In South Asia, the intelligence community assesses that the political and security situation in Afghanistan will almost certainly deteriorate through 2018.
Nuclear powered India and Pakistan are constantly skirmishing in Kashmir, the outgoing US National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, said identifying some of the Russian actions, Syria along with North Korea and South Asia or a pandemic flu as some of the less probable but catastrophic scenarios globally.
He brushed aside Pakistan's threat of use of tactical nuclear weapons, saying such statements will not deter India when it comes to defending our borders.
Meanwhile, the test drew strong criticism from North Korea's neighbours and the West which warned of a robust response to its "grave provocations".
India's ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who was visiting The NYT editorial board, rejected Khan's criticism.
'A couple of hours before the H-Hour, the Kupwara division opened small arms and mortar fire on posts opposite its area of operation.' 'This was a diversionary tactic.' 'As Pakistani forces began to react to the firing, special forces teams began to slowly cross the LoC into PoK.' Nitin Gokhale reveals how planning for the surgical strikes began hours after the Uri attack.
Rajaram Panda explains why the US president needs to restrain himself and build a relationship with China to put any credible pressure on North Korea.
If they can sit together and hammer out 'Black Sea Initiative' deal for much needed food shipments, surely, they should be able to address the madness of the larger military conflict?
While we seem to want soldiers on short-term engagement, warfare itself is getting more technical and needs skilled manpower. The world has seen the dismal performance of armies that rely on short tour of duty soldiers or have outsourced war to 'contractors' in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
North Korea is unlikely to strike first, but its response in retaliation, if attacked, could be massive even at the expense of its own destruction, says Rajaram Panda.
The missile was launched at 23:41 North Korea time from Jagang province in the north of the country, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
'It is vital we should form an international coalition against ISIS, because their brutality and the use of the Internet for jihadist activities is a reminder that the entire world community has to be in this together,' US Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit.
The statement came a day after Indian Army launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across LoC.
A realistic assessment will tell us that not much has changed between India and Pakistan; the relationship remains as fraught as before with little prospect of reconciliation, notes Ajai Shukla.
North Korea warns the US that it will soon 'suffer the greatest pain it ever experienced in its history'. Rajaram Panda looks at the latest twist in the North Korean crisis.
During the phone call, Trump underscored the determination of the US to defend itself and its allies from the growing threat posed by the North Korean regime, the White House said.
Earlier on Sunday, Macron spoke with Biden and Putin on the Ukraine situation.
INS Vishakapatnam's ground attack and anti-ship capabilities are achieved through a bank of BrahMos cruise missiles that can be fired at targets up to 295 km away.
The US is not going to be able to mount a concerted 'Western strategy' against China or Russia in the present international milieu, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Putin is looking beyond the current regime in Kyiv. Of course, if the Western military assistance to Kyiv continues in any form, Washington knows that Russia will regard it as a hostile act and there will be severe consequences, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'By annoying the Arabs and cozying up to Iran, Pakistan may end up losing Arab economic support, annoying the Americans and increase Shia-Sunni tensions domestically,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) points out.
In India, the anniversary of 26/11 comes and goes with only the bare minimum of remembrance. We don't even bother very much about honouring those who acted with great bravery that day, rues Vir Sanghvi.
The bilateral and Quad summits, in which Prime Minister Modi played a significant role, has sent the right message to China, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
If the initial analysis of this YJ-21 is correct, then China becomes the first country in the world to operationally field such a missile from a naval vessel.
Beijing will be intently watching Washington's response for any hint of weakness. Xi Jinping, who feels China has a limited window of strategic opportunity, will be emboldened to take additional initiatives in the Indo-Pacific and specifically against India and Taiwan, warns Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
United States President Barack Obama has assured Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that Washington has no plans to control Islamabad's nuclear programme.
A third team to combat chemical or radiological leakage or attack incidents has also been based at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
If international crude oil prices zoom past the current level of about $90 per barrel and move towards $100 and beyond, middle-class consumers are not going to keep quiet about their discomfort, points out Arun Balakrishnan, former chairman and managing director, Hindustan Petroleum.
America's ability to deal with a nuclear attack has been eroded over the years and the country is woefully unprepared for any kind of nuclear attack, a Pentagon report has suggested.
Anti-nuclear activist S P Udayakumar, who has been called a threat to the economic security of India by the Intelligence Bureau, speaks to A Ganesh Nadar.
United States president-elect Donald Trump's tweet for strengthening and expansion of country's nuclear arsenal is indicating a major policy change as against the Obama Administration which had pushed for reduction and ultimately elimination of nuclear weapons.
It currently has between 140 and 150 nuclear weapons in its control and stockpiled around 200 to 300 kilogram of plutonium.
Days after India dismissed as 'baseless' reports about radiation leaks at the yet to be commissioned Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, a Sri Lankan interest group on Saturday alleged that the atomic power station has been leaking radiation since February 27.
'It is very significant that the president and the prime minister discussed Pakistan's efforts to take action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba and its affiliates.' 'This is something new and it demonstrates a recognition of Pakistan of the threats these terrorist groups pose to Pakistan and pose to other countries.'
The US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam, along with the force's F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, flew in international airspace over the waters east of North Korea
The United States has said that the tension on the Korean peninsula has reached "critical time" and asked China to put "some teeth" in its policy to exert pressure on its ally North Korea to scale back on its threat of a nuclear war.
After the three bilateral meetings, Modi would participate in the three separate sessions of the Nuclear Security Summit, which kicked off with a White House dinner on Thursday night.
India would have responded differently to "Pakistan-sponsored" Mumbai terror attacks had there been a different "mix of people" at the helm, according to former foreign secretary and national security advisor Shivshankar Menon.
'We still don't know how viruses that we ingest are killed inside our bodies.'
'We don't want confrontation; we are trying to build a cooperative relationship in which both sides have stakes in producing an improving climate of relations and responsible behaviour.' What does Shiv Shankar Menon, one of India's most brilliant diplomats and the former National Security Advisor, think of the Modi visit to the US, the Chinese stand-off in Ladakh and the situation on the LoC?
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