We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
Most of the houses in this village have been abandoned as the residents have migrated to safer places to save themselves from the ceasefire violation from the Pakistani side.
'At the informal summit, the two leaders will have heart-to-heart discussions on overarching issues and try to build mutual trust'
Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's detention was ordered by a court on Friday for questioning over charges of colluding with Palestinian militant group Hamas, even as the Muslim Brotherhood slammed the decision as engineered by a "fascist military regime".
"The biggest challenge before us is that the 21st century belongs to Asia. But do we have this sentiment, I think that is the biggest challenge," he said.
'Today, when Kailash Satyarthi is being honoured with the most prestigious global award, reports appear to the effect that many millions of Indian children are in 'slavery'. This is hardly the reputation that India should have when we are basking in the glory of 'Mangalyan',' says T P Sreenivasan.
Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of US forces in the Pacific, told the Shangri-La Dialogue, a high-level defence forum in Singapore, that PLA navy had started "reciprocating" US navy's tactics of sending ships and aircraft into the 200-nautical-mile zone off China's coast.
The UN made it clear that it will not conduct any inquiry into accusations of sexual harassment against R K Pachauri
Police produced Saeed and his four aides before the board at Lahore registry of the apex court.
10 frontline filmmakers announced their decision to return the prestigious National Awards over the government's "apathy" in addressing the students issues and the environment of intolerance.
India's demographic dividend may not automatically give rise to tangible economic gains -- at least not with immediate effect -- but it is likely to have a big impact on the coming Lok Sabha elections, Mayank Mishra
Justifying the docking of Chinese submarines in Karachi and Colombo, a Chinese think tank questioned criticism in India of the presence of Chinese naval ships in the Indian Ocean, saying China has a right to protect its interests and India should be "broad-minded" to accept it.
Pravasis have created a great impression among Americans about their maternal country, India, says Dr Joy Cherian, the first Asian American to be appointed to a sub-cabinet level position in the US government.
With its gaze steadily fixed on the well-being of its people, the government is going about taking all the imperative measures that need to be taken to beat back the pandemic, observes B S Raghavan.
She said Modi has the mandate to take bold decisions on the lines of Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the resolution of the problems in and around Jammu and Kashmir.
The two Koreas agreed during rare talks on Wednesday to form a combined women's ice hockey team to take part in next month's Winter Olympics in the South.
"The ruling establishment seems to have lost all sense of balance, and of proportion. It appears determined to undermine all democratic norms. It seems hell-bent to destroy the spirit of inquiry, the spirit of questioning, the spirit of debate and dissent, said the Congress president.
On International Yoga Day, South Delhi-based yoga teacher Saudamini Chandra found herself shepherding the young girl students to their first taste of India's heritage that was being celebrated across the world. This is her experience.
'The government should refrain from 'adventurism' and 'megalomania'.' 'But this should be true of reckless government action against every Indian, whether or not they are wealthy or have access to the finance minister even when he is in hospital,' says Aakar Patel.
'This novel format of diplomacy -- the informal summit -- will not only facilitate bilateral communication and reduce miscalculations at the very top level of the two governments, but possibly open the space for China and India to speak in one voice on various issues of mutual concern,' note Feng Renjie and Ding Kun Lei
Did you know the world's youngest director is an Indian?
"The people, who were in power earlier, now are suddenly taking U-turn. They are making such statements shamelessly," he added.
'The Chinese forces in the narrow Chumbi Valley are currently in the line of sight and fire of Indian forces poised on the ridges along the Sikkim-Tibet border.' 'Aware of this vulnerability, the Chinese have been eyeing the Doklam plateau,' explains national security expert Nitin A Gokhale.
'A conventional war is not in fashion today and not seen as being able to deliver the objective.' 'Perhaps surgical strikes that are deeper, this time not on Pakistan's terrorist facilities, but on Pakistan army facilities.' 'The nation has to be prepared for losses.' 'War is not something that can be pussyfooted around.' 'If we go for limited number of posts in Kashmir, these are very difficult posts to capture and very difficult operations.' 'Be prepared for 200 to 300 killed.'
'We are completely engaged in fighting poverty; alas, our neighbour Pakistan seems only engaged in fighting us.'
'The problem here is not that one community's deity has suddenly become another community's meal.' 'Hindus and Muslims have been peacefully coexisting with their cows for centuries now.' 'The problem here is that a section of Indians has been suddenly made to realise that it makes great political sense to degrade each one of the 170 million Muslims to a potential cow-killer, lynch a few of them to keep the heat on, polarise and win elections.'
The US has slapped additional tough sanctions on Russia's financial services and energy sectors for the failure of Moscow to taken enough steps to address the volatile political situation in Ukraine.
'The message to India is (with attacks like Pathankot) basically what the Pakistani army is trying to test is how serious are you when it concerns the peace process with that country.'
Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily reviewed the progress on the ambitious 1,680-km project with Turkmenistan Minister for Oil and Gas Mukhammetnur Khalylov, who is in New Delhi to attend the eighth Asia Gas Partnership Summit.
Stating that India's entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group will "shake strategic balance in South Asia and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region", an article in the state-run 'Global Times' however said China could support India's inclusion in the 48 member nuclear club if it "played by rules".
'Only when India's adversaries are convinced that India has both the necessary political and military will and the hardware to respond to a nuclear strike with punitive retaliation that will inflict unacceptable loss of human life and unprecedented material damage, will they be deterred,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
One of the last surviving freedom fighters from that era, Isu Laloo Chiba, shared this in a message to support the Indian missions' plan to celebrate the second United Nations-sanctioned International Day of Yoga on 21 June in South Africa.
Talking about the threat of terrorism, he said "As diverse and pluralistic societies, we both face threats from fundamentalist terrorism. Yet, we do not seem to be able to cooperate as effectively we should in some critical international forums dealing with this subject."
Civilian deaths due to terrorism related violence has come down by over 90 percent since the 1990s according to government data released on the issue on Thursday.
China on Wednesday announced a 12.2 per cent increase in its defence budget taking the military spending for this year to $132 billion, far above India's $36 billion.
Authorities shut down schools and other educational institutions in north Kashmir as a precautionary measure for maintaining law and order.
Two top United States lawmakers have introduced a legislation in the House of Representatives to designate India as a special global partner of America
A new version of jihad is attracting "small but steady stream" of Indians to join Islamic State movement in Syria, Former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has warned.
India is keen on the issue of equal share holding since it doesn't want a repeat of the distortions that have crept into Bretton Woods institutions like International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in which rich countries like the US and Japan have a strangle hold.
'The devious minds across the border will test us to the hilt, but in the course of that will offer us opportunities for which we must be prepared,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who commanded the Uri Brigade, the Baramulla Division and the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps.
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