The United States and the United Kingdom on Thursday appeared to have backed down from an immediate punitive military strike against Syria, even as embattled President Bashar al-Assad vowed that his country would emerge "victorious" in any confrontation with America and its allies.
In is 24-minute long message, he also called on Saudi citizens -- the second biggest contributor to IS - to "rise up" against their government as he dismissed the kingdom's newly formed Muslim coalition against the caliphate.
With a massive final push, which began mid-November, Syrian forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad took over the last remaining rebel strongholds in the historic city of Aleppo on the night of December 12. They only won a ruined city and ruined lives.
The IAF chief also said Pakistan has become a pawn of Chinese policy and its dependence on China would increase further in future. He said India needs to understand the interplay of some major events in its vicinity that would impact the security scenario of the region.
US defence secy James Mattis said that Syria will pay a 'very, very stiff price' if it used chemical weapons again.
Rediff.com looks at the lives of children in Syria.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
'A top Russian diplomat, Ambassador Alexander Aksenyonok told me in Sochi, Moscow is keen on a political settlement in Syria "as early as possible -- which is also our exit strategy",' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Indian policymakers must incorporate in their nuclear doctrine a realistic response to tactical nuclear warheads, says Ajai Shukla.
French journalist Nicolas Henin was captured by the terrorist organisation, the Islamic State, and spent 10 months in captivity explains how the growth of the Islamic State is result of the West's limitation in seeing the IS merely as a terrorist organisation while ignoring its political message and goals.
'Should the new ISIS leadership opt for a consolidation, the Afghan-Pakistan border would be an attractive place,' warns Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The US and its allies must evolve a more comprehensive long-term plan to defeat the new danger that the caliphate poses to the world order. And India too must do its bit for course correction, says strategic expert Gurmeet Kanwal.
The US is not in a forgiving mood for being humiliated in such a manner by an insurgent force and made to look 'loser' internationally, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 16 images.
Here's a glimpse at what happened around the world last week
On Tuesday, Trudeau called up United States President Barack Obama to convey that he would make good on a campaign promise to withdraw Canada's jets from the United States-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Europe will have to make some hard choices if it wishes to take on the militant group responsible for the horrible attacks in Paris.
The readed groups' income plummeted from around $80 million (Rs 532 crore) each month to $56 million (Rs 372 crore).
Here are some of the most stunning moments of the week that was.
The time is over when United States President Barack Obama thought he could afford to make a joke about the ISIS.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 13 images.
Reaffirming his commitment to destroy the Islamic State, United States President Barack Obama said America will destroy any militant organisation that tried to harm its people but ruled out sending large scale troops on the ground as done in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq.
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.
Five days after deadly attacks in Paris, which claimed 129 lives, details are emerging about the identities of the men who carried out the attacks
After going through more than 78,000 photographs from over 4,700 photographers, the expert judges of the World Press Photo contest have announced the finalists of the 2019 competition. The panelists have selected 43 photographers from 23 countries to represent the best in photojournalism.
Russia has described the killing of Andrey Karlov at an art exhibition in Ankara as a terror attack.
Thousands of security personnel and high-tech surveillance systems dotted every nook and corner of this Turkish resort town as leaders of the world's 20 top economies congregated here for the two-day G20 Summit.
Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world
Here are some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by...
We bring you a collection of some of the best photographs taken this week by Reuters photographers.
Calling the US "the anchor of global security," Obama in a televised address offered moral, political and strategic arguments for being ready to launch limited military strikes while trying to negotiate a diplomatic solution.
'Vietnam has become an adjective as well as a verb -- the Americans, for instance, were driven by the passion to do a 'Vietnam' on the Soviet Union when that country invaded Afghanistan in 1979.'
Any attempt to defang Islamic State must first cut off its main sources of funding, especially its revenue from oil sales, extortion and crime, ransom payments, and support from foreign donors. This will also be need to be backed up by efficient forces on the ground.
The winners of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest have been announced. The winning shot was taken by Turkish Associated Press photographer called Burhan Ozbilici, with an image he has simply titled An Assassination in Turkey. Showing Mevlut Mert Altintas shouting after shooting Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19 2016.
India-Israel relations are at a crossroads. Simply chanting old hackneyed mantras on terrorism, secularism, democracy, et al, won't suffice. There is danger of stagnation setting in, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a rare move that might end the chronic impasse between arch-enemies the United States and Iran, President Barack Obama could meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
India has some ability to influence what the world order will look like, but it needs to make structural changes to the ministries of external affairs and commerce, and evolve formal coordination mechanisms with the ministries of finance and home, says Nitin Pai
Don't forget to make your pick for the newsmaker of 2015.
The number of people killed in acts of terror reached a record high last year, with almost four in five of these deaths occurring in just five countries, new research shows.
