Currently women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the army.
Pakistan Senate has unanimously passed a resolution condemning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks in which he described Pakistan as the "mothership of terrorism", calling it a "baseless" propaganda to divert international attention from "atrocities" in Kashmir.
Given all the turbulence created by Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's unexpected tirade against Saudi Arabia, it is likely to be business as usual between the two countries, albeit with a bit of caution on the part of both, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'The most striking thing about the US strike on Syria is its futility of purpose beyond a symbolic value to impress the domestic constituency that Trump is a forceful decision-maker,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Following the incident, all flights at Stansted had to be temporarily grounded, according to British media reports.
South Africa will remain on the lowest 'level 1' of its five-level lockdown strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic despite the global panic around the detection of the Omicron variant in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced .
'NSA Doval and the PM are known to admire Israel's tough response to cross-border terrorism.' 'However, New Delhi's situation is far more complex than Tel Aviv's, which enjoys military superiority over all its neighbours,' says Ajai Shukla.
'Today, I am taking new actions to restrict Iran's nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. My Administration will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, nor will we allow Iran to endanger the rest of the world with a fresh supply of ballistic missiles and conventional arms,' Trump said in a statement.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Brighton & Hove Albion scored three times in the second half to fight back from two goals down and beat Manchester City
Soaked in patriotism, hundreds of Indians on Monday proudly marked the country's 70th Independence Day, as the tricolour fluttered and the national anthem reverberated at Indian missions across the world.
Adjutant General of the Army Lt General Ashwani Kumar said it planned to induct about 800 women in the military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel.
'Will Pakistan allow R&AW and Indian armed force officers access to roam around their strategic bases?' 'Is there any precedent anywhere in the world of such permissions being granted?'
The successful test firing of medium range surface-to-air missiles is welcome news for the IAF.
'Yet, in J&K even if you are not involved in active combat, you can come under enemy fire.' 'However young a soldier is, he is not immune to action.' 'He may face challenges during the course of discharging his military duties.'
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
'Traditionally, the US tried to tamp down tensions whenever a crisis situation arose and deputed officials from Washington to travel to Delhi to counsel restraint.' 'This time around, no US envoy flew down to Delhi -- not even when tensions spiked and a flashpoint was reached last week,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
DRDO to develop an army version of the medium range surface-to-air missile.
Two navy destroyers, the INS Kochi and INS Chennai, fired MR-SAMs simultaneously at two simulated incoming missiles.
'But India, increasingly, is not that far behind, which is a story I never expected to tell.'
Defence projects worth a whopping Rs 80,000 crore were on Saturday cleared by the government which decided that six submarines will be made indigenously and over 8,000 Israeli anti-tank guided missiles and 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft will be purchased.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of National War Memorial and Museum near the famed India Gate in New Delhi.
'Another rejection of mediation between India and Pakistan will leave Mr Trump disappointed.' 'In that case, he is likely to point out the war-like situation on the border and press for direct talks which have been stalled on account of continuing terrorism from Pakistan,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The navy wants to spend Rs 40,000 crore on INS Vishal, a choice the army and air force oppose. This is as much about turf as about funding. explains Ajai Shukla.
'Earlier India as part of the Third World fought for the rights of the Palestinians. But oddly the defeat of the Congress and the decline of the Nehruvian imagination has altered such perceptions. The new middle class expresses an open sympathy for Israel, contending that Jews like many Hindus has been misunderstood,' says Shiv Visvanathan.
'In India foreign policy is generally handled by the prime minister.' 'One can clearly see the Vajpayee stamp on all this.' 'Only a person with poetic imagination can weave such a complex web,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Natural History Museum's annual competition and exhibition, Wildlife Photographer of the Year has been the longest-running and most prestigious nature and wildlife photography competition that has been recognising the world's best nature photography every year since 1965.
'China is likely to help Pakistan in keeping the fire burning in J&K to bleed India for its own interests.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
The United States and the United Kingdom on Thursday appeared to have backed down from an immediate punitive military strike against Syria, even as embattled President Bashar al-Assad vowed that his country would emerge "victorious" in any confrontation with America and its allies.
Arpi deserves to be complimented for the commitment and hard work that have gone into this production. The frustrations of seeking reliable documentation from the catacombs of the Indian bureaucracy did not deter him from going after the best information available, and the result is one that he can take much satisfaction in. Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, Member Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation, reviews Claude Arpi's The End of an Era: India Exits Tibet.
The Long Range Surface to Air Missile jointly being developed by India and Israel is an answer to potential threats from Pakistan's anti-ship missile.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who held extensive talks with Egyptian leadership on Monday, proposed to step up exchange of information and coordination to combat terrorism, both at the regional as well as global level
We get tangled up in our own crooked web on purchases, and the murky arms bazaar knows it, says Shekhar Gupta.
The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov, expected to join the Indian Navy later this year, is already late by five years and its price has risen three-fold, from $947 million (about Rs 5,735 crore) in 2004 to $2.3 billion (Rs 13,928.8 crore) today.
IMAGES from the 2020 Euro Qualifiers played on Monday
'IAF is expanding at a rapid pace'
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The contracts with Israel Aerospace Industries will condemn the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to a marginal presence in the IAF's future fleet.
'Is Ansari flagging a genuine concern? Is a rectification called for?' 'And finally: Do minorities matter?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
