Nepal's central bank on Thursday issued new Rs 100 denomination bank notes that have a revised map of the country, including the controversial Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura territories, termed as artificial enlargement by India. The new note from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) bears the signature of previous Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari. The date of issuance of the bank note is mentioned as 2081 BS, which denotes the previous year, 2024. During the Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli-led government, Nepal had updated the map, comprising Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpiyadhura territories, through a Parliament endorsement in May 2020. Clarifying the matter regarding the updated version of map, an NRB spokesperson said that the map is already there in the old Rs 100 bank note and it has been revised as per the government's decision. Among various denominations of bank notes such as Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 500, and Rs 1,000, only the bank note with Rs 100 denomination bears the map of Nepal, others
Drawn by the British in 1893, the Durand Line remains a source of conflict as Pakistan and Afghanistan inch closer to a direct military confrontation
A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia appeared shaky but remained in place Tuesday as tensions lingered despite a truce agreement to end deadly border clashes following economic pressure from the U.S. The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect at midnight on Monday, but was quickly tested. Thailand's army accused Cambodia of launching attacks in multiple areas early Tuesday, but Cambodia said there was no firing in any location. While some spillover had been anticipated in the hours immediately after the ceasefire took effect, a Thai government statement late Tuesday said that a new clash had broken out at at one of the locations where there had previously been heavy fighting. The Thai army reported exchanges of gunfire into Wednesday morning but said there was no use of heavy artillery. Jirayu Houngsub, a spokesperson for the office of Thailand prime minister, said in a text message to journalists that the Thai military is currently responding and controlling
Asean-led talks mediated by Malaysia result in a midnight ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia after clashes killed 35 and displaced over 260,000 along the border
Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed in several areas along their border Thursday in a major escalation of their conflict that left at least 11 people dead, mostly civilians. The two sides fired small arms, artillery and rockets, and Thailand also called in airstrikes. Thai villagers could be seen on video fleeing their homes to seek shelter as the clashes began in the morning. Fighting was ongoing in at least six areas along the border, Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said. The trigger for the clashes was a mine explosion along the border on Wednesday that wounded five Thai soldiers and led Bangkok to withdraw its ambassador to Cambodia and expelled Cambodia's. Thailand has also sealed all land border crossings while urging its citizens to leave Cambodia. The Southeast Asian neighbours have longstanding border disputes that periodically flare along their 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier and usually result in brief confrontations that sometimes involves exchang
Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty along parts of their 817-km border for over a century, resulting in repeated skirmishes over the years
A new foreign policy survey by the Observer Research Foundation finds most young respondents also wary of Chinese 'military coercion'
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh on Wednesday for a march to show their solidarity with the government and military, amid soaring tensions with neighbouring Thailand following a border row that erupted last month. Here's what to know about the latest dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbours. What was the latest conflict about? The recent dispute was triggered in May after armed forces of Thailand and Cambodia briefly fired at each other in a relatively small no man's land constituting territory along their border that both countries claim as their own. Both sides have said they acted in self-defence. One Cambodian soldier was killed. While the countries said afterwards they have agreed to de-escalate the situation, Cambodian and Thai authorities continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force at each other, keeping tensions high. Thailand has added restrictions at the border such as limiting crossing times and barring
Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealed India and China had reached agreement on patrolling arrangements along LAC in eastern Ladakh, which could lead to disengagement
Misri's statement today apparently pertains to Depsang and Demchok - the remaining two areas where the PLA remains in possession of Indian territory
The Border Security Force has intercepted 125 drones this year along Punjab's border with Pakistan, marking a notable rise from 22 drones intercepted in 2022 and 107 in 2023
Ukrainian troops are locked in intense battles with the advancing Russian army in two border areas, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, while the death toll from a Russian apartment building collapse blamed on Ukrainian shelling rose to 15. Zelenskyy said fierce battles are taking place near the border in eastern and northeastern Ukraine as outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian soldiers try to push back a significant Russian ground offensive. Defensive battles are ongoing, fierce battles, on a large part of our border area, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Sunday. The Kremlin's forces are aiming to exploit Ukrainian weaknesses before a big batch of new military aid for Kyiv from the US and European partners arrives on the battlefield in the coming weeks and months, analysts say. That makes this period a window of opportunity for Moscow and one of the most dangerous for Kyiv in the two-year war, they say. The new Russian push in the northeastern Kharkiv region, along wi
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday. The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested gray zone" along the Russian border. By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, with a prewar population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle. Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Russian forces were in the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions. A Russian tank was spotted along a major road leading to the town, Tymoshko said, illustrating Moscow's confidence to deploy heavy weaponry. An Associated Press team, positioned in a nearby village, saw plumes of smoke rising from the town as Russian forces hurled shells. Evacuation teams ...
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during an interview with Network18, touched upon burning poll issues including EVM tampering, infiltration in West Bengal, and more
China and India have made "positive progress" to resolve the border standoff, with both sides maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels, a senior foreign ministry official said here on Friday. Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning's remarks were further elaboration on China's reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement in which he said that for New Delhi, ties with Beijing are important and the "prolonged situation" at the borders should be addressed urgently. In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Prime Minister Modi expressed hope that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity at their borders. China and India are in close communication through diplomatic and military channels to address issues related to the border situation, and have achieved positive progress, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao .
The Congress on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "ineffective and feeble" response to China for its border transgressions, and demanded that he apologises to 140 crore Indians for his June 2020 statement that no one has entered India nor has anyone occupied any post. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that in his interview to Newsweek magazine, "the Prime Minister was at his cowardly worst". In a post on X, he said the PM's only comment on China's repeated infringements on Indian sovereignty was that the India-China border situation needs to be addressed urgently to resolve the "abnormality" in the bilateral interactions. "The prime minister had a chance to send a powerful message to China. However, his ineffective and feeble response is likely to only encourage China further in asserting its claim on Indian territory," Ramesh said. "The prime minister's reaction to the China issue is not only disgraceful but also disrespectful to our martyrs who ma
China on Wednesday said the Sino-India boundary issue does not represent the entirety of the bilateral ties and called for enhancing mutual trust between the two countries to avoid misunderstanding and misjudgement. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. Bilateral ties nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in more than four decades. Responding to questions on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks this week that the amassing of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has "not served either of us well", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, the boundary issue should be placed appropriately in the bilateral ties. China has stressed multiple times that the boundary question does not represent the entirety of the China-India relations which should be placed ...
Mizoram and Assam on Friday agreed to make joint efforts to resolve the long pending inter-state border dispute, an official statement said here. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma on Friday morning invited his Mizoram counterpart Lalduhoma, who is currently in Guwahati, over a meal and both leaders discussed the border issue. During the meeting, Lalduhoma and Sarma agreed to make collective efforts to resolve the border dispute between the two northeastern states, it said. Both leaders also agreed to maintain peace along the borders as long as the two neighbouring states hold border talks, it said. Sarma told Lalduhoma that he will send the minister in charge of border to Mizoram when the ongoing budget session of the Assam assembly is over. Three Mizoram districts - Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit - share a 164.6 km long border with Assam's Cachar, Karmganj and Hailankandi districts. The border dispute between the two neighbouring states is a long-standing issue, which mainly
China's military on Thursday said the boundary dispute with India is a "legacy issue" and it is "unwise" to link the border issue with the overall relations as it does not represent the whole picture of the bilateral relations. Chinese Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian made the remarks at a media briefing here in response to a question on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's reported statement that China violated the bilateral consensus in 2020 and assembled a large number of military forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), resulting in the conflict in the Galwan Valley. The India-China relations remained frozen since May 2020 when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) amassed troops in eastern Ladakh that led to a deadly clash between the two militaries at the Galwan Valley in June 2020, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese military personnel. Wu repeated Beijing's claim that the Galwan Valley lies on the ...
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma is likely to meet his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma this month to discuss border issues between the two states, an official said here on Monday. A discussion between them is expected during the North Eastern Council (NEC) plenary session to be held in Meghalaya's capital Shillong on January 19, he said. "The two leaders will discuss the border issues to resolve the long-standing dispute between the two states," the official said. The proposed NEC plenary session will be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Mizoram shares a 164.6 km-long border with Assam. The dispute had taken an ugly turn in July 2021 when police forces of the two states exchanged fire along the inter-state boundary, leading to the death of six policemen and a civilian from Assam. More than 60 people were also injured in the violent clash that took place in the disputed area near Mizoram's Vairengte village. The two states have held several rounds of talks since the