GS-II

Nirmala Sitharaman gets guard of honour at Pentagon India and the U.S. are planning to “sort out” issues around a U.S. sanctions waiver related to India’s purchase of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia, U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis told the press at the Pentagon on Monday. …

Poor show in Kashmir region; Jammu registers 84% Kashmir recorded a 30.3% turnout in the seventh phase of panchayat elections on Tuesday, while the Jammu region registered a heavy 84.8%. “An average 75.3% polling was witnessed during the seventh phase in Jammu and Kashmir,” Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra said. …

Union Minister and LJP president says his stand always has been that the Supreme Court’s decision on the issue will be final and should be acceptable to all Union Minister and Lok Jan Shakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan completes 50 years in Indian politics, having served in the Cabinets …

Absence of staff for panchayat polls may hinder filing of claims, say Barak Valley organisations More than 40 organisations of southern Assam’s Barak Valley have demanded an extension of the ongoing claims submission phase of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in view of the panchayat elections. Less than …

British national Christian James Michel, wanted in the alleged Rs. 3,700 crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal bribery case, was extradited to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday. Mr. Michel was brought to Delhi on an Aviation Research Centre plane of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) around 10.45 …

The quality of indelible ink manufactured by Mysuru Paints and Varnishes and used during elections in various parts of the country came in for praise from the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commissioner R. Parasuram. “We are absolutely satisfied with the product,” said Mr. Parasuram when asked if there was any …

Envoy to Yemen lands in capital Sana’a ahead of talks Wounded rebels were flown out of the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday for medical treatment, a critical step towards bringing warring parties to planned UN-brokered negotiations in Sweden. The UN-chartered flight had taken off at 6.00 p.m. (1500 GMT) for …

Proposes talks with Xi and Putin to halt the ‘uncontrollable’ arms race U.S. President Donald Trump boasted on Monday that U.S. relations with China have taken a “BIG leap forward” following his meeting in Argentina with President Xi Jinping. “Very good things will happen. We are dealing from great strength, …

Bhutan’s new Foreign Minister reiterates the country’s policy of not having full relations with any permanent member of the UN Security Council, including China Bhutan’s Prime Minister Lotay Tshering is expected to visit Delhi in late December, in the first high-level exchange between the Modi government and the newly elected …

R.K. Nagar bypoll: single judge struck down FIR in March A Division Bench of the Madras High Court expressed surprise on Monday when it heard that a single judge of the court had on March 13 quashed an FIR lodged in connection with the alleged bribing of voters during the …

Independent probe sought into incidents from 2003 to 2006 Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Monday expressed his resolve to decide petitions filed by journalist B.G. Verghese and lyricist Javed Akhtar for an independent and fair investigation into 22 “fake” police encounters that occurred in Gujarat between 2003 and …

Israeli researchers say an inscription on an ancient ring discovered near Jerusalem may include the name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who Biblical accounts say sentenced Jesus to death.It would be a rare example still in existence of an inscription with the name of the man believed to have …

On November 17, Guillaume Féral and Mike Lomberg took off from Geneva, Switzerland, for Verona, Italy, the first of 150 hops on an around-the-world adventure that will take them to six continents and 80 countries over nine months. Not unusual, such adventures. Except that the pilots are wheelchair users.Mr. Féral, …

Two centuries ago experts predicted that Icelandic would be a dead language by now. But the doomsayers can eat their words: Icelandic is alive and kicking despite an onslaught of English brought on by modern technology.Currently spoken by the 355,000 inhabitants of this North Atlantic island, Icelandic has repeatedly come …

“It’s still straightening,” said engineer Roberto Cela, gazing at the Leaning Tower of Pisa gleaming in the autumn sunshine of northern Italy. “And many years will have to pass before it stops.”The gravitationally-challenged landmark is leaning less after years of ambitious engineering work. Fortunately for the millions of tourists who …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he briefed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis as he came under pressure over Moscow’s robust foreign policy at the G20 summit in Argentina.Mr. Putin said he explained Moscow’s position to Mr. Trump when the leaders met briefly at …

Chinese state media has welcomed the truce in the trade war between China and the U.S., amid apprehensions that follow-up negotiations are unlikely to yield quick returns.A commentary in the state run Xinhua news agency, following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he hoped to organise a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in early 2019, perhaps as soon as January or February.Mr. Trump told reporters travelling home to Washington with him aboard Air Force One from Argentina that “three sites” were …

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday surveyed the damage from a day of riots across Paris and led a crisis meeting that ended with a call for further talks with anti-government activists who have staged two weeks of protests.Mr. Macron held crisis talks with the Prime Minister, Interior Minister and …

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Sunday said the government was not considering any changes to the Act governing the process of issuing Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs). “It is an integral part of the legal structure of Jammu and Kashmir and there is no attempt whatsoever to tamper …