A glimpse of the Pathaan star exuded more glamour than a room full of Hollywood put together.
At no other time has a single meeting of the leaders of two democracies been so critical and hazardous.
Like Mr Trump, says Kanika Datta, politics tempts many businessmen.
'Modi, with his sharply honed political savvy and undoubted grasp of international affairs, is a past master at taking the measure of world leaders.' 'He would be the last person to think of the unpredictable and not too well-regarded Trump as the mediator,' says B S Raghavan.
United States President Barack Obama hosted the 14th and final formal State Arrival Ceremony and State Dinner on October 18. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife Agnese Landini were welcomed to the White House with a grand reception. To mark this momentous occasion, Chief White House photographer decided to share glimpses from some of the other state dinners hosted by the Obama administration over the last eight years.
In an unprecedented assault on democracy in the US, thousands of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building here and clashed with police, resulting in four deaths and interrupting a constitutional process by Congress to affirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the election.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States recognises -- as have Israeli courts -- the legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground.
For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
Illustrious international thinkers met at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2021 and many discussions addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world at large.
Bush's remains will lie in state in the US Capitol Rotunda till Wednesday, when he will be honoured with state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.
Here are 7 things you need to know, including some you probably didn't know, about this historic debate.
President Pranab Mukherjee will be among over 90 heads of state and government who will attend an emotional memorial service in South Africa on Tuesday for anti-apartheid legend Nelson Mandela, making it one of the largest such gatherings in generations.
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
'Completely disregarding ground reports of starvation deaths owing to Aadhaar and potentially disguising these deaths to look like accidents appears brutal,' says Rajendran Narayanan.
With a decelerating economy that weakens India's hands on geopolitical issues, it will be interesting to know which way this trip will go.
Even as politics engaged him more, he never hid his way of life. On one occasion, Morarji Desai pleaded with him to stop drinking publicly. "You stick to your pissky and I'll stick to my whisky'' he is supposed to have told him.
In the mid-1980s, India and the US struggled to arrive at sufficient confidence for Washington to even sell a supercomputer to India for monsoon prospecting. Now, the most sensitive military technologies, data, and intelligence resources are being shared. This would not have happened without that one, big deal that changed the fundamentals of India-US relations, notes Shekhar Gupta.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his historic visit of the United States of America, here's a look at some landmark visits by Indian prime ministers to the United States of America.
Accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Obama lay flowers at the cenotaph in Hiroshima, which sits in the shadow of a domed building, whose skeleton has been left standing in silent testament to the victims of the first ever nuclear attack.
Kamala Harris, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi make their way to the Congress.
Marcus Smart had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who had a six-game winning streak come to a halt. Grant Williams added 17 points, and Derrick White had 15 points and eight assists. Boston was without Jayson Tatum (knee), Jaylen Brown (knee), Robert Williams III (knee) and Al Horford (personal).
Vanity Fair Oscar Party was no less than the big awards night.
'On Saturday, I drove my wife over to Beverly Hills for sushi.' 'Two blocks before Rodeo, we turned the car around, because we saw hundreds driving pickup trucks and marching down sidewalks, yelling, donning MAGA gear, and waving huge Trump flags.' I tell you... It was scary.' 'And this didn't look like a defeated throng.' 'These folks looked like they knew something we didn't,' notes Rajiv Satyal, the Los Angeles-based comedian and host.
'Imagine for a moment that the Coast Guard was unable to stop the vessel and it reached Porbandar with its cargo/personnel and targeted the event at which the prime minister was present,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Like Nehru, Modi is loathe to touch the public sector. His policy towards Israel leans towards 'non-alignment'. You can find other similarities: frequent public speeches, personalised leadership, total control over foreign and strategic policies, even stylised dressing, says Shekhar Gupta.
'President Kalam pitched his dreams high. He will be best remembered for that feat.'
'His popularity is still high; respect for his intellect and integrity is still discernible; but his long night may just be beginning,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
The fight was for the more than 10 million millennials, the undecided and the independents and Clinton clearly came out on top, feels Aziz Haniffa.
Vajpayee had always felt that India must act with conviction and panache. He decided that, irrespective of the attendant risks, he would undertake what many felt was a precarious course. A fascinating excerpt from N K Singh's Portraits Of Power: Half A Century Of Being At Ringside on Atalji's 96th birthday, December 25.
Sandeep Pandey salutes women who have contributed to social transformation in India after 1980.
'Even in this age of self-willed and authoritarian leaders and spontaneous gestures, a script is still written,' notes Ambassador B S Prakash, imagining the 'talking points' are for the India-US summit on June 26.
'The Modi regime, after experimenting with its own versions of neighbourhood policy for 18 months, has now reached the exact stage where the Manmohan Singh government had left it in so far as our Pakistan policy is concerned,' says former senior RA&W officer Vappala Balachandran.
Trump, 70, took the oath of office in front of about 800,000 people who braved chilly weather to gather on the National Mall in the center of the capital to celebrate the rank political outsider, who defied all odds to defeat political heavyweight Hillary Clinton in the November polls.
What goes behind the scenes for an American President's visit?
Dunkirk may have been missed at the year's earlier awards shows, but thanks god, Chris Nolan's classic gets enough play at the Oscar noms.
Some of the memorable inaugural ball gowns through the years.
'India has always been a land of acceptance of diversity. But if the evangelical activities continue unabated, there is no doubt this will cause a backlash.' 'One exclusive ideology begets another. The hit list will spread. The more strident the evangelists, the more strident the voices for Ghar Wapsi will grow.'
Aziz Haniffa, who has covered every Indian Prime Minister's visit to the US since Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, gives us a peek into what's happening in Washington, DC on the eve of the Modi-Trump summit.
A quick look at the Oscar 2016 nominations.
'Every Ali obituary I read made the point that he 'transcended his sport' -- a reference to the many battles he fought with America even as he fought in America.' 'What the obituaries leave out is that Ali equally transcended the boundaries of geography and of information -- as witness the Chennai teen who assimilated that most mobile of fighters through still images shorn of context.'
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