Pakistan found itself in the cross hairs of Middle East politics after Saudi Arabia included it in a 34-nation military coalition of Muslim countries to combat terrorism without getting Islamabad's consent, media reports said on Wednesday.
For the first time, the Islamic State terror group has released its propaganda song in Mandarin calling on Chinese Muslims to wage Jihad, escalating pressure on security forces battling Uyghur militants in volatile Xinjiang province.
The attack is likely to be launched by British-born Islamist terrorists travelling back from Syria, Paul Cruickshank, the terrorism analyst for American news channel CNN, has said.
On the sixth anniversary of the 2008 Batla House encounter on Friday, terror group Ansar-ul-Tawhid Fi Bilad Al Hind has issued a threat to avenge the killings of Indian Mujahideen members who died in the encounter.
Europe will have to make some hard choices if it wishes to take on the militant group responsible for the horrible attacks in Paris.
'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.
Her motto: Why blend when you were made to stand out!
Saudi Arabia's Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died on Friday and his half-brother Salman took over reigns of the world's top oil exporting nation in a smooth transition of power, calling for "unity and solidarity" among Muslims.
'By annoying the Arabs and cozying up to Iran, Pakistan may end up losing Arab economic support, annoying the Americans and increase Shia-Sunni tensions domestically,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) points out.
'Unsurprisingly, the joint statement issued after Modi's visit contains a paragraph on terrorism.' 'It is on the usual lines that India would have with, say, Croatia.' 'The surprising part is that it shies away from getting into specifics,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The RSS had nothing to do with organising the event,' senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar tells Rediff.com
By maintaining that all Indians are tolerant, the Pew centre appears to have skimmed over the surface of its subject matter without delving deep, asserts Amulya Ganguli.
'So a number of people are drawn in along with members of their friends' circle or their relatives.' 'A number of individuals find that they have more in common with the 'imagined community' that they discover online as opposed to their own physical community and indeed, even the majority Muslim community elsewhere.'
Trump clarified that not all Muslims fall into this category but said he means "a lot of them".
A 26-year-old Australian woman has allegedly abandoned her two children to join the Islamic State in Syria.
US President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Salman amid the Arab world's biggest diplomatic crisis in years over Qatar's alleged support to extremists, reports Lalit K Jha.
In a historic moment, Pope Francis met the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican.
The Islamic State terror group may have developed a nuclear device by using radioactive uranium stolen from Iraq's Mosul University after seizing control of the city last June, according to a British media report.
"Make no mistake: this ban does not keep us safe. It puts American lives at risk while isolating the Muslim community at a time when we need to address the threat of homegrown extremism. No matter the changes, this executive action remains immoral and fundamentally un-American," California Senator Kamala Harris said.
'The humanity displayed by ordinary, lower middle class residents of north east Delhi -- Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs -- will be remembered perhaps even more than the evil wrought in the riots,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Obama made no reference to any country in his speech but said that his administration works to promote religious freedom around the globe.
Pompeo defended the killing of Soleimani saying he was making efforts for an attack on Americans in the region.
'No other terror organisation has valued popular consensus as the Islamic State does -- instead of repressing people, IS wants to gain their support. This is a major innovation in terrorism,' says terrorism expert and author Dr Loretta Napoleoni in an interview to Archana Masih and Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.
It is no secret that Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is the most coveted target of terror outfits operating within India.
Voicing America's resolve to wipe out "apocalyptic cult" like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, President Barack Obama today said safe havens for terrorists will not be tolerated and called on Muslims worldwide to reject those who "distort Islam, to preach intolerance, and promote violence."
'It was a 20-minute boat ride journey of about 500 metres, but it must have been a giant leap together for the two staunchly secular leaders, Modi and Macron,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Intolerance toward the minority communities or attempts to humiliate them or the refusal to go the extra league to build an inclusive society -- these are all evident today in our society, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Melbourne-born Prakash, who was linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the US, was killed in an airstrike in Mosul.
There is nothing the young Purvanchali wants more desperately than to escape to a place with less hopelessness, and some opportunity, discovers Shekhar Gupta.
Addressing world leaders at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, Obama said if the international community cannot be united against forcing Syria to give up its chemical weapons, "then it will show that the United Nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws".
The Al-Qaeda and its patrons seems to have outsourced, for the time being, the achieving of that larger, civilisationally retrograde goal of establishing an Islamic Caliphate in the Middle-East, to the ISIS. The symptoms are all similar; the difference lies only in the expressions, says Dr Anirban Ganguly.
125 Indians on watch-list, Intelligence Bureau agents tell Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'For so long as the rulers of Pakistan remain committed to confronting and vanquishing India, they will sustain delusions, breed terrorists, and export them.'
Few leaders have been more defined by their speeches as the current leader of the free world.
As per the US laws, presidential nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties receive classified presidential briefings which prepares them for presidency if elected.
'India can certainly be counted on to ensure that Al Qaeda's influence doesn't grow to the point that it carves out sanctuaries.' 'The nations where Al Qaeda has built a strong presence have either suffered complete breakdowns in stability, sponsored militancy, or been failing States. None of this, of course, applies to India.'
United States President Donald Trump offered a message of unity on Sunday as he called on the Arab world to confront extremism during a highly anticipated speech in the birthplace of Islam.
'...to come back to power because it was not doing well.'
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