US Secretary of Defence Leon E Panetta's two-day visit to India last week to reinforce bilateral strategic defence and strategic cooperation seems to have gone well for the US, but will the India side take initiative and grasp the aggressive US hand? Seema Mustafa reports
Mulayam Singh's bid to get a third front on his side is to get into a position where he can barter for the prime minister's job with the support of either the BJP or the Congress, says Seema Mustafa.
This Nam summit presents a great opportunity for India to get back into the drivers seat of the developing world, says Seema Mustafa.
The report by the three interlocutors is a highly conservative document that does not deal honesty and truthfully with the situation on the ground. And having failed in this assessment, it stands to reason that the conclusions arising out of this are faulty, says Seema Mustafa.
The chief spokesman of the NC, Dr Mustaffa Kamal who is also the uncle of the state chief minister, Omar Abdullah had on Tuesday said that 'Delhi was hurling grenades in Kashmir'.
The US and Israel, using the guise of the Arab Spring, have decided that they have the authority and the mandate to change regimes for the people of the Middle East regardless of what the people think, says Seema Mustafa.
The 'mystery man' accused by Amir Khan of interfering with judges' scorecards in his world title defeat by Lamont Peterson helps the International Boxing Federation assist financially needy boxers, the organisation said on Tuesday.
Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna, on Friday, expressed his desire to play in an India-Pakistan match at the Wagah border to promote friendship between the two countries.
Fit-again opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, at the centre of a selection row earlier this week, was recalled to the Bangladesh squad on Thursday for the four-nation Asia Cup that starts at the weekend.
Kamal was removed from ceremony after refusing to apologise.
The ICC Board has recommended to split the role of president with a chairman from 2014, a decision which could affect the nomination of Bangladesh's Mustafa Kamal as ICC vice-president from 2012-14.
After multiple attacks in Kashmir Valley, a ruling National Conference leader on Tuesday night kicked up a controversy alleging that army may have had a hand but later sought to defuse the row saying he has not accused any security agency of involvement.
The election drums are beating in Uttar Pradesh as the various political parties work to seduce the voters. Travelling through the populous state, one is struck, as always, by the wisdom of the voters who see through one and all, and yet know they have to cast their vote as democratic and discerning citizens of India. Seema Mustafa reports.
Merchant had arranged the finance for the blasts, and was also linked to conspirators Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim.
Seema Mustafa believes that Pakistan Army chief Ashfaq Kayani would not march his troops into Islamabad for it would only play to the advantage of an unpopular Yousaf Raza Gilani's government.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to people to maintain peace and calm and urged the protesters to refrain from taking law into own hands.
The year is drawing to a close, and so it seems is meaningful government activity. The state of flux has engulfed the entire UPA government that appears totally adrift. It is as if no one is charge, with the ministers pulling in different directions and industry threatening to pull out investments for safer bets abroad, writes Seema Mustafa.
Nothing offered by Rahul Gandhi and his family has worked and the Congress will have to take stock of the ability of its first family to not just deliver the votes, but to pull it out of the doldrums where it has been left after this assembly election, says Seema Mustafa.
United Arab Emirates secured a surprise three run win via the Duckworth/Lewis method to end Zimbabwe's hopes of reaching the 2019 World Cup on Thursday.
The sophistication and education of the Syrians has made them close ranks against foreign interference. While recognising the mistakes and follies of the Bashar al Asad government, the Syrians seem to have decided not to make this an issue for the moment, and to work together to keep the Americans from destroying the country, says Senior journalist Seema Mustafa.
'General Singh does not have the reputation of a greedy, grasping, man. Far from it, and his word along with the records should have carried weight with the government. Unfortunately, the pettiness of the ruling class has pushed the senior officer to a corner where not wanting to, he has had to approach the civilian courts as a last resort.'
With Syria 'evolving' after the 'Arab Spring,' senior journalist Seema Mustafa takes stock of this ancient country as a member of a visiting Indian delegation. She realises that the ground reality in Syria is quite different from what has been portrayed; the fact that Syrians are wary of the 'US game plan' and that it's a country with a beautiful blend of modernity and deep-rooted traditions. Excerpts from her tour diary:
Rediff.com presents some amazing images of the battle for Sirte.
A 56-year old British cleric has been sentenced to life in prison by a court in US after being convicted of 11 terror-related charges, including providing material support to Al Qaeda and conspiring to establish a terrorist training camp in the US.
An army jawan allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle at Mehdipatnam Garrison area in Hyderabad on Monday, the police said. Appala Raju, Lance Naik, shot himself with his service rifle at around 4 am, a senior police officer attached to Special Branch of Hyderabad city police said.
Focus will, however, shift back to corporate earnings, liquidity situation and global events - specially crude price.
It seems as if the movement against corruption is in disarray. The volleys fired against some of its key members by the Congress and its supporters appear to be taking its toll, says Seema Mustafa.
Challenging the verdict is a deterrent to future peace and harmony and a socially irresponsible act, argues Vivek Gumaste.
A Pakistani Taliban commander and two foreign fighters were among nine militants killed in a United States drone attack in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region, officials said on Monday.
Shivshankar Menon said the government's amendment to the Citizenship Act was a "self-inflicted goal".
'It was impossible for bin Laden to live in the luxurious building with a huge compound in Abbotabad without the knowledge of the Inter Services Intelligence or the Pakistan military.'
Outraged by the quality of umpiring in Bangladesh's World Cup quarter-final loss to India in Melbourne, the country's Cricket Board is all set to lodge a protest in the ICC and has got the backing of the governing body's President AHM Mustafa Kamal, who said the on-field officiating was "very poor".
In a volte-face, the Barack Obama administration on Tuesday said that the alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and his four co-conspirators would now be tried in a military country instead of a civilian court.
Al Qaeda has made jihadi commander Ilyas Kashmiri as its chief military strategist for the region to plan and spearhead terrorist attacks against the West.
'The political world in Delhi is getting increasingly polarised... those who work, live and breathe with the ruling elite and the handful of 'others' who are really the outsiders, the critics, the rebels and run the risk of being dubbed 'anti-national' by the groupie nationalists at any moment in time. This is largely because they have refused to milk the system.'
The indifference, apathy and inaction in Kashmir by the governments both at the Centre and the state has added to a rush by the young people to become the masters of their own destiny, says Seema Mustafa.
"Salem was attacked by Mustafa Dossa with a sharp object. He was injured and doctors are treating him inside the jail. A police team is at the spot," Vasant Tajane, Senior Inspector at N M Joshi Marg police station, told PTI.
A tremendous effort made by the Indian government to stop the arrest and harassment of the Indian students who are victims of the Tri-Valley University seems in vain, as students are still been taken to the detention center by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
'The war against ISIS is what earned the Kurds global recognition of being some of the best fighters that overshadowed regular armies,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet's atmosphere.
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