India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over 10 hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper and was called to depose again on Tuesday, as his party protested across the country, alleging that the Centre was targeting the Opposition by misusing agencies.
"We are ready to die as martyrs," the Charlie Hebdo killers have reportedly said after they seized a hostage and are now holed up on an industrial estate near a Paris airport, at Dammartin-en-Goele, north-east of the capital, where they are surrounded by dozens of armed police.
The premises of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's sect is spread over 800 acres and houses educational institutions, markets, hospital, stadium, recreational areas and houses.
Extended check-in time, frequent disinfection every hour, additional queue managers at entry, exit, boarding point, check-in halls, security check areas and boarding gates, with social distancing markers and reminders - welcome to our airports post-coronavirus.
All the hostages killed during the 12-hour siege by Islamic State terrorists were foreigners, with most being Italian or Japanese.
The Tibetan nation still lives under the yoke of the Chinese Communist Party, and Beijing today has a guilty conscience; this creates a great uneasiness for Xi Jinping and his colleagues observes Claude Arpi.
According to sources, the agencies have warned that two JeM terrorists have sneaked into the national capital with the intention to carry out high-profile strikes and a hostage crisis could also be possible.
A multi-layered security cover has been thrown over the national capital ahead of Independence Day with over 40,000 security personnel deployed across New Delhi to keep a hawk-eyed vigil against any possible terror strike.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
'Although Hong Kong weathered many a storm and displayed a remarkable resilience to bounce back, the developments in the territory have raised question marks with regard to its future stability and prosperity.' A revealing excerpt from Rup Narayan Das's Hong Kong Conundrum: Pangs of Transition.
'Given the nature of our jobs, getting infected is a constant fear we all face.' 'The most we do is follow all the rules strictly and pray that we don't get infected.'
Finance firms in these SEZs likely to get tax breaks.
The state government has decided to open the retail liquor vends throughout the state barring in coronavirus 'containment zones', Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said.
The Nitish Kumar government is leaving no stones unturned to plug the loopholes in the implementation liquor ban.
40,000 security personnel guard every nook and corner of New Delhi as US President Barack Obama arrives.
In the pipeline are 123 naval multi-role helicopters, 111 naval utility helicopters and 6 submarines.
It is important for working professionals to not get attached to a designation or title or brand or a company name, asserts Aditya Malik, MD & CEO, Talentedge.
'Air Superiority that we held from the Second Day of Operation 'Cactus Lily' helped our Armed Forces to speed up operation 'Jackpot' to seize East Pakistan and force Gen Niazi and the Pakistani Army to lay down their arms on 16 December.'
Both sides have completed creation of a buffer zone of three kilometres in the three friction points of Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs as part of a temporary measure aimed at reducing the possibility of any confrontation.
The main event, which is being held at Capitol Complex, is likely to be attended by around 30,000 people out of the total 1,20,000 who have registered themselves.
'India is not the India of 1962. We are not carrying that baggage of history anymore.'
The ongoing violence in the valley is driving students to excel, but it is also making them angry, discovers Ritwik Sharma.
Didier, a salesman at a printing press, didn't know a regular meeting with a client would turn the world's spotlight on his small industrial town of Dammartin-en-Goele, where France's most wanted men have been holed up since late Thursday evening.
'What does the nation get out of the CBI's fabulous infrastructure? Very little that is useful.'
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
There is growing alarm at the inexorable rise of China, both of its military prowess and its aggressive bullying of other countries plus its subjugation of whole portions of its own population.
'The accusation that Pakistan risks losing sovereignty to China is emotive and has the potential to spread.' 'China will, however, remain intent on achieving its strategic ambitions of acquiring Gwadar port and securing a large chunk of Pakistan occupied Kashmir,' says former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Images from EPL matches played on Saturday.
'When I stepped on Indian soil, I lay down on the ground and kissed my homeland.'
The ministry of home affairs in its advisory on December 28 had advised states and Union Territories that they can impose local restrictions, including night curfew, based on their assessment of the situation to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The first priority for the new Tibetan administration in Dharamsala should be to look at Tibetan recruitment in the PLA, suggests Claude Arpi.
Xi Jinping is winning the war without firing a shot in Sri Lanka, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
A seven-layer security ring will be thrown around the VVIP enclosure on Rajpath for the Republic Day parade to be witnessed by US President Barack Obama and the airspace over the area would be monitored by a radar to be specially set up.
For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
Imagine being a part of a country, but being discriminated against by the majority community and atrocities being committed against you by the state. This is the deplorable conditions that the Rohingyas of Myanmar live in where they are cut off from their livelihoods and sources of income, unable to access markets, hospitals and schools, and have little or no access to relief aid. In order to understand the situation and the genesis of the tragedy unfolding, Rediff.com's Archana Masih speaks to Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the United Nations' Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff), who had served a long stint with the UN in New York on the issue.
As we get used to a long haul of isolation to curb the spread of COVID-19, the police's new avatar in many places is a far cry from that of the high-handed enforcer of law and order.
In the next few days, Indian Army will carry out a detailed verification to check actual implementation of the disengagement process, he said. It is learnt that the mutual disengagement in Gogra (patrolling point 17A) is expected to be completed by Thursday.
The sources said the mutual disengagement of troops at the two friction points is likely to be completed within two days, and that there has been 'substantial' withdrawal of forces by Chinese military from the areas.
