'Even during the worst days during the 1990s, India was dealing with the Taliban.'

Pakistan would want to take full advantage of the situation to direct Taliban trained terrorists into the Kashmir Valley, alert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

"We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels. I'm not going to get into the details of those discussions here, to protect those discussions, which are covering a wide range of issues," Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference.

There was near unanimity among the guests at the Sibal dinner that the country is ready for a change, that the ruling party has lost popularity. However in the same breath speaker after speaker lamented that without Opposition unity Modi could as well win a third successive term, reveals Virendra Kapoor.

To young professionals I would say, work hard, play hard and not be constrained by fads like WLB, says Sudhir Bisht.

Javelin thrower needed just a few seconds to make that cut, sending the spear well past the direct qualifying mark of 83.50m in his first attempt at the Tokyo Olympics, on Wednesday.

Based on whether you choose the aviation, Bhopal or LIC numbers, and on the official death toll (in the absence of any other verifiable number), the value of human lives lost in the pandemic would range from Rs 16,500 crore to Rs 94,000 crore, explains T N Ninan.

The officials said Pakistani intelligence operatives have adopted the modus operandi of investing in illegal call exchanges that switch Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls to normal Indian mobile calls.

As an admirer of Japan for close to half a century, I care for Japan and expect Suga to respect the sentiment of his people and cancel the Olympics without further delay, says Rajaram Panda.

Smaller stocks continue to shine at the bourses. The BSE MidCap index is up 18 per cent since the beginning of January this year against a 5 per cent rise in the Sensex during the period. With the current rally, the mid-cap index has doubled in value since the end of March 2020 against a 70 per cent rally in the Sensex during the period. On Tuesday, the mid-cap index closed at 21,232, as compared to 17,941 at the end of December 2020. In the same period, the benchmark index moved from 47,751 to 50,193.

Phil Mickelson blocked out the distractions and kept his mind quiet in front of a raucous gallery to win the PGA Championship by two strokes on Sunday and become golf's oldest major winner at the age of 50.

Liverpool moved into the Champions League qualifying spots after a 3-0 win at Burnley on Wednesday took them above Leicester City and into fourth place with one round of Premier League matches remaining.

India might be heading towards a "serious livelihood crisis" as the situation seems to be worse this time for the working class amid the COVID crisis and local restrictions by states already add up to something close to a nationwide lockdown, according to noted economist Jean Dreze. In an interview to PTI, he also said the government's target to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 was never a "feasible target" and was just to pander to the "super-power ambitions" of the Indian elite. About the impact of the second wave of COVID on the Indian economy, the eminent economist said the situation today is not very different from what it was around this time last year as far as working people are concerned.

Sukanya Verma looks at a few other contenders from Bollywood movies who gave really, really good performances.

Leaders of the United States, India, Australia and Japan did discuss the 'challenge' posed by China during the first meeting of the Quad, and they made clear that none of them have any 'illusions' about Beijing, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said.

'Whether the Hindu voter will vote for us or not, we can't say, can we?'

Images from Day 3 of the fourth Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad.

In his first comments since the militaries of India and Pakistan jointly announced on Thursday that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, Khan said Pakistan remains ready to move forward to resolve 'all outstanding issues' with India through dialogue.

Tikait claimed a few inputs had been received regarding some "miscreants trying to disrupt peace" during the "chakka jam" that was announced for 12 noon to 3 pm on Saturday.

That is what you will hear again after Nirmala Sitharaman presents a speech that will prove to be meaningless and numbers that will show themselves to be wildly off the mark, observes Aakar Patel.

Kohli has demolished England attack both at home (2016) and away (2018) although the team had contrasting results in both series.

The crowd at the protest sites in Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders was visibly thin on Thursday two days after the tractor parade turned violent, even though the farmer unions said it was because the protesters, who had come to the national capital to take part in January 26 march, have returned home.

The danger to India's democracy is coming from recourse to mobocracy encouraged by the anti-Modi gang, argues Vivek Gumaste.

Exquisitely shot, with shadows and light capturing the hypnotic mood of the film, Jalsaghar is a viewing treat you owe yourself.

Presenting the best looks from Times Fashion Week.

Dominic Xavier wonders why the government wants to spend so much money on construction at a time when the money could be put to better use to address and alleviate the agony and misery that so many Indians experience each day.

'There were any number of Congress leaders who disliked Sonia Gandhi, but they were very close to Ahmed Bhai and he would listen, and give a shoulder to cry upon.'

To an award show that's famous for honouring artists belatedly, we have sent as our official entry one of our major film-makers's weakest work yet, feels Sreehari Nair.

'I will not say that the AIMIM is a 'B' team of the BJP. But due to the AIMIM, the BJP benefits for sure'

Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.

Accusing the BJP of trying to poach TMC MLAs by attempting to bribe them, Banerjee, without naming anyone, said some people are acting as fence-sitters who are under the illusion that the saffron party might come to power in the state.

'The propagation of an absolutist narrative that shuts down any dissent is dangerous, irresponsible, and unbecoming of India's proud democracy.' 'The government must do better.'

'After 23 years of making films, you feel vindicated that you stuck to your guns and continues to try different things.'

General Asad Durrani's disclosures could leave considerable egg on the face of those currently wielding the stick in Pakistan, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.

It would be a huge achievement if the new administration manages a successful transition to some sense of domestic and international normalcy in these frantic times marked by the pandemic and rise of illiberal regimes across the world, observes Shreekant Sambrani.

No one in Bihar will deny Nitish Kumar's contribution to governance, notes Aditi Phadnis.

'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.

The Social Dilemma shows how social media is turning human beings into lab rats and zombies, notes Chintan Girish Modi.

What are you looking at? Terry the grumpy giant turtle summed up the general feeling towards a year that has been particularly cruel to both travel and wildlife. A photo of him "flipping the bird" was recently named funniest animal photo in the Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020. As the winner of the 2020 contest, Fitzpatrick won a safari in Masai Mara, Kenya, a Think Tank photography bag, and a Nikon camera. Scroll down to see some more hilarious images.

Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.