'I was always a reluctant actor.' 'I kept putting things off and not doing them.' 'But Tenet has really changed that for me.'

India will be the most consequential partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific this century, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries next week. Esper on Tuesday told a Washington audience that he and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be travelling to New Delhi next week for the 2+2 ministerial with their respective Indian counterparts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

In an interview with Larry O'Connor, Pompeo said in his meetings with his counterparts from Japan, India and Australia, they began to develop a set of understandings and policies that can jointly take these countries to work to present a true resistance to the threats that the Chinese Communist Party poses to each of these nations.

His songs were the anchor, the substratum, if you will, upon which life unfolded day after day, decade after decade -- across villages, towns, cities, and regions. Siva Sankar pays tribute to S P Balasubrahmanyam, the legendary singer who passed into the ages on Friday.

Whatever its apprehensions and concerns about the regime of the Rajapaksa clan, India must be ready with unconditional assistance when Colombo asks for it. Because it will, observes Aditi Phadnis.

'It was a privilege to work for the country.'

The government must figure out what the Chinese game plan is and thwart the endgame before it is upon us, possibly in early winter, advises David Devadas.

Floyd died in Minneapolis on Monday after a white police officer pinned him to the ground. Video footage showed the officer kneeling on Floyd's neck as he gasped for breath. His death has triggered nationwide protests.

India's curve, yet to flatten vis-a-vis countries with similar or more conservative plans to ease restrictions, still points to 'exponential growth', despite India having tested much fewer people.

'From India to Indiana, there has always been a sense of hope, optimism, and goodness.'

Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera made an 11-day road voyage across some of South Asia's most deserted, challenging, terrain, always under the gaze of the sacred, dazzling Himalaya.

The year has come to an end and we are looking forward to 2020. While we think back of the events that shaped the year, we couldn't help but think of these awards for these personalities.

'The lush green of Kashmir was exactly like the postcards and posters I had seen growing up.'

A round-up of results from the final day of the World Athletics Championships in Doha on Sunday

From Hurricane Dorian to Hong Kong protests to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega event in Houston, Texas, United States -- these are the big moments that shaped the month of September.

'He had a month's break post ODI World Cup. He didn't play white ball format and came for Test matches. But that means workload was well managed but still he had that fracture. Now can you explain why?'

IMAGES from the ICC World Cup match played between India and Sri Lanka at Headingley, Leeds, on Saturday

A rising Democratic Party star and vocal critic of President Donald Trump, Harris, if elected, would be the first woman and woman of colour to be the President of the United States.

Ahead of the G-20 summit in Osaka this week, Xi has reasserted China's role as a global player, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.

In this May 2014 interview with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com, the politically conscious Karnad spoke of why he is concerned about Modi coming to power.

Ricky Ponting + Sourav Ganguly + Shreyas Iyer + Kagiso Rabada + Rishabh Pant + Shikhar Dhawan + consistent team selection. Dhruv Munjal on how Delhi Capitals achieved a remarkable turnaround in IPL 2019.

The storm is India's strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in 20 years.

Major winners Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day and Adam Scott shared top spot at the Masters on Friday at the end of the second round, but it was Tiger Woods who commanded the spotlight once again at Augusta National.

Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.

'Xi Jinping is keen that the second Trump-Kim summit happens soonest.' 'Kim is reported to have told Xi that he expects to achieve a result from a second summit that the international community would welcome,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.

Musculoskeletal disorders were more common among students with higher smartphone use.

The Consumer Electronics Show, which took place in Las Vegas last week, had exciting new products on display.

The year gone by, decoded by Shuma Raha.

With mind and body both more willing now, the only way for the World No 3 is up, says Dhruv Munjal.

Agarwal, thrusted into the squad following failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, responded with a 76-run knock off balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent.

'What is the problem in getting the UK to extradite our citizens?' asks Aakar Patel.

'To be good at the heptathlon takes at least seven years; to compete internationally and win medals takes 10 years.' 'Swapna became Asia's best heptathlete in just five years!' 'Nobody would have believed it. but she did it.'

Robbed of prey as people fled, Omar Perez came marching back and shot bullet after bullet into Prudhvi Raj Kandepi's head, thus ensuring that a man he had never met before, known nothing of, would never get up again.

The 20-year-old Indian, who was competing in the season's Diamond League Series Finale just three days after winning Asian Games gold in Jakarta, sent the spear to a best distance of 85.73m to end at fourth position in the eight-man event.

Manu Bhaker is grounded as she gears up for another test of her 16-year-old mind and body in next month's Asian Games.

Akeem Bloomfield announced himself as the latest 'next big thing' from Jamaica

The Siang is a dramatic river that flows through a beautiful land. Rafting on it is a rare pleasure the state offers tourists, says Ajai Shukla.

xXx 4 for Deepika...Manisha to work with Sanju...Salman to launch Zaheer...

Then came the electrifying climax of Tuesday's hearing. Pasbola showed Sharma copies of cheques that had been deposited at the bank with Indrani's signature on them. He accused Sharma of forging Indrani's signature and collecting the money for herself. In the back Indrani stood up in the accused box and very pointedly nodded her head up and down and mouthed, "She did!".

'Today you have 30 to 40 per cent of bureaucrats who are not parrots of the government, but what happens if you change the system?' 'If implemented, this can disrupt the system, which will have more adverse consequences than demonetisation.'