The Taliban had promised an 'inclusive' government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the cabinet.
Scotland Yard's War Crimes Team, which is part of its Counter-Terrorism Command, has launched an investigation into the role of British mercenaries in fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka during the 1980s.
'Tehran senses that the Modi government is inexorably gravitating toward the US-Israeli-Saudi axis, jettisoning India's traditional independent Gulf policies,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Xi Jinping is winning the war without firing a shot in Sri Lanka, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
She said the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) adopted last year by India's Parliament was of 'great concern'.
Singh, who recently said all Rohingyas in India were "illegal immigrants" as none of them had applied for asylum as refugees, asked opposition parties not to make it a "political issue".
'If the Chinese intent is to be gauged based on its aggression in the South China Sea, greater forays in the Indian Ocean, a hawk's attitude towards Taiwan, flying its fighters repeatedly over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea and creating strategic assets globally, there would be a requirement for strategic partnerships for India,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'Insignias or not, Dhoni's will remain the deadliest pair of gloves behind the stumps,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Indian ranks fifth in the world according to a report that ranks the strength of 20 countries according to weaponry, including tanks, aircraft, helicopters and submarines.
The carving work by artisans had been carried out uninterrupted since 1990 when Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party was Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
The Afghan Taliban is struggling to find a successor to slain chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
'Leaders of the Indian community in Hong Kong had broached the idea of developing the Andaman and Nicobar islands for investment and setting up manufacturing units,' points out Rup Narayan Das.
'The most striking thing about the US strike on Syria is its futility of purpose beyond a symbolic value to impress the domestic constituency that Trump is a forceful decision-maker,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Modi has presided over an ultra-nationalism that has stunted India's growth, been unable to change the country's external situation, brought foreign intervention into Indian affairs,' explains Aakar Patel.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Devegowda, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Najma Heptullah and Ram Vilas Paswan are among over 300 MPs who are on the utility bill defaulters list of the New Delhi Municipal Council.
As the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday sent a general advisory to all the states and Union territories asking them to deploy adequate security personnel at all sensitive places, political leaders made fresh calls to people not to indulge in making provocative remarks or spreading rumours.
A recent inquiry report by the Geneva-headquartered Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has cast serious aspersions on the claims of the Sri Lankan government over alleged war crimes duirng the conflict with the LTTE. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
'Jaish aided by LeT attacked Parliament knowing mobilisation of Indian military assets would be the consequence.' 'That mobilisation happened, necessitating a military response from Musharraf who moved troops guarding back doors out of Tora Bora, facilitating Osama's escape.'
The counsel appearing for Assam told the bench that they would place certain 'confidential documents' in the matter before the court for its perusal.
'In the Mahabharat, when faced by an enemy, Yudhishtir, the eldest Pandav, had quipped that 'When it comes to external enemies, we are 105, (100 Kauravs and 5 Pandavs)'.' 'It is time modern politicians heed this ancient wisdom,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Iran's decision to keep India out and welcome China to the scene is a huge strategic setback for India, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa on Sunday squarely blamed the Centre and the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam for the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and also the fishermen from the state.
-- Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group carried out the series of explosions. -- Police have so far arrested 24 people - mostly members of an Islamist extremist group - in connection with the blasts
Daring the military-backed government, supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi have called for a "million person march" tomorrow against his ouster, even as police today arrested two top leaders of an Islamist party in a widening crackdown on protesters.
The White House said it has 'a large body' of evidence indicating that the Assad regime was responsible for the April 7 chemical attack in Duma.
Abbasi will run the government until Sharif's brother Shehbaz is elected as member of parliament
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
Amongst those who heard the message of the Bihar results would be Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, whose realm is simultaneously the country's most complex and -- when something goes wrong -- the most emotive, says Ajai Shukla.
Voicing concern over the fate of the 13th Amendment to Sri Lankan Constitution that agreed to devolve some authority to provinces, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday called for a "bold stand" by India, saying it cannot remain a "passive bystander."
Since the US and India broadly share similar interests in Sri Lanka, they should coordinate closely to ensure that the country preserves its democratic institutions, says Lisa Curtis
'Our policy seems to be to give away part of J&K, even though we are entitled to the entire state.' 'The Congress has done so, and the BJP is following the same policy.' 'No one is applying their mind to the legal position.' 'Kashmir is not a part of Pakistan under its own constitution.'
'The government has belied the hope that many harboured of change, efficiency and dismantling old practices as the defence ministry continues to pursue the same well trodden and wasteful path.'
'With the recent challenging of the notion of the Indian Ocean Region being India's strategic backyard, China is gradually upping the ante in the maritime realm around India.'
'The diplomat's arrest has led to a major diplomatic spat, the likes of which I have not seen in my nearly three decades of covering the US-India relationship, says Aziz Haniffa. 'The knee-jerk reaction by the powers-that-be in Delhi was myopic to say the least.'
The British administration ignored the mounting evidence of violence between Hindus and Muslims... Military historian Barney White-Spunner traces the countdown to the tragedy in his book, Partition.
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We have worked to create road blocks in the path of those who thought that there was space for conventional war despite Pakistan's nuclear weapons.' 'Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme is not open-ended and aligned with India only.' 'In this unstable regional environment, one nuclear power is trying to teach lessons to another nuclear power through the medium of small arms and mortar shells on the Line of Control, and bluster.' 'A historic opportunity of a lifetime beckons the leaderships of India and Pakistan to grasp, sit together and explore the possibilities of conflict resolution.'
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
The Geneva agreement is a signal, which at least Saudi Arabia and Israel are so reading, that normalisation of relations between US and Iran is not merely about the nuclear fuel cycle, says K C Singh.
Both the Greek and Iranian deals are extremely imperfect and fraught with uncertainty, says Claude Smadja.
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