International Relations
Bilateral ties, multilateral forums, treaties and India's foreign policy
EU spells out how Google must share data with rivals
The European Commission issued preliminary findings on April 16, 2026, specifying the precise data-sharing obligations Google must fulfil under the EU's Digi...
Israel says military operation against Hezbollah ‘still not complete’
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon/Hezbollah came into effect on April 16–17, 2026, brokered by the United States. Israel's Defence Minister state...
Pakistan starts preparing for next round of U.S.-Iran talks: officials
Pakistan has begun preparations to host the second round of direct U.S.-Iran negotiations, aimed at ending the ongoing West Asian conflict and resolving the ...
Starlink outage hit drone tests, exposing Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX
During a global Starlink outage in 2025, more than two dozen US Navy unmanned surface vessels (USVs) lost contact and drifted for nearly an hour, with operat...
Iran declares Strait of Hormuz open after Lebanon-Israel ceasefire. Then Trump puts in a caveat
Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz "completely open" for commercial shipping on April 17, 2026, linking the announcement to the commencement of a 10-day Leba...
Oil plunges, stocks jumps as Iran declares Hormuz open
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on April 17, 2026 that the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" for all commercial vessels for the remainde...
First loaded Iranian oil tankers exit Gulf since U.S. blockade: Kpler
Three Iranian crude oil tankers — the Deep Sea, Sonia I, and Diona — became the first loaded Iranian vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the U...
US ends oil waivers but Russian crude flows to India ‘likely to remain steady’ amid Hormuz disruption
The United States has ended waivers that had allowed India to continue purchasing Russian crude oil without attracting secondary sanctions. The specific waiv...
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees dead, missing in shipwrecks in 2025: UN
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on April 17, 2026 that nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were dead or missing in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Ben...
EU in talks with Anthropic over risks of AI model Mythos
The European Union entered into talks with Anthropic over the risks posed by its Mythos AI model — an advanced AI system capable of identifying and exploitin...
Pakistan-based LeT's co-founder injured in attack in Lahore
Amir Hamza, a co-founder and senior leader of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was shot by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen in the ...
China calls passage of Japanese warship through Taiwan Strait a 'provocation'
Japan's destroyer JS Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait, and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and Air Force tracked and monitored the vessel thr...
Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan to visit Sri Lanka on April 19 and 20
Vice President of India C.P. Radhakrishnan is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on April 19–20, 2026, in what the Ministry of External Affairs described as "the f...
West Asia crisis: Govt expands export insurance scheme
The central government expanded coverage of the RELIEF scheme (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) to include Jordan and Egypt, two ...
India explores FTA full use with Norway, sets up fast-track investment system with Austria
India and Norway are actively exploring mechanisms to fully utilise the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which entered into force ...
India to continue buying Russian crude, LPG despite end of US sanctions waiver
The US did not renew the 30-day sanctions waiver it had granted India in early March 2026 to purchase Russian crude oil and LPG; the waiver expired around Ap...
US expands crackdown on Iran-linked ships, warns of seizures worldwide
The United States has significantly expanded its crackdown on Iran-linked shipping, warning of vessel seizures across global maritime routes — not just the M...
India, Austria ink 12+ pacts on defence, counterterrorism & tech
Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker's official visit to India (April 2026) — the first by an Austrian Chancellor in 40 years — produced 15 formal o...
Have ratified ILO treaties on forced labour: India on USTR probe charges
The US Trade Representative (USTR) initiated Section 301 investigations against 60 trading partners — including India — over alleged failures to prevent impo...
India’s rural models are shaping development diplomacy
A growing number of African governments are exploring India's Self-Help Group (SHG)-based livelihoods framework as a development model. India's DAY-NRLM (Dee...