New Delhi: India has military deployment plans in place for exigencies in the neighbourhood. Provided the Maldivian government requested such assistance, India could have intervened. As violence swept through Maldives and President Mohammed Nasheed resigned, Indian Navy sources confirmed that they were on standby, primed for movement if required. In fact, sources in the Prime Minister's Office told CNN-IBN that they were worried about Islamic radicalism and that a military...
11:29 PM, Feb 09, 2012
Cairo: Egypt refused to back down on Wednesday in a dispute with the US over Cairo's crackdown on nonprofit groups despite Washington's threats to cut aid, while the military deployed troops to the nation's streets after a surge in violence and protests against its rule. Egypt's official MENA news agency said the army was deploying more troops to reinforce the police, restore security and state "prestige." The move comes in...
01:19 AM, Feb 09, 2012
Moscow: Russia and India on Monday started preparations for the joint INDRA-2012 military exercises scheduled to be held in Russia this summer, a Russian official said. Lt. Col. Alexander Gordeyev, spokesman for the Eastern Military District, said: "An Indian military delegation arrived on Monday in Ulan Ude (in Russia's Far East) to discuss the preparation for INDRA-2012 military drills to be held this summer." Russian and Indian military officials will...
04:17 AM, Feb 07, 2012
New Delhi: India's 1.3 million-strong armed forces, hobbled by outdated equipment and slow decision-making, are undergoing an overhaul as defence priorities shift to China from traditional rival Pakistan. And like a refit of the imposing but dilapidated defence ministry on Delhi's grand South Block, it's a plodding process. Defence chiefs are hurrying to modernise ageing weaponry as China reinforces a 3,500-km (2,200-mile) shared but disputed border through the Himalayas. It...
12:19 PM, Feb 04, 2012
New Delhi: Big decisions on warplane purchases by Japan and India have intensified competition in the multi-billion-dollar global market, with Western defense firms scrambling for orders in Asia and the Middle East as their home-country budgets shrivel. Growing international unease over China's military build-up and ongoing tensions between Iran and Western allies in the Gulf, coupled with the deep pockets of nations basking in high commodity prices, have sparked a...
04:46 AM, Feb 04, 2012
New Delhi: India's 1.3 million-strong armed forces, hobbled by outdated equipment and slow decision-making, are undergoing an overhaul as defence priorities shift to China from traditional rival Pakistan. And like a refit of the imposing but dilapidated Defence Ministry on Delhi's grand South Block, it's a plodding process. Defence chiefs are hurrying to modernise aging weaponry as China reinforces a 3,500-km (2,200-mile) shared but disputed border through the Himalayas. It...
11:07 PM, Feb 03, 2012
Islamabad: Militants killed 15 paramilitary troopers and injured 12 more in an attack on four security posts in the restive Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday. The militants attacked the security check posts at Margat, a coal-rich area near Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, on Tuesday night. The rebels used light and heavy weapons during the attack, which continued for five hours, officials of the Frontier Corps...
02:49 AM, Feb 02, 2012
Washington: The US may rely on its aging fleet of 33 high-flying U-2 spy planes longer than expected due to defence cutbacks, according to a media report. For more than 50 years, the CIA and US military have relied on U-2s to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions. It was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union. The...
06:39 PM, Jan 30, 2012
Washington: Faced with a $487 billion slash in its budget over the next 10 years, the Pentagon has announced downsizing its military forces by 1,00,000, even as Defence Secretary Leon Panetta asserted that US will remain a force to contend with anytime and anywhere. "The military will be smaller and leaner, but it will be agile, flexible, rapidly deployable and technologically advanced. It will be a cutting-edge force," he told...
01:18 PM, Jan 27, 2012
Islamabad: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday sought to put his simmering row with the powerful military behind, saying he had criticised the actions of the Army and intelligence chiefs in "unique situations" that no longer prevailed. Referring to his comments about the army and ISI chiefs acting in an unconstitutional and illegal manner in the memo scandal, Gilani said those remarks were made at a time when "there...
09:01 PM, Jan 25, 2012
Beirut: The UN Secretary General on Sunday demanded that Syria's president stop killing his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East. In a keynote address at a conference on democracy in the Arab world, Ban Ki-moon said the revolutions of the Arab Spring show that people will no longer accept tyranny. "Today, I say again to President (Bashar)...
03:45 PM, Jan 15, 2012
Islamabad: Amidst fears of a military coup in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari left for Dubai for a one-day visit, according to reports. Senior reporter of Dawn News Mateen Haidar said that Presidential sources have termed Zardari's visit as a private visit. Sources also said that Zardari will meet his children and doctors in Dubai. Sources also indicated that Zardari may meet former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Meanwhile, responding to...
02:16 PM, Jan 12, 2012
New Delhi: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan lashed out at the Pakistan government led by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, demanding their resignation. He said that early elections were the only way out of the country's current crisis, but also added that he won't support a military coup. "I have been hearing 'go Zardari go' slogans. If you are serious, then resign from the Assembly...
12:49 PM, Jan 12, 2012
Washington: The United States has said it is monitoring the situation in Pakistan and reiterated its commitment to a civilian-led democracy there. The strong statement in support of the civilian government gains significance in the wake of the increased tension between the government led by the President, Asif Ali Zardari, and the Pakistani military led by its Army Chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. This has given rise to speculation of...
08:47 AM, Jan 12, 2012
Washington: Amid growing tension between the civilian and military leadership in Pakistan, the US has said it had not sought or received any assurances from the Pakistani Army that it would not stage a coup. "I'm not aware that we've sought any assurances, and I don't think we're aware that we've been given any. This is a matter for Pakistani officials and the government leaders there, military and civilian, to...
08:24 AM, Jan 12, 2012
Washington: In 10 years from 1995 to 2005, the military expenditure in South Asia increased by 50 per cent, and one in every 10 military personnel in the world are in this part of the globe, a US report has said. "From 1995 to 2005, the military expenditures of the states of South Asia appear to have risen about 50 per cent in absolute terms and about 23 per cent...
11:11 AM, Jan 11, 2012
New Delhi: Army chief General VK Singh is trying to play down his disagreement with the Defence Ministry over a prolonged and messy age row that threatened to impact his tenure. When asked whether he had any disagreement with the government, Army Chief General VK Singh said, "There is no difference of opinion with the Defence Ministry regarding the age issue." The Army chief remained non-committal on whether or not...
03:43 PM, Jan 10, 2012
Baghdad: Two bombs exploded near Shi'ite pilgrims travelling through Iraq's capital on Monday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 52 others, police and hospital sources said. Thousands of Shi'ites are making the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Kerbala for the Arbain religious rite amid Iraq's worst political crisis in a year after the Shi'ite-led government moved against two prominent Sunni politicians. The crisis threatens to unravel Iraq's...
02:23 AM, Jan 10, 2012
The United States is boosting its military presence in the Asia Pacific region as it looks to counter China's rising power. President Barack Obama made the announcement following a wide-ranging review into defence spending. China is now reacting to the newly implemented strategy. ...
11:35 AM, Jan 09, 2012
The United States is boosting its military presence in the Asia Pacific region as it looks to counter China's rising power. President Barack Obama made the announcement following a wide-ranging review into defence spending. China is now reacting to the newly implemented strategy. ...
11:17 AM, Jan 09, 2012
