Sanjay Kumar

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Reuters

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1761886775492114900

Fri, 2025-10-31 15:10

NEW DELHI: Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed on Friday a 10-year defense framework to expand cooperation, marking a “new era” in bilateral ties amid tensions over Washington’s tariff war.

The defense chiefs signed the framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership, which is expected to provide policy direction for their ties, on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur.

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India’s largest private refinery boosts Middle East oil imports after Russia sanctions

Arbee — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 12:34:21 +0000

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Sat, 2025-10-25 15:32

NEW DELHI: India’s largest private refinery and top importer of Russian oil, Reliance Industries, has bought millions of barrels of crude from the Middle East and US after Washington moved to sanction Russia’s two largest oil companies earlier this week.

The latest development comes amid trade talks between Delhi and Washington, following US President Donald Trump’s hefty tariffs on Indian exports, which have risen to 50 percent since August as a penalty for importing Russian oil.

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India lights up as millions celebrate Diwali festival

Peter Harrison — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 12:51:35 +0000

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Mon, 2025-10-20 15:46

NEW DELHI: Millions of Indians celebrated on Monday the festival of lights, Diwali, one of Hinduism’s most significant and widely observed holidays.

Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

In the northern parts of India, it marks Rama’s return to Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravana, while in other parts of the country it is associated with Lakshmi, the deity of fortune.

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India’s iconic Parsi magazine closes after 6 decades

daniel.fountain — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 15:15:19 +0000

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Sun, 2025-10-19 18:14

NEW DELHI: One of India’s oldest and most prominent Parsi magazines, Parsiana, will publish its final issue this week, closing after a six-decade run of chronicling the country’s declining Zoroastrian minority population.

Founded in 1964 by Pestonji Warden, a Parsi doctor and entrepreneur, Parsiana was for the first nine years focused largely on religious, historic, and academic subjects.

The focus changed to current affairs in 1973, when it was bought by Jehangir Patel, who, a few years earlier, returned to India after graduating from Yale University.

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India, Egypt eye collaboration in startups, AI during first strategic dialogue

daniel.fountain — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 14:55:26 +0000

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Fri, 2025-10-17 17:36

NEW DELHI: India and Egypt are seeking further cooperation in startups, fintech, cyber and artificial intelligence, Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said after the two countries held their first strategic dialogue.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdelatty arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day visit, during which he co-chaired the inaugural India-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Jaishankar.

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‘Closest to being a superhero’: Why young Keralites are turning to kalari, India’s oldest martial art

daniel.fountain — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 14:18:57 +0000

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Thu, 2025-10-16 17:17

WAYANAD, Kerala: Every year Vani Uma Krishnan looks forward to the Vijayadashami festival to publicly demonstrate her fighting, weapon, and self-defense skills — all polished through the rigorous practice of kalaripayattu, one of the world’s oldest martial arts.

Kalaripayattu, often called kalari, is believed to have originated around the third century B.C. on India’s southwest coast, in what is now the state of Kerala. It is a complete combat system with physical and spiritual training.

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Indian business leaders meet Taliban FM for trade, healthcare talks

zaynab.khojji — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:18:38 +0000

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Tue, 2025-10-14 16:15

NEW DELHI: Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has met with industry and business leaders in New Delhi to increase India’s economic engagement with Afghanistan, following the Indian government’s decision to reopen the embassy in Kabul and air cargo connectivity.

Muttaqi was hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Monday, on the fifth day of his visit, which included official engagements with top government officials in New Delhi.

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Qatar to open M. F. Husain museum, first-ever dedicated to Indian artist

ruaa.ameri — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:34:38 +0000

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Mon, 2025-10-13 13:12

NEW DELHI: A museum dedicated to M. F. Husain will open in Qatar next month, the first such institution honoring the legacy of one of India’s most famous and influential modern artists.

Often called “the Picasso of India,” Husain — full name Maqbool Fida Husain — was born in Pandharpur in Maharashtra in 1915.

Self-taught as an artist, he began developing his skills by learning calligraphy at a madrasah in his early teens. He moved to Mumbai in the 1930s, surviving by painting cinema posters and honing his craft as the Bollywood industry grew.

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India vows to reopen embassy in Afghanistan as Taliban FM visits

Peter Harrison — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 13:06:40 +0000

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Fri, 2025-10-10 16:00

New Delhi: India will reopen its embassy in Kabul, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday, in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the first senior official from Afghanistan visiting New Delhi since the Taliban took power in 2021.

India closed its embassy when the Taliban took control four years ago, when Afghanistan’s Western-backed regime collapsed and US-led troops withdrew after two decades of military occupation.

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Taliban FM arrives in India on first visit by top Afghan leader since 2021

rbksa — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:40:35 +0000

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Thu, 2025-10-09 16:35

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi began an official visit to India on Thursday, the first by a senior Afghan leader since 2021.

Like all other countries, except for Russia, India does not officially recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, which took over the country four years ago, when its Western-backed regime collapsed, and US-led troops withdrew after two decades of military occupation.

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Starmer meets Modi to promote tech, jobs after UK-India trade pact

zaynab.khojji — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 12:13:22 +0000

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Thu, 2025-10-09 15:05

NEW DELHI: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in Mumbai on Thursday, as he brought the largest-ever British business delegation to expand ties under a recently signed free trade agreement.

Starmer arrived in India’s financial capital on Wednesday. It is his first visit since taking office, and he is accompanied by Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle, Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander, Investment Minister Jason Stockwood, and 125 CEOs, entrepreneurs, university vice chancellors and cultural leaders.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

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British PM arrives in India with largest-ever trade mission

Sajjadkk — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:29:45 +0000

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Wed, 2025-10-08 14:25

NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday leading the UK’s largest-ever trade mission to India.

Starmer is accompanied by a 125-member delegation including business executives and representatives of universities and cultural institutions.

The trip, which follows the signing of a multibillion-dollar free trade agreement in July, is the British premier’s first official visit to India since taking office last year.

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Indian women win global recognition for reviving forgotten crops

daniel.fountain — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:49:17 +0000

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Mon, 2025-10-06 16:46

NEW DELHI: When Bibi Jaan started learning agriculture in 2018, she became the first woman in her family in rural Karnataka to do so. Little did she know that a few years later, she would be leading a collective that is gaining global recognition for pioneering sustainable farming.

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India to resume direct flights with China in late October

dalal.awienat — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 09:35:40 +0000

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Fri, 2025-10-03 12:33

NEW DELHI: India is set to resume direct flights with China in late October, its foreign ministry said, with no commercial airlines having operated between the world’s two most populous countries for the past five years.

The nuclear-armed neighbors were locked in a standoff triggered by deadly clashes along their Himalayan border, known as the Line of Actual Control, in 2020.

Tens of thousands of troops, tanks, and artillery have been deployed on both sides of the LAC, with both countries also building roads, bunkers, and airstrips in the high-altitude region.

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India to build $454m cross-border rail lines with Bhutan

zaynab.khojji — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:26:34 +0000

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Tue, 2025-09-30 16:23

NEW DELHI: India has announced its first-ever cross-border railway project with Bhutan, slated to connect the landlocked mountainous neighbor with its nearly 70,000-km railway network in four years.

The $454 million project will connect the eastern Indian states of Assam and West Bengal to two towns in Bhutan. Together, the lines will cover a total distance of 89 km.

The project agreement was signed on Monday evening by Bhutan’s Foreign Secretary Pema Choden and Indian Railway Board CEO Satish Kumar.

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