Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India on Thursday dismissed allegations made during a US Congressional Commission briefing that "violence" against minorities was taking place after the advent of the Modi government, saying it was based on lack of understanding of India, its Constitution and society.
United States President Barack Obama said goodbye to his nation in an emotional address enriched with wisdom and optimism.
This year, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana, the 'dadi from Shaheen Bhagh' Bilkis, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Professor Ravindra Gupta are among TIME's 100 most influential people of 2020.
Unlike Pepsi's Kendell Jenner ad, Tata Tea's Jaago Re campaigns were careful not to insert its product in the ad's storyline and they targeted topics on which there was near unanimity of outrage.
Talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to improve the relations got off on a rough note at the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, with Xie launching a blistering attack on Washington, accusing it of being the "owner of coercive diplomacy".
'Given the disdain Trump has shown for our community's values and experiences, it is disappointing that a handful of wealthy, conservative donors invited him to address their friends last weekend,' say Mira Patel and Gautam Raghavan.
'The facts have become unimportant and useless.' 'What is important is the constantly shouting of patriotism even as one undermines the interests of the people.' 'And the abusing of rivals as being traitors,' says Aakar Patel.
"Whenever we do compromise those rights, the world is worse off," Pompeo said.
Europe will have to make some hard choices if it wishes to take on the militant group responsible for the horrible attacks in Paris.
'That secularism in India is at risk is alarming for someone like me. I'm born secular,' Anjolie Ela Menon, the well-known painter, tells Pavan Lall.
'The prime minister has merely paid lip service condemning these crimes instead of launching a massive crackdown against such brutalities,' argues Professor Mohammad Sajjad.
'For some South Asians, it may be tempting to think "I'm not Muslim, this doesn't really affect me".' 'But please know, it affects all of us,' says Arun Venugopal, a reporter at WNYC in New York.
There is no war against Islam, but there is definitely one against Islamic radicalism, says Claude Smadja.
Since 2012, 44 Indians have been anointed as grandmasters -- the highest achievement in chess, points out Arvind Subramanian, economist and former chief economic adviser to the government.
Police said Imam Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin, 64, were walking home from prayers on Saturday when they were approached from behind by a male and were shot.
Had the slain Indian-American engineer stayed in India, he would have earned less but his life might have been spared, Sunanda K Datta-Ray says, pondering the question of where one belongs.
In this May 2014 interview with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com, the politically conscious Karnad spoke of why he is concerned about Modi coming to power.
All Pakistani moves towards peace will be seen as tactical compromises, to be abandoned when the situation changes, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If some Europeans do not allow Muslims to assimilate into European national cultures, some Muslims also refuse to try and adopt and assimilate.'
'If any party talks too much about Muslims, it will lose.'
Trump attended his first address to the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.
Obama made no reference to any country in his speech but said that his administration works to promote religious freedom around the globe.
Everything about ISIS had indicated that this would be a violent Ramzan. A violent, divisive Ramzan sends out exactly the message that ISIS wants to send to religious Muslims outside its folds: It plays on their faith and fears, says writer Tabish Khair.
Public-interest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, along with Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani are among the Indians who have been named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list also includes Indian-American comedian and TV host Hasan Minhaj.
'India serves itself poorly with its latter-day discovery of Pakistan as an instrument in domestic politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
The perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack, who shot dead 166 people, had confessed to details that should have been enough to hang him, but Pakistan enjoyed his anti-India rhetoric and let him spread his tentacles. A revealing excerpt from Khaled Ahmed's Pakistan's Terror Conundrum.
'Where does one draw the line? At what point does your right to free speech cross the limit of civilised discourse and provoke me to take offence?' 'And if you have the right to offend, what about someone else's right to be offended?' asks Hasan Suroor.
'For the last 10 years the Congress made the RSS an idea of intolerance, anti-minority, especially anti-Muslim, and an idea of fascism.' 'That has been demolished now by Pranab Mukherjee.'
'The first thing they ask me and people like me is, are you a Pakistani spy? They don't call you an American or a Chinese spy; they only call you a Pakistani spy.' 'At first, a few inmates tried to attack me saying they would make me sing the national anthem, but another group rescued me from the assault. When I got out of jail, so many of them cried and asked me, "When will we see you again?"'
Since 1975, the United States has welcomed more than 3 million refugees from all over the world.
A group of 11 American lawmakers has written to President Barack Obama to discuss the issue of religious freedom in India with visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during their meetings at the White House.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'A three generation US-Pakistan relationship is not likely to be snapped any time soon. All this presents an irritant to an India that wishes to concentrate on economic development,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'We cannot give in to those who would divide us. We cannot react in ways that erode the fabric of our society,' he said.
'It was the first document he had seen that asked him about his past in such detail; it was the only interest this country (America) had shown in his origins, and it was most inconvenient. To get ahead, he had to find out where he had come from.'
'Outside investors don't want to get tangled up in a religious war.'
Pervez Musharraf is contemplating a political front with jihadi groups to contest Pakistan's next election. Should the jihadi groups win a few seats, terrorist outfits will gain legitimacy in Pakistan, warns Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Authorities shut down schools and other educational institutions in north Kashmir as a precautionary measure for maintaining law and order.
Ahmedabad's cultural scene would not have gone beyond the garba, but for Mrinalini Sarabhai's pioneering efforts.
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