There's some amazing stuff beneath the water. For proof, look no further than the annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition.
A red fox in a derelict schoolroom, a Bengal Tiger in the forests of Bhutan and walruses are just a few of animals featured in the photos shortlisted for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year. While we wait for the results to be announced, here are some of the contenders in the contest.
'The fatal mistake for the USSR was the invasion of Afghanistan.' 'Quite possibly the fatal mistake for the Chinese empire is the assault on Ladakh,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
It is time the current leaders who swear by 'cultural nationalism', that is religion neutral, assert that Bharatiyata is at the core of our nationalism and India was never a 'Hindu Rashtra', argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sharks, mating frogs, seals playing with photographers... these are the amazing photos which offer an enchanting breadth of what's beyond the shoreline. Underwater Photographer of the Year has just announced the winners of its 2019 photo contest and photographer Richard Barnden, from the UK, was named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019. Prizes and commendations were handed out in categories including Wide Angle, Macro, Wrecks, Behaviour, Portrait, Black and White, Compact, Up and Coming, and in British waters, Wide Angle, Living Together, Compact, and Macro Shots.
Chinese military has identified a host of problems after conducting massive military exercises for the first time to sharpen the troops' fighting capability which if not rectified will hinder its ability to win wars.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, allegations have been made that the Muslim militants in Sri Lanka draw sustenance from India. An overarching impression is being created that the ISIS is gaining ground in India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He warned that Pakistan-supported terrorist groups would continue to carry out attacks inside India.
Highlighting that India's strong economy with a growth rate of 7.6 per cent per annum is creating 'new opportunities for mutual prosperity', Modi said transformative American technologies in India and growing investment by Indian companies in the US both have a positive impact on the lives of citizens of both countries.
At war, the Jalashwa can carry and launch a full infantry battalion in a single wave. At peace, the Jalashwa can evacuate 1,000 people in a single trip. Ajai Shukla explains why the Indian Navy's new tender for more ships like the Jalashwa must be treated with special urgency.
'If the Chinese intent is to be gauged based on its aggression in the South China Sea, greater forays in the Indian Ocean, a hawk's attitude towards Taiwan, flying its fighters repeatedly over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea and creating strategic assets globally, there would be a requirement for strategic partnerships for India,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
China has taken a position of non-acceptance and non-participation on the jurisdiction by the International Court of Arbitration in a case the Philippines has brought against China's claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, Abraham Denmark, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
National Geographic was kind enough to let us display the winning images and honourable mentions from the four categories: Wildlife, Landscapes, Aerials, and Underwater.
Mere shuffling of resources or cosmetic changes to prove a point would be counterproductive in the long run, observes Commodore Venugoptal Menon (retd).
Erika Villaecija did as thousands of Rio de Janeiro's residents and visitors did on Sunday afternoon - she went to the city's famed Copacabana Beach.
The summit at Sentosa -- the first between the two countries -- is a turnaround of relations between the US president, 71, and the North Korean leader, 34, after a long-running exchange of threats and insults.
India and Brunei on Tuesday emphasised the need for a peaceful solution to the South China Sea issue through discussions as Vice President Hamid Ansari held wide-ranging talks with the top leadership here, with the two sides signing three agreements including on defence.
China is pulling out all the stops to give a 'state visit-plus' reception to Trump on his maiden visit.
India needs to have a re-look of whole gamut of its relations with major powers and also prepare for a more turbulent neighbourhood. But such is the tyranny of Indian status quo mindset that any talk of re-look at nuclear doctrine or foreign relations is treated as blasphemy, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong says the country will spend 20 million dollars to host the summit.
Amid deepening row with the United States over disputed South China Sea where American ships challenged China's claims of sovereignty, Chinese military has deployed its latest anti-ship cruise missiles which experts say can form a powerful defence line at sea.
'Amid the frequent cries that the defence budget falls short of what is needed, we tend to ignore the reality that any enhancement in the allocation is just not possible, and the armed forces have no option but to operate within this constraint.' 'So, unless deadwood -- especially manpower -- is identified and eliminated, we simply cannot have a modern military of the type that India needs,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
The 6.5 magnitude quake on Thursday in the same region of Kumamoto brought down buildings, killing nine people and injuring about 800.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honour, in 2012.
It has been a half-century since Neil Armstrong stepped out of a lunar module and onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969 and declared, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." The moment heralded a golden age of space exploration that was set in motion just eight years earlier in 1961, when United States President John F Kennedy promised before Congress to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Here are some lesser-known facts about the historic first mission:
Modi, in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, wrote that the US and India are forging a deeper and stronger partnership that extends far beyond the Beltway and the Raisina Hill.
In an angry reaction to US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter's remarks that "China's actions could erect a Great Wall of self-isolation" in the South China Sea, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media that "Carter's remarks reflected typical American style thinking and hegemony".
The statement came a day after Indian Army launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across LoC.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap added over 1% to finish at record closing high
In a background briefing arranged by the Prime Minister's Office, a government official last week suggested that Atwal's presence was arranged by "factions within the Indian government who want to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from getting too cosy with a foreign government they believe is not committed to a united India," the paper said.
Till high school, his medium of learning was Marathi. Later, he completed his doctorate under Neil Armstrong's guidance. He has travelled to close to 50 countries, sold $350 billion worth of aircraft. Anjuli Bhargava meets Boeing SVP Dinesh Keskar.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Modi addressed the second plenary of the executive session, during which he reiterated India's focus on small island developing nations of the organisation and delivering 'demand-driven, rather than donor-driven' assistance to the organisation's smaller member states.
Ever pragmatic, the Americans are convinced that the future is in the Indo-Pacific.
There is a new Indo-Pacific century, and India has to decide whether it has its eyes on the prize, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
If the aim is to become a player with some strategic space of its own, not just in the Indian Ocean region but also in the adjoining region, then greater interaction with China is desirable, even necessary.
North Korea considers Assad's Syria an ally, so it views Donald Trump's decision to strike Syria as a message to Pyongyang as well.
The overall winners will be announced on October 15 at an awards ceremony in the Natural History Museum's iconic Hintze Hall.
San Francisco, nobody calls it Frisco, has its own laid back pace and is absolutely inviting. Ansh M visited the city recently and hopes to return some day...
'We should expect a cold-blooded, transactional relation that requires a lot of engagement and mutual trust to sustain,' says Constantino Xavier, Fellow, foreign policy, Brookings India.
Here's your weekly digest of photographs that prove that it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there!
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