World over, pluralism is in retreat. Luckily for us, Indian pluralism and its consequent tolerance of diversity is rooted in our basic values. As long as we remain faithful to these values and keep our institutions in good health, the Indian miracle of last 75 years is likely to last centuries, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Average global growth prospects for the next 12 months and the next three years are 35 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively.
Globally, the researchers found that more than 7,40,000 or four per cent of new cancer cases in 2020 may be attributed to alcohol drinking.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday the Olympic torch relay scheduled in the city of Osaka has been cancelled amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
'Seen in the context of world turmoil in face of the pandemic and the Chinese 'miracle' of being the only country in the world to control it, this is not merely a 'Sputnik' moment, but a 'Sputnik Plus' moment,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The report also revealed that the United States was still king with its expenditure representing about 40 per cent of the total Global Defence budget. India overtook Saudi Arabia and Russia to become one of the top five defence spenders globally.
The Modi government has to embrace the history of Tamil conquests in South East Asia and stop obsessing about Babar/Humayun, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As German makes provisions to accept 800,000 refugees this year, the nation is split vertically on the crisis with refugee shelters attacked with Molotov cocktails and swastika signs painted outside many refugee homes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's success at courting Indians abroad have been as much a result of his old contacts as efforts by a dedicated arm of the BJP abroad. Archis Mohan reports
'The intensity with which we are focussed on Pakistan, particularly our government and our media, ultimately harms us and reduces our greatness,' argues Aakar Patel.
There are still bumps in the road ahead for Swiss banks.
Insurance falls from 14 position in 2013; insurance penetration falls to 3.9%.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States is calling on all nations not to have major weapons transactions with Russia. He made these marks after the conclusion of the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the defence and foreign ministers of India and the United States.
Aarohi Pandit, the world's first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean solo in a light sport aircraft (LSA), is all set to re-enact on 15th of this month India's first commercial flight flown by the legendry J R D Tata in 1932.
Trump was good for world peace. He didn't start a war anywhere, which is not something that can be said for most of his predecessors, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The minister said the government will soon come out with air pollution data of major cities.
'Modi cannot drag India back into a primitive epoch resembling the religious wars in medieval Europe and at the same time claim to represent the aspirations of modernity among Indians,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The US Open organisers (USTA) are creating a bio-secure 'bubble' in New York to hold the tournament from Aug. 31 without spectators
If you are serious about countering the Chinese threat, then the best weapon is investing in real freedom, plurality, elections and democracy. Unfortunately, it isn't an approach all Indians currently seem to agree on, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Exhausted but elated, around 600 Indian students, who waged a tough battle for survival before being pulled out of war-battered Ukrainian city of Sumy, are now on way to Poland on a train from where they will be flown back home likely on Thursday.
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine on Monday that "Ukraine deeply regrets that more than 2,000 citizens of India, China, Turkey, Pakistan and other countries suffer today along with Ukrainians from Russian aggression."
The restart has divided opinion among the players, with some 200,000 new COVID-19 cases being reported globally every day and international travel restrictions still in place.
In its sheer audacity, the initiative with Russia has the potential to transform world politics in the same way as the 1972 Nixon visit to China and 'Shanghai Declaration' changed world dynamics, says Anil Athale.
To keep price control to a minimum, the government can act in two areas where it has not done so far.
What is it that China seeks and why has the Ladakh border become and remained hot for two years and what is going on in Arunachal Pradesh?, asks Aakar Patel.
A confrontation with the Taliban in Kabul in this fading light of a twilight zone would have been sheer madness, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This is a good time to restructure your portfolio because the sectors and stocks that performed in the last bull market may not perform as much now.'
The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution 'Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine' by Ukraine and its western allies, with 140 nations voting in favour, five against and 38 abstentions. India abstained on the resolution.
Any Indian government at this juncture would have voted and spoken exactly this way. It isn't just about the vast Indian dependence on Russian-origin military equipment. It is also about trust, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'They are not affected by ISIS' sentiment of avenging the suffering of the global ummah.' 'They have a huge ummah of their own in India, a huge Muslim population.' 'And because of that, they have to take into consideration the political and social conditions of Muslims in India.' 'They have to express themselves in a more political way and not through terrorism.'
'The politics of it may be wishy-washy and the saviour at Darkest Hour's centre may well be a racist, an imperialist, and an alcoholic, but in Gary Oldman's nimble skin, smacked in layers and layers of prosthetics to resemble the heavily-jowled, cigar-smoking, portly penguin-like demeanour of the British Bulldog, it pretty much screams, "And the Oscar goes to"...' notes Sukanya Verma.
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter had 160 mn users but made less than Rs 100 cr in 2012-13
The US is not going to be able to mount a concerted 'Western strategy' against China or Russia in the present international milieu, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Europe still a favourite among Indians for summer, says survey.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling around 3 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints. On the other hand, ONGC, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
During 2012-13, the gems and jewellery exports declined by 9.4 per cent year-on-year to $39 billion due to sluggish demand in traditional markets.
The BRICS model will need to demonstrate the efficacy of a second alternative governance structure to reform the Bretton Woods legacy.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by
'Using viral genomic sequences from 9,500 COVID-19 patients, the study found an increased number of infections among younger age groups (0-19 years) and women, a lower mean age for infection and symptomatic illness/hospitalisation, higher mortality and more frequent incidences of post-vaccination infections with Delta variant compared to the non-VOC (B.1) variant,' the WHO update said.
