An IA spokesman said that the airline is operating two "standby flights" to Kathmandu, one each from Delhi and Varanasi to fly back the passengers.
Campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections came to a close on Thursday evening, with top leaders of different political outfits unleashing their horses in the 10 districts running along the Uttarakhand and Nepal border, where the seventh and final round of polling will take place on Saturday. Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow.
It might have taken several years, but the intelligence and security agencies in several states recently tracked down and arrested dreaded terrorists involved in creating havoc in the country. It began with the arrest of Zabbiuddin Ansari, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, then came the arrest of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal followed by Lashkar-e-Tayiba bomb maker Abdul Karim Tunda, Zaveri Bazaar bomber Waqas Ahmed and now IM chief Tehsin Akthar. In a five-part series, Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa describes how each of these terrorists were painstakingly tracked by the Intelligence Bureau and arrested by the security agencies.
Since the Centre tightened the Press Note 3 norms in April last, as many as 150 private equity/venture capital investment applications from China and Hong Kong are pending with the government, starving the country's start-up ecosystem of funds, says a report. The Press Note 3 (PN3) changes were effected in April, restricting foreign direct investment from countries that share land borders with India. Analysts are of the view that the move was primarily aimed at China as lot of private funds were investing billions into domestic companies.
'The problem of a Hindu rashtra is that it has no text which can be adapted to the modern world.' 'The most prominent element of the Hindu way of organising society and the State is through caste.' 'This is not acceptable to most Hindus.' 'Because a Hindu rashtra also erodes the power and the rights of the majority of Hindus, we can be assured that this is not something that the BJP, or any other force can do,' argues Aakar Patel.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
The United States is considering removing the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist from the list of terrorist organisations after its stunning performance in the constituent assembly elections. Earlier, the US ambassador to Nepal had met Maoist chairman Prachanda, where the Maoist chief suggested that the US should remove the Maoists from its terrorist list. The US is also likely to pull out a negative travel advisory about Nepal that lies posted on the State Department's website.
It is the second Congress-ruled state after Punjab to pass such a resolution. The Rajasthan Assembly passed by voice vote the resolution which also asked the Centre to withdraw the new fields of information proposed to be included in National Population Register (NPR), 2020.
'Uttar Pradesh, our largest state by population and the most powerful, is also the worst governed.'
New Delhi has reached out to neighbours like seldom before while singling Islamabad for criticism at international forums.
'We should expect a cold-blooded, transactional relation that requires a lot of engagement and mutual trust to sustain,' says Constantino Xavier, Fellow, foreign policy, Brookings India.
'Misplaced national priorities have brought the economy to a cul-de-sac,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Some movies of 2021 excelled in content but yet, they did not do well.
Tibetan refugees in India face a bleak future, says Greg C Bruno.
Jaya Puri Gharti, who served as a cabinet minister during the Maoists' term in government, tells Patrick Ward about the issues facing Nepal and the difficult road to reconciliation.
Here's looking look at some of her other gorgeous appearances in the past on and off screen.
'During the Emergency, it boiled down to two people: Mrs Gandhi and her younger son.' 'But today, the cancer is spreading all over.'
The South Asian nations could script a new history of cooperation and prosperity that could serve as an example for other nations, notes Dr Rahul Mishra.
'If an 'informal meeting' with Xi Jinping materialises before the SCO summit in June, that itself could be regarded as a significant breakthrough in India-China relations,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Thursday said that his government was caught off guard by the fresh powerful earthquake this week and it is working on a rehabilitation plan to reconstruct the damaged infrastructure.
Pak claimed that the Indian Prime Minister's 'internal politics' do not permit him to extend an invitation to his Pakistani counterpart.
'It is only because of the Congress that we became a secular republic.' 'As we enter a period where another political force has became dominant, it will be interesting to see if this legacy of Nehru and the Congress is sustained or we are taken in a new direction,' says Aakar Patel.
Speculation has gained ground that she will contest from Rampur as she has been elected from there twice.
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
The time is ripe to extend the confrontation with the Chinese to the maritime domain, says former RA&W officer Krishan Varma.
'Post the pandemic, when India is turning a new leaf in its economic policy with an eye on foreign capital and global supply chains that are likely to leave China, heightened tensions on the India-China border creates an atmosphere of uncertainty,' observes Virendra Kapoor.
In its explanation of vote, India said 'we find that our views have not been reflected in the draft being considered for adoption today. We would like to reiterate that a consultative and constructive approach involving the neighbouring countries and the region, remains important as the international community strives for the peaceful resolution of the issue'.
With Koirala no more, Asia has lost yet another grand old man of politics - the likes of him have always been rare.
In a veiled attack on Narendra Modi-led dispensation, Rahul Gandhi slammed those who were trying to "rub out" Jawaharlal Nehru from history as an international conference on the country's first prime minister affirmed that democracy, inclusion and empowerment espoused by him were of "enduring relevance".
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Indian Mujahideen's new chief Tehsin Akhtar was arrested quite a few days ago, but security agencies decided to keep the news under wraps to entrap fellow terror operative Waqar Ahmed and three other terrorists of the IM.
'The Modi government's lack of foresight has compelled India to become an importer of vaccines today and even now, their "vaccine strategy is flawed and discriminatory'
With just 11.8 per cent, the nation lags behind its neighbours and peers when it comes to women's representation in national legislatures.
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Once the tanks roll back, a zero-based assessment of future equations with China is necessary. Given the conflict situations that China is imposing on India time and again, the red, amber and green lines of interactions with China need to be laid down and communicated in no uncertain terms, asserts Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
Modi also berated the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine in Bihar, calling it an alliance of "double-double yuvraj" (two crown princes) whose sole concern was to protect their "respective thrones".
SAARC countries are facing common challenges and they should cooperate with each other to address them, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, underlining that India is committed to reviving the grouping as a major forum to promote active regional collaboration.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will reach Maldives on November 9 to attend the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit to be held on November 10 and 11, in the scenic Addu island.
'It's the first-ever US presidential visit which is specially planned for India.' 'The standalone visit itself has achieved something already. Don't underestimate it.' Sheela Bhatt gives us an exclusive glimpse of what the Modi government hopes to achieve from Trump's visit.
The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
