Afghans have deep self-respect and are the last people to put up with humiliation. Is it any surprise that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have touched an all-time low and the two countries are now at war? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The proposals outlined in Budget 2026-27 represent a carefully crafted, multi-year strategy designed to strengthen India's big bets on the path to Viksit Bharat 2047, says Sameer Gupta.
Drawing on December 2025 IMDb user ratings, we present a list of the most-highly rated shows of all time.
CIA director George Tenet personally briefed Musharraf that AQ Khan "was betraying Pakistan's nuclear secrets to at least the Libyans and maybe others," prompting an explosive reaction before Khan was placed under years-long house arrest.
While the final military and intelligence assessment has yet to come, Trump has repeatedly claimed to have "completely and totally obliterated" Tehran's nuclear programme.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
China's official media on Sunday criticised United States bomb attacks on Iranian nuclear sites as a further step toward the abyss, while experts in Beijing said the American bunker-buster bombs used in strikes may not be enough to destroy Iran's nuclear plants hidden deep underground.
The US intelligence assessment highlights Pakistan's near-certain procurement of weapons of mass destruction-applicable goods from foreign suppliers, primarily through Chinese support.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praises India's measured and professional investigation into the Red Fort car explosion, calling it a terrorist attack. The US has offered assistance, but acknowledges India's capabilities in handling the investigation.
'Within 30 minutes of when Asim Munir made those comments, he should have been taken to Tampa airport and flown out of the United States.'
'Government officials use Gmail and ordinary phones without basic security consciousness.' 'Interoperability, especially in joint exercises with countries like the US, worries me.' 'It often means we open our systems to them, but they don't reciprocate.' 'They could have kill switches in their systems and might even be able to affect ours.'
Indian Army's Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai claims Pakistan lost over 100 military personnel along the Line of Control during Operation Sindoor and at least 12 aircraft during the conflict in May.
India has been ranked below its two nuclear-armed neighbours -- Pakistan and China -- in the list of countries with a weak nuclear material security in the world, according to a US-based think-tank.
Will Russia's entry deter Trump on his warpath?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'
Nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed States, including India and Pakistan, continued intensive nuclear modernisation programmes in 2024, upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions, according to a report by a global think-tank.
The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
Aayush will represent India on Rosatom's Arctic expedition aboard the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker.
Notably, Siachen is the highest battlefield of the world, which sits on the nuclear tri-junction of India, Pakistan and China.
With the fight now having been taken to the seizure of nuclear plants, it is one more warning to Europe that this prolonged war could end up with disastrous consequences, observes Rashme Sehgal
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
During last week's Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama asked the media to leave and then screened videos depicting plausible scenarios pertaining to nuclear terrorism.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's effusive praise of US President George W Bush during their 2008 meeting in the White House is revisited as a testament to their close relationship and the impact of the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Singh's statement, while drawing criticism from the Left and BJP, highlighted the transformative nature of the relationship between the two democracies. The article explores the context of their meeting and the broader significance of their relationship in the context of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
'If they can be duplicitous, we can be equally duplicitous.' 'If they offer friendship, we reciprocate.' 'If they choose hostility, we respond with equal hostility.'
'He is not that crazy.' 'He is driven by a deep sense of Russian power have been diminished.'
What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
A shipment containing several kilograms of uranium, which could potentially be used for making a dirty bomb was seized at United Kingdom's Heathrow Airport in a cargo consignment originating in Pakistan, reported British tabloid The Sun.
Two nuclear scientists, who have conducted a preliminary investigation of the seized North Koran ship MV Mu San, have said the vessel does not contain any trace of chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear material.The North Korean vessel dropped the anchor at Hut Bay on August 6 without the permission of Indian authorities. It was detained by the Indian Coast Guard after an over six-hour chase.
At the end of the day, for many worldwide, the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and Iran would seem a contest devoid of any moral high ground and only a bout between two ordinary adversaries, one that nevertheless risks spinning out of control into a larger conflagration, notes Shyam G Menon.
It remains a mystery that when its scientists were accused of selling technologies which did not exist in ISRO, ISRO's leadership did not say to the public that they were searching in a dark room for a black cat which was not there, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Amid growing concerns of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will join leaders of 42 other countries in Washington on April 12 to discuss ways to strengthen the global initiatives to prevent such a scenario.The two-day Nuclear Security Summit, an initiative of US President Barack Obama, will focus on dangers posed by clandestine proliferation and illicit trafficking of nuclear material.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
'He was deeply committed to nurturing young talent and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration.'
He was asked whether there are terrorist organisations that now have the capability of detonating a nuclear device in the United States.
The customs officials, based on an intelligence input, halted a Malta-flagged merchant ship -- CMA CGM Attila -- at the port en route to Karachi on January 23 and inspected the consignment, which included a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine, originally manufactured by an Italian company.
'Pakistan has been successful in convincing the rest of the world that the Pakistani nuclear terrorists are meant to target only India. This is myopia at its worst,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
At least four people were killed and 516 others were injured on Saturday in a massive explosion and fire at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, more than 1,000km south of capital Tehran, according to officials and state media, Al Jazeera reported.
The '2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit', which starts in Seoul today, is the largest summit in the nuclear security sector to discuss international cooperative measures to protect nuclear materials and facilities from terrorist groups. Srikanth Kondapalli, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, explains what to expect from two-day long deliberations at Seoul
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