The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch was lit by the rays of the sun in ancient Olympia on Thursday to mark the final step towards the July 24-Aug 9 Games, currently in question because of the coronavirus pandemic. Actress Xanthi Georgiou, in the role of high priestess, used a parabolic mirror in a scaled-down ceremony closed to spectators at the site of the ancient Greek Olympics to ignite the torch and mark the start of a torch relay. The torch will be handed over to Tokyo Games organisers in Athens on March 19.
'Manmohan Singh's fond hope of avoiding conflict over territory by 'making borders irrelevant' is increasingly difficult to realise in a world where institutional restraints on aggression are weakening and the new game in town is unalloyed power play,' notes T N Ninan.
Payal Mohanka discovers the medieval magnificence of Prague.
'I'm not surprised with what's happening in India,' 'Tiger' Tyagarajan tells Nivedita Mookerji.
The US-based start-up developed a machine learning system that uses sensors in smartphones.
The Al Qaeda has comfortably set up base in Europe at least 480 men -- a deadly mix of locals and infiltrators from the Middle East, says Vicky Nanjappa
India is ready, after battling the pandemic for two years, to travel once again.
The partial solar eclipse was visible from certain parts of India.
'Like everyone else addicted to Kremlin politics, I too have a thesis.' 'Foreign policy is known to be Putin's forte -- and Russia's stability his obsession.' 'As we enter the 2020s, it is clear that an extraordinary turbulent decade lies ahead in world politics and it casts dark shadows on Russia's future,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The inking of the commercial contract to build and run the strategic port will help India win access to Afghanistan, Russia and Europe
The election to replace outgoing Sepp Blatter will take place at an extraordinary congress on February 26 in Zurich.
The US president, who has expressed disappointment over China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, claimed that it was the "incompetence" of Beijing that led to the mass killing across the globe.
Hockey Olympian Joe Antic, who had been hospitalised a few days ago, died here last night, according to family sources.
Sofia Kenin lifted her first Grand Slam trophy in Melbourne at the start of the year and then added a WTA title in Lyon, days before the circuit came to a halt due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Tata Motors, Titan Company & Tata Steel come in at second, third & fourth slots.
The game plan is to pressure India and China to come back and commit to further emissions cuts by next year's UN meeting. Neither China nor India has 2030 targets anywhere near in line with a 1.5 degree centigrade pathway, and so will be on the target list of nations under pressure to return next year with more ambition, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Western sanctions aimed at crippling Iranian finances by drying up buyers for its crude oil, had last year banned insurance cover to ships carrying Iranian oil.
Canada and Mexico emerge as preferred destinations to service clients in the US; east Europe and Nordic nations are favoured alternatives
They will grow at 5.8 per cent a year.
China is slowing down, Europe is barely afloat and the US is meeting a larger chunk of its own demand.
Pakistan would want to take full advantage of the situation to direct Taliban trained terrorists into the Kashmir Valley, alert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Statesmanship requires that the prime minister himself reaches out to those amassed at the Singhu and Ghazipur borders. Modi should be able to win over this domestic front with sheer compassion, observes Virendra Kapoor.
India, being the world's largest democracy, is likely to play an important role in such a summit. Biden defeated incumbent President Donald Trump in the bitterly-fought presidential election that attracted a record number of Americans to cast their votes.
In a wide-ranging interview with French daily Le Monde, the minister said Pakistan does not deny sending terrorists to India.
Neither Biden nor his successors can any longer ignore the threat China has come to pose to the US in both economic and military fields, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Petrochemicals major in talks with rubber producer from Europe, two Western technology providers.
'Non-violence can be a viable tool for countering the competitive brutality of terrorist groups,' argues Rajni Bakshi.
There is no war against Islam, but there is definitely one against Islamic radicalism, says Claude Smadja.
Iraq has urged the international community to help prevent ISIS from gleaning profits from oil smuggling
The league has proved an unlikely draw for fans overseas who are starved of matches in their own countries. In choosing to stay open, it took its cue from President Alexander Lukashenko, who has resisted imposing strict lockdown measures.
Most Indian IT firms work as system integrators for Huawei and though the exposure is very less as of now, the potential is more due to 5G roll out. As pressure to keep the Chinese firm out of the 5G network grows, other global firms, including Japan's NEC, South Korea's Samsung, Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericssion are increasing their investments to grab more market share in the telecom sector.
Obama and Putin discussed the necessity of countering the Islamic State and the situation in Ukraine, the White House said.
'The theme of death seems to be a theme about which many of us, raised in Western societies, have almost completely removed from consciousness; it represents a theme that is suddenly and forcefully resurging now.' 'And for some, this is scary and destabilising.'
Physical security for women, the first step towards getting them into factories and offices, is all but absent in most Indian cities, notes Kanika Datta.
India has said the multiple terror attacks in Paris and Beirut highlight the urgent need to finalise a global convention on terrorism.
Exports stood at $23.6 billion in April last year, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry in New Delhi on Friday.
There has been a major shift in the global balance of economic power, creating a new global hierarchy dominated by the East, says Chris Patten, chancellor of Oxford University. Naomi Canton reports.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 14 images
Financial globalisation - or ultra globalisation - has done more harm than good to the majority of economies, say Anshuman Gupta & Karunakar Jha.
He said IT companies need to explore domestic market, too.
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