Quinton de Kock lashes out at ICC as England is heading back home ahead of them after T20 WC exit
US-Israel air attacks intensified on the seventh day of war, striking Tehran and other Iranian cities.
Israel wishes to continue its bombing campaign until Iran's military and industrial infrastructure are degraded to a point where it ceases to pose a threat to Israel. Iran, for its part, has learnt from its experience in the 12-day war of last June. Any ceasefire, it believes, will only be a prelude to another attack on itself. It is determined to convey that any attack on Iran will impose heavy costs on Israel, the US, America's allies in the Gulf -- and on the world at large, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Iran has launched a fresh wave of missile attacks against Israeli and United States-linked targets as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired some of its heaviest missiles in the latest phase of its retaliatory campaign, while Israel Defence Forces alleged that many of the projectiles carried cluster bomb warheads.
Pakistan's Foreign Office has refuted media reports suggesting that its efforts to facilitate peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled, calling the reports baseless and speculative.
The call came before Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed vengeance and urged citizens to continue their fight against the attacks by US and Israel.
Srivastava warned that continued bombing of Iran by the US and Israel could severely undermine any prospects of reopening critical maritime routes through negotiation with Tehran.
Trump has made it clear: the US will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is signed.
The logic of war plus the gathering storms in US politics as the midterms loom large leave him with no real alternative but to negotiate, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Our diplomacy should have been focused on preventing war and avoiding the inevitable disruptions it would cause, posing a real risk to India's growth story,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The modern war is about quality over quantity, points out Mihir S Sharma.
Beijing has been wary of Sanae Takaichi's efforts to boost Japan's military profile since taking office six months ago, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has sought to allay security concerns surrounding the upcoming Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, emphasising that safety measures and contingency plans are in place despite regional instability.
"Not even a single social media post from the Congress congratulating our national team for thrashing Pakistan thrice in the tournament and bringing the Asia Cup home," BJP IT department head Amit Malviya posted on X.
Citizens and residents across the Gulf region are preparing for Eid amidst regional conflict, impacting festivities and daily life.
'The entire US ecosystem built over decades at the bases in the Gulf region, especially the UAE, costing trillions of dollars have been decimated, dealing a mortal blow to the US Central Command's war capability,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Let us start with ourselves. If we can reduce our LPG consumption by half, the problem is solved. Reduce wastage. Alter eating styles. Diversify methods of food preparation, suggests Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Amid West Asia crisis, England, South Africa and West Indies to depart over the weekend.
The big question is whether Trump is any longer in command of the situation. For all practical purposes, the war seems set to cascade as the US is preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran and threatens to destroy 'bridges next, then electric power plants', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi assures that the Indian government is prepared to bring back Indians stranded in the Gulf region due to the Iran-Israel conflict and disruptions in Dubai, emphasizing citizen safety as the top priority.
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.
Referring to local sources, IRNA shared a video clip that it claims shows the downing of the American F-15 fighter jet in Kuwait.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Investigators said the system that helps control the movement of the aircraft's rudder had a cracked solder joint that malfunctioned four times during the flight.
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf has been fined 30 per cent of his match fees for abusive behaviour and making an aggressive gesture during the high-voltage Asia Cup clash against India, tournament sources confirmed.
In the Indo-Pacific's new era -- where perception shapes reality faster than treaties -- the real entrapment is not of China or the United States. It is the test Japan has set for itself -- and whether partners like India, acting as balancers rather than accelerants, can help ensure that the story ends in stability, points out Varun Arya.
'Strikes into the Gulf countries are proof that the security guarantees offered by the US are ineffective and that the Gulf countries cannot rely on American security assurances for their safety.'
Don't look for a single cause -- a combination of factors is needed to bring down any plane, says Shakti Lumba
The West Asia conflict escalated sharply as Iran launched missiles towards Israel, while Tehran confirmed the killing of its intelligence minister in Israeli strikes, marking the third assassination of a senior Iranian official in two days.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
President Trump asserts the US military has decimated Iran's forces and no longer requires assistance from NATO allies to secure the Strait of Hormuz, despite earlier requests for support.
A French soldier was killed while several others were injured in an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed. Macron, in a post on X, confirmed that Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins lost his life in the attack.
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Both sides have now revealed a preference for escalation over strategic defeat, and each new provocation narrows the space for the next pause. The Touska seizure, Iran's refusal to negotiate under blockade, Israel's strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure -- all of these add up to an increasingly untenable situation. This makes the wild card -- Trump and his motormouth -- more consequential than ever, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Consider this: despite a traffic of over 130 million passengers flying international-to-international (I2I) routes per annum over India, only one-sixth of the long-haul traffic (26 million) emanates from the country.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
Abhishek Sharma's scintillating 75 was beautifully complemented by Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy as India comfortably hammered Bangladesh by 41 runs to enter the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Wednesday.
If the Iranian regime needs to be punished for promoting quasi-terrorist outfits like Hezbollah and Hamas, then what about Pakistan which has spent decades exporting terror around the world, killing thousands, particularly in Afghanistan and India? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
