United States President Barack Obama has nominated Nisha Desai Biswal as the new assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
'We had to convince our people that we were doing nothing that would erode our strategic programme. We were all the time arguing that we are not doing anything, which will remotely impact on our strategic programme.'
Naresh Chandra -- distinguished civil servant and diplomat -- passed into the ages on Sunday, July 9. Ambassador T P Sreenivasan salutes a patriot like none other.<
In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
As 2018 draws to a close and the white noise of 24-hour news cycles and Twitter storms fade into the background, it is already clear that history will remember only a handful of those people, each of whom has taught us something about ourselves and the rapidly changing world in which we live.
Olympic organizers are still scrambling to finish everything from a beach volleyball venue to a new subway line, set to open just days before the opening ceremony. At the village, where lines formed Sunday as athletes began checking in, work crews were still making last minute repairs.
'Although the Election Commission remains convinced about the EVM's integrity, as a fair umpire of the game it was necessary to travel the last mile to convince political players that the entire process was not only fair but transparently so.' A fascinating excerpt from former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla's new book, Excerpted from Every Vote Counts: The Story Of India's Elections.
Just wait for some more time. Pakistan will forced to stop firing.
Chancellor Angela Merkel-led new German government has been jolted by its first political crisis after a minister resigned over claims he leaked confidential information about an international child pornography probe involving an Indian-origin ex-member of parliament.
Australia's Olympic delegation in Rio de Janeiro said on Monday that organizers had made "fantastic" progress in fixing problems with unfinished housing, although officials admitted that only two-thirds of the buildings had passed full safety checks.
The CM met M B Patil, a prominent Congress leader under whose leadership a section of dissatisfied MLAs have been holding meetings.
The United States Select Committee on Intelligence's damning report on the Central Intelligence Agency throws spotlight on the brutal tactics adopted by CIA agents to elicit information from terror suspects and yet its ineffectiveness in the sense that it delivered no 'ticking time bomb' data that prevented an attack.
The National Democratic Alliance government's parliamentary managers have a busy weekend ahead, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
Scores of students gathered at VC's lodge after learning that Podile was holding a press conference to announce that he was going to resume charge on Tuesday.
Tillerson said he hoped that at some point the North Koreans will begin to understand that the US would like to sit and have a dialogue with them.
'The clique that runs that country is treating us like suckers. We are very foolish, giving people money who involve themselves in activity that's harmful to America.' 'When you look at the cold hard facts, Pakistan is not an ally to the United States. They have facilitated, they have encouraged, they have been a protector of enemies.'
Praising the US for turning barriers into bridges of partnership, he said that America had stood with India when the support was needed the most, like when terrorists attacked Mumbai in November 2008 and in other economic endeavours as well
Payments banks will mainly deal in remittance services and accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Five longtime Republicans -- K V Kumar, Puneet Ahluwalia, Suhail Khan, Ajay Kuntamukkala and Harry Walia -- have been named to the GOP's Asian Pacific American Advisory Council.
The United States is looking for a "limited narrow act" of military intervention in Syria that does not involve a "boots-on-the-ground approach", but has not made a final decision yet, President Barack Obama said.
'Islamic State has declared that the liberation of Islamic Xinjiang from China is an objective. Beijing may well find that Pakistan is unable to assist in any meaningful way,' says China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Tanzania where he held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli.
'It was Dr B R Ambedkar's foresight which saved us from some marauding state political leaders who could have indirectly disfranchised large sections of our population as we see some attempts even now,' says V Balachandran.
'I cannot conceive of any reason than my unsparing criticism of government policies that the government picked me to send a message to many who dare to take it on.'
Of the 20 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, eight were from Maharashtra, three each from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, two from Jammu and Kashmir and one each from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
'An opportunity is at hand to think big and recast the India-China relationship on a new template, which would help the pursuit of our country's dream of major power status,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'India is so poor that political parties will not be able to wipe out poverty from our country in another 100 years. I am of the opinion that development can come only through corporates.' 'Tomorrow, if Tata or Birla or Reliance takes up another 500 panchayats, it will boost the Indian economy also.' Sabu M Jacob, managing director of the Kitex group whose NGO Twenty20 has just won a panchayat election in Kerala, speaks to Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
'The government has sent a clear message to Pakistan: It is no longer business as usual.' 'The rules of the game have changed and a new game is at play,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
South African Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison by Judge Thokozile Masipe, closing one of the most sensational trials in South African history and one that may yet fuel controversy about race and money in its justice system.
With an aggressive Opposition and unyielding government, important legislation could be the biggest casualty, as details of the helicopter contract surface.
Human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated in the war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam haunted Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the sidelines of the CHOGM summit with UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday giving the island country an ultimatum to conduct a credible probe into the war crimes by March, failing which he would seek an international investigation.
A prominent lawmaker of the opposition Bangladesh National Party was on Tuesday sentenced to death by a special Bangladeshi tribunal for genocide during the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan, becoming the first Member of Parliament and seventh person to be convicted of crimes against humanity.
Given that India will get a huge part of its oil supplies from Iran through its government-owned oil PSUs, any unwelcome shocks in global crude rates could be absorbed well enough.
The State must stand as a solid tower of confidence to provide a guarantee of safety to its citizens and instill fear in the hearts of offenders. But where is that State, asks Tarun Vijay
Describing journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik as a "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh man", Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday questioned whether the Indian high commission in Islamabad had facilitated the meeting between him and Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
'Previous governments in India had reservations about working with Israel.' 'Modi has shed this tag.' 'Disengaging itself from its traditional and ideological foreign policy approach in the Middle East shall serve India's long-term interests.' Rajaram Panda explains why the significance of Modi's visit to the Jewish nation goes beyond markers like the first-ever visit to Israel by an Indian PM and 25 years of diplomatic ties.
In a society where corruption is endemic and you want to get something done then it is all too tempting to offer a bribe, Swraj Paul said.
'What is the ISI doing and why can't they understand for their own interest that bringing stability to the region will help all the countries become prosperous, whereas a continuation of incitement will only lead to misery for all.'
While the Congress will firm up its strategy once the ruling alliance tables the Bill, initial comments by its leaders have been encouraging.
