United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the nomination of popular Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, as his defence secretary.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
With Beijing remaining intransigent on the withdrawal of additional troops deployed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) since the deadly border clash in 2020 in eastern Ladakh, India's bilateral ties with China remained frozen in 2023 with no forward movement on the horizon despite several rounds of diplomatic and military talks.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, who is in India on a bilateral visit, and expressed confidence that Muizzu's talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lend a 'new impetus' to 'our friendly ties'.
CIDCA is headed by Luo Zhaohui, the former vice foreign minister and ex-ambassador to India.
Though Beijing asserts the Dalai Lama's successor needs its approval, observers say it remains concerned as the present Panchen Lama, the number two spiritual leader who was appointed by it after unseating the boy nominated by the Dalai Lama, has not gained much traction in Tibet.
Manmohan Singh represented the finest aspects of India, asserts Aakar Patel.
Dalai Lama said making it clear that he is not seeking Tibet's independence from China.
'It is the responsibility of industry to take the very bright talent whose knowledge of software engineering basics is very high, and then give them additional skills.'
"We should not have a repeat of what happened in Mumbai. That there was a terror attack and there was no response," Jaishankar told reporters in Mumbai.
India needs to take note of China's assertiveness in implementing its national security law as also its recently exhibited sensitivity to criticism of Xi Jinping by the Indian media, says former senior R&AW officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Trump described Modi as "the nicest human being", saying the Indian leader is "a friend of mine".
This could become tricky territory for India, given its basically adversarial relationship with China, its moves to block imports and investment from that country, and to deny market access for Chinese technologies, observes T N Ninan.
Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, signed off an address to employees last week by assuring them that 2024 would be better than 2023 for both Reliance Industries and India. Ambani isn't an exception. Promoters and their representatives from several other conglomerates have expressed similar optimism.
The India-United States relationship is set to expand under the Donald Trump administration, but there could be some unease on issues like imports, tariffs and immigration, strategic affairs experts said after the Republican leader won the fiercely contested presidential election.
'Manipur is critical to India's Look East policy.' 'It's a strategic state. In the Second World War, the Japanese entered Manipur through Burma.' 'China can use the same direction to approach India.'
The United States hired a chartered flight to deport Indian nationals who were staying in the country illegally, the Department of Homeland Security has said, noting that this has been done in cooperation with the Indian government.
India and the Maldives on Friday agreed to set up a core group to further deepen their partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 'productive' meeting with newly-elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and discussed ways to enhance the bilateral friendship across diverse sectors.
In a YouTube video on Gandhi's channel, while interacting with Armed Forces' veterans during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress MP said, "China and Pakistan have come together, if there will be any war then it will happen with both, so there will be a major loss for the country. India is now extremely vulnerable. I don't just have respect for you (Army) but also love and affection for you. You defend this nation. This nation would not exist without you."
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his country's soil will not be used against India's interests, addressing concerns over China's growing influence in Colombo. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including a defense cooperation agreement, energy ties, and debt restructuring. They also agreed to initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and to adopt a "humanitarian approach" to the fishermen issue.
During a regular press conference on Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the unmanned Chinese civilian airship into US airspace is entirely caused by 'force majeure'.
PM Modi went to New York this time not to engage in polemics, but to find solutions to global problems. He made some progress on several matters, even on reform of the UN Security Council, when the US made a major concession for the first time that six permanent members without veto, including India, could be considered
Magnus Carlsen of Norway feels that on current form Indian star D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
China has more than 500 nuclear bombs in its arsenal and is developing new Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
He said China has accrued significant capacities for force mobilisation, application, and sustenance of military operations and maintained the long-pending boundary issue can not be divorced from bilateral relations between the two Asian giants.
A special court in Bengaluru has sentenced Congress MLA Sateesh Krishna Sail to seven years imprisonment and imposed hefty fines for theft and illegal export of seized iron ore from Belekeri port during 2009-10.
Trump made the announcement while campaigning in Michigan, but did not provide any further details of their meeting.
Some mainland fans travelled 12 hours from Xinjiang to Hong Kong to see Messi, the Global Times wrote, with the disappointment of the government and fans "entirely understandable. The impact of this incident has far exceeded the realm of sports."
India is not "rethinking" supporting investments from China, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday, referring to a proposal made in the Economic Survey 2024. The survey by India's chief economic advisor last week said India had two "choices" to benefit from the so-called China plus one strategy, either by integrating into that country's supply chain or by promoting foreign direct investment (FDI). "Chief economic advisor's report speaks about new ideas and gives out their own thinking. It is not at all binding on the government and there is no rethinking to support Chinese investments in the country," Goyal told reporters in Delhi.
China on Monday dismissed the existence of a 'median line' in the volatile Taiwan Strait after Taiwan's defence ministry said it detected a record 103 Chinese warplanes flying around the self-ruled island in a 24-hour period.
The research revealed that coronaviruses and their hosts are engaged in an evolutionary arms race that promotes genetic variety in the virus.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the 'era of uninterrupted dialogue' with Pakistan is over even as he noted that India is 'not passive' and whether events take a positive or negative direction, either way New Delhi will react.
The Chinese inference is that if the Chinese visa is embossed on an Indian passport, held by Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, it may be tantamount to recognising Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, states Rup Narayan Das.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday suggested that the country's top player Sumit Nagal perhaps deliberately missed the Davis Cup tie against Sweden last week
Joshi's reaction came after Gandhi termed as "very serious" the issue of China releasing a "standard map" that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, and claimed the neighbouring country has already taken India's land in Ladakh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak on the issue.
India on Friday strongly protested China's decision to issue invalid visas to some of its athletes for the Asian Games.
Anjaw MLA and state's women and child development minister Dasanglu Pul confirmed that the duo went missing along the border with China while looking for medicinal herbs.
India's population is projected to peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion and then decline by 12 per cent, but the country will remain the world's most populous throughout the century, the United Nations has said.
The Meeting of BRICS and BRICS Plus High-Level Security Officials is scheduled to be held in St Petersburg from September 10-12.
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