between its growing ties with Israel and its support for the Palestinians, it has once again reiterated that Israel needs to stop all settlement activities in Palestinian

The three neighbours — India, Pakistan and China — may have their differences on nuclear arsenals, but former Union minister and Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar says that he is making efforts to bring experts from the three nations together for a Track-II trilateral dialogue. It is not for the first time that an effort at non-governmental dialogue in the nuclear arena involving the three countries is being made.

In what is certain to raise Beijing’s concerns, India and Thailand inked an MoU on defence cooperation here on Wednesday while also talking about elevating their bilateral relations to a “strategic partnership”. The defence pact, which has been in the pipeline for over a decade, will see the “maritime neighbours” work together in “addressing shared challenges and concerns”.

As New Delhi prepares for external affairs minister S.M. Krishna’s visit to Cuba early next month, among the leaders with whom it’s trying to fix a meeting is the iconic revolutionary and former president, Fidel Castro.

India is keeping a close watch on developments in Syria as the mandate of an Arab League monitoring mission expired on Thursday and foreign ministers from Arab countries prepared to meet in Cairo on Saturday to ponder on what to do next.

After India and China inked an agreement for setting up a joint working mechanism to ensure “peace and tranquillity” along the undelineated Line of Actual Control between the two countries on Tuesday, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters, “We have established a working mechanism on consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs.”

Setting aside the irritants that have marked Sino-Indian ties in rec-ent months, New Delhi and Beijing, in a significant confidence-building measure, inked an agreement for setting up a joint working mechanism to ensure “peace and tranquillity” along the undelineated 4,087-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) here on Tuesday.

China may be gradually spreading its tentacles in Africa, but India too is spreading its wings quietly and stealthily to counter its neighbour’s increasing presence there.