New Delhi, Feb 20: In yet another sign of thawing ties between the two countries, a Chinese diplomat on Thursday hailed India’s ascent in the Asia Power Index that was released last year.

“India has become the 3rd most powerful and influential country in Asia, after the US and China,” Yu Jing, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, posted on X citing the 2024 Asia Power Index by Australia’s Sydney-based Lowy Institute.

The report released in September 2024 had placed India as the third-most powerful nation in Asia, behind only the United States and China, highlighting India’s remarkable improvement in various categories, particularly in Diplomatic Influence, which surged due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s increased international engagements.

As India overtook Japan to grab the third spot in the Asia Power Index, several leaders attributed the country’s ascent to PM Modi’s visionary leadership and global strategy.

“India’s rise is no accident. This is the direct result of Prime Minister Modi’s aggressive diplomatic strategy and his bold ambitions to reshape India’s place in the world. Without his leadership, India would still be languishing behind, but today, we see a nation on the verge of superpower status,” stressed Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri.

According to the Lowy Institute, the Asia Power Index consisted of eight measures of power, 30 thematic sub-measures and 131 indicators. The Index ranked 27 countries and territories in terms of their capacity to shape their external environment — its scope reaching as far west as Pakistan, as far north as Russia, and as far into the Pacific as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

The government listed three major factors behind India’s rise in the index, including economic growth, future prospects and diplomatic influence.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has gained greater international recognition. India’s non-aligned strategic position has made it possible for New Delhi to effectively navigate complex international waters. India ranked sixth in terms of diplomatic interactions in 2023, reflecting its active participation in multilateral forums,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said, last year.

The strained relations between India and China are showing some improvement following the meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held in Kazan in October 2024.

Last month, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Foreign Minister mechanism between India and China on January 27.

The two sides not only decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025 but also agreed, in principle, to resume direct air services between the two countries.

Analysts reckon that the Chinese diplomat’s post on Thursday could be part of both countries deciding to utilise 2025 – the 75th anniversary of the establishment of India-China diplomatic relations – to redouble public diplomacy efforts, create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public, as it was agreed during Foreign Secretary Misri’s visit to Beijing, last month.

Tehran, Feb 19: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that US “foolish” plans for Gaza and Palestine “will lead nowhere.”

“Those who claimed that they would destroy resistance in a short period of time are now receiving their prisoners from the resistance fighters in small groups and releasing a large number of Palestinian captives in return,” Khamenei said when meeting with visiting Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Ziad al-Nakhalah, Xinhua news agency reported quoting a statement by Khamenei’s website.

As “global public opinion is now in favour of Palestine,” no plan will succeed without the consent of the resistance and people of Gaza, he said.

For his part, al-Nakhalah thanked Iran’s constant support for the resistance in Gaza, which he said managed to achieve “great victories” over the United States and the West despite the unequal balance of power.

US President Donald Trump proposed recently to transfer Gaza’s Palestinian population to neighboring countries, stating that Gazans who left will not be allowed to return.

The proposal, strongly supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has met continuous regional and international outcry.

Earlier on February 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is discussing US President Donald Trump’s “revolutionary, creative vision” on the Gaza Strip, the one that Trump is “very determined to implement.”

Trump’s plan “opens up many possibilities for us,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting after his return from Washington to Israel, according to a statement released by Netanyahu’s office.

“For an entire year, we have been told that the ‘day after’ (in Gaza) must involve the PLO (the Palestine Liberation Organization), the Palestinian Authority … President Trump has presented a completely different vision, one that is much better for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

Jerusalem, Feb 17: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a negotiation team will travel to Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said he spoke by phone with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after which he instructed an Israeli negotiation team to depart for Cairo on Monday.

The team will first discuss the “continuation of the implementation of Phase One of the deal,” and will “receive instructions on continuing negotiations regarding the second phase” after a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet scheduled for Monday, the statement said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Witkoff said talks about the second phase have already begun and will continue this week “at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of Phase Two successfully.”

On Saturday, Hamas and Israel completed the sixth prisoner-for-hostage exchange following days of tense negotiations that threatened to undo the precarious ceasefire.

In the exchange, Hamas released three more Israeli hostages held in Gaza, while Israeli authorities freed 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, effective since January 19 and spanning six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. So far, 19 Israeli hostages, along with five Thais, have been released from Gaza, while Israeli authorities have released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and Hamas were supposed to begin talks on the second phase in early February. Hamas said in a statement on February 4 that it had started discussions with international mediators, whereas a spokesman for Netanyahu said on social media platform X on Tuesday that Israel had not yet begun negotiations on the second phase.

The second phase of the agreement is supposed to focus on the release of the remaining hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, and the implementation of a permanent ceasefire.