In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Israel launched airstrikes early Friday targeting key nuclear facilities in and around Iran's capital Tehran.
The collective West has always opposed strong leaders and economic development in India, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
State news agency IRNA said that Iran has successfully shot down 'adversial targets' in the airspace around Tehran province. Iranian state television noted hearing six loud sounds resembling explosions in parts of the capital, with the source of the noises currently unverified.
Trump has a major decision to take in coming days -- specifically, how to rescue Israel from the attritional war that lies ahead, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
By ensuring Myanmar remains dependent on Chinese economic and military assistance, Beijing indirectly exerts pressure on India's North Eastern states, making New Delhi's regional security strategy even more complex.
Leaders of Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed to strengthen their ties for the mutual benefit of their peoples, as well as for regional peace and prosperity. The understanding was reached at the Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral summit in Lachin, Azerbaijan, attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alongside presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan announced a USD 2 billion investment in Pakistan's economy. Turkey expressed support for the ceasefire between Pakistan and India and hopes that it evolves into permanent peace.
'Iranians admire Indian cinema and often mention Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when you meet them.'
This may be in line with Russia's private military company, Wagner Group, which was controlled until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Putin. The group used the infrastructure of the Russian Armed Forces.
India's purchase of US crude oil has picked up in 2025 and could easily double their previous levels, government officials said on Wednesday. The surge comes in the wake of the then-incoming Donald Trump administration's announcement that it would consider hiking tariffs on a reciprocal basis, and pushed some countries, especially those with large trade surpluses with the US, to buy more of its energy.
After the success of bringing businesses to WhatsApp, Meta - its parent - is now introducing ads and subscriptions to Status and Channels under the Updates tab of the messaging app, the company said on Monday. This move will further push its monetisation efforts on WhatsApp.
Hundreds of Afghan protesters, including many women, took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, in an anti-Pakistan protest chanting 'Death to Pakistan', denouncing Islamabad's interference in Afghanistan as well as airstrikes by Pakistani jets in Panjshir province in support of the Taliban.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
The leak occurs at a particularly delicate time in US-Israel relations and is likely to infuriate Israel, which has been preparing to retaliate against Iran following a missile barrage on October 1.
Oil prices rose following Biden's suggestion that United States and Israeli officials were considering a possible Israeli strike on Iranian oil facilities, as reported by the Washington Post.
The stage may be set for a recalibrated US-Iran relationship, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
As many as 73 people have been killed and 170 injured in twin blasts near the burial site of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in the Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday in what officials called a terror attack, according to state media, as per CNN.
The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
He said the security forces would ensure any infiltration attempt is thwarted.
The IDF noted that the strikes are being conducted in response to "relentless attacks" from Iran and its proxies since October 7, adding that Israel has the "right and the duty to respond."
September 15, 2021, when a photographer from the West Asia News Agency visited the prison, he discovered the cells in Pul-e-Charkhi were occupied by Talibs using it as a residential facility.
Even as Russia and West Asia have been slugging it out for market share in India to sell their crude oil, the US is quietly making its moves on the sidelines. The US has doubled its share of the Indian crude market in the past few months, according to industry sources and ship-tracking data. Some of the increase in America's market share may have come at the expense of Russia, India's biggest crude oil supplier, said industry sources.
Sources are in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and in Delhi.
Raisi's condition currently remains unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA has reported, after the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in the country's East Azerbaijan Province.
Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, told Press TV that the Nevatim air base, the Netzarim military facility and the Tel Nof intelligence unit, were hit in the Tuesday night attack dubbed 'Operation True Promise II'.
The Adani group is in advanced talks with top sovereign funds based in West Asia to raise up to $2.6 billion for its airport expansion and green hydrogen projects. The group, which expects to close the ongoing financial year ending March with Rs 80,000 crore of Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation), has held a series of road shows in London, Dubai, and Singapore with potential investors, briefing them about their future growth plans. The group's flagship, Adani Enterprises, may dilute part of its stake in the airport-holding firm and/or the green hydrogen business to these funds, which are keen to invest in the Indian infrastructure sector, said a source close to the development.
US President Joe Biden is set to meet his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area, CNN reported, citing senior US administration officials.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack was aimed at "specific targets".
The worst terror attack in Iran this century occurred when Iranians marked the fourth anniversary of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander General Qassem Soleimani's death. Soleimani was killed by a US drone on January 3, 2020.
India's net oil import bill could widen to $101-104 billion in current fiscal from $96.1 billion in 2023-24 and any escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict could impart an upward pressure on the value of imports, ICRA said on Tuesday. The domestic rating agency said based on its analysis, lower value of Russian oil imports is estimated to have led to savings of $7.9 billion in 11 months (April-February) of 2023-24, up from $5.1 billion in 2022-23.
State-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), which operates India's strategic crude oil storage, will make awards by December to lease around 1 million tons of crude oil storage space (7.3 million barrels) at two of the country's three existing Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs), around a fifth of the total SPR capacity. This will enable the refilling of crude caverns even as escalating hostilities in the Gulf threaten disruptions in crude supplies, two industry sources said.
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
Mahsa Amini's death in police custody has resulted in protests in several parts of Iran against the morality police.
With cash shortage and plans going awry, the AirAsia owner is looking to cash out of the venture he built with Ratan Tata in 2013.
The ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict has disrupted India's efforts to gain from a recent fall in crude oil prices. Since Hamas' invasion of southern Israel on October 7, petroleum has become costlier by around $5 per barrel, threatening to stoke prices and impact growth. Brent crude was trading at $89.8 per barrel on October 9 (9.15 pm IST), up over 4 per cent, thwarting India's anticipation of a period of declining oil prices - after the leading global petroleum benchmark declined by around 11 per cent last week.
A resurgence in Saudi Arabian supplies of crude oil to India coupled with an attack on an Iraqi tanker in August carrying crude to Europe may result in improved bargaining power for India with West Asian and Russian suppliers for winter supplies. Shipments of Saudi oil rebounded in September from August, surging to the highest since March while Russian oil shipments rose marginally as Saudi Arabia tried to claw back market share in Asia, according to industry sources and ship tracking data.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
