India should not stay on the margins of this initiative. There should be a serious debate about what would be in India's best interests asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
At Border Pillar 609 at Babliyan near Jaisalmer, the one thing that dominates the landscape is something entirely different, something central to our identity -- the Tiranga -- flying boldly above the blazing desert.
There are enough people at the top decision-making level in Tehran who are still willing to negotiate, provided Trump can create the right setting for the negotiation to acquire a dynamic of its own, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
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.
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.
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
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
A freight train derailment near Mathura disrupted train services on the Mathura-Delhi route. Restoration work is underway, and officials expect full operations to resume by Wednesday evening.
Although extensive air attacks have been carried out to destroy most of Iran's defence capabilities, the latter's resilience and sustenance during the war clearly indicate that the US landing force would encounter severe resistance in the operation, explains Commodore Venugopal Vengalil (retd).
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India's energy decisions are guided by national interest.
The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert of heavy rains for Mumbai for Wednesday, and predicted the intensity of rainfall in the metropolis will go down from Thursday.
The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.
Usually, in the western view, corporate success is attributed to efficiency, organisational structure, and scale. R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat argue that philosophy, culture, and the transmission of values are more important for sustaining growth and profitability of an enterprise over a period of time.
Sri Lanka is facing a severe crisis after Cyclone Ditwah caused widespread flooding and landslides, resulting in numerous deaths and displacement. India has launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' to provide relief. The situation is expected to remain critical with rising river levels and continued rainfall.
Local train services in Mumbai were severely disrupted due to heavy rains and track submergence, causing hardship for commuters. Central Railway suspended services on key lines, and long-distance trains were rescheduled or cancelled. Passengers were stranded, and bus services were also affected.
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
A senior railway official noted that waterlogging at the new location between Bhandup and Nahur led to the suspension of local services on the Main Line from 5:15 am.
A landslide in the Vikhroli suburb of Mumbai killed two people and injured two others after heavy rains caused soil and stones to collapse on a hut.
The partition of Bengal in 1905 split more than a province, it touched people's hearts and awakened India's fight for freedom.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The well-fought defensive battles in Aksai Chin and eastern Arunachal, in remote and forbidding locations such as Galwan, Rezang La, Gurung Hill and Walong, effectively halted Chinese advances not once but twice during the campaign. These engagements, fought with grit and without adequate support, were not immediately known to the world in 1962, points out Dr Kumar.
India should simultaneously prioritise domestic exploration and production of more oil and gas in the country, and ensure we retain diversified suppliers for imports, points out former foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai.
Several parts of Mumbai received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours, with Vikhroli reporting the highest downpour. The IMD reported significant rainfall in various areas of the city.
210 deaths were directly attributed to commuters falling from overcrowded trains.
IMD data shows in the 24 hours between September 1 and 2, Haryana received 806 per cent more rainfall than normal, Punjab 759 per cent, Himachal Pradesh 510 per cent, Delhi 740 per cent, Chandigarh a staggering 1,638 per cent, and Rajasthan 193 per cent.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cloudy skies with the possibility of heavy rainfall at a few places in the city and suburbs in the next 24 hours.
'Why have we failed to address the issue of ensuring a requisite buffer zone in J&K, given that cross-border links of some J&K politicians are known?', asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Murders disguised as accidents. In one horrifying case, a man insured his father, mother, and wife -- then allegedly killed them all. He claimed Rs 54 crore in insurance.
'The BJP will win comfortably if the Congress and AAP fight separately -- though not with 162 seats.' 'But if they form an alliance, it will become a major problem for the BJP. That's precisely why this expansion is happening now.'
South Mumbai received over 250 mm of rainfall in just 13 hours, leading to widespread flooding, disrupting train services, and causing house collapses. The heavy downpour flooded several low-lying areas, including Hindmata, King Circle, Dadar TT, Kings Circle, Parel TT, Kalachowki, and JJ Marg, leading to diversions and delays in BEST bus services. The suburban services of the Central Railway and Western Railway were also disrupted due to heavy waterlogging on tracks. At least five incidents of partial house collapses and 32 instances of tree falls were reported, though no injuries were recorded.
The Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, citing a failure by the prosecution to prove their guilt and raising serious concerns about the investigation and evidence presented.
Among the medal winners are a deputy commandant rank officer, two assistant commandants and an inspector.
The Karur tragedy has exposed the huge gaps in Vijay's understanding of realpolitik, elections and political administration, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
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