As investigators go deeper into the ideological background of Omar Mateen, the perpetrator of the worst mass shooting in modern US history when he killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, it's the gunman's choice of weapon that has set the alarm bells ringing.
Mahmood, 55, currently Pakistan's ambassador in Turkey, was granted a visa by India on Friday, the sources said.
Any Indian government at this juncture would have voted and spoken exactly this way. It isn't just about the vast Indian dependence on Russian-origin military equipment. It is also about trust, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'It was India's good fortune to have a Vajpayee lead the government at this crucial moment in history.' 'By taking the N-decision he saved future generations of Indians from being 'Kosovoed' or 'Iraqed',' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The United States has begun a new diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as the US withdrew its last troops from the country ending the 20-year war in the South Asian nation.
The US is the worst-hit nation with 211,793 deaths and 7,549,429 infections.
Summer Zervos alleged that he kissed her and even groped her at a bungalow in Los Angeles.
The OTT menu is sparkling with brand new goodies. Here are Sukanya Verma's 10 recommendations for the week.
'Frankly, India has no role to play.' 'This is a showdown between the US and NATO on one hand and Russia on the other.' 'That said, the outcome of this titanic struggle in Central Europe will remould the world order and affect India profoundly,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, You did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people's house.'
We asked you, dear readers to send in your congratulatory messages for the Indian team on their success Down Under. Here are your wishes for the team...
In a major embarrassment for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, the country's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, broke out of a high-security prison on Saturday night for the second time, escaping in a tunnel built right under his cell.
'India will come increasingly in the US crosshairs if it insists on maintaining its strategic autonomy, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Time is fast running out for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, a team which desperately needs its batting to click when it takes on SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Tuesday in a battle to keep its IPL hopes alive.
'There is the World Test Championship final, which we are aiming at, so we need to win a few games to achieve it.'
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.
Vijay Keshav Gokhale's tenure as foreign secretary promises to guide India's external affairs along paths never taken before, says K P Nayar.
Haley, during remarks at the 2018 Alfred Smith Dinner in New York, mocked the president for getting laughed at the UN General Assembly last month -- a spectacle that both she and the US president said was intentional, New York Daily Times reported.
'Biden's promise of returning to 'normalcy' after Trump appears to mean that the same old politicians, who are responsible for the 'endless wars' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, are being brought out of the woodwork after four years,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Both have been robustly muscular leaders who began as immensely charismatic politicians conveying an impression that they were makers of history, raring to go. Both have been hyperactive on the world stage. But in the final analysis, Abe is departing on a sombre note, unceremoniously and apologetically, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
An unassailable lead has opened up the window for experimentation but there will be no letup in India's intensity when they face a heartbroken New Zealand team in the fourth T20 International, in Wellington, on Friday. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are waiting for opportunities, with the former expected to get a look-in. Pant's call-up would depend on which batsman is left out, and whether KL Rahul will continue to keep wickets.
'Even if the media is partisan, the BJP, governing at the Centre, has the most to lose if India descends into widespread communal violence.' 'Fanning the flames either by vested political interests or by partisan reports only plays into the hands of those seek a conflagration.'
If the Taliban have proved one thing over these two decades, it is that they are way smarter than their big brother, observes Shekhar Gupta.
In an unprecedented assault on democracy in the US, thousands of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building here and clashed with police, resulting in four deaths and interrupting a constitutional process by Congress to affirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the election.
'Governments, democratically elected governments, are custodians for a short- specified time.' 'Parents don't let baby sitters decide the course of their child's future.'
Putin said the tournament and its coverage on social media had 'helped break many stereotypes about Russia'.
'Pakistan has worsted India in the Afghan proxy war and the defeat becomes a template of regional politics,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The sooner Pakistan and India face these geopolitical realities, the better it will be for their own security and prosperity,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
New Delhi should resist any temptation to act as spoiler and instead should cooperate with its SCO partners in reaching a regional consensus behind the formation of an interim government in Kabul, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The first priority for the new Tibetan administration in Dharamsala should be to look at Tibetan recruitment in the PLA, suggests Claude Arpi.
Atul Keshap would be 'a superb fit for Sri Lanka as he knows the ins and outs of the politics there and all the political players, including the new disposition in Colombo intimately,' US diplomatic sources in Washington, DC told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said.
Over two dozen Muslims have been elected to the Lok Sabha. This shows that all is not lost for India's Muslims, suggests Mohammad Sajjad.
However, nothing is definitively known about the motivation behind this mass shooting, he told reporters at the White House on Sunday afternoon.
Whether history will remember Edward Snowden as a traitor to his country or as a champion for free speech and less intrusive government is hard to tell, but the issues he has brought into focus need deep thought, writes Ajit Balakrishnan
The reversal of Trump's policy with regard to Iran, like the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, may not be a matter of just turning the clock back, but one of patient negotiations, with uncertain consequences in the post-COVID-19 world, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'But India, increasingly, is not that far behind, which is a story I never expected to tell.'
The Republican nominee will have 90 minutes to save his presidential campaign after videos of his passing obscene remarks about women surfaced.
Nitin Singh, tourist guide, spent 75 minutes with Donald and Melania Trump at the Taj Mahal. 'They were very down to earth and listening to me intently as I told them the story of the Taj and the Mughals.'
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