The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
Posters featuring Fadnavis and declaring 'ha shabda maza ahe (this is my word)' have been put up all over Mumbai to counter Sena posters.
The parade began after President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Ashoka Chakra -- India's highest peacetime gallantry award -- to Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, a militant-turned-soldier who laid down his life fighting a group of terrorists in Shopian in Kashmir in November.
'Since I felt there could be more, I had told the local authorities to screen every hostage carefully, since we felt that some could have been staying as guests.'
In a mega-contract worth over $1.6 billion, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries will provide advanced medium-range surface-to-air missile systems to the Indian Army.
Pakistan has a nuclear weapon stockpile of 110 to 130 warheads, a rise from an estimated 90 to 110 in 2011, a US think-tank said on Wednesday.
He said the Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly.
Former Inter-Services Intelligence chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha has admitted that the deadly Haqqani network was created by it and America's Central Intelligence Agency and claimed that the insurgent group's chief Jalaluddin Haqqani had "in fact been invited to the White House by President (Ronald) Reagan".
As the pandemic unfolded, the India-China relationship has come under severe stress. To restore normalcy, agreements between the two countries must be respected scrupulously in their entirety. Where the Line of Actual Control is concerned, any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is unacceptable, declares External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
'In the Mahabharat, when faced by an enemy, Yudhishtir, the eldest Pandav, had quipped that 'When it comes to external enemies, we are 105, (100 Kauravs and 5 Pandavs)'.' 'It is time modern politicians heed this ancient wisdom,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In the earlier match on the night, Ghana beat debutants Niger 2-0, face Mali in quarters
Known for his proficiency in Tests and a prolific scorer in first class cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara has set himself a task - of forcing people to take notice of his prowess in the T20 format too and play in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'My housemate lost his father just a day after he turned 22.' 'Because of the lockdown he couldn't do anything about it.'
He said the country now possesses the capability to strike satellites in outer space with centimetre-level accuracy and precision.
Ghana outclassed Colombia 1-0, while New Zealand held Turkey to a 1-1 draw in the opening matches of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup on Friday.
'Any conventional conflict could trigger a nuclear war with results that neither India nor Pakistan could survive easily.' >A revealing excerpt from Shuja Nawaz's The Battle For Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship And A Tough Neighbourhood.
Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said IS had for weeks kept Mosul's estimated population of 1.5 million from escaping, with the start of the offensive offering them no respite.
The army on Mondqay successfully test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which penetrated and destroyed a "hardened target" in the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan.
Israel on Monday unleashed more airstrikes on Gaza and shot down a drone used for the first time by Hamas militants even as international pressure mounted on both to end the week-long conflict that has killed 177 Palestinians.
The missile positioned at launch pad-3 of the ITR swung in to action after getting signal from the radars to intercept a moving aerial target supported by an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) 'Banshee' over the Bay of Bengal, officials said.
The University of Kansas Health System confirmed that the 24-year-old has gone home, but there's still a long road to recovery after he took two bullets
'If the BJP thinks they can suppress the farmers' movement by opening fire, they are wrong.' 'It will create a boomerang effect which will be very difficult to manage.'
The Chinese have just one commander for all the forces confronting India. Commanders of all these forces answer to one man, and one headquarter. India, on the other hand, offers a diversity of options that is a military embarrassment in the 21st century. In Arunachal and Sikkim-Bhutan, the Eastern Army Commander is in charge. In the Uttarakhand (central) sector, it will be the Central Army Commander. The Himachal-Tibet border is the domain of the Western Army Commander. And all of Kashmir and Ladakh further on, the Northern Army's. Effectively, an array of at least eight 'three-star' commanders will be arrayed against one Chinese, says Shekhar Gupta.
Star striker Sunil Chhetri finally found his goal-scoring touch and scored twice as Mumbai City FC swamped Delhi Dynamos 2-0 to notch up their maiden win in four games in the Indian Super League.
In contrast to the bare-bones price of $115 million for each Rafale fighter, the F-35A cost $94.6 million, reports Ajai Shukla.
Will China's new military reforms endanger Xi Jinping's rule?
In daring raids, US commandos have captured a fugitive al-Qaeda leader from the streets of Libya and raided the seaside villa of an al-Shabaab militant in Somalia, signalling America's determination to pursue dreaded terrorists abroad.
Dr Anil Jasinghe, Director General of the Health Services, said the larger death toll was released as a result of a calculation error.
The name of Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's successor will be announced a day before he retires on November 29, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Friday.
The Indian Navy has done the impossible. Amidst heavy firing and war-like conditions, they have been able to evacuate 4,000 Indians from the strife-stricken country.
United States President Barack Obama has chosen retired Marine Corps General John Allen, who earlier served as the commander of the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in Afghanistan, to head the America-led global coalition against the dreaded terror group Islamic State, earlier know as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).
Security agencies apprehend that terrorists may target some part of the country during the visit of US President Barack Obama, avoiding Delhi, and have alerted state governments, particularly Jammu and Kashmir, about the "serious threat".
Fishermen staged a unique protest on Friday at the Rameswaram jetty demanding that their boats be returned by the Sri Lankan authorities.
'I pray to god that nothing like that happens again in our country so that we are forced to make something like Uri again.'
Several people succumbed to their injuries sustained in the blasts, taking the death toll to 359.
'Not only have we rescued 1,700 fishermen but on the morning of November 30, we evacuated 1,044 fishing folk, otherwise the missing numbers would have been much higher.'
Trained sniffer dogs such as the one used in Osama raid, German Shepherd and Labradors will be deployed.
>Putin's last-minute intervention with PM salvages $5.43 bn pact.
The CIA released 4,70,000 additional files seized in May 2011 when US Navy SEALs burst into the Abbottabad compound and shot dead Laden.
