In this week’s frantic rescue effort, one unexpected development is the army’s use of Twitter, WhatsApp, a messaging service, and Facebook to reach families. Twenty years ago, when social media first emerged, India’s government — like its counterparts in Beijing and Moscow — regarded it warily, as a force that could undermine state power. 

The missed opportunity of not visiting Japan early enough should now be offset by the rhetoric of the joint statement. The converging geo-political interests of India and Japan in curbing the growing assertiveness of China in the Asia-Pacific is certainly one of the major factors binding the two nations together. 

India today proposed new ideas for further enhancing cooperation with Bhutan while asserting that commitments made by the previous government will be fulfilled. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan on his maiden foreign visit, told reporters here that the Indian side was "extremely satisfied" with the "extremely successful" visit. Swaraj said Prime Minister Modi gave some new suggestions to Bhutan.

Indian voters and foreign observers have been understandably fixated on Narendra Modi's potential to repair India's economy and governance. Less attention has been paid to the possibility that he might also prove a transformative leader in India's relations with the world — until now.

In a goodwill gesture, Pakistan yesterday freed 151 Indian fishermen while Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the release of all detained Indian fishermen on the eve of the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi.Authorities released 59 Indian fishermen from Malir jail in Karachi and another 92 from Nara jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province. The release comes ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to India to attend the swearing-in of Modi.

A day before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flies into India to attend Narender Modi’s swearing-in as the next premier, Pakistan on Sunday released 151 Indian fishermen from Karachi and Hyderabad prisons as a goodwill gesture.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accepted an invitation to attend the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, a first in the history of the nuclear-armed rivals, an official said on Saturday."There will be a bilateral meeting on the sidelines between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Modi," Mohyuddin Wani, the joint secretary of the prime minister's office, told Reuters. "Mr. Sharif will also be calling on the Indian president."

Inia has just voted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power in a big way, putting Narendra Modi in office as prime minister. Modi is a pragmatist, focused on economic growth and good governance. But he's also a polarizing figure, under whose watch bloody Hindu-Muslims riots occured in 2002 in Gujarat -- leading the United States to deny him a visa in 2005. Although Modi has been exonerated by the Indian legal system, his past, coupled with concerns among the Indian and global human rights community, presents challenges for U.S. engagement. But the U.S.