'Indian diplomacy faltered amidst multiple failures of statecraft.' 'The functionaries responsible must be held to account for their abject failure,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Though there have been no cancellations of contracts by invoking the force majeure clause, a number of clients - especially in the worst-affected sectors like travel and hospitality, oil and gas, as well as manufacturing - have started asking for reducing level of IT support.

Images from Day 9 of the 2020 Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.

American Noah Lyles shot to 200 meters world championships gold on Tuesday, providing a bright finish to a day darkened by yet another doping scandal.

Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on pole position for their home Italian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday in a qualifying session that ended in farce and with drivers under investigation.

Images from Day 7 at the US Open.

Images from Day 6 of the US Open in New York, on Saturday.

A summary of the second day's play at the US Open.

Images from Day 9 at the French Open.

A summary of Sunday's matches at the French Open.

A summary of Thursday's play at the French Open.

Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.

Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.

Images from Day 5 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.

IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday

Will Priyanka start a family? Or does she have some career aces up her sleeve? Longtime Rediff.com contributor Aseem Chhabra, author of

Serena Williams overpowered German Carina Witthoeft 6-2, 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with big sister Venus at the US Open on Wednesday.

Second seed Sloane Stephens was shocked 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 by Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the second round of the Citi Open on Wednesday, disrupting the American's buildup to her US Open title defence.

Murray, who is attempting to return to the top of the tennis world after undergoing hip surgery in January, was out of sorts in the first set of the rain-delayed match, losing three service games behind some uncharacteristically soft second serves.

IMAGES from Day 7 at Wimbledon on Monday

IMAGES from Day 6 at Wimbledon on Saturday.

Senegal, nicknamed the Lions, lost 1-0 to their South American opponents, despite being the better side in the first half and having a penalty decision overturned. Senegal lost out on a second spot in the group to Japan because of a worse disciplinary record.

Uruguay will head to the World Cup on a winning note after beating Uzbekistan 3-0 in a chilly warmup in front of their own fans on Thursday.

IMAGES from matches on Day 10 at the French Open at Roland Garros

IMAGES from matches on Day 8 at the French Open

Serena Williams recovered from a set down to beat Australian Ashleigh Barty 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and book a place in the third round.

Karolina Pliskova lost her cool over a line call and bashed a hole into the umpire's chair with her racket after suffering a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat by Maria Sakkari in the Italian Open second round on Wednesday.

'With two nuclear neighbours, how likely is it for our armed forces to battle in a contaminated environment that could include nuclear, biological or chemical attacks by the adversary?' 'Are we prepared for the threat?' Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) explains the meaning and significance of Operation Vijay Prahar.

A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday

IMAGES from the matches played at Miami Miasters in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Wednesday

IMAGES from matches played at the Miami Masters in Key Biscayne, Florida

A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday

A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.

Czech defending champion Katerina Siniakova fended off Maria Sharapova in a fiercely contested match at the Shenzhen Open on Friday to set up a final with world number one Simona Halep.

'Fearful of losing strategic advantage, the only option for Pakistan is to rattle its nuclear sabre!' 'Pakistan thereby hopes to play on the worldwide fear of an outbreak of nuclear war in South Asia,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Kevin Anderson spoiled the American party at the US Open when the big-serving South African beat local favourite Sam Querrey 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(7) to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday.

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza notched up her first ever victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-0, 6-3 win over American Varvara Lepchenko at the US Open on Monday.

Australia's Sally Pearson completed one of the great sporting comebacks when she overcame two years of injury agony to win the world 100 metres hurdles title at the age of 30.

A round-up of all the results from the 16th World Athletic Championships in London

The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarter-finals played on Friday.