'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
'You are an instrument at the hands of one man with one ambition -- to resurrect the Soviet Union... For ambitions of one man, we are paying a very high price.'
Explosions shook cities and towns across Ukraine in the second-largest attack this week on Friday.
Some Ukrainian athletes see their nation's current blanket ban on competing against Russians and Belarusians -- regardless of the flag athletes from those two countries compete under -- as a self-inflicted wound damaging sports stars' careers.
'The situation is very bad there. People are stranded'
Spread over 10 districts, polling in these constituencies will be held from 7 am till 6 pm on Thursday.
India on Saturday 'strongly pressed' the Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire in Sumy to ensure a safe passage for around 700 Indian students stuck there as it keeps focus on their evacuation from the war-hit city in eastern Ukraine.
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Kevin de Bruyne came off the bench to inspire Belgium in a 2-1 comeback win over Denmark
The Hague-based ICC accused the Russian president of responsibility for war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine during the war that has been ongoing for over a year.
Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to President Trump and as National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, said she expected the same bumps for India and the US, as in Trump's first term, including tariff, dependence on Russia over arms supply and oil purchase from Iran. Curtis, however, said both countries could never enter an alliance but develop a partnership that is "short of an alliance". She hoped them to achieve a cooperation that deters China, but also prepares both countries in case of a crisis or conflict, be it in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or another flare-up on the India-China border.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he understands the Russian feeling with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) being on their doorstep.
It would be Zelenskyy's first foreign trip since the Russian invasion in February, a surprise visit that could change security concerns.
Over 1,200 Indian students stranded at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine make a desperate call for help.
"We realised no one is going to come to help us and it is up to us now," 20-year-old Ashna Pandita told PTI over the phone as the train took them to the western city of Ukraine, about 80 km from the Poland border, where the fighting has been relatively less.
Indian evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest. The government is not charging the rescued citizens for the evacuation flights.
Dalal Street had a roller coaster ride in 2024 from shattering record after record to facing heavy correction off-late but equity markets still rewarded investors with positive returns, driven by a surge in domestic fund flows and a resilient macro landscape. The first half of the year saw robust corporate earnings, a surge in domestic flows, and a resilient macro landscape, driving the Nifty to an all-time high of 26,277.35 in September 2024, according to Motilal Oswal Wealth Management.
Prices may go up because of higher energy costs, caused by the rise in shipping charges, with commercial vessels taking a longer route to avoid the troubled Red Sea region, the finance ministry said on Monday. Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen are repeatedly attacking ships in the Red Sea. While the global economy is grappling with challenges such as sticky inflation, sluggish growth, and mounting fiscal pressure, India's external sector could face "potential risks" due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions, according to the finance ministry's report on the review of the Indian economy.
India's crude oil imports from Russia fell for a second straight month in January to its lowest in 12 months but the nation's insatiable appetite for Russian crude remains for the long term, according to data from energy cargo tracker and industry officials. Russia supplied 1.2 million barrels per day of crude oil to India in January, down from 1.32 million barrels in December and 1.62 million barrels in November 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia however continues to remain India's top oil supplier, accounting for a little less than a quarter of 4.91 million barrels a day of oil that the world's third largest energy consumer imported in January.
Trump also warned Russia that it should "get ready" for missiles to be fired at its ally Syria, in response to an alleged chemical attack.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Allegations also cropped up against the local BJP MP that he did not respond to the SOS calls from the stranded students, a charge denied by the elected representative.
Russia unleashed 35 kamikaze drones on Ukraine as many people slept, hitting critical infrastructure in and around Kyiv.
'The consensus was that the debate was between looking backward and looking forward.' 'Trump, with his great enamourment of his own 'achievements,' was obviously looking backward, while Harris, nearly 20 years his junior, was focussing on the future, with hope,' notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The Trump administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in the US election, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure, said Treasury Secretary Steven T Mnuchin.
Zelenskyy says that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck.
Biden, while not ruling out the meeting Putin at G20 meet, said that there are conditions attached.
What is being exposed is we have no real doctrine and no idea how to deal with the world, asserts Aakar Patel.
The bill now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump's approval.
The White House is planning another set of sanctions on Russia. This is likely to be announced on Wednesday.
On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares closed with gains -- with Bajaj Finance, SBI, Bajaj FinServ, L&T and Titan rising as much as 5.13 per cent. The BSE gauge Sensex zoomed past the 58,000-mark by rebounding over 1,700 points and the Nifty recaptured the 17,000-level on Tuesday after a massive plunge in the previous session. The 30-share Sensex surged 1,736.21 points or 3.08 per cent to end at 58,142.05 - recouping the losses suffered on Monday. Likewise, the NSE Nifty soared 509.65 points or 3.03 per cent to settle at 17,352.45.
The only crime that I committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it, Trump said.
Denmark is opposed to Russian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics next year even under a neutral flag
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday monitored drills of the country's strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, the Kremlin said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks in Russian during an address in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2022 in this still image taken from video. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/via Reuters TV/Handout via REUTERS
The top diplomats of Quad nations on Friday denounced as "inadmissible" any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war and strongly opposed any "unilateral actions" that seek to change the status quo in the South and East China Seas, a region that has witnessed increasing Chinese military offensive.
The oil industry experienced three upheavals between 1973 and 1991, which seem to be etched in the memory of the industry's decision makers. Naturally, at the sign of a new crisis, the decision makers like to dip into those tumultuous decades to find ways to deal with the new shock, in addition, of course, to expert reports and forecasts. So, the industry bigwigs turned the pages of history to get a peek into the future of oil price movements after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Israel attacked Gaza in 2023, Iran-linked Houthi rebels pounded tankers crossing the Red Sea in support of Palestine the same year, and Iran rained missiles on Israel in 2024.
The Russian missile strikes were in retaliation for the blast on a key bridge in Crimea.
Prganisers will be on high alert to ensure the event goes off safely.
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros believes the turmoil at Gautam Adani's business empire may weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hold on the government -- a statement which was strongly countered by BJP as an attack on Indian democracy.
