NDA partner Bodoland People's Front (BPF) is expected to secure a majority of the 15 Assembly seats in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam, leading in 10 constituencies, according to Election Commission data. The BJP, a major partner in the ruling NDA, leads in three seats, while the UPPL and Congress are ahead in one seat each.
Phunchuk Stobdan's forte was candour and strong views on India's defence. Naturally, India's adversaries were in awe of him, fearing his views and unyielding stand on boundary issues, remembers Tarun Vijay.
'The civil war in Islam has just got worse and the existential crisis facing it more threatening.'
China's week-long mediation between Pakistan and Afghanistan concludes without a formal agreement, though Beijing claims progress in exploring solutions to resolve their differences.
There are enough people at the top decision-making level in Tehran who are still willing to negotiate, provided Trump can create the right setting for the negotiation to acquire a dynamic of its own, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
Pakistani security forces killed 15 terrorists in two intelligence-based operations in Balochistan province, recovering weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
A leading British law firm has challenged the fairness and legality of the trial and death sentence handed down to deposed Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, citing violations of international law and a politically hostile environment.
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
Although extensive air attacks have been carried out to destroy most of Iran's defence capabilities, the latter's resilience and sustenance during the war clearly indicate that the US landing force would encounter severe resistance in the operation, explains Commodore Venugopal Vengalil (retd).
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed that the United States and his administration have achieved nearly total dominance over Iranian airspace following a series of coordinated military strikes.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
'I want to show bearded men actually caring and loving for their sons or a woman from Pakistan in a position of power. How radical is that?'
Bangladesh is preparing for elections and a referendum on reforms, but the absence of the Awami League and rising political tensions are raising concerns about the legitimacy and stability of the process.
A Hindu businessman in Bangladesh died after being brutally attacked, raising concerns among minority groups about increasing intimidation and violence.
A key leader of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party (NCP), Mahfuz Alam, has distanced himself from the party's alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, citing ideological differences and concerns over Jamaat's controversial history.
'There is no substantive basis for Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The only real link they can have is mischief, with Pakistan's intelligence agency using Bangladesh to create trouble along our eastern borders.'
Sheikh Hasina, sentenced to death in absentia in Bangladesh, denounces the tribunal as biased and rigged, claiming the verdict reveals the murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government.
'I have always broken my image every time I went on screen. I don't know what it means to be a Greek God but people used to call me one.'
A Bangladeshi court has sent 16 people, including veterans of the 1971 Liberation War, to jail under the Anti-Terrorism Act after a mob disrupted their public discussion.
Pakistan and China have submitted a joint bid at the UN Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide wing - Majeed Brigade - as a terrorist entity under the Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The entry of other Arab countries in the mutual defence deal between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is not ruled out, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said, adding that 'doors are not closed' for such developments.
Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday dismissed as 'completely baseless' and 'misleading' the media reports that claimed it has dropped the 'Father of the Nation' title for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and revised the definition of freedom fighter.
The move comes a few days after the Yunus-led government dropped the portrait of the country's founding father and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's father Mujibur Rahman from new currency notes.
It is high time India ends its silence on the human cost of the Gaza war and takes a principled stand without diluting its relations with Israel. A largely friendless Tel Aviv today needs New Delhi more than the other way around. India's failure now may cost it diplomatically in the long run, cautions M R Narayan Swamy.
A UN Security Council report states that The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack and published a photograph of the attack site. The report also cites assertions that the attack could not have happened without the support of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
'Iranians admire Indian cinema and often mention Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when you meet them.'
In 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had carried out searches at Padgha as part of a nationwide crackdown on the terror outfit ISIS and arrested several persons, including Nachan.
'A man with a gun commanded respect. I thought if I also got a gun, I could save my family. With this thought, I went to Pakistan and got training there'
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal is set to formally hear charges against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday allowing state-run BTV to broadcast live the event, a first such instance in the country's history.
'The government is saying 88 Hindus have been killed, but it could be much more.' 'Their properties are being looted, their businesses have been ransacked. I am getting distress calls from there.' 'Muslims who believe in the philosophy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are also under attack. Most of those who have fled Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's fall are Muslims.'
All-party parliamentary delegations on Friday met leaders and diplomats from several countries to galvanise international action against terrorists and decisively counter the tactics of those who perpetrate, support and sponsor cross-border terror activities against India.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (SAD), which led protests against Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has launched itself as a political party called the National Citizen Party (NCP). The new party, which aims to 'dismantle constitutional autocracy' and establish a 'second republic,' has pledged to create a 'solely Bangladesh-oriented' political system, with no room for 'pro-India and pro-Pakistan politics.' The NCP's inaugural rally was attended by representatives of various political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and envoys from the Vatican and Pakistan.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
Asim Munir and his brand of short-sighted army officers give no inkling of paying heed, changing course or learning lessons from the past, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
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