There are times in each nation's life when the gods shower their blessings on it. The right leaders are in place and they make the right decisions. Everything seems to click and good luck favours its people. Such times came to this country 50 years ago, recalls Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd).
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.
'I'm not surprised with what's happening in India,' 'Tiger' Tyagarajan tells Nivedita Mookerji.
Over 160 rights groups call on IOC chief to revoke 2022 Beijing Winter Games
'Non-violence can be a viable tool for countering the competitive brutality of terrorist groups,' argues Rajni Bakshi.
'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.
'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.
'Not a single bullet was fired, but we were warning the enemy not to continue with their antics!' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe finds out how the Light Combat Helicopter, which will be inducted into the IAF on October 3, was designed, developed and flown.
The Pakistani military may shortly give Imran Khan the boot, substituting him with another puppet, predicts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Petrochemicals major in talks with rubber producer from Europe, two Western technology providers.
There is no war against Islam, but there is definitely one against Islamic radicalism, says Claude Smadja.
Canada and Mexico emerge as preferred destinations to service clients in the US; east Europe and Nordic nations are favoured alternatives
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.
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.
Iraq has urged the international community to help prevent ISIS from gleaning profits from oil smuggling
'Sholay wallah kahani hai: 'Gabbar Singh aayega, Gabbar Singh aayega.' 'But what is inside Gabbar Singh nobody knows.'
Exports stood at $23.6 billion in April last year, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry in New Delhi on Friday.
Obama and Putin discussed the necessity of countering the Islamic State and the situation in Ukraine, the White House said.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 14 images
'Bola nikal jao. Sala firing karte hai Russi.'
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.
High growth is also much easier to log in a small business than in a Reliance.
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.
He said IT companies need to explore domestic market, too.
'We will have to face the effects of climate change for generations to come!'
'Goa is a tiny state, but in terms of its Business of Politics, several powerful lobbies of India are involved in it, be it the mining lobby, hoteliers' lobby, casino lobby, hawala lobby, drugs lobby etc.'
Regional States will be worried that the US's nascent engagement with the Taliban behind the fig leaf of humanitarian aid enables the return of US intelligence personnel to Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Message for India is that its key challenge has to be to avoid falling into the middle income trap.
In a wide-ranging interview with French daily Le Monde, the minister said Pakistan does not deny sending terrorists to India.
Exporters are now looking at new markets.
'With just 2.4 per cent of global landmass, India houses six to eight per cent of planetary biodiversity and hence is a prime target of wildlife criminals.'
Imports were up by 19.8 per cent year-on-year to $37.7 billion in the month.
For many people, Normandy, a province in North-Western France, conjures up images of the massive armada that descended upon its shores on June 6, 1944 to drive the Nazis out of continental Europe. However, Normandy is a lot more than just that says Siddhu Warrior.
Financial globalisation - or ultra globalisation - has done more harm than good to the majority of economies, say Anshuman Gupta & Karunakar Jha.
Even without a sanctioned government project for the Agni-6, it seems inevitable that the Agni-5, over the next few years, will organically evolve into an ICBM with improved technologies and capabilities.
Gems and jewellery exports are set to rise 17.8 per cent to $33 billion.
FIFA gave its ultimate recognition to emerging markets on Thursday by awarding the 2018 and 2022 editions of the prestigious and lucrative World Cup soccer finals to Russia and Qatar, both new hosts.
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.
The Modi leadership could lose Election 2024 if a communal flare-up becomes cause for all-round catastrophe, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
