The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been beset by controversy, but for the visionaries bringing soccer back to life in Afghanistan it represents a shining, magical light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.
Pakistan plans to ban 10 terror outfits, including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the dreaded Afghan-based Haqqani Network, a move seen by experts as a "paradigm shift" in the country's security policy in the wake of Peshawar school massacre.
Afghanistan cricket team coach Andy Moles has kept a very low profile in Kabul since risking his life by accepting a one-year contract to coach the World Cup minnows.
"We have from time to time reminded all stakeholders about the red lines that was drawn by the world community and certainly by the participants should not be touched, should not be erased and should not be violated," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told media persons.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul and reaffirmed India's commitment to assist Afghanistan in building a strong, democratic and prosperous country.
With theatres shutting down, night clubs and restaurants closed and self-isolation being the latest key word, all eyes may just have turned to television.
Islamabad is being bluntly asked not to use the development in Kashmir for cross border terrorism or infiltration across the Line of Control.
India on Tuesday made a strong pitch for a positive and constructive approach from neighbours of Afghanistan including an end to support for violence as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed key issues including security and connectivity.
Senior United States lawmakers told a Capitol Hill conference that India was crucial for stability in Afghanistan and the region as US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces prepare to withdraw from that war ravaged country.
In a paradigm shift in its policy against terrorism, Pakistan has included Jamaat-ud-Dawa led by the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and the dreaded Haqqani network in the list of proscribed organisations after the US mounted pressure on the country.
Here's a look at the 10 most dangerous countries in the world.
'Clearly, the Modi government is proving to be far more willing than any previous government in Delhi to hitch India's wagons with the US' regional strategies.'
'I told the Indian foreign office, whether you recognise Kabul or not, we will fight to the last and return to the gates of Kabul,' recalls Afghan Ambassador Masood Khalili.
Pakistan, which has propped up the new Taliban leadership, would be keen to use its influence over the group to neutralise India's presence in the region.
As the western forces prepare to leave Afghanistan in the coming year, India stands at a crossroads where it remains keen to preserve its interests in Afghanistan but has refused to step up its role as a regional security provider. New Delhi needs to recognise that there is no short-cut to major power status, says Harsh V Pant
If you have thought that the most profitable international routes for direct flights from India are to the busiest US or European cities, then think again.
The Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, on river Chist-e-Sharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran, will irrigate 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power.
In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India said perpetrators of violence in Afghanistan must not be allowed safe havens in its neighbourhood, as it slammed the United Nations Security Council's sanctions regime for not designating the leader of Taliban as terrorist, calling such an approach a "mystery."
Abducted Indian aid worker Alexis Prem Kumar in Afghanistan is safe and India is confident of getting him rescued unharmed soon, according to a top Indian diplomat.
Beyond the barbed wire and watchtowers, though, lies a story that casts more than a little doubt on whether this dream will ever be realised. Praveen Swami reports.
'Physically, he was a strong man, but given to moments of emotional weakness.' 'He had to be put back on the right track by the women in his life.'
Bush was expected to reach New Delhi around 2000 IST.
'Pakistan's trump card is that it is the only credible guarantor on the horizon who can reasonably assure the Western world that Afghanistan will not again become the revolving door for international terrorism.' 'Trust Pakistan to play this card optimally,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India has been discomfited by signs that the United States and its allies are preparing to leave Afghanistan.
'It is highly doubtful that the Trump administration will consider inserting itself into the volatile India-Pakistan dispute.'
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has rejected offer of a ceasefire by the Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban's spokesman outlined conditions for a ceasefire, which said the country must stop its involvement in the war pitting Afghan insurgents against the Kabul government and refocus on a 'war of revenge' against India.
For Air India and Jet Airways, airspace closure over Pakistan would mean flights to US and Europe will have to take a longer route.
'We have been one of the most frequent countries to be on the Council. We have contributed so much to the maintenance of international peace and security,' India's Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke Mukerji tells Rediff.com's Suman Guha Mozumder.
Purana Qila may be a regular weekend haunt for many locals but the history behind the landmark is as fascinating as it is bloody finds out Nirdesh K Singh.
'The US-India relationship is in a different league altogether,' Obama administration officials tell Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in Washington, DC.
He was awarded the Amir Amanullah Khan Award by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after the inauguration of the landmark Afghan-India Friendship Dam.
New Delhi remains a priggish suitor to Washington's overtures, but it has begun appreciating potential tech benefits to ties with the US.
Aseem Chhabra watched some great films and some huge disappointments in 2020.
"The security relationship between India and Pakistan has consequences for Afghanistan," US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry said on Tuesday to a question from Senator Kay Hagan before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday demanded a thorough investigation into the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan for several years, but ruled out a United States-type operation by India to eliminate Pak-based terrorists wanted by it.
The Jesuit priest thanked the government for its efforts to secure his release
At an online book release event, former vice president Hamid Ansari lays to rest the controversies surrounding his tenure.
'Soft power is the power really to win friends and influence people with the strength of your ideas.' 'India's greatest soft power is being India itself. A nation of varied beliefs, states, creeds, castes, languages and yet embodying that spirit of unity in diversity.'
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