The vote on a critical resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has been postponed to Tuesday, as Colombo stepped up efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting which is being seen as an acid test for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
'It is important to destroy, to undermine, to debunk the narrative of ISIS,' Olivier Roy -- one of the world's leading experts on radical Islam -- tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel in an exclusive interview.
Days after Al Qaeda issued a video threatening to carry out its campaign in India, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday said the terror group is trying to set up base in the state and had "tacit understanding" with United Liberation Front of Asom.
As he engaged in talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping came in for praise from an unlikely quarter -- exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama -- who described him as 'open-minded' and 'realistic'.
The US military efforts in Afghanistan were akin to filling a bucket that had gaping holes, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"India despite problems, has had religious harmony there for 2,000 years," he said.
'Second-class citizenship would have been meaningless to a Hindu in the Mughal empire.'
Unless the Taliban goofs up in a big way, which seems highly unlikely, we are looking at a regime that will be around for quite a long while and present a level of governance that the puppets of the richest and most advanced countries failed to provide, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Pandey panel has been directed to probe the 'circumstances in which the SIMI members escaped from the prison and the officials responsible for it'.
'The Congress cannot appreciate people with an independent opinion.' 'That's why many people left the party.'
'The spirit of religious faith in Kashmir is inclusive.' 'There an inclusiveness of Islam in Kashmir.' 'An ordinary Kashmiri can be a political fundamentalist, but he can never be a religious fundamentalist.'
Zakir Naik, a gentle, rockstar televangelist, is dangerous as young Muslims may be swayed by his fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and justify victimhood and extremism, says Shekhar Gupta.
The Arab Accord -- essentially bilateral agreements with Israel -- does not mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bangladesh on Monday said it has launched investigations into the involvement of Al-Qaeda in the killing of atheist blogger Avijit Roy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted that the world community must reject any linkage between religion and terrorism while formulating a "genuinely international" partnership in the fight against all forms of terror acts.
'Mamata is campaigning hard and not giving the BJP a walkover.'
The 36-year-old desi speaks impeccable Arabic and quotes freely from the Quran during his speeches, reports Aziz Haniffa.
The Centre on Thursday sounded a country-wide alert after an Al Qaeda video appeared in which the terror outfit threatened to carry out campaign in India. Home Minister Rajnath Singh went into a huddle with top security officials as an initial assessment of the Intelligence Bureau found the video to be genuine.
Mattis said that there are operations by the Pakistan military that are helping the US' ongoing efforts against terrorism and have been for some time.
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
He asserted his force was as competent as the CBI to probe the Kathua rape and murder case.
'Had Muslims been a vote bank, they wouldn't be in the condition they are now,' Asaduddin Owaisi tells Jyoti Punwani.
Trump said his visit to Saudi Arabia will include a gathering of leaders from 'across the Muslim world' to unite against extremism.
'A vote for Hillary means a vote for endless wars of trying to overthrow governments and rebuilding foreign countries.' 'A vote for Bernie Sanders means an end to these interventionist wars, and instead spending our money and precious resources rebuilding our own country,' Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu-American in the United States Congress, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
'To treat a Hindu fleeing persecution and certain death in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan on par with a Muslim voluntarily sneaking into India for economic reasons or otherwise is callously cruel, blatantly perverse and grossly unjust.' 'The concept of equality cannot be invoked to perpetuate a historical wrong that needs to be righted,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
Trudeau has said that he will repair Canada's cool relations with United States President Barack Obama's administration, withdraw Canada from the combat mission against Islamic State militants in favour of humanitarian aid, and tackle climate change.
Instead of repealing Section 295A of the IPC, which criminalises speech that offends the religious, India intends to further criminalise offence against religion, says Mihir S Sharma
'We can make all the noise we want to about being a tolerant society, but the reality is in front of us.'
'Why does Mr Modi only attack Nehru from the Dynasty?' 'At one level, it is pure politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'Look at Kejriwal. With his work, he's made a place in our hearts. But the BJP leaders have only abuses for us," protesters at Shaheen Bagh tell Jyoti Punwani.
When the Muslim Personal Law Board promises 'advisories' and nikahnamas to the Supreme Court, one has to remember not only its recent campaign against any change in Muslim personal law, but also its past record of inaction on the question of triple talaq, says Jyoti Punwani.
'The protests have forced the government to announce that the NRC is not an immediate priority.' 'Even if they are trying to pursue this policy in a different guise, through the NPR, the fact that they have been forced to pause and backtrack at least temporarily shows the positive impact of the protests.' 'Moreover, various state governments have opposed the NPR which cannot be carried out without their cooperation. That is also a success of the protests.' 'The state governments would not have taken this stance against the central government if their hand had not been forced by the popular mood.'
In a major setback to peace talks, the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday refused to extend the 40-day "gift of ceasefire" but said they were committed to the process the government initiated to find a solution to the decade-long insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
'Though not religious in everyday life, his Hindu-Indian identity was an irrevocable influence on his writings,' observes Vivek Gumaste.
'The reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have attended the President's iftar was not merely to break a fast with the faithful, but more importantly to broker an understanding with India's second largest set of citizens,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
ISIS' advances in Iraq and Syria are not just tactical but strategic victories -- born of US errors and confusion
Hundreds of migrants, who continue to arrive in Europe as they flee the scenes of chaos and brutality of the Islamic State in the Middle East, have created sharp divisions among European Union member states which are increasingly finding it tough to control the massive influx.
'When we have a terrorist outfit in a neighbouring nation, we need to do whatever we can to neutralise that threat,' says Ramananda Sengupta.
'Is Ansari flagging a genuine concern? Is a rectification called for?' 'And finally: Do minorities matter?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
It further said that the epic Valmiki's Ramayana, whose composition dated back to the period Before Christ (BC), was the main source of knowledge of Lord Ram and his deeds.
