In a historic first, Indian president Pranab Mukherjee has travelled to Israel and Palestine for the first ever visit to these territories by an Indian head of state. Despite India sharing 23 years of diplomatic ties with Israel and working closely on defence, counter- terrorism, agriculture and energy related issues, no Indian prime minister or president has ever previously visited it.
Later this year, Narendra Modi is also likely to become the first prime minister of India to visit Israel. Mr Modi had visited Israel as the chief minister of Gujarat in 2006. And as Indian prime minister, he met Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year.
A hallmark of Mr Modi’s foreign policy has been a self-confident assertion of Indian interests. This is reflected in his government’s moves in relation to Israel, marking a distinct break from the diffidence of the past.
There has been a steady strengthening of India’s relationship with Israel ever since the two established full diplomatic relations in 1992.
In contrast to the back-channel security ties that existed before the normalisation of bilateral relations, India has been more willing to carve out a mutually beneficial relationship with Israel, including strengthening military ties and countering the threat terrorism poses to the two societies.
Over the years, the Indian government has also toned down its reactions to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
India has also begun denouncing violent acts in Israel, something that was seen earlier as rather justified in light of the Israeli policies against Palestinians. India is no longer initiating anti-Israel resolutions at the UN. This re-evaluation has been based on the belief that India’s largely pro-Arab stance in the Middle East has not been always adequately rewarded.
India has received little backing over the issue of Kashmir. Generally, the Arab world has stood by Pakistan, using the Organisation of Islamic Conference to build support for Islamabad in Kashmir. If some Arab countries, such as Jordan, have been able to keep their traditional ties with the Palestinians intact while building a new relationship with Israel, there is no reason for India not to take a similar route is the argument that holds sway in New Delhi.
Keeping India’s wider strategic interests in perspective, successive Indian governments since the early 1990s have walked a line between expressing genuine concern for the Palestinian cause and expanding its commercial and defence ties with Israel. India is the world’s largest buyer of Israeli weaponry and was Israel’s third largest trading partner in Asia in 2013 after China and Hong Kong.
On several occasions, Israel was willing to step up its arms sales to India after other major states curbed their technological exports following India’s May 1998 nuclear tests. When India was planning to undertake a limited military strike against Pakistan in June 2002 as part of Operation Parakram, Israel supplied hardware through special planes. Previous Indian governments had been reticent in acknowledging Israel’s partnership.
In diplomacy, public affirmation of friendships at the highest levels is often as important as drawing redlines for adversaries. After a major outreach to the UAE, the Modi government is also taking a step forward in its ties with Tel Aviv in the belief that an open relationship with Israel serves India well.
Harsh V Pant is a reader in international studies at King’s College London
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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More on animal trafficking
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Pathaan
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
