Egypt's defiant Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday vowed to bring down the military-backed government as it called for a massive anti-regime rally, a day after over 525 people were killed in the deadliest crackdown by security forces on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
Pakistan's prime minister is trying to use the unrest in Kashmir to save his government, says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad.
'I cannot conceive of any reason than my unsparing criticism of government policies that the government picked me to send a message to many who dare to take it on.'
Excerpts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Combined Commanders Conference on board the INS Vikramaditya at sea, off the coast of Kochi.
'Had they struck on the night of the 1st, there would have been hell to pay and had they been able to sneak further in, we would have had a greater problem,' says Lieutenant General H S Panag (retd), the former Northern Army Commander.
He said his country will take all steps to 'expose' India's role in the break up of East Pakistan in 1971 and to 'destabilise' it through terrorism.
Making it easier to do business is a key element of our strategy, says Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.
Asserting that "maritime muscle flexing" by some countries and other factors have made the Indo-Pacific region "more contested and more volatile," naval chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday said that the Indian Navy has its task cut out as it has been a major security provider in the region.
The cascade of cordiality on both sides after the Modi-Sharif handshake in Paris was preceded by much planning and even goading from UK, US and Germany.
'Clarifying that modernisation of national defence and armed forces should be completed by 2035, Xi Jinping asserted the goal is to make the People's Liberation Army a "world class force" that "can fight and win" by 2050,' points out former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
'Given Chinese sensitivity to anything to do with Tibet -- and the fact that in the 1950s it was the Tibet issue which led to the deterioration of India-China relations and the border war in 1962 -- India should be particularly careful in not triggering a Chinese reaction which it may not be able to handle,' says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
As hard bargains continue for the next four days at the picturesque tourist resort of Indonesia, the ministers., including from the influential developed countries will try and reach agreements on providing windows to the developing nations for their food security programmes and a pact to free the global trade from the procedural hassles at the customs.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday stepped into the raging debate on intolerance by condemning the murders of dissenters and some on the basis of what they eat and said the nation is deeply concerned at the "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought, belief and speech by some violent extremist groups.
Because of India's weak fiscal position, the plethora of debt-burdened infrastructure companies and the poor asset quality of public sector banks, economic growth in 2015-16 may be limited to about six per cent, say Shankar Acharya.
'By beheading an Indian soldier, the Pakistan army has demonstrated its proclivity for barbaric medievalism.' 'The strategies adopted and the punishment inflicted by India must be made progressively more stringent with every new act of terrorism till the cost becomes prohibitive for Pakistan,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'We should not flatter ourselves that China is fixated on encircling India. She has greater goals, becoming the pre-eminent power in the world, and India as a major power is dealt with as part of that strategy.'
Sayeed said he was disappointed over the abrupt cancellation of talks but hoped that break would be "temporary".
Israel is determined to take the bilateral engagement to a different level that goes beyond defence hardware and intelligence software. Kanchan Gupta reports exclusively from Tel Aviv for Rediff.com
A grieving Pakistan's policy shift towards the Taliban has comes at a great cost, says Shahzad Raza.
'Many people thought that a Hindu nationalist party's government would take bold steps vis-a-vis Kashmir. But sadly their approach has been led by military and security priorities.' 'We would suggest to India that she initiate the dialogue following the Vajpayee model. That is the way forward. Otherwise, there is a looming threat. We are seeing educated youth joining militancy.'
India on Thursday bluntly told the US that surveillance of political leaders and others in India by the American intelligence was "unacceptable" to which the US responded by saying that any differences that may exist can be resolved by intelligence communities of the two countries.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United States President Barack Obama will meet in Washington on Thursday to chart a course for "future cooperation" in areas such as civil nuclear technology, trade, investment, defence and counter-terrorism, amid perceptions that bilateral strategic ties have plateaued.
'It is in the interest of both sides that the visit of the US President is seen as being successful. Both sides have invested considerable political capital in it. This rapid exchange of visits and the decisions taken have to be justified, beyond the symbolism, which is no doubt important in itself. This opportunity to impart a fresh momentum to ties should not be missed,' says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.
'Breaking out of the corner into which China has painted itself would be a feat.' 'Whether Xi is able to pull it off will be known in the coming days,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and member of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the time of China's invasion of India.
Mr Rahul Gandhi himself has given seven different prices in different speeches with regard to the Rafale, that is the 2007 offer.
Chinese mobile brands are deeply entrenched in the Indian market. A move to bar them may send a bold diplomatic message. But its cost for the local industry is anybody's guess. In the event that Chinese brands face curbs, two handset makers - Samsung and Apple - squarely stand to gain.
There was no breakthrough in US Secretary of State John F Kerry's India visit, but no breakdown either, says C Uday Bhaskar.
'It should be of concern that some youth in Kashmir have started raising Daesh flags along with those of Pakistan.'
India stands at an embarrassingly low 130 among 190 countries in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings. But in our worry over it are we forgetting the big picture -- to make India an attractive investment destination -- wonders Avirup Bose.
'It will be foolhardy to overlook that this stunning shift in China's stance comes as the culmination of the severely damaged India-China relationship under the present government,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This is the joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of US President Barack Obama to India.
The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation is a toothless mechanism, but it may well end up serving India's interests, says Ajay Lele.
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The creation of the High Level Political Forum was one of the key decisions of the Rio+20 Conference.
With a decelerating economy that weakens India's hands on geopolitical issues, it will be interesting to know which way this trip will go.
BJP chief Amit Shah said that the government has brought the country out of policy paralysis.
China released a white paper against the UN-backed tribunal's verdict, insisting that Beijing has claims over the strategic region for 2,000 years.
'Media reports have highlighted that hawala money is coming from Arab countries. And this money is used to create disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir.'
'Those who foment trouble in the valley have been told to lie low till a new elected government takes shape in the state.'
Defiant employees from multiple US government agencies are fighting the Trump administration's gag orders on climate change and penchant for "alt facts" with rogue Twitter accounts.
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