Any form of entanglement with India or the US on the strategic plane will be anathema to Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa rulers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Openness is a great weapon in the armoury of more open societies. That's why the fight with Pakistan isn't just about India be six times bigger, but equally bitter and insecure Pakistan,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Both statesmen possess a cultivated pugnacious style which they keep in reserve and can at will bring into play, and despite the mutual distrust in Russian-American relations, they are proponents of detente, quintessentially, who take their mission deadly seriously, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Launched in July 2006 by Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, brothers in their 20s from Calcutta, Scrabulous has become one of the most popular games played by Facebook members and boasts nearly 600,000 daily active users.
In its sheer audacity, the initiative with Russia has the potential to transform world politics in the same way as the 1972 Nixon visit to China and 'Shanghai Declaration' changed world dynamics, says Anil Athale.
'Increasing Indian influence meant "people here in Washington DC, in Brussels, in London or other world capitals don't talk about Kashmir".'
Penned by lyricist Sameer, the tribute song in honour of the martyrs of the Kargil War features Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kangana Ranaut among others.
'Another friend told me that the Russians had come to their homes, killed their neighbours and raped his neighbour's wife, and they killed even children in Bucha.'
If New Delhi finds itself out in the cold in Afghanistan, both the Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA have only themselves to blame. Each has been in power for a full decade from 2001, without reaching out to the Taliban, points out Ajai Shukla.
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
The equity infusion will happen at Rs 505 a unit, which is a premium of nearly 14 per cent over February 4's close of Rs 444.60.
'You don't want to harm the satellites of other countries, but you also don't want your own satellite to be harmed.'
Pressure had been building on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president, Thomas Bach, with some athletes and sporting bodies angry that a seemingly inevitable decision had taken so long.
Hordes of Indians frequent temples, markets, bazaars regardless of the consequences.
China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. Beijing has also made substantial progress in militarising its man-made islands in the past few years, which it says it has the right to defend.
In the past year, Beijing has hosted at least 70 delegations from India as part of its outreach to the Indian business community, youth leaders and Sangh Parivar affiliates
Ever the style icon, PM Modi wore a beautiful colourful turban.
'And though I wasn't too shocked to see Swami Om go, I wonder how his stay in the secret room will make the show more entertaining.'
Notwithstanding how the current impasse is solved, at some point in the future, Russia will realise that just as centuries ago it developed the paradigm of securing its heartland's safety through annexing vast buffer zones between itself and the enemy, a more modern security is possible only through friendly relations and sustainable peace, observes Shyam G Menon.
A new West Asia is emerging and India must engage at the highest level and help shape this change, says Saeed Naqvi
China and the United States were headed for a major diplomatic confrontation as Washington on Wednesday ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, a move it said was aimed 'to protect American intellectual property and private information', hinting at cyber espionage.
Pfizer sought to participate in the Subject Expert Committee consultations towards an emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine. However, the company representatives have been unable to participate in the meetings because of extremely short notices of a few hours or less and time-zone limitations.
While we seem to want soldiers on short-term engagement, warfare itself is getting more technical and needs skilled manpower. The world has seen the dismal performance of armies that rely on short tour of duty soldiers or have outsourced war to 'contractors' in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'Steve was the foremost strategic analyst on South Asia,' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
'I made it known through diplomatic channels that I was unhappy.' 'So, he called me and tried to explain, but I said this is something that doesn't happen between friends.'
Cheers broke out in the cabin of JetBlue flight 387 as the plane touched down.
Shringla last served as India's envoy to the US. He will be serving a two-year term. In the course of a diplomatic career spanning 35 years, Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad, and is considered an expert on India's neighbourhood.
Russia's Darya Klishina booked a place in the Olympic long jump final on Tuesday, keeping alive her country's slim hopes of an athletics medal in Rio following the exclusion of its track and field squad over doping allegations.
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
China is going to be an indispensable partner in Russia's ongoing crisis with the US, while on its part, China cannot remain indifferent if Russia gets crushed by the US, lest it loses 'strategic depth', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A third-year student of the Vinnytsia National Medical University, Attar had on February 22 booked a ticket for February 27 to fly back home to India.
According to the report, Russia tops the table with 6,375 warheads, followed by the United States with 5,800, and the United Kingdom with 215 warheads.
The hotlines or secure lines of communication between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama and their national security advisors have recently become operational, though it has not been put to use during its short lifespan so far.
'Under National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and now Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, India began to actively work on Pakistani internal faultlines with a possibility of the break-up of Pakistan as the only solution,' observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Indira Gandhi, it appears, did not to consult her Cabinet colleagues, or diplomats, or civil servants when she decided to sign the agreement in Shimla.' 'We ruefully recall Bhutto's perfidy and the Indian prime minister's gullibility,' says Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd).
... and ONE man could be the reason for that, say scientists.
