Several Indian students stuck in eastern parts of Ukraine, which is largely affected by the Russian military offensive, are facing a grim situation as it is difficult for them to travel by road to reach the western borders and move out of the war-hit country, one of the students returned to India said.
'Units of the southern and western military districts, having completed their tasks, have already begun loading onto rail and road transport and will begin moving to their military garrisons today,' Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in his statement, reported The New York Times.
The summit is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and leaders of several central Asian countries.
The spectator size too has been reduced to 25,000, officials said.
Officials said security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, have been deployed to keep a strict vigil. Security at inter-state and inter-district borders has also been tightened, they said.
Describing Central Asia as India's "extended neighbourhood", Doval said New Delhi accords "highest priority" to this region, adding Afghanistan is an important issue "concerning all of us".
Anti-sabotage checks are being carried out and patrolling has been intensified across the city, including on the Yamuna river where patrolling is being conducted on motor boats by the Delhi Police. Anti-terrorist measures are being carried out in view of threat perception and intelligence inputs, they said.
Markets in Uttarakhand's Purola and neighbouring towns remained closed amid heavy police deployment on Thursday in protest against the imposition of prohibitory orders to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' that was scheduled to be held there over alleged incidents of 'love jihad'.
'The State uses identity politics as part of divide and rule; the militant groups too use identity politics and civil society groups are also divided along ethnic groups.'
In the last five years, 37 bridges have collapsed in Uttarakhand. Another 27 bridges are on the brink of collapse. 'Our politicians don't view these bridge collapses as a setback.' 'Rather they see them as an opportunity to make more money.'
Singh also said that Indian troops are standing firm braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend the country's territorial integrity.
But we have enough stacked up for another 2-3 months. We have come prepared for a long haul, Gurjaint Singh from Panipat said.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting that the situation in Uttarakhand is better than what it was on Tuesday and Food Minister K V Thomas is taking steps to rush more food grains to the flood-hit Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The step has been taken to boost tourism in Ladakh and give people a window to appreciate the tough work done by Army jawans and engineers in extreme weather and inhospitable terrains, he said.
Modi's gestures have fuelled speculations that the BJP wants to bring Yediyurappa into the centre-stage of its campaign plank leveraging his mass appeal for the Assembly elections, due by May.
He called for delineation of the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) which China has refused earlier.
Announcing that a district-wide bandh was being organised in protest against the killing, Chaudhary said that if no headway is made in the investigation within 48 hours, there will be a state-wide stir.
'India in 2020 is a lot better prepared than in 1962.' 'It is no longer a pushover; and anything other than a crushing Chinese military victory will be a major loss of face for China,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan in the first of a three part column.
The BJP has nothing to lose after a point. For the DMK it is a difficult choice, as it would not want to give too much of space to a 'national party' lest the 'Dravidian duel' of the past decades should be lost forever, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Farmers have been protesting at various places in Delhi and Haryana and have rejected the central government's offer to hold talks on December 3 saying that imposing conditions for starting a dialogue is an insult to them.
Multiple pleas have been filed in the top court seeking a direction to authorities to immediately remove the farmers, saying commuters are facing hardships due to the road blockades and the gatherings might lead to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
After the outbreak of the pandemic in the country he has ruled with an iron hand in recent years, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist party of China, has mostly stayed put in Beijing.
'This committee underscores the Indian State's longstanding conventional approach to leverage top-down conflict management in North East India in general and Manipur in particular.' 'Trying to 'manage' violent conflicts top-down has not worked in the past, and apparently does not seem to work this time either.'
'It is nobody's contention that uncomfortable questions regarding national security should not be raised. But that is a topic for another day and another time when the immediate threat has faded,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
'If you behave like a nail, the adversary will behave like a hammer.'
'Although perhaps not with a greater majority, and maybe even a slightly reduced majority in the Lok Sabha.'
'India has to ensure its borders are properly sealed and there is no infiltration from PoK.
'Hamas is going to be prepared. There will be booby traps and tunnels; it's going to be door to door fighting.'
Would there have been an incomparable batsman named Sachin Tendulkar had Doordarshan not telecast Guide one summer afternoon? A fascinating excerpt from Abhishek Mukherjee and Joy Bhattacharjya's must-read book, The Great Indian Cricket Circus.
At a time when finding out who is paying for labourers' train tickets is a task for Sherlock Holmes, Hemant Soren's Jharkhand government has flown in stranded workers from Ladakh, and is probably the only state that has tried to give 'migrant workers' a modicum of respect, observes Debashish Chatterjee.
'Why is a powerful person called Amit Shah who camped in Manipur for three days not able to maintain law and order in the state?'
'This is the only place on earth where Elephas maximus climbs to these heights.'
'There is nothing more this government can do now to break our agitation.' 'It has used all the tactics and has failed'
Experts said the tensions have added to a sense of apprehension in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia that China will engage in more aggressive behaviour in pursuit of its territorial interests, which in turn has raised the possibility of a serious and coordinated pushback by leading global players.
'When a person is very furious, it does give way to tears.' 'It was in this emotional state of mind that he took a decision to not vacate the Ghazipur border without fearing the consequences.'
By late evening, a large group of them had reached the road toll plaza at Panipat, about 100 km from Delhi. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Haryana) leader Gurnam Singh said the protesters planned to spend the night there and will resume the march the next morning.
The administration started preparing for the demolition of two precariously standing hotels in subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand on Tuesday, but faced protests from their owners and locals on the issue of compensation, while more families were evacuated from the danger zone as the number of affected houses rose to over 700.
'India and China have to make concrete progress with regard to the border issue, addressing the trade deficit, and facilitating people-to-people interactions. This has to happen in the next two, three years.' China expert Tansen Sen tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com how India and China can take their relations to the next level.
Xi's visit to Nyingchi, bordering Arunachal Pradesh, signals China's opening of another front to India in the eastern sector, observes Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
In the Kashmir Valley, we need to begin to make a distinction between an insurgent who fights the security forces and a terrorist who murders unarmed civilians, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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