The United States Department of Justice plans to seek the extradition of Lawrence Bishnoi, accused of orchestrating the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and involvement in other crimes in the US. Extradition is also sought for Gurinderjit Singh Nagra in an extortion case. These actions are part of a larger international operation targeting India-based transnational organised crime groups.
Canadian police have found no evidence linking Indian government officials to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, directly contradicting earlier allegations by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that strained bilateral ties.
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
A Station House Officer (SHO) in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, has been shifted to Police Lines following a fact-finding inquiry initiated by Punjab Police. This action comes after news reports linked the officer to an extortion-related investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under "Operation Hard Ball," targeting India-based organised crime syndicates. The US indictment alleges the officer's involvement in a $400,000 extortion scheme using false murder charges, drawing significant political criticism.
A coordinated international operation, 'Operation Hard Ball', led to the arrest of 24 alleged members and associates of three India-based criminal syndicates, including the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, across the US, Canada, and Europe.
Behind Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's explosive batting lies years of relentless hard work, family sacrifices, and a training routine few young cricketers could endure.
Prem Panicker's Must Read Blog On The Gulf War.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
For weeks, the war skirted the edge of catastrophe without tipping over. Missiles flew, there was much destruction, commanders were assassinated, cities across the Gulf and even in Israel struggled to absorb the shock. But one line held: Energy infrastructure, the arteries of the global economy, remained largely untouched. That is no longer true. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
Alliances fight wars effectively only when they share an endgame. If Israel acted without US knowledge, then the military alliance is operating without real coordination at the level of strategic targeting. Neither picture is reassuring in a war that is no longer regional in its consequences. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
It was a tough negotiation and the consensus on the declaration was a great achievement by India, European sources said on the condition of anonymity.
US President Donald Trump expresses frustration with the lack of progress in trade talks with India, imposing a 25% tariff. The move comes amid concerns over trade deficits and India's reliance on Russian military equipment and energy.
'When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with the alliance partners.'
'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.'
'I think there was a fair bit of good bowling today. Obviously there was enough in the wicket and it probably felt like it was a hardball wicket.'
Notwithstanding advice that he might turn into a 'non-entity', the TRS president has conveyed to the Congress leadership that he must be made the chief minister of Telangana if the Congress is looking for a merger between the two parties.
The defense in the rape cae launched an all-out effort to cast the 19-year-old accuser in the worst light possible.
The American, Russian and Chinese reactions to the Uri attack indicates how tough it will be for India to 'isolate' Pakistan internationally,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Cheap Chinese-made toys have filled India's toyshops and bazaars in recent years, displacing locally made goods, but Indian politicians are now striking out against the imports.
Pakistan will not play its World Cup matches in India unless the BCCI and ICC give written guarantees India will come to Pakistan to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Book reveals how Akshay Kumar terminated his own contract to save IPL team from incurring loss
With the government vulnerable when it comes to voting on financial matters, the Trinamool has become a big headache for the prime minister and the government, says Renu Mittal
The likely new chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Zaka Ashraf has rejected his predecessor Najam Sethi's much-publicised "hybrid model" for the upcoming Asia Cup.
"The PCB is wondering, in what capacity has Jay Shah given the statement that the ACC will look to relocate the Asia Cup to the UAE instead of Pakistan because the hosting rights were awarded by the executive board of the ACC, not the President," the PCB source said.
Manmohan Singh had told his team to "call off" the Indo-US civil nuclear deal a night before its scheduled announcement by President George Bush after Americans came with a killer proposal to let India have just two of its nuclear reactors out of the international safeguards, a top aide of the former Prime Minister has said.
'Since September 1, a senior cabinet minister has been to-ing and fro-ing between Jalna and Mumbai by chartered flight every single day with messages from the two deputy chief ministers and the chief minister to get Manoj Jarange-Patil to back down from his agitation.'
Younger brother of the legendary Hashim Khan, Azam is widely regarded as one the best squash players in the world. He left playing due to an Achilles tendon injury and the tragic death of his 14-year old son in 1962.
The BJP at 43 is a work in progress, with total ideological continuity and much substantive change in political method and style, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'People will teach a lesson to those who are compromising it for the sake of power and money.'
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
'Uddhav has told the cops to crack down hard on the MNS agitation if MNS activists try to vitiate the communal harmony in the state.'
