Indian Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli had to settle for the bronze medal after a heartbreaking defeat against Tan Zhongyi of China via the tie-breaker in the semi-finals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Championship in Tehran.
The alacrity with which regional States responded to Delhi's invite signals that expectations are high regarding an Indian role in the efforts to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Chabahar port, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, 'can be the first significant footfall in an Indian variant of the 'Belt and Road' initiative.'
Even with an ongoing pandemic, theatres in many states functioning at 50 per cent occupancy, a quieter social life and fewer movies, Bollywood still managed to pack in plenty of drama and trauma, fun and festivity, love and war into the year.
Iran has complained of irregular shipments
Aseem Chhabra brings you the Best of the Berlinale.
The Iranian people, having spoken, are asking the new administration to find a way by which sanctions can be rolled back and civility and normalcy can return to Iran's engagement with the world, says K C Singh
Iran's president Hassan Rouhani offered his apologies and condolences.
The United States on Thursday put Iran "on notice" for test-firing a ballistic missile and warned of consequences for its "malign actions", signalling a more hardline stance against Tehran that could set the stage for renewed confrontation between the two nations.
The broader Nifty closed at 11,993.05, falling by 233.60 points, or 1.91 per cent. On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance was the top loser, dropping 4.63 per cent, followed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and RIL
Mission completed, external affairs minister S Jaishankar tweeted.
The Indian needs just a draw in the second game against Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia to qualify for the semis.
Iranian Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni said his country is 'not for war'. "We are looking for peace and prosperity for everybody in this region," he said.
The bout will take place in western France on Saturday after the 24-year-old met with Frenchman Mahyar Monshipour, an Iranian-born former super bantamweight world champion.
After a two-year lull, India has proposed to resume talks with Iran on importing gas through a pipeline passing through Pakistan, but the Persian Gulf state wants the meeting to happen in Tehran.
Highly tilted trade relations in favour of Iran, supply of oil and gas and other key strategic bilateral and international issues, including Syria, are expected to dominate the meetings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday asked Iran to build "international confidence" in its nuclear programme by fully complying with the global obligations under NPT and cooperating with IAEA, shortly after Tehran slammed the UNSC for being "unjust and completely undemocratic".
Incumbent Hassan Rouhani faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Raisi.
The two-day meet of the 120-nation grouping, which began with the national anthem of Iran followed by the recitation of the verses from the holy Quran, was inaugurated by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the leaders' Summit hall in Northern Tehran.
Negotiating a sustainable compromise with Iran is not getting any easier, and this delay might not yield the desired result of bringing Tehran's nuclear programme under stringent limits, says Claude Smadja
Star striker Sunil Chhetri is among a 28-strong Indian probable squad announced for the 2018 soccer World Cup preliminary qualifying round matches against Iran and Turkmenistan.
Iran on Wednesday said it would neither accept nor deny Israeli allegation that Tehran was behind the attack on its mission employee in New Delhi and expressed hope that India will verify the case and clarify the real position.
Foreign ministers trying to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme in Vienna are considering extending the negotiations as the Monday deadline looms large with "serious gaps" in the dialogue.
United States President Barack Obama has said that he would order the US military to destroy Iran's nuclear programme as a final option, if economic sanctions fail to compel Tehran to shelve its nuclear ambitions. "I don't bluff," Obama said while delivering his most explicit threat to Tehran till date, warning that "all options are on the table" and that the final option is the "military component."
The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to 'zero' by November 4 or face sanctions.
Stepping up its tirade against Iran, Israel on Tuesday said the plot for terror strikes against it and its citizens was hatched in Tehran, including the car bomb blast in New Delhi in which one its diplomats was seriously injured.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump said the sanction will deny the Iranian Supreme leader access to financial instruments.
'The US appears to think that Pakistan is highly vulnerable today due to its economic crisis and one more turn of the screw may bring about desired results,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He said the US will apply other punitive measures if Tehran does not give up its reported goal of developing nuclear weapons.
India is monitoring the situation very closely and will see how it develops in the next few days.
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In return for Pak's gesture, the US has authorised the reinstatement of a military training and educational programme which had remained suspended for 2 yrs. Pak blamed Iran's Maj Gen Soleimani for Baloch militant attacks against its forces.
US may have lost one of its most advanced drones over Iran, raising fears among officials in Washington that Tehran may gain partial access to closely guarded American technology.
Marzieh Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in My Tehran for Sale, which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles, the Telegraph reports.
Another week and a spate of OTT shows and movies to watch. Here's what Sukanya Verma recommends.
'The stage is set for increasing tensions in a highly volatile region as crucial as ever from a geopolitical standpoint,' predicts Claude Smadja.
The visit will provide thrust to expand bilateral cooperation
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
As settlement in dollars has become difficult due to sanctions imposed against Iran, India and Iran will explore other currencies like the euro, yen and dirham to resolve the stalemate over payment for oil imports at their meeting later this week in Tehran.
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