The authorities have called the families of the crew for carrying out DNA tests for identification of the deceased and collecting the remains and personal effects.
The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
Fast cars, marathons, golfing and shooting - nothing stops these high-power tycoons from pursuing their passion.
'It is vital we should form an international coalition against ISIS, because their brutality and the use of the Internet for jihadist activities is a reminder that the entire world community has to be in this together,' US Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit.
For the second successive year, Monsoon is likely to be below normal with parts of north-west and central India to be the most affected.
Siva Sankar looks at S P Balasubrahmanyam's fantastic repertoire.
'The expectation was that Modi would become even bolder in his approach, and after only four months into his second term, we are starting to see evidence of this.'
'The separatist resurgence in Balochistan is thwarting Pakistan's plans to build CPEC projects to optimally utilise Balochistan's energy reserves,' points out Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'It is extremely important to take back the domain of both religion from the religious bigots and nationalism from the chauvinists, who are spreading hatred.' Sugata Bose, the Harvard historian-turned-MP, who is Netaji's great-nephew, tells Anjali Puri why it is imperative to speak up for India's students.
'The fact that Modi and Xi exuded confidence to accelerate the negotiations for a border settlement alone underscores that the Russia-India-China triangle has become very dynamic,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
'This is the first time that the Americans have agreed to refer to "cross-border terrorist attacks" in a joint statement.' 'No wonder Pakistan has called the joint statement "singularly unhelpful" and has blasted it, and its all-weather friend China has applauded Pakistan's frontline role in combating terrorism,' points out former foreign secretary Ambassador Kanwal Sibal.
President Pranab Mukherjee said that the two countries were creating history together
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Modi is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Xi on Tuesday.
You must visit these wonderful places across the globe to experience their rich and vibrant culture.
The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. This plurality of our society has come through assimilation of ideas over centuries. Secularism and inclusion are a matter of faith for us. It is our composite culture which makes us into one nation.
Eating out was never so much fun and seldom so strange.
Beijing should remember the advice of its celebrated military strategist Sun Tzu: 'Fight not unless the position is critical.'
The developments in Af-Pak region, particularly the fall out of Pak political paralysis, would make President Xi Jinping's task a little more complicated, says Colonel R Hariharan.
Sushma Swaraj, like Clinton, has a strong political base in her own party and is likely to have her imprint on foreign policy, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'The Modi government's lurch toward America has not brought it any dividends so far. The Western world is simply not in a position to make big investments in India... India needs to take a leap of faith vis-a-vis China.'
Tunes by Indian musicians, foot-tapping drumbeats and calming chimes reverberated the air as the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan lit up at sunset marking the end of the 66th Republic Day celebrations with 'Beating Retreat' ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Thursday.
The country must get its act on global alliances right in order to feed its fuel-hungry economy, points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Right in the midst of bustling Kolkata lies what might be the most prominent population of Britons in India.
There is no immediate plan, either in terms of employees or branches, said Uday Kotak on the merger deal.
The AirAsia aircraft that went missing after taking off from Indonesia with 162 people on board may be at the bottom of the sea, a top Indonesian official said on Monday, as the multinational search for the Airbus continued amid fading hopes of finding any survivors.
Two months after the Malaysia Airlines plane vanished into the skies, conspiracies have floated to explain the enigma of the vanishing flight. Amid these claims, one is that the plane was hijacked and is being prepped for a terror attack by the Taliban or by Israeli terrorists. Anvar Alikhan tries to piece this puzzle together and find out the truth behind flight MH370.
'China made it evident that neither the swing-ride at Ahmedabad nor the red carpet at New Delhi worked, by timing its muscle-flexing in Ladakh to coincide with Xi's visit.'
The two countries also signed three other agreements -- to enhance aviation links, to jointly work in the area of energy efficiency and promotion of parliamentary cooperation.
'India and China have to make concrete progress with regard to the border issue, addressing the trade deficit, and facilitating people-to-people interactions. This has to happen in the next two, three years.' China expert Tansen Sen tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com how India and China can take their relations to the next level.
The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarter-finals played on Friday.
After many false starts, India may well be at the inflexion point that Deng Xiaoping took China to post-1978. The window of opportunity is wide open right now, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
The PM's vision of a lean, agile, mobile and technology driven force requires more than 1.7 percent of GDP that it now gets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Myanmar is aimed at transforming the arch of Bay of Bengal into the Circle of Southeast Asia, says Anirban Ganguly.
'Modi and Abe are working seriously for India-Japan bonhomie to grow stronger.' 'It is a win-win situation for both countries and the future look promising,' says Rajaram Panda, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations India Chair Visiting Professor at Reitaku University, Japan.
The US intends to break up India's strategic partnership with Russia and to continue to interfere in Indian-Iranian relations, apart from inserting itself into the Sino-Indian bilateral discourse, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, analysing the US defence secretary's visit to India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday address Members of the British Parliament in London where he promised to open more doors of cooperation between the two countries and delved on issues like terrorism and United Nations reforms.
'Nehru's hegemonic politics has been responsible for many ills, which undoubtedly includes Kashmir'
'It is a diamond which has a very long competitive history.'
