International Relations GS2
- Pakistan confirms troops in Saudi Arabia as Houthis strike Riyadh and Abha airports; India issues advisory
9 October 2026 Riyadh. Pakistan has confirmed its forces are in Saudi Arabia. “We, the forces of Pakistan, are already there,” military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed…
- US suspends Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from PERM labour certification
9 October 2026 Washington. US Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling announced on October 8 that “some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world — Cognizant,…
- US Homeland Security Proposes $70,000 School Fee for Each Student’s OPT Work Permit
8 October 2026 Washington. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday, October 7, proposed a rule under which universities would pay $70,000 for each…
- Hormuz and Black Sea Strikes Injure Indian Crew as India Leads Seafarer-Safety Diplomacy
7 October 2026 New Delhi. A projectile hit the Panama-flagged tanker MT On Peace in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, October 6. Of its 19 crew, 17 are Indian; 12…
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye Move to Deploy Forces Under the Mecca Defence Pact
6 October 2026 Riyadh. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye agreed on Monday, October 5, at an emergency meeting of the Mecca Defence Alliance, to implement their…
- WTO Tells India Its Director-General Can Be Depositary for the 66-Member E-commerce Pact
6 October 2026 Geneva/New Delhi. The World Trade Organization has told India that its Director-General (DG) may act as depositary — the official who receives and…
- India and Switzerland Sign Mobility and Young-Professionals Pacts as TEPA Turns One
6 October 2026 New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Swiss President Guy Parmelin on Monday, October 5. Mr. Parmelin is on a three-day visit marking one year…
- Bogibeel to Dhaka: India’s first waterway cargo from Dibrugarh to a foreign port
5 October 2026 Dibrugarh, October 5. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal is to flag off the first international cargo from Bogibeel…
- Yemen’s government launches an offensive to retake Houthi areas after the Houthis seize Bab el-Mandeb
5 October 2026 Aden, October 4. Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government said on Sunday it was launching a major military campaign to recapture…
- Iraq Returns as India’s No. 2 Crude Supplier; G7 Releases 100 Million Barrels
3 October 2026 New Delhi and Brussels, October 2. India’s crude imports hit a year-high of 5.26 million barrels a day (mbd) in September, and Iraq became the…
- Goyal Rejects ‘Excess Capacity’ Charge at G20 as US Forced-Labour Tariff Bites
3 October 2026 Milwaukee, October 2. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting, hosted by the 2026 US presidency, that India has no…
- Ukraine Calls India’s Peace Proposal the Most Comprehensive of Four on the Table
3 October 2026 Kyiv and New Delhi, October 2. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday that India has put forward a “comprehensive” proposal to end…
- Two years after Dissanayake, Sri Lanka has restored stability but stalled on a new constitution and PTA repeal
2 October 2026 Colombo. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake completed two years in office last week, and The Hindu’s assessment finds a split record. He won in…
- MEA Issues Its Toughest Advisory Yet: Do Not Travel to Russia to Join Its Army
1 October 2026 New Delhi. The External Affairs Ministry on Wednesday, September 30, “strongly discouraged” Indians from travelling to Russia to join its army,…
- US Troops Leave Iraq’s Last Bases After Two Decades as Iran-Aligned Groups Claim Victory
30 September 2026 Baghdad. US forces are set to leave their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday, September 30, The Indian Express reports, citing Reuters. About 4,500…
- Jaishankar Says US and China Are in “Competitive Mode”, Urges De-Risking and Diversification
30 September 2026 New York. In his first remarks on last week’s Trump–Xi meeting, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the Asia Society Policy Institute on…
- UAE Signals Another $25 Billion for India as Rupee–Dirham Settlement Reaches Double Digits
29 September 2026 Mumbai and New Delhi. The United Arab Emirates intends to invest an additional $25 billion in India in the near future, Commerce and Industry…
- Nepal Seeks Indian Power After China-Funded Upper Trishuli Collapse, Making Transmission India’s Counter to BRI
29 September 2026 New Delhi. Transmission lines are the new pathways of India’s political power in the neighbourhood and its most effective counter so far to China’s…
- India Joins SCO Coordinators’ Meeting in Islamabad, Its First in Pakistan in Nearly Two Years
29 September 2026 New Delhi and Islamabad. A year and a half after Operation Sindoor, India has sent a senior Ministry of External Affairs official to Pakistan for a…
- Iran Completes the Chabahar–Zahedan Rail Link as Kashmir’s Old Trade Routes Re-enter the Connectivity Debate
28 September 2026 New Delhi / Tehran. Iran has announced completion of the 730-km Chabahar–Zahedan rail link, which is expected to give India easier access to…
- Russia Backs India’s Claim to a Permanent UNSC Seat but Rules Out Germany and Japan
28 September 2026 United Nations, New York. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN General Assembly that Russia supports India’s and Brazil’s candidatures…
- SRIA Co-Sponsors Meet Foreign Secretary Misri as a 30-Day US Sanctions Determination on India Looms
28 September 2026 New Delhi. Days after the U.S. Congress passed a new Russia sanctions law aimed at buyers of Russian crude, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Sunday,…
- After the Xi–Trump Washington Summit, a Managed US–China Rivalry Leaves India Exposed on Tariffs and Strategy
28 September 2026 Washington. The Xi–Trump summit was carded here on September 24 and 25; what is new on September 28 is the papers’ verdict — thin outcomes, a durable…
- At 81 the UN Is ‘Overweight and Weak’; India Targets the 2028-29 Elected Council Seat
26 September 2026 New Delhi. Three commentaries today assess the UN’s decline as the 81st UN General Assembly (UNGA) session winds down. The Hindu, in an editorial…
- WTO Panel to Hear Russia’s Challenge to EU Carbon Border Tax; India Joins as Third Party
26 September 2026 Geneva and New Delhi. The World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed on Friday, September 25, to Russia’s request for a panel to…
- India and Liberia Launch a UN ‘Group of Friends’ to Protect Ships and Seafarers
26 September 2026 United Nations, New York. India and Liberia on Friday, September 25, launched the ‘Group of Friends on Safety & Security of Shipping & Seafarers’ at…
- US ‘Economic D-Day’ Grounds Iranian Flights, Houthis Target Mecca, Rubio Offers India Energy Help
25 September 2026 Dubai, Riyadh and New Delhi. The West Asia war, begun by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February, widened on three fronts on Thursday,…
- U.K. Joins France on Veto Restraint as Japan Seeks Deletion of Charter’s ‘Enemy State’ Clauses
25 September 2026 United Nations, New York. Two UN General Assembly (UNGA) debates exposed one problem: the 1945 Charter barely changes without its permanent members.…
- Trump Hosts Xi: Trade Truce Extended to January 10, Taiwan and AI Left Unsettled
25 September 2026 Washington. United States President Donald Trump received Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday, September 24, for a state…
- BRICS as ‘Plausible Multilateralism’: India Leads Two New BRICS Tax Working Groups After Delhi Summit
24 September 2026 New Delhi. Two pieces today take India’s BRICS year beyond this magazine’s September 17 card on post-summit diplomacy. In The Hindu, Varghese K.…
- Jaishankar Raises SRIA With Rubio, Pushes UNSC Reform as India Rejects OIC on Kashmir
24 September 2026 New York and New Delhi. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the 81st UN General Assembly on Wednesday,…
- Trump Hosts Xi in Washington: A US–China Truce and AI Dialogue Risk Making India a ‘Rule-Taker’
24 September 2026 Washington and Beijing. U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday, September 24, Xi’s return…
- Missile Off Oman Kills Indian Seafarer on Foreign-Flagged Ship as Hormuz War Reaches India’s Crews
24 September 2026 Muscat and New Delhi. Suraj Yadav, a young seafarer from Uttar Pradesh, died of head injuries hours after the bulk carrier MV Cape Dao was hit by a…
- Tharoor Revisits the 1918 Battle of Haifa: Celebrated by India and Israel, Resented by Palestinians
23 September 2026 New Delhi. On the 108th anniversary of the Battle of Haifa, fought on September 23, 1918, Shashi Tharoor — the Congress Member of Parliament for…
- Raja Mohan: As Xi and Trump Open an AI Dialogue, India Faces Three Hard Questions
23 September 2026 New Delhi and Washington. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, September 24, to begin a formal…
- Jaishankar Co-Chairs First P4M Summit, Warns of ‘4F’ Crisis as Tajikistan Contests India’s UNSC Bid
23 September 2026 United Nations, New York. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday, September 21, co-chaired the first-ever ‘Partners for Multilateralism,…
- Trump Tells the UNGA He Must Choose Between an Iran Deal and ‘Annihilation’; Hormuz Stays Disrupted
23 September 2026 United Nations, New York. U.S. President Donald Trump told the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, September 22, that he had…
- Houthi Advance Exposes the Unratified Mecca Defence Pact as Pakistan and Türkiye Decline to Fight
22 September 2026 Dubai and New Delhi. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, signed on August 7, set up a framework for…
- India Joins EU–Brazil–Kenya–Canada ‘Partners for Multilateralism’ Meeting as Jaishankar Arrives for UNGA
22 September 2026 New Delhi and New York. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar landed in New York on Monday, September 21, at the start of the UN General Assembly’s…
- Pakistan Strikes Kunar and Paktika, Ending Three Months of Relative Calm Along the Durand Line
22 September 2026 Kabul, Islamabad and New Delhi. Pakistan carried out fresh strikes inside Afghanistan early on Monday, September 21, across the Durand Line — the…
- With Hormuz Shut and Bab el-Mandeb Lost, Hindu Op-Ed Proposes a Malacca–Singapore Cooperative Mechanism
22 September 2026 Persian Gulf and Red Sea. The Economic Times editorial “Oil’s Sea Lanes Get Tougher to Navigate” says Yemen’s Houthis are tightening their control…
- EU’s Proposed Kids Act Would Put Under-15s Behind Parental Gates on Social Media and AI
21 September 2026 BRUSSELS — The European Union is considering age-based rules that would restrict children’s access to social media, video-sharing platforms, AI…
- Nepal’s Finance Minister Declares Anti-India ‘Jingoism’ Over, Seeks New Trade Treaty and Overflight
21 September 2026 NEW DELHI — Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, an economist and former UNDP official, told The Hindu (Suhasini Haidar) at the end of a three-day…
- Leaked ICBC Files Show a Chinese State Bank in Mumbai Froze $185 Million During Doklam
21 September 2026 NEW DELHI / MUMBAI — When Indian and Chinese troops faced off at Doklam in 2017, the Mumbai branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China…
- Draft India-EU FTA Copyright Chapter Threatens Safe Harbours for ISPs, Students and Libraries
21 September 2026 NEW DELHI — The European Commission has formally asked EU member states to approve the signing and conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement,…
- Trump Signs the Graham Sanctions Act, Arming Himself With Up to 100% Tariffs on India
21 September 2026 WASHINGTON / NEW DELHI — US President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, The Economic…
- Tehran Parades Volunteer Fighters as Washington Clears an F-35 Sale to Saudi Arabia
19 September 2026 Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday in a government-organised show of defiance after months of war, pledging their readiness to take…
- Indian Crude Buying Fell With Every US Sanction and Returned the Moment Each Eased
19 September 2026 Over the past decade India has complied with U.S. pressure to reduce oil imports from countries Washington has sought to isolate — Venezuela, Iran…
- Oman Pitches Sohar Port, Sited Outside the Strait of Hormuz, as India's Gateway to the Gulf
19 September 2026 Oman's Sohar Port is actively positioning itself as a gateway for Indian businesses, traders and investors to access the Gulf and the broader West…
- Jaishankar Meets Nepal's Finance Minister Wagle as Delhi and Kathmandu Prepare a Reset
19 September 2026 Nepal's reconstruction plans after the floods and the “reset” of India-Nepal ties with the newly elected government were at the top of the agenda as…
- International Criminal Accountability: Kosovo's Thaçi Convicted, UN Experts Cite Possible US and Iranian War Crimes
18 September 2026 Hashim Thaçi, the former President of Kosovo, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of multiple counts of war crimes at…
- Pakistan's External Alignments: A Trump-Linked Drone Deal and a Revived Boundary Commission With China
18 September 2026 The Economic Times reported that a newly minted US drone company with close links to the sons of President Donald Trump has announced military…
- US Passes Bill Targeting Russia's Energy Buyers; India Says Ties 'May Be Impacted'
18 September 2026 The US House of Representatives passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by a vote of 262-159 on Wednesday evening,…
- China and India Both Recalibrate West Asia and Neighbourhood Diplomacy Post-BRICS
17 September 2026 Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Egypt (September 1-2) marked a shift in Beijing's West Asia engagement, with Xi setting out a four-point…
- Mecca Attack Claims, Saudi Strikes on Yemen, and the Widening Regional War
17 September 2026 Saudi Arabia accused Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis of attempting a drone attack on the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday, calling it a 'cowardly…
- Pakistan Navy Corvette Collides with Indian Navy Warship in the Arabian Sea
17 September 2026 A Pakistan Navy corvette, PNS Hunain, collided with the Indian Navy's frontline warship INS Hunain (sic — Indian vessel unnamed in initial reports)…
- The US Redirects Military Aid from Europe/West Asia Toward the Americas
16 September 2026 The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in US military assistance from countries in Europe and West Asia — reprogramming…
- India–China Ties Post-BRICS — 'Mutual Respect, Mutual Interest, Mutual Sensitivity'
16 September 2026 MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said PM Modi underlined to President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, that both sides should…
- Red Sea, Hormuz and a Widening Yemen War — India's Energy Security on the Line
16 September 2026 India said it is 'deeply concerned' by the blockades in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait (Red Sea) and the Strait of Hormuz (Persian Gulf); a ship carrying…