Al Qaeda's reclusive chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who played a central role in the 9/11 terror attacks and later created the group's regional affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, was killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan's Kabul, in the biggest blow to the global terror network since killing of its founder Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Pakistan.
When the fierce encounter ended around 3:30 PM on Saturday after almost 10 hours, senior cadre Milind Teltumbade and 25 ultras had been killed.
The statement of Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino on Wednesday came ahead of the 15th round of high-level military talks between India and China on March 11.
Each person in the immunisation list would be linked with their Aadhaar cards to avoid duplication and to track beneficiaries.
An order issued by the ministry of home affairs on Wednesday said Deputy Inspector General Meena has been "recalled" by the Central Reserve Police Force. Another CRPF DIG, Rajeev Ranjan Kumar, will be the new CEO of the canteens board with immediate effect for a period of three months, it added.
Nasper-backed fintech firm PayU has started talks to acquire domestic payment gateway major BillDesk, and the deal size could be in the range of $3-4 billion, sources in the know said. "BillDesk has been open to being acquired for some time now, but in the past the valuations that the company was seeking proved to be a hurdle," said a source. "Three years ago too, PayU had approached BillDesk for an acquisition, but things didn't go ahead due to high valuations. "BillDesk had asked for $2-billion value then," said the source.
The Tata group is looking to make a foray into semiconductor (also known as chips) manufacturing and it has set up a business to seize the opportunity, Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Monday. "At the Tata group, we have already pivoted into a number of new businesses like electronics manufacturing, 5G network equipment as well as semiconductors, in all probability," he said while speaking at the annual general meeting of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Chandrasekaran said global supply chains, currently heavily dependent on China, would see a big change in a post-pandemic world with businesses shifting their reliance to other countries.
"Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended," he said, thanking armed forces for their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled -- in the early hours of Tuesday (August 31) -- with no further loss of American lives.
'As long as we have such partners, Russia cannot be isolated.'
Senior government sources said the charge of carrying out a Pulwama scale terror attack bigger was given to the Jaish-e-Mohammed headed by Maulana Masood Azhar by Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Intelligence.
Vistara appoints Vinod Kannan as chief strategy officer; plans to launch its maiden international flight to Colombo in May
United States officials have identified Pakistan as a base of operations or target for numerous armed and non state militant groups, some of which have existed since the 1980s, the independent Congressional Research Service said in the report.
The leaders of the two countries "discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including developments in South Asia," said a brief statement issued by the Russian President's office - Kremlin.
The Taliban had promised an 'inclusive' government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the cabinet.
'India needs offensive and defensive security measures to protect itself.'
The high court conducted the hearing in-camera after the counsel for the Centre requested for it on the ground that it was a very sensitive decision taken by the Army and the inputs cannot be made public.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, has renewed a deal to buy up to 2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2022 from Russia's Rosneft, the Russian oil producer said. IOC had in February 2020 signed a deal with Rosneft Oil Company to import up to 2 million tonnes of oil via the port of Novorossiysk. In 2021, the deal envisaged supply of up to 1.7 million tonnes of crude oil but IOC bought just on parcel or shipload as the cost of transporting the oil made it uneconomical, when compared to alternatives. For 2022, the deal is for the supply of up to 2 million tonnes of oil from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Bharti Global and UK government-led OneWeb on Friday announced the launch of 36 communications satellites and said it aims to offer high-speed internet from its constellation of satellites in India by mid-2022. The recommencement of satellite launches by OneWeb comes within weeks of billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal-run Bharti Group along with the British government taking over as the new owners of the broadband satellite communications company, which emerged from bankruptcy. The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company on Friday launched the 36 satellites from a Soyuz launch vehicle, which began from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Russia.
The Taliban's main challenge comes on the financial and economic front and there Pakistan doesn't have the capacity to be of any meaningful help, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The high court said he has a choice to make and asked him to delete his FB account as the policy to ban the use of social networking platforms for army personnel was taken keeping in view the security of the nation.
The Union home ministry on May 13 had declared that these canteens will only sell indigenous or "swadeshi" products from June 1 in a bid to give fillip to domestic industries.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries is reported to have held talks with Saudi Aramco on a cash and share deal for sale of a 20 per cent stake in its oil refining and petrochemical arm. Ambani had in August 2019 announced talks for the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, which comprises its twin oil refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical assets, to the world's largest oil exporter. The deal was to conclude by March 2020 but has been delayed for reasons not disclosed by either company.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He agreed that getting Kohli in his first over was a relief.
From now on, the Taliban will be responsible for the "honour, wealth and preservation" of Afghanistan's people, Ghani said.
The cycle of violence resulting from the increasing criminalisation of politics cannot stop, will not stop, unless there is a wider political consensus against relying on criminal mafias for electoral purposes, argues Virendra Kapoor.
Lauding the bravery displayed by the soldiers, the prime minister said: "The bravery that you and your compatriots showed, a message has gone to the world about India's strength."
In the test, a space rocket boosted a hypersonic glide vehicle, one capable of carrying a nuclear device, which circled the globe before impacting.
If push comes to shove, Trump is probably planning to order the US army to clear his path for a second term. What if the armed forces refuse to obey their commander-in-chief?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This equity capital infusion is the country's largest-ever FDI.
Terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan, providing shelter to terrorist outfits like the Taliban and the Haqqani network, is a serious problem, a top US general nominated to be the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said.
In the Union Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total of Rs 1,52,369 crore has been set aside for capital expenditure that includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
Addressing a gathering of priests and devotees, he said the redevelopment of centres of faith in India shows the country's growing pride in its ancient saints and philosophers like Adi Guru Shankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda.
From cloud computing to people analytics, most lucrative future jobs will be dominated by people with digital skills and expertise, explains Sarita Digumarti, chief learning officer, UNext Learning.
Drones have added a new dimension to security threats from terror groups and investigations into the attack on the Jammu IAF station last month show the involvement of "non-State actors" supported by State actors such as the ordnance factory of Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said on Tuesday.
Lieutenant General Walter Anthony Gustavo Pinto was known for his dynamic, bold and aggressive leadership in the Battle of Basantar during the 1971 War. Lieutenant General B T Pandit -- who was awarded a Vir Chakra for his courage during that battle -- salutes the Victor of Basantar who passed into the ages last week.
Analysts remain sceptical on the profitability from freighter business, saying that once normal air transport resumes and there's abundant belly capacity, the traditional economics of air cargo may not be that lucrative.
The auction for the 5G spectrum is likely to take place around April-May next year, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. While relief measures announced in September this year for telecom operators marked the first set of reforms, the government will bring out a series of further reforms and "telecom regulatory structure should change in coming 2-3 years", Vaishnaw said. Speaking at the 'Times Now Summit 2021', the minister said India's telecom sector regulation has to be benchmarked with the global best, and added that "so, we will come with a series of reforms in this, such that the global benchmark of regulations is achieved in India".
US private equity firm Silver Lake Partners will invest an additional Rs 1,875 crore in the retail arm of Reliance Industries, the Indian firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
Their startup investments number 13 so far, compared to 17 deals in 2020.
