Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
'In the time I have been an Indiawallah, I have seen three US Presidential visits to India, nuclear sanctions, nuclear cooperation, a border conflict with Pakistan, the growth of IT services, a government losing a confidence vote, and so much more,' Rick Rossow, the new Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Argentina's injured captain Lionel Messi has been named in a squad missing the suspended Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain for next month's World Cup qualifier against South America's bottom side Paraguay.
Indians at large harbour a notion that their country is cherrypicking out of the American basket of goodies, but the policymakers in Delhi and the political leadership are well aware that it can only be a pipe dream since a military alliance with a superpower is a profound irrevocable commitment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Richard Rahul Verma, the first Indian American to serve as US Ambassador to New delhi, quips that surviving the first month in India is his first goal.
Top seed Kei Nishikori of Japan became the first player to win three consecutive Memphis Open tennis tournament titles when he prevailed in straight sets on Sunday.
Michal Spiczko has not even stepped on the kabaddi mat is is already making waves.
''There is the perennial worry in the Indian mind regarding the US 'hyphenating' India and Pakistan. Frankly, this is a completely nonsensical hypothesis. The US has always 'hyphenated' India and Pakistan and it couldn't have been otherwise,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 list is harder to get into than Stanford or Harvard University. Meet the desis who made the cut this year.
Defending champion Roger Federer argued with an umpire but mostly let his racket do the talking as he beat Tomas Berdych for the ninth time running to reach the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Yerry Mina's header secured Colombia a 1-0 win over Senegal in Samara on Thursday to clinch their safe passage to the last 16 as they finished top of Group H, while Senegal missed out to Japan on a fair play tiebreaker.
India has got the second set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and entities under the automatic exchange of information pact with Switzerland, marking a key milestone in the government's fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
According to experts, while allegations against Indian IT firms of visa misuse are nothing new, this time the scrutiny could be much greater.
Uruguay are all but assured of a place at the 2014 World Cup finals after Edinson Cavani led the twice champions to a 5-0 away rout of Jordan in the first leg of their qualifying playoff on Wednesday.
'The world does not care about the tension on our border.' 'India has to emerge as a strong economic power.' 'Respect comes when the world sees a country with a direction and leadership that has a vision,' points out Ramesh Menon.
The tactics deployed by Obama to bring India on board, which was the only major power in his way of the climate deal, was described by his former top personal and national security aide Benjamin Rhodes in a podcast interview.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
The President was apparently unaware of the Narendra Modi visa ban controversy till April. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com has the scoop.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The February 13 meeting between Nancy Powell, who quit as United States ambassador to India on Monday, and Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, was frosty enough to convince the Roosevelt House (the official address of the US embassy in New Delhi) and the White House in Washington DC that much had to be done before US diplomats could aspire to any significant access to a Modi-led government in India.
'It's a very tough situation. We're talking to India. We're talking to China. They've got a big problem there'
Here are the highlights from Day 1 of the convention.
'He has given us a history, a heritage that we can share with generations to come,' says Aseem Chhabra.
A 25-year quest by nearly 1,000 scholars to document and present one of the world's oldest living traditions came to fruition when the 'Encyclopedia of Hinduism' was unveiled in Columbia.
Voted to power with an absolute majority for the first time in nearly three decades, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, considered as an able administrator, promises "a fresh engagement" with the United States, a latest Congressional report has said.
'A very vast majority of us will catch it at some point, about 8 out of 10 won't feel much worse than a common cold's nuisance, if at all, but some will die.' 'A very, very vast majority, at least about 98 per cent of those infected, if not more, under any circumstances, will live through it,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz brings to New Delhi a newfound Pakistani confidence, stemming from its leverage in Afghanistan, says Ajai Shukla
'We need to retell this history from many different perspectives.'
Two suspected operatives of Al Qaeda have been arrested in New Delhi and Odisha and Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a module of the terror group's Indian sub-continent wing operating out of the country.
'As a member of Congress, it was important to meet with Prime Minister Modi. Promoting the India-US relationship is a priority. It is important to have a constructive dialogue with the biggest democracy in the world,' US Congressman Mike Honda tells Ritu Jha/Rediff.com
Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick, including an exquisite second goal, as Barcelona strolled into the Club World Cup final with a 3-0 win over Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande on Thursday.
'India will soon have the world's largest and youngest population -- just imagine what tomorrow's citizens of India will be able to accomplish, given the right education, training, and opportunity.'
'We have vindicated Krittika's honour, Indian diplomats' honour, and India's honour in the United States,' her attorney Ravi Batra said, announcing a $225,000 settlement won from New York City.
'It is not the external world that is stopping Indians from winning medals. It is our culture.'
A defiant United States President Barack Obama has dismissed mounting criticism over whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations of US surveillance on many nations including India, saying all countries routinely spy on others.
