The decision to not attend the forum attended by 28 heads of state and 130 national delegations is a clear break from its usual policy of going along with the crowd.
'If the school of bluffers includes those who get to the top not from deep knowledge but from delivering 'a clever quip or a leftfield surprise argument', then Modi is the undisputed Bluffocrat Emeritus,' says Sunil Sethi.
Those scheduled to attend the five-day WEF Annual meeting, beginning January 21, include more than 40 heads of state or government, including those from the UK, Australia, Japan, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Brazil, Italy, Mauritius, Republic of Korea and Switzerland, WEF announced on Wednesday at a press conference in Geneva.
'No right thinking student of politics can name one state where the BJP gains in double digits.'
"We have reached a conclusion that river Saraswati existed, it flowed. It originated in the Himalayas and met gulf at the western sea," Professor K S Valdiya, who led the panel, said while handing over the report to the government.
Women in war-torn countries battle on the front lines
The New York Times said US officials were concerned that Al Qaeda has enough information to conduct strikes in New York City, Washington, DC and Newark.
The Jamaat-ud-Dawa not only collected funds for charity and diverted it to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, but also helped the outfit legitimise money collected through extortion, counterfeiting, smuggling and animal skin trade. Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com reports
Beyond the barbed wire and watchtowers, though, lies a story that casts more than a little doubt on whether this dream will ever be realised. Praveen Swami reports.
'This novel format of diplomacy -- the informal summit -- will not only facilitate bilateral communication and reduce miscalculations at the very top level of the two governments, but possibly open the space for China and India to speak in one voice on various issues of mutual concern,' note Feng Renjie and Ding Kun Lei
The attack by the LeT to free "hardcore" Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Mohammed Naveed Jhatt took place around 11.35 am inside the busy SMHS hospital complex in a high security area of Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital.
Defending his economic policies, Modi said demonetisation was 'a very big success story'.
In a first, a special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai sentenced six accused in a 2009 fake currency case to life imprisonment, terming the possession and circulation of Indian counterfeit notes as an "act of terrorism".
The Sensex was up 70 points and the Nifty was up 20 points led by SBI on robust Q2 earnings.
Xi and Modi met soon after their arrival at a summit of the BRICS group of emerging powers. Xi said the two countries should join hands in setting global rules and suggested he attend the November meeting of the 21-nation APEC in Beijing, as well as take part in Chinese-led regional initiatives.
Presiding over the meeting of the Congress Working Committee in the absence of party chief Sonia Gandhi, the party vice president charged that, "hiding behind the cloak of national security, civil society is being intimidated for asking questions."
'While visits and personal meetings are useful, changes of strategic significance have occurred recently, with Beijing trying to take the lead which Modi must take note of.'
The report documents allegations of reprisals and intimidation in 38 countries, some of which are members of the Human Rights Council.
It is as much about farmer woes and the lack of job opportunities as about the mixing of religion and politics.
'When you meet Rahul Gandhi, you will know he is definitely the right guy to lead this country.'
'They were the leaders of my country and the children of Mother India, but they didn't die as martyrs.' 'They were killed, most unfortunately, by a well planned enemy plot, and they were victims of political violence,' states Sudhir Bisht.
With all its ups and downs, 2015 is now concluding. And the New Year will bring new expectations to all of us. So tell us your expectations from 2016:
'Alas, in this scheme there is nothing to stop the black money flows of the future.' 'On the contrary Modi has sown the seeds of more, through the issue of Rs 2,000 notes.' 'But have you heard one politician decrying this aspect of the scheme?' 'They must be secretly rejoicing that while Modi is taking away their past, he has not shut the door on their future,' says banker S Muralidharan.
'China's development is on a different scale from India's. They are very far ahead.' 'I don't think it will be possible in the next 30 years for us to catch them,' says Aakar Patel.
'2019 is just a year away and Modi can do with some peace and tranquility on the external front.' 'There are risks, of course, but isn't Modi a risk taker?' asks Ambassador B S Prakash.
India remains North Korea's 2nd-largest import source after China, according to several estimates by multilateral bodies, says Subhayan Chakraborty.
If India has more billionaires than before, it is because the Indian economy began to look more attractive to FIIs, notes T N Ninan.
Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial Narendra Modi on Saturday hit back at Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi for attacking him on his links with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, saying he was "proud" of the ideology and the principles based on the "altar of sacrifice and service".
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Expressing desire to bring about permanent solution to the Kashmir issue, the government on Monday said it is willing to have any dialogue under the ambit of 'insaniyat' (humanity) to address the problem and favours good relations with Pakistan.
In his first speech at Rajasthan's Barmer, from where expelled Bhartiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh is contesting as an independent, party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did not utter a single word against the former party stalwart.
Over a year after the deadline to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trading status to India, the Pakistani government on Thursday declined to specify any time limit to meet the long-pending demand from here.
From corruption to communalism, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Rs 70 lakh Hublot watch to United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, the electoral potboiler had it all.
'The situation is in real danger of swinging back to the fearful days of the 1990s, primarily for want of a well thought out action plan in New Delhi.'
BJP President Amit Shah -- arguably the second most powerful politician in the nation -- granted a rare television interview to the Network 18 group of news channels. Rediff.com's Rajesh Alva checks out what the BJP boss said in this word cloud assessment of the interview.
The BJP president came down heavily on the Opposition saying a shocking change has happened in the country's politics with those against the prime minister resorting to lies and speaking it loudly all the time.
'To consider BRICS anything more than a temporary club with some common interests would be folly. The goal should be to induce others (Japan, ASEAN, South Africa) to align with us -- a non-threatening, democratic nation, rather than with malevolent China or waning America. For us to consider aligning with either China or the US would be absurd. India is just too big to be a sidekick,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Modi's visit is path breaking in the sense that India has come out of the closet and is prepared to deal with Israel openly and in a host of fields, military as well as civilian,' says P R Kumaraswamy, one of India's leading experts on the Middle-East, currently in Israel.
Ram Jethmalani passed away a few days before his 96th birthday on September 14.
When Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier shone a light on the Pandora's Box that became famous as the Panama Papers, even they didn't know how it would shake up the murky world of finance, indeed the world itself.
Here are some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by...
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