The question is whether the clocks allow enough time for two deeply mistrustful sides to get there, and whether the surface calm holds long enough for the paddling to produce something before the ceasefire ends on April 22, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
A key industry leader acknowledged the India IT services sector faces a "painful" transition due to AI, but emphasized the industry's resilience and ability to adapt through reinvention and focusing on complex enterprise technology.
A key industry leader acknowledged the India IT services sector faces a "painful" transition due to AI, but emphasized the industry's resilience and ability to adapt through reinvention and focusing on complex enterprise technology.
Today's situation in the Shaksgam Valley is the consequence of what happened in Gilgit in 1947. But is India ready to militarily get back its territories? asks Claude Arpi.
'Nehru was an idealist, he was certainly a visionary in one way, but Mao Zedong was not. Mao Zedong was a very down-to-earth strategist. He wanted to take Tibet, to take the plateau, to take the rivers, to take the minerals.'
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
At the end of the discussion, the older Monpa said that if today the Chinese were to come inside India, "I will fight and kill them", prudently adding, "if they are of my age, if they are younger soldiers, I will not be able to fight". The entire village had a good laugh.
Victory in Europe Day is celebrated on May 8 each year to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces in World War II in 1945.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace. His presence is much required today on the planet, notes Claude Arpi, who has known His Holiness for more than half a century.
He was a storyteller who made me feel the pulse of history, the stakes of human ambition, and the thrill of a well-told tale. Prem Panicker recalls his debt to Frederick Forsyth, who passed away on Monday.
'In the Indian government there are no illusions about the United States reliability or the possibility of having any kind of preferential treatment from Washington when it comes to trade.'
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
India's demographic advantage and diverse economic landscape position it uniquely to benefit from AI, the Economic Survey for 2024-25 tabled in the Parliament on Friday afternoon asserted. However, achieving these benefits requires significant investments in education and workforce skilling, supported by enabling, insuring, and stewarding institutions, the state of the economy report tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
'Frankly, I am relieved today; the French team should not have got the 'divine' (Thierry Henry's hand) qualification in the first place.'
'To play at this level with a plaster is quite remarkable, don't you think?'
The final was a festival of yellow cards and it would have been worse for the Oranje players if the British referee had not been so kind.
Claude Arpi captures the fan's passion for football in these entertaining e-mails to Ivan Crasto,Rediff.com's Sports Editor.
Claude Arpi captures the fan's passion for football in these entertaining e-mails to Ivan Crasto,Rediff.com's Sports Editor.
FIFA has an extremely serious problem which can easily be remedied by appointing a 'fifth official' (or video referee) who could be consulted by radio whenever there is a serious doubt.
'The problem is that you invariably have no time to make complicated mathematical calculations when you face the goalkeeper of the opposing team. In any case, footballers are not intellectuals or scientists.'
'What is wrong with the European nations? Are they depressed with the fall of their currency?'
'I never thought that the Swiss defenders would hold on to their goal. I have rarely seen such domination. Statistics say the Rosa kept the ball for 72% of the time during the first half, but the Swiss Guard did not surrender.'
Soon, the greatest global show will be over. Life will not be the same, probably a bit boring with no octopus, no blundering referees, no Paraguayan starlet or horrible cacophony (though by the end of the competition we will be missing it!).
France native Claude Arpi shares his thoughts on Saturday's quarter-finals at the World Cup.
France native Claude Arpi shares his thoughts on the first two quarter-final at the World Cup.
The adventure is over for Carlos Queiroz's boys who had not lost 19 consecutive World Cup matches.
'Brazil possess something which makes the stuff of the greatest team: Dunga's players are good in all compartments of the game.'
Claude Arpi captures the fan's passion for football in an ongoing e-mail exchange with Ivan Crasto, Rediff.com's Sports Editor.
The Portugal-Brazil was dull, with both teams having already qualified. The players were mainly interested to evade yellow cards which could bar them for future matches and most importantly avoid injury.
'France and Italy were finalists in 2006, but both left at the end of the first round in 2010. It is only the third time that a champion has said bye before the knockouts.'
'Maradona, who had the unique 'privilege' of having been expelled by his federation as a player and as a coach, seems to be doing well with his players. And they have a genius amongst them. It makes the difference.'
It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
Visiting the Rezang La Memorial, one has a feeling of super-humans defending the Indian territory against the Chinese onslaught, says Claude Arpi on the 60th anniversary of the heroic battle of the 1962 War.
How does blatantly claiming Indian territory help to maintain 'peace in border regions', is a mystery that only China can explain, notes Claude Arpi.
The Chinese admitted that they had suffered the maximum casualties fighting in the first battle on October 20, 1962, and these casualties had been inflicted mostly by 2 Rajput. Claude Arpi salutes Major B K Pant and his fighting force of 112 men, 82 of whom lost their lives in the Battle of Namkha Chu, and whose courage must never ever be forgotten by a grateful country for who they laid down their lives.
General K S Thimayya served as chief of the army staff from 1957 to 1961.
'China wants to change the status quo of India's Northern Border and proves that it can do whatever it wants in what it perceives as its own territory,' states Claude Arpi.
One priority for Delhi (for the new foreign secretary in particular) is to have an in-depth discussion with Dharamsala as soon as possible, suggests Claude Arpi.
Sidney Wignall, a British mountaineer who spied on China for India in the 1950s, passed unnoticed into the ages this week.
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