Terrorists are developing new types of explosives experimenting with commercially available products like fertilizer and chemicals, coupling them with radioactive like material to increase destructive power. Al Qaeda has devised ways to conceal explosives inside the body that can avoid detection by sophisticated scanners, in addition to undetectable liquid explosives that can be soaked into clothing and ignited when dry.
Pakistan has resorted to covert drone cooperation with the US to punish Kabul and reassert leverage in Afghanistan but is facing resistance – paying for fencing and barricading the Durand Line, which Afghans don’t recognize since the line divides Pashtuns on both sides. To top this, Pakistan is pushing Afghans and their families back into Afghanistan in the harsh winters.
The system protects many, but scandals emerge at regular intervals, sending periodic shocks that reveal to us that corruption is endemic in the Indian system and thrives in the bureaucracy. The disease is complex, given that it comes in various forms and flavours and is fuelled by patronage politics. Bribery is but one part of a larger canvas of corrupt practices
The mutual respect and empathy developed between Russia and India over centuries are rooted in historical traditions. Neither pursued policies of exploiting other people’s resources. Both have believed in respecting civilizational diversity. This orientation continues today in the context of the BRICS countries of which Russia and India are foundational members.
India’s position on the boundary issue is “well known, consistent and unambiguous”, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said, days after political parties in Nepal stoked a simmering territorial dispute in Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned road construction in Lipulekh at an election rally in Uttarakhand state
Even as most countries began slapping travel bans on African countries, India has offered support for Africa to combat the newly-emerged Omicron variant of the Covid-19 pandemic, including through supply of vaccines, life-saving drugs, PPE kits, gloves and ventilators
The Asma Jahangir Conference in Pakistan last week sparked a somewhat balanced and much-needed discussion on the issues concerning the country
In a country known for its traditional inter-faith tolerance and harmony, one of the headline news for the last few months has been how groups of right-wing Hindus, supported by local leaders of India's ruling BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been obstructing and protesting against the offering of namaz in public places by Muslim citizens in Gurugram, a satellite city of capital New Delhi
On 15 August 2021, the day the Taliban seized power militarily in Kabul, the world watched with trepidation the scenes of an ignominious end to the twenty-year-long efforts of the US to prop up a democratic government there
Within the new Middle East/West Asia Quad, there is space for trilateral economic cooperation between India, the UAE and Israel
India should assist Nepal and Bangladesh to obtain GI certification for their teas
Will this demonstrable assertion of sportsmanship lead to a revival of bilateral sporting ties, particularly cricket, in the near future?
The recent widespread anti-Hindu violence will not make any difference to the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh, said Dinesh K Patnaik, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), calling the recent events “small incidents”
‘Bangladesh Finalizes Agreement to Build Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini, Nepal’ was the headline of the Hong Kong-based Global Buddhist Door’s news headline on October 11
Since the last decade, the US drone strike has caused numerous casualties worldwide, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia
Senior Indian Army sources asserted that the Pakistani youth's plea for surrender, as soon as his mate was killed, was a definite indication that he was not so convinced about the 'jihad' narrative but had taken on the cross-border 'task' out of financial compulsion
The SAU aims to bring together peacebuilders and particularly women from the region to work towards a political and economic South Asian Union, along the lines of the European Union, by 2030
Trump also gave the Indian media backhanded compliments when he met with Modi in 2019
The Taliban, the new rulers of Afghanistan, earlier this week announced a ban on the broadcast of the Indian Premium League (IPL), the hugely popular and monetarily lucrative Indian cricket league, which is widely watched in Afghanistan as their star player, Rashid Khan, is part of it
