Qatar returns to the spotlight on Friday little more than a year after the first World Cup held in the Arab world when the relocated and delayed 2023 Asian Cup gets underway amid a seismic shift in football's global order.
In keeping with the main theme of 'Tides Surging in Asia', the ceremony was about the intermingling of China, Asia and the world in the new era
With economic problems and job cuts, Hangzhou locals and people in other parts of China are not very pleased about hosting the Asian Games.
The incident remains a reminder of the inherent fragilities of all geopolitical relationships.
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.
Organisers hope a high-tech opening ceremony on Saturday will help drum up excitement for the Games. Interest at home has been muted as the economy sputters and some question the cost of hosting the mega-event.
The bulk of Indian carriers flying to Dubai are low-cost carriers, which include IndiGo, Air India Express, and SpiceJet.
'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
Asian Games Athletes' Committee poll: Saina set to win uncontested
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
'Unsurprisingly, Trump shared Modi's podcast with Fridman on his Truth account.' 'The intentions of Trump, a transactional president, are never easy to tell.' 'We will know in the next fortnight if and when he unfolds reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, whether Modi's flattering words made any significant difference to Trump's compass,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
'Wherever the government has provided incentives for the purchase of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, buses, and trucks, it gets a push for most of these alternate fuels. '
The US move to align with Russia is prompted by fear of a Sino-Russian joint threat. Russia, fully aware of its military vulnerability vis a vis China may cautiously welcome the American move, assesses Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Ivan Toney came off the bench to score twice and earn Al-Ahli a 2-1 win over Al-Ain on Monday that moves the Saudi side into the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League Elite and leaves the defending champions in danger of missing out on the last 16.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has suspended men's team head coach Chandika Hathurusingha due to inappropriate conduct by him during last year's ODI World Cup in India.
The prime minister's visit will begin from Palestine on February 10 after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah II.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
'The US is strongly placed to expand its crude supplies to India.'
How will the financial crisis in Dubai affect exporters and importers in India?
Petroleum ministers from major oil producing countries will meet in New Delhi on January 6 as part of India's initiative to tackle the surging global oil prices, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister said this underlying resentment and pain of those countries regarding the global economy was building up for the last 15-20 years and the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict resulted in prices of energy and food items going up.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Nestle, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. In contrast, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
India's pharmaceutical exports to Iran have been hit owing to depleting rupee reserves in the West Asian country because of India stopping the import of crude oil from it in 2019 following US sanctions. Pharmaceutical exports dropped 71.25 per cent in April-August this year over the same period last year. The data from the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) showed exports to Iran had declined 31.29 per cent in 2022-23 as against the previous financial year.
Conflict forces Palestinian team Jabal Al Mukaber to withdraw from AFC Cup
At the grassroots level, CA reported an increase in registered participation in community cricket from 627,793 to 661,161, although there was a 3% drop in the number of junior cricketers.
Huge tri-colour-themed banners have been put up along the Kartavya Path while the theme for this year's tableaux that would roll down the boulevard where the annual Republic Day celebrations take place is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on 75 years of the enactment of the Constitution.
Three Hindu temples were vandalized by a mob in Bangladesh's Chattogram on Friday, following protests and violence sparked by the arrest of a former ISKCON member on sedition charges. The attack occurred in the port city's Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, where the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the nearby Shoni Temple, and the Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted. Temple authorities reported that a group of hundreds threw brickbats at the temples, causing damage to the Shoni Temple and the gates of the other two. The incident has triggered diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh, with both countries expressing concerns over the safety of their respective minorities.
'I don't know what the maths looks like but we're playing good cricket and we want it to continue.'
Here's a wrap of all major international episodes in 2024.
Security experts discovered the new data-stealing virus dubbed Flame, which they say has lurked inside thousands of computers across West Asia for as long as five years as part of a sophisticated cyber warfare campaign.
The new Samvat 2080 is viewed as a year of hope for industrial and precious metals. A key reason is the expectation of US interest rates peaking, followed by a reduction in the coming months. Regarding crude oil, its trajectory depends more on how the situation unfolds in West Asia.
India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now-deleted social media post by a key aide of Bangladesh's interim government that claimed certain areas of Indian territory should be part of that country. The post, which included a map showing parts of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam as belonging to Bangladesh, was made by Mahfuz Alam, a de facto minister in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. The post sparked backlash and was subsequently deleted. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reminded all concerned to be "mindful" of their public comments and emphasized the need for responsibility in public articulation.
India may have to lean more on West Asian nations for supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cooking fuel, in the coming years after Indian state-run refiners drew up big plans to diversify into producing more profitable petrochemicals. This shift leads to reduced LPG output, Indian refining executives said. The mantra for state-run oil companies, from Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer Petronet LNG, which are looking to diversify their businesses from lower-margin fuels, has been value-added petrochemicals.
Jaishankar said, "The immediate part which awaits us is what we call the de-escalation, which is the build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control."
Most of India's oil supplies are expected to stay safe because of the country's good relations with both Russia and Iran. That would take care of over a third of India's supplies.
If the war in the Israel-Gaza region escalates into a larger West Asian conflict, it could pose problems.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, Adani Ports and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. JSW Steel emerged as the only gainer.
'Just think about it. She's a prosecutor, he's a convicted felon. I love that juxtaposition.' 'She's a woman, and she's black and South Asian. He's a white guy who grew up with enormous [wealth].' 'She grew up in a very average, lower middle class/middle class kind of setting with a single mother.'
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