POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAQ
1) 38 Indians missing in Iraq are alive: Mahmoud Abbas
New Delhi, Monday, 12 October 2015
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told President Pranab Mukherjee that the missing 38 Indians are safe, according to an Indian spokesperson, who also said that no evidence was provided in support of that.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ISRAEL
2) Israel, India to ink three MoUs during President Mukherjee’s visit
New Delhi, Sunday, 4 October 2015
India and Israel would aim to step up bilateral engagement and are likely to sign three MoUs in water, energy and education sectors during President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Israel, which would be first ever by an Indian head of state.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai

3) First visit by an Indian President to Israel, Palestine: Between trade and tradition
New Delhi, Thursday, 8 October 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee would be travelling to Israel and Palestine between 12-15 October.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai; See also:  The Economic Times, New Delhi

4) India to sign education pacts with Palestine, Israel
New Delhi, Friday, 9 October 2015
An agreement would be signed for the first time between the two countries when President Pranab Mukherjee visits Palestine, for strengthening cooperation in the field of education.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

5) Ties with Israel on upswing: Pranab
New Delhi, Wednesday, 14 October 2015
After visiting Jordan and Palestine, President Pranab Mukherjee went to Israel and called for enhanced bilateral cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, defence and technology.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

6) At Knesset, President Mukherjee skips violence, focuses on India-Israel relations
New Delhi, Thursday, 15 October 2015
Addressing a special session of Knesset, President Pranab Mukherjee stayed away from the issue of terrorism, while talking about the old ties binding India and Israel.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai

7) Israel ‘upset’ with India’s ties with Palestine
New Delhi, Friday, 16 October 2015
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu told President Pranab Mukherjee that Israel expected India to change its stand towards Palestine.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

8) Pranab stresses India’s balancing act
New Delhi, Saturday, 17 October 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee reiterated India’s approach towards Israel and Palestine and added that India continues to support the Palestinian cause while pursuing improved relation with Israel.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

JORDAN
9) Jordan backs India’s U.N. Council bid
New Delhi, Saturday, 10 October 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee held talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman and discussed several bilateral issues such as trade and investment, counter-terrorism and United Nations Security Council reforms.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

10) Pranab hails ties with Jordan; urges increased bilateral investment  
New Delhi, Sunday, 11 October 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee hailed India’s relationship with Jordan, and thanked King Abdullah II for his “great humanitarian” policies as well as the help the Kingdom offered to India for evacuating its citizens from the conflict-hit countries in Middle East.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

11) Jordan signs six cooperation deals with India
Amman, Sunday, 11 October 2015
Jordan and India signed six agreements and MoUs in various fields of cooperation.
Source: The Jordan Times, Amman

PALESTINE
12) Our support for Palestine remains steadfast, says Pranab
New Delhi, Sunday, 11 October 2015
During his visit to Palestine, President Pranab Mukherjee said that India’s traditional support for the Palestinian cause remains “steadfast and unwavering,” and is ready to “work with all like-minded nations” for amicably solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai; See also: The New Indian Express, Chennai

13) Pranab cancels event amid protests by Palestinian students
New Delhi, Tuesday, 13 October 2015
In Palestine, student protests cancelled a school inauguration event during President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Al Quds University.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

14) It would be a blunder if Modi visits only Israel: Palestine diplomat
New Delhi, Sunday, 18 October 2015
Speaking to press in Ramallah, Palestinian diplomat Dr. Zomlot expressed the hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Palestine along with Israel.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

TUNISIA
15) Tunisia to help rescue Indians
New Delhi, Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Elaborating on the joint approach to counter-terrorism, Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche said that India and Tunisia had set an example by working against terrorism and insecurity together, especially when Tunisia helped India evacuate citizens from Libya in 2011 at the peak of the civil war, which overthrew Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

16) Sushma Swaraj Meets Tunisia Foreign Minister
New Delhi, Tuesday, 27 October 2015
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held bilateral meeting Tunisian foreign minister on the sidelines of the Third India-Africa Forum Summit (IFAS).
Source: The New Indian Express, Chennai

ECONOMIC ISSUES
PALESTINE 
17) India offers US$ 5 million budgetary support to Palestine
New Delhi, Monday, 12 October 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee held talks with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and handed a cheque worth US$5 million to the Palestinian government as budgetary support.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai; See also:  The Hindu, Chennai

UAE
18) India invites UAE businessmen to invest in India
Dubai, Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Terming India as a “shining star”, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman invited businessmen in the UAE to invest in India and take advantage of investments opportunities being provided by the growing economy.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
IRAN
19) Iran frees nine jailed Indians
New Delhi, Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Nine Indian sailors who were in a jail in Iran on charges of smuggling have been released.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

IRAQ
20) Iraqi nationals held at IGI
New Delhi, Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Four Iraqi nationals travelling to France on forged passports were arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Police said that they were trying to escape from the turmoil in Iraq and seek asylum in France.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

ISRAEL
21) Security agencies eye Israel spy balloons
New Delhi, Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Indian security agencies such as the National Security Guard and the Border Security Force have shown interest in acquiring balloon-based aerial surveillance systems from an Israeli company.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SAUDI ARABIA
22) Saudi police try to shift blame onto Indian maid
New Delhi, Saturday, 17 October 2015
Riyadh Police spokesperson Fawaz al-Maimaan said that the 55-year-old domestic employee from Vellore whose hand was severed in Saudi Arabia, had her hand injured due to a fall and thus had to be amputated.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

COMPILED BY SUNIL KUMAR

Sunil Kumar is a doctoral candidate in School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email
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As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy