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.
The BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi concluded without a joint statement due to disagreements over the West Asia conflict, with Iran blaming the UAE for the lack of consensus. India, as the host, issued a chair's statement highlighting the differing views.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
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
For that to happen America does not have to lose. It only has to do the right thing, asserts Aakar Patel.
'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.'
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
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.
Paris St Germain overcame a two-goal deficit and a horror start to beat 10-man Monaco 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff tie.
China has imposed sanctions on 20 US defence firms in response to the Trump administration's approval of a record USD 11.1 billion arms sales package to Taiwan.
The gas well blaze near the Irusumanda village in Dr B R Ambedkar Konaseema district in Andhra Pradesh will be doused in a week's time, an official said on Tuesday, citing information from ONGC officials.
Once the might of the Indian establishment turned completely against the Maoists, there was no way they could survive -- either in Gadchiroli or anywhere else, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
USA captain Monank Patel reflects on sharing the Wankhede with Jasprit Bumrah, his move to the US, cricket's rise in America and leading a diverse team at the T20 World Cup.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
Four More Shots Please 4 seems to have been made to show off trendy outfits because more than the script, attention was paid to the costumes, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday nominated United States President Donald Trump for the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian honour, hailing him as 'the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House'.
Luckily for us, a Russia that is desperate to stay relevant in an emerging multipolar world finds in India a reliable geostrategic partner. The Russian proximity to India also keeps China from exploiting its economic dominance vis a vis Russia, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Pakistanis called the US state department and said we agree with India on peace.' 'It was then that US President Donald Trump jumped in and took credit for the ceasefire.'
Erling Haaland took his league tally this season to 11 in eight games with both goals in City's 2-0 home win over Everton -- a result that temporarily put City above Arsenal on goals scored.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday announced the return of three hostages -- Alexandre, Sagui, and Iair -- after 498 days in captivity.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
'What the US appears to be doing is to force India to be "the buyer of last resort", on whom their products can be dumped, 1.4 billion people have to eat something, so why not eat American corn?' 'What is exercising the Trump lot is the fact that most of the farms are in solidly Republican Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Mentioning the recent attacks on US forces in Syria and Iraq, he added, "The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance but received a clear response on the battlefield."
'Things may get much worse before they get better,' predicts Ajay Chhibber.
The point to note for India is that we must not panic. The United States may be our largest export destination, but high tariffs will not exactly mean gloom and doom. Sure, we can throw some morsels as we continue negotiating, but we must be firm that some red lines cannot be crossed, no matter what, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
The CBI successfully managed to get Monika Kapoor extradited from the United States, ending her 25-year flight from justice. She is accused of economic offenses including forgery and fraud.
Miami's Hard Rock Stadium was awash in Argentine passion as Boca Juniors fans turned it into a little Buenos Aires for their team's 2-2 draw with Benfica on Monday.
The Normandy landings on D-Day -- June 6, 1944 -- began the end to World War II.
"The 'red bag' belonged to one of the hijackers, it contained explosives, and possibly, real passports, too.
A Bob Dylan biopic, Mohanlal's vendetta, super serious Suriya and more on OTT this week.
Two types of cabbage give this Chinese rice its crunchy but excellent flavour.
India has handed over a cheque of $5 million to the United States for relief activities in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
'It's important for India to think about areas where it wants the US to move.' 'We can be far more innovative in what we ask the US.' 'Given that there's a package deal, why not do it?'
Ajay Banga was on Wednesday appointed the next president of the World Bank, becoming the first-ever Indian-American to head the global financial institution which said it looks forward to working with him at a time when it's tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries. "The executive directors of the World Bank today selected Ajay Banga as president of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023," the bank said in a press statement. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga, 63, to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."
US President Barack Obama hit the send button of a computer key board to have his first ever "tweet" as he along with the First Lady visited the office of Red Cross in downtown here serving as disaster operations centre to coordinate humanitarian aid to quake-hit Haiti.
Alcaraz resists red-hot Rublev to reach Wimbledon quarterfinals
Will Russia's entry deter Trump on his warpath?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
On Jawaharlal Nehru's 61st death anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recalls how India's first prime minister cultivated a unique role for the newly independent country on the world stage.
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