Did Vinod Sehgal die in Tsangdgar or was he taken PoW to Tibet or China? Why has the IAF kept so quiet for all these years, asks Claude Arpi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the chief ministers of Assam and Mizoram, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Zoramthanga respectively, and urged them to ensure peace along the disputed border and find an amicable settlement.
Post-match stats from the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea at the Allianz Arena, Munich.
The Indian Army has been slow to react. Indian troops have deployed in the vicinity of PLA incursions, but there are no attempts to outflank Chinese positions.
He said the force, which guards over 6,300 km of India's land border with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh on the east, is faced by four main challenges on the security front.
"Border Security Force detects a tunnel along the international border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua. "More details awaited," officials said.
Varsha Bhosle salutes that effervescent icon of Indian cinema, Dev Anand.
India on Friday said the onus is on China to address the remaining unresolved issues relating to the eastern Ladakh row and that peace and tranquillity along the frontier were key for the restoration of normal relations between the two sides.
'India cannot allow Beijing's policy of stabilising and destabilising the border at will to perpetuate its own ends.' A riveting excerpt from Manish Tiwari's 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years National Security Situations That Impacted India.
India will be among the fastest-growing countries in the world in the next two years.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
Though General Naravane's visit will not deal with 'impermanent' issues like the changing stands of politicians, it will certainly reinforce the deeper 'permanent' links between the people of Nepal and India. Time will hopefully tackle the present impermanence of the Sino-Nepalese romance, notes Claude Arpi.
Now we do not know if the Board bugs the dressing room or employs Pegasus in players' phones. But nothing stopped them from speaking with Kohli, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The external affairs minister, delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial lecture, also made it clear that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is 'unacceptable' to India.
This is the first such incident in Jammu region when a drone carrying arms and explosives was shot down by the BSF, frustrating Pakistan's attempt to smuggle weapons into the Union Territory using the hexacopter.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Amit Shah, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi also expressed solidarity with ISRO.
He took exception to an "ideological group of people", activists, intellectuals for giving "identification marks" to as to "who is an independent judge" and said that according to them a judge must be necessarily anti-establishment.
Terming investment in infrastructure "quintessential" to boost growth, the Economic Survey on Friday said post unlocking of the economy, infra sectors are poised for growth and construction of roads is expected to return to the high pace attained before COVID-19. The infrastructure sector will be the key to overall economic growth and macroeconomic stability, the Survey said emphasising that the year after the crisis (2021-22) will require sustained and calibrated measures to facilitate the process of economic recovery and enable the economy to get back on its long-term growth trajectory. "Basic infrastructure facilities in the country provide the foundation of growth. In the absence of adequate infrastructure, the economy operates at a suboptimal level and remains distant from its potential and frontier growth trajectory.
Two army officers, including a Major, were charred to death and four jawans injured when a bunker caught fire in Siachen area of frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
'China is concerned about its impact within Tibet.'
The BSF was effectively retaliating and the firefight was going on.
'All PoWs recounted that one of the worst aspects of their captivity in Tibet was the constant attempt at brainwashing by Chinese Communist propaganda,' reveals Claude Arpi.
In the start-up world, hitting the $1-billion mark, which accords the "Unicorn" tag, is a milestone. Enterprises typically reach the milestone only by series C or series D, or three to four funding rounds later. Zeta achieved it at the first one. On May 25, the six-year-old banking tech firm raised $250 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, at a post-money valuation of $1.45 billion. "This is the first time we have raised institutional money," Zeta co-founder Bhavin Turakhia beamed on the conference call. This trajectory is uncommon in start-ups.
Since the June 15 clash, the PLA has inducted large numbers of troops, armoured vehicles and artillery along the LAC, from Depsang and Galwan in northern Ladakh to Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Chushul in central Ladakh, to Demchok and Chumar in southern Ladakh.
Four Pakistani rangers were killed in Border Security Force's strong retaliation after a jawan of the force lost his life in heavy firing from the other side on a patrol on Wednesday along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.
The Defence Minister's reply came in response to a question on whether satellite images have revealed that China has constructed seven helipads in Doklam besides deploying tanks and missiles in the area.
Was Wang Yi'S visit intended to remind India of 1962, asks Claude Arpi?
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
The quality of manpower is a significant resource for large populous countries such as India and China, which depend on them for their rapid economic growth.
At least 28 people were killed and over 40 injured on Monday in a suicide attack in a market in northwest Pakistan's restive Malakand area, the latest in a series of terror strikes that have rocked the country.
'Once accession to Pakistan appeared unlikely, the British instituted Operations Gulmarg and Datta Khel respectively to foil possible accession to India.'
As part of moves to speedily build communication infrastructure on the Chinese frontier, the Indian Air Force has finalised plans to set up an another airstrip in Ladakh.
Seven Pakistani security personnel were on Monday killed when Taliban militants ambushed their vehicle near a strategic tunnel in the troubled North West Frontier Province.
At least three people were killed and five others injured on Monday when a suicide bomber in an auto-rickshaw blew himself up near a group of policemen in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, a day after 14 people died in a similar attack in the city.The bomber, who was in his early 20s, detonated his explosives when the auto-rickshaw was stopped by policemen at the check post on the ring road at 10 am.
Military officials said India is also strengthening its surveillance mechanism to keep an eye on Chinese activities along the borders in the strategically sensitive Tibetan region and has even been regularly deploying choppers to carry out recce.
It is unlikely Brigadier Raja Rizwan was working for RA&W, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Asserting that the militants on the other side of the international border are enjoying the support of Pakistani forces during infiltration bids, the Border Security Force on Friday lodged a strong protest with its Pakistani counterpart over the ceasefire violation and infiltration bids in Jammu."The BSF has lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Rangers at Border Outpost on the international border in Jammu frontier over an attempt to push in ultras," officials said.
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops on Wednesday fired from across the border to push in armed militants in Jammu and Kashmir, the Border Security Force said."Pakistani Rangers opened fire on Tent Post along the International Border in Kancchak sub-sector of Jammu frontier in the wee hours today," a BSF spokesman said.BSF troops beat back the infiltration bid and the militants later escaped into the Pakistani side.
Claude Arpi gives a fascinating firsthand account of the Dalai Lama's arrival in Tawang in March 1959 and explains why he will once again receive a grand welcome, whether Beijing likes it or not.
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
