Indian Navy's elite marine commandos on Friday rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier in the North Arabian Sea and sanitised it in a swift operation while responding to an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel by around five-six armed personnel.
It also proposes to increase the number of women cadets from the present 75 per batch to 200, says Lt Gen B S Takhar.
The Indian Army chief on Friday asked his officers to be mentally prepared to step into the fight against Naxals if the situation did not improve.
Saturday's drone attack on MV Chem Pluto came amid increasing concerns over various commercial vessels being targeted reportedly by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The inquiry teams had started their work on the very next day the incident took place. The statements are being recorded and in one or two cases, some people have changed their account of the incidents, they said.
A surprise attack by Hamas militants from Gaza at daybreak killed at least 200 Israelis on Saturday even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared "war" and said his country would extract an "unprecedented price" from its enemy.
Defence ministry says the focus was on suitability and merit for the selection of the new Army chief.
Besides being the President, 62-year-old Xi is already General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
'Terrorists who are active in Poonch and Rajouri are not relying on random locals for logistics, guidance etc.' 'They are being supported by a selected few who are being vetted, cleared and directed from across the LoC.'
The coveted Durand Cup trophy received a grand welcome with two retired Army officers showing their daredevilry by jumping from Kolkata's tallest building -- The 42 -- a 65-floor, 260-metre landmark
The 1971 war reaffirmed the importance of inspirational senior leadership in battle and heralded the emergence of a new fighting class amongst officers and men of India's armed forces.
"If the high command wants, I am ready to take up the responsibility," the former deputy chief minister told reporters while demanding that a Dalit should become CM.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vice Admiral Singh is scheduled to take charge as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is set to demit office on May 31.
The members of the taskforce have undergone specialised training as paramedics, masons, plumbers, carpenters etc, the official said.
The Hamas terror group has over 240 hostages captivated in Gaza, according to Israeli officials, adding that a little less than half of them are civilians, and the larger deal negotiated would involve the release of all of those civilians.
'They know the people of Karnataka will not accept it.'
The exercise was aimed at validating joint plans for strategic airlift of specialised forces employing IAF's fixed and rotary wing platforms by landing and dropping in designated areas for undertaking kinetic actions, they said.
The FBI said that its Legal Attache' office in Israel was actively working with partners on the ground to locate and identify US citizens afftected by the terror attacks.
India's voting pattern in the United Nations with regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict is lately marked by a calibrated distancing from Israel, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'How can you shoot somebody raising a white flag, even if he's a fighter, when he's surrendered?'
The Indian embassy has received requests from Indian tourists stranded in the country to facilitate their exit. Most of the tourists are travelling in groups.
The Southern Naval command on Wednesday called off its 14-day long rescue operations in flood-hit Kerala, saying there were no more requests for evacuation as waters receding in affected areas.
The BJP is far more prepared than the Congress as their pool of prospective candidates is much bigger, reports Prakash Bhandari.
Admiral R Hari Kumar said while addressing those who completed their four month rigorous training here at INS Chilika, "I assure you (Agniveer), wherever you go, you will be fully prepared with confidence and motivation to face any challenge in the life."
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday met Congress parliamentary party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi at their residence in New Delhi.
A senior member of Hamas hailed the attack it carried out in Israel on October 7 and stressed that if given a chance, the terror group will repeat similar assaults many times in the future until Israel is exterminated, reported The Times of Israel.
Keeping trusted men in key positions at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar has become vital for Bajwa, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'The war has been on for four weeks; the bombings are still on. I can hear it in my house.'
"We have built this party (Congress), we have built this house. I am a part of it...A mother will give everything to her child," he said.
A joint team of multiple forces are undertaking the offensive to target some senior and most-wanted Naxal commanders, official sources said.
Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar on Tuesday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi separately and discussed the modalities of government formation in the southern state.
Trouble started brewing after Cognizant announced that Ravi Kumar, former Infosys president, would take over as the Nasdaq-listed company's CEO.
The statement of the Russian Defence Ministry comes after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed to have taken control of military facilities in two Russian cities.
'Hamas is going to be prepared. There will be booby traps and tunnels; it's going to be door to door fighting.'
Officers at Army headquarters say the chief has personally initiated this reshuffle, reports Ajai Shukla
The defence ministry has taken the Election Commission's approval for appointment of a new navy chief after Admiral D K Joshi resigned on moral grounds after frequent mishaps in the force.
The Centre held that seniority is not the sole criterion for selection.
The results in Karnataka were declared on May 13 but the party has not finalised its chief ministerial face yet and the process of consultations is on.
United States President Joe Biden and his top advisors have warned Israel that it will become increasingly difficult for it to pursue its military goals in Gaza as global outcry intensifies about the scale of humanitarian suffering in the crisis-stricken region, CNN reported.
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