WebinarsNew
Explore Business Standard
Military
A Pakistani military contingent comprising around 13,000 soldiers and 10 to 18 jets has reached Saudi Arabia as part of a joint strategic defence agreement signed last year, the Gulf Kingdom announced on Saturday. The military contingent's deployment to King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Eastern Sector includes fighter jets and support aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, according to a statement from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence. The deployment aimed to enhance joint military coordination, improve operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries, and support security and stability at regional and international levels, it added. A Pakistan government official also confirmed sending troops and jets to Saudi Arabia as part of the two countries' strategic defence agreement, under which any attack on one country would be considered an attack on another. Expert on international affairs Mohammad Mehdi told PTI that Pakistan had sent aircraft and troops to Saudi Arab
A high-stakes dispute over military use of artificial intelligence erupted into public view this week as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth brusquely terminated the Pentagon's work with Anthropic and other government agencies, using a law designed to counter foreign supply chain threats to slap a scarlet letter on a US company. President Donald Trump and Hegseth accused rising AI star Anthropic of endangering national security after its CEO Dario Amodei refused to back down over concerns the company's products could be used for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones. The San Francisco-based company has vowed to sue over Hegseth's call to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk, an unprecedented move to apply a law intended to counter foreign threats to a US company. Anthropic said it would challenge what it called a legally unsound action "never before publicly applied to an American company." The looming legal battle could have huge implications on the balance of power in Big Te
Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to more than 6,100 prisoners and reduced other inmates' sentences Sunday to mark the 78th anniversary of the country's independence from Britain. It was not immediately clear whether those released include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule. The amnesty comes as the military government proceeds with a monthlong, three-stage election process that critics say is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to the status quo. State-run MRTV television reported that Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, pardoned 6,134 prisoners. A separate statement said 52 foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar. No comprehensive list of those freed is available. Other prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape or those jailed on charges under various other security acts. The release terms warn that if the freed
Voters went to the polls on Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar's first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country. Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule, which began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Her party won a landslide victory in the 2020 election but was blocked from taking office for a second term. In Yangon, the country's largest city, Naypyitaw, the capital, and elsewhere, voters were casting their ballots at high schools, government buildings and religious buildings. Critics argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression. They contend that the expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a ..
After undergoing rigorous training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, 491 cadets participated in a grand Passing Out Parade on Saturday and will now be commissioned as officers in the Indian Army. The spectacular parade, held at the historic Drill Square in front of the academy's Chatwood Building, was reviewed by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who served as the reviewing officer. Along with 491 Indian cadets, 34 foreign cadets from 14 friendly countries also participated in the Autumn Term 2025 Passing Out Parade. A total of 525 officer cadets from the 157th Regular Course, 46th Technical Entry Scheme, 140th Technical Graduate Course, 55th Special Commissioned Officers Course, and Territorial Army Online Entrance Exam 2023 Course participated in the Passing Out Parade. The 'Sword of Honour' and gold medal for securing first place during training was awarded to ACA Nishkal Dwivedi, the silver medal to BUO Badal Yadav for second place, and the bronze medal to SUO
Ex-military officers who served in Argentina's brutal dictatorship and their families staged a rare rally on Saturday to push for the release of fellow officers imprisoned for human rights abuses committed during the junta's 1976-1983 rule. Saturday's demonstration was seen as a provocation in the country of Nunca Ms, the slogan that represents Argentina's commitment to never again return to authoritarianism. Further raising tensions, the officers gathered in Plaza de Mayo, the historic site of protests by women searching for children who had been abducted, detained and disappeared" by the junta. Circling the plaza in silent protest every Thursday for decades, the women became known as the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. To the army officers' critics, including dozens of counter-protesters who also flocked to Plaza de Mayo in downtown Buenos Aires on Saturday, the brazen rally marked a worrying sign that cracks were starting to appear in Argentina's national consensus about the blood