Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
After a perilous 500-km road journey out of conflict-torn Tehran, stranded Indian tourist Falguni Dey reached Iran's Astara border with Azerbaijan on Tuesday evening, but his ordeal is far from over.
The Pahalgam massacre highlights the evolution of terrorism into a multi-domain challenge. India's response must similarly evolve -- from tactical retaliation to comprehensive strategic deterrence. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina and Rahul Mishra. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina & Rahul Mishra.
'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
On Wednesday, when Babu's plea came up before a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and VG Bisht, the bench recused itself from hearing it without citing any reason.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
Saroj Kumar Rath, author of the newly-published book Fragile Frontiers: The Secret History of Mumbai Terror Attacks, speaks to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
The tributes to Fr Stan by his associates and his co-accused (which were read out) provided a clue to why his death continues to touch so many.
Where does one find a man who shows no bitterness or animosity towards Hindus, even after a frenzied Hindu mob burnt his house down?, Jyoti Punwani asks in this tribute to a truly extraordinary Indian.
As media phenomenon, Arikomban is in a different league. Efforts to capture the elephant were telecast live. Local three-wheeler drivers started a fans association for the pachyderm. A film has now been announced based on Arikomban's life.
The raids, taking place mainly in South India, was termed by the NIA as the 'largest ever' investigation process 'till date'.
Defying prohibitory orders, protests were held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and several other cities. Protesters, mostly students and activists, were detained on a large scale in national capital and other places.
None of them had anything to do with the violence at Bhima Koregaon, where they were not even present, points out Aakar Patel.
Professor Anwar Ali, who teaches Urdu at the NDA, was produced before a special court, which remanded him to police custody till May 26.
'It might get worse. We don't really know what is it that is resulting in the high value of R now.'
Have we been allowed to forget Partition? Isn't Partition the reason many Hindus cannot bring themselves to trust Muslims? So many Muslims born after 1947 have told me with anguish: "How long will we be blamed for Partition?" notes Jyoti Punwani.
Kabir Kala Manch activists had allegedly made provocative speeches leading to violence at Koregaon Bhima in the district, according to an FIR registered at Vishrambaug police station after the event.
Articulate segments of Muzaffarpur have been at the the forefront of all anti-establishment mobilisation, which makes their silence over the atrocities in a shelter home in the town puzzling. Could it be that if those accused of horrific crimes belong to dominant castes and if the victims belong to the vulnerable groups, then the middle classes become mute, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'Testing is a very good strategy if only symptomatic people are transmitting the disease.' 'Here asymptomatic people, with minimum, trivial symptoms, are transmitting too.' 'Testing, treating, tracing contacts and quarantining them -- yes, it will work up to a certain extent.' 'But more important is physical distancing, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and cocooning, protecting with reverse quarantining the most vulnerable people, senior citizens, people with other major medical problems.' 'To me, that makes much more sense.'
'Respect nature, working with (it) rather than against it.'
'Their brave resistance keep our hopes alive that this youth upsurge is strengthening India's democracy and pluralism,' states Mohammad Sajjad.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.
India has the fourth highest number of malaria cases in the world.
Domestically, China's 'strike hard' policy is alienating Uighurs further in Xinjiang. China's quid pro quo with the Taliban is hardly any lasting solution to the Afghanistan crises or to regional security, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
'At the same time, if we are a little careless, we will run into trouble. No doubt about that.'
Hyderabad-based Anshul Sinha is making hard hitting films on important social issues, but there are no takers.
When an accused gets attacked on the way to court, and again within the court premises, with no intervention by a judicial officer, which space is safe, asks Jyoti Punwani.
This cult of speed reaches its crowning glory during that peculiar Indian spectacle called medical camps. Medical camps are an activity in which doctors from cities travel to underserved areas, often on weekends, where the poor are then herded in hundreds for deliverance, photo-ops and freebies. In their more evolved form, there are surgical camps where bewildered and overawed patients are put onto operating tables and, much like an assembly line, a series of operations are performed in rapid succession. The surgical instruments are often magically sterilised in minutes between procedures, says Dr Sanjay Nagral.
Trepidation made its home firmly on his face on Thursday, announcing its presence with lines of anxiety and the repeated jumpy widening of his eyes.
'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.'
L K Advani's observation on Narendra Modi, an attempt to cut the BJP's prime ministerial nominee down to size, billing him a mere event manager like Vijay Raaz in Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, speaks volumes about their differences... In the coming days, the Congress and BJP may lock horns over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. In an Italian court, Guido Haschke, one of the accused middlemen who allegedly bribed the Indian side, has sought a plea bargain to reduce his jail term if convicted. On or around April 11, we will know how much Haschke is ready to reveal. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt detects which way the political wind is blowing these days.