The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold its first in-person summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on Thursday after two years, shaking off Covid fears and providing a rare opportunity for all its eight heads of state to meet on the sidelines of the event to have face-to-face talks on pressing global and regional issues of common concern.
Driven from its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State is down but not out. Where once they confronted armies, the extremist Islamist group's adherents have now staged hit-and-run raids and suicide attacks. In some cases, the group has claimed responsibility for atrocities, including the bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed at least 253 people. Its involvement is not always proven, but even if the link is ideological rather than operational, Islamic State still poses a security threat in many countries.
The recent episode in which a supposedly Pakistani boat destroyed itself at sea, apparently by setting itself on fire, has aroused a great deal of comment in the media. There have been some positive words for the Coast Guard which responded to the developing situation, such as it was, but also doubts about what had actually transpired.
Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Tulsidas Balaram, who passed into the ages last week, was a member of the Indian football team which reached the semis at the Olympics and won an Asian Games gold medal.
Gen Naravane said that the Indian Army did not hide casualties during Galwan clash in eastern Ladakh as the Chinse have done.
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
Th report predicted that the world population is to reach eight billion by mid-November 2022.
A change in the name of the Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) magazine 'suggests a refocusing' of the terror group from Afghanistan to Kashmir, a United Nations report has said.
Long-distance runner Kavita Raut's Olympic qualification was the icing on the cake on yet another impressive day for India at the 12th South Asian Games, in Guwahati, on Friday. Firmly entrenched atop the overall standings, India increased their medal tally to 248 -- including 146 gold, 79 silver and 23 bronze.
Jay Shah replaces Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Najmul Hasan Papon.
'Those who say that conventional war is a thing of the past or that war is not an option, or that diplomacy alone can prevent war -- are wrong and we see that in Ukraine.'
Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army. In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
He was the army commander who planned Operation Bluestar. As army chief he planned Operation Brasstacks which rattled the Pakistan army. General K Sundarji was brilliant, ambitious and controversial, remembers Rahul Bedi.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann predicted Wednesday that sledging is likely to be part of the mix when they confront South Africa in a five-match one-day international series. Skipper Steve Smith had lamented the quiet, virtually shy approach of his Test team during a recent 3-0 series loss in Sri Lanka. "Steve hit it right on the head," said Lehmann after the Australian squad arrived in Johannesburg for a series, which begins at SuperSport Park in Centurion next Friday.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said that China's ambitions and aspirations to global power presented an 'omnipresent danger' to stability in South Asia.
Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term will be held around June next year.
India has realised that one can only deal with China from a position of strength and that is not palatable to Beijing, observes Dr Rup Narayan Das.
Tim Paine explained why he had been in no mood to celebrate the draw.
He recalled that the state was home to Vaishali, said to be the oldest republic in the world.
Policy of continuity won't help India earn business or respect, says Pramod Kumar Buravalli.
Xi Jinping's recent actions in South Asia have amply demonstrated the disastrous impact of China's embrace, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
In a record time of 13 years, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant is now ready for formal induction into the Indian Navy.
This compares poorly to other developed markets as the average wealth of a person in Australia has increased by over 100 per cent and in Canada by over 50 per cent in the same period.
The ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Tuesday asked the Centre to work with Colombo to find a permanent solution to the ethnic problem by ensuring full devolution of powers and autonomy to north and eastern areas of the island within a timeframe. It asked the Sri Lankan government to extend full cooperation in this regard. The meeting, presided over by party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, decided to mobilise public support for the DMK's stand.
The shipping business is like the heaving sea -- it's up and down, observes Shyam G Menon.
After dropping Chinese sportswear company Li Ning as India's Olympic kit sponsor, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said the country's athletes will not wear branded apparel in the upcoming Tokyo Games even as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) claimed that the search is on for a new partner.
The boxers hardly broke a sweat while scooping all the seven gold medals up for grabs, while the shooters ended their campaign with an outstanding tally of 25 gold medals to ensure India's reign at the top remained unchecked in the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati on Monday. On the penultimate day of competition, the Indian was perched at the top with 289 medals (173 gold, 86 silver and 30 bronze).
'Now, we have very different setting including changes in rules with two new balls and the fielding restrictions are very different. But ODI fever started in the 1990s. On-field noticeable changes, early to mid 90s was okay, but from 1996 things changed at rapid pace.'
Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav's magical spell helped India beat Australia by 17 runs in the tournament opener on Friday but the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side can't afford to take Bangladesh lightly as their eastern neighbours had beaten them twice in the 2018 T20 Asia Cup.
The rich and diverse culture of India's North East was on display in all its splendor as curtains went up on the 12th South Asian Games in a colorful opening ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other dignitaries in attendance.
Unlike in the presidential polls, victory might not have been complete, at least as yet, for Mahinda Rajapaksa's electoral rivals. While his one-time aide and confidant, Maithripala Sirisena, became president without any issues after defeating him, incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who again may not command an absolute majority in the 225-member parliament, would have to count on his 'national government' concept to carry the day and the nation with him, this time round, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Addressing an election rally in Dwarka three days before the February 8 assembly elections, the prime minister said the national capital also needs a government that will give direction and not resort to blame games.
India shifted gears in rejuvenating strategic ties with its major partners like the US and Russia and focused on drumming up global support for its distinct strategy in the Indo-Pacific to check Beijing's increasing muscle-flexing in the region.
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
When Kashmir willow sees biz boom and cricket raises Afghan hopes
Modi has the chance to break out of India's passive mode and firmly tell Russia that in this day and age, India will not support unilateral invasions, asserts Harishchandra Dighe.
'Modi-Shah have understood the risks their cynical mixing of domestic political motivations with strategic national interests was soon going to become counterproductive asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Muralitharan is among the three new governors tipped to be appointed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Here is a list of previous cyclones that have struck the country.
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