On the 83rd anniversary of the Quit India movement, Utkarsh Mishra recalls the conditions under which the Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, launched the final struggle for independence.
Chinese and Russian warplanes on Tuesday conducted joint air patrols over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the West Pacific Ocean as the leaders of Quad held their in-person summit in Tokyo, in an apparent attempt to send a message of unity between Beijing and Moscow.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
From the Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Power Grid and NTPC were the major gainers. Sun Pharma, however, tanked over 5 per cent.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Rs 17,840 crore Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, the longest bridge as well as the longest sea bridge in the country connecting south Mumbai with Nhava-Sheva in Navi Mumbai.
'I remember our priests saying that he liked sea food. So, they cooked sea food for him without masala and spice.' 'It seems he enjoyed Kerala food very much.'
Soon after he was sworn in by Vice President J D Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Penny Wong from Australia and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi for his first multilateral meeting as the top American diplomat.
After US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause for several nations, including India, global manufacturers are in a rush to ensure that bulk of their goods reach the US during this window. "The 90-day suspension of tariffs will be welcomed by shippers, but it should not be a cause for celebration.
The spacecraft, Elon Musk-led SpaceX's Dragon, will splash down off the coast of the American state of Florida around 3:27 am IST Wednesday.
'Nobody asked us to work on this. It was on our own that we decided to embark on this journey.'
In a shocking incident at Haneda Airport, Japan Airlines Flight 516, en route from New Chitose Airport, erupted into flames just after landing on Runway C at approximately 5.47 pm (local time) on Tuesday, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded at the International Space Station for over nine months, will return to Earth on Tuesday evening, NASA announced in a statement.
The Indian Navy has swiftly responded to a call for help following a hijacking incident involving a Malta-flagged cargo vessel with 18 crew on board in the Arabian Sea, officials said on Saturday.
Announcing the hotline, the Chinese defence ministry said as agreed upon by the defence departments of China and Japan, the two sides have recently completed the construction of a direct telephone line for the sea and air liaison mechanism and will maintain communication on the arrangement for the launch.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
India assured Japan that it "stands" by it to ensure freedom of navigation on the high seas, an assurance that comes in the backdrop of increasing conflicts in the Pacific involving China.
The government has set up an inter-ministerial group to monitor a possible surge in imports from countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand, fearing a surge in inbound shipments following the imposition of high reciprocal tariffs by the US on these countries, sources said. The product categories that may see an upsurge in diversion of imports from the US to India include consumer goods, electronics, chemicals and steel.
Disha gets glamorous... Sunny is a Punjabi kudi... Trisha holidays in Japan...
Ever since the Quad started taking shape in 2007, China has been saying that the four-member grouping will be bound to fail. But much to the chagrin of Beijing, it picked up pace in the recent years emerging as a premier strategic group especially challenging China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
'This strike has certainly enhanced your image.' 'Otherwise, people would have called you a damp squib, capable of doing nothing except talking big.'
India and Japan on Friday sought a peaceful solution to the territorial disputes in the strategic South China Sea, saying parties involved in the matter must not resort to "threat or use of force", in remarks that could anger China which is opposed to any outside interference.
No one should make China an issue in their bilateral relations and their cooperation should not harm the interests of another country, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday reacting to queries on the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Trump.
The war games codenamed INDRA-2007 are aimed at practising cooperative engagement in the fight against terrorism, Russian Pacific Fleet said in its press release. It is the third such joint exercise since 2003.
The coming together of the Quad and the Australia-UK-US grouping would be a formidable adversary, moving toward the creation of a 'thousand ship navy' that reins in the PLA navy in the Indo-Pacific.
Saturday's Quad meeting in Delaware is taking place against the backdrop of China's assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, its sabre-rattling in the Taiwan Strait and increasing footprints in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
'Trump's aggressive stance towards China and preference for military posturing could shift the Quad's balance towards overt militarisation.'
Japan's athletes have little to fear from local fans at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, a senior Chinese official said on Wednesday, despite worsening relations between the Asian powers in recent weeks.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Richard Verma, the highest-ranking Indian-American official in the State Department, has expressed optimism about the future of US-India ties and emphasized the need to base the relationship on shared values rather than mere transactional dealings. Verma, who previously served as America's Ambassador to India, stressed the importance of the Quad in defending the international order, highlighting its shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
'We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures,' the declaration said.
United States President-elect Donald Trump's plan to overhaul the government with a new department headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk and Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will be a biggest threat for China as it has to compete with far more efficient US political system, a policy advisor to the Chinese government said.
'He needs to see results while he is in office.'
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), the largest passenger vehicle manufacturer in India, has set a road map to expand its global presence by targeting exports of 800,000 units by the end of this decade -- almost double the approximately 280,000 units sent abroad in 2023-24, Rahul Bharti, executive director, corporate affairs, told Business Standard. The company's upcoming electric vehicle (EV) strategy is expected to play a crucial role in its global ambitions.
"This trip will advance the Biden-Harris administration's rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
This is the first time in decades that China has made its flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile public in an apparent show of strategic deterrence, State-run China Daily reported.
India has successfully test-fired a long range hypersonic missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
India and Japan on Thursday agreed to enhance military exercises and defence cooperation as the two countries emphasised that the bilateral special strategic and global partnership plays a crucial role in ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific, amidst China's aggressive behaviour in the region.
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