Latest news with #Sipri
Pink Villa
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Kareena Kapoor's favorite Sunday special Sindhi Kadhi recipe; a must try
We all know Kareena Kapoor is a big-time foodie, and she never hesitates to show off her love for food publicly. Having unapologetically accepted that she would rather have aloo paratha than have a zero-figure, the actress has time and again shared about her favorite dishes, which are often simple Indian food. In an interview, the crew actress revealed that since her mother is half-Indian, she often has Sindhi kadhi on Sundays. And the way Bebo almost drooled while talking about this Kadhi propelled us to share the recipe with you. So, let's get cooking! Ingredients: Oil Cumin seeds (Jeera) Mustard seeds (Rai) Fenugreek seeds (Methi dana) Gram flour/chickpea flour (Besan) Curry Patta Asafoetida (Heeng) Hot water Turmeric powder (Haldi) Ginger Green chillis Kashmiri red chilli powder 3 medium-sized tomatoes (For puree) 3 medium-sized potatoes A bunch of cluster beans (Guar fali) Cauliflower Drumsticks (Sahjan fali) 2 Eggplants 10-12 Ocra (Bhindi) Tamarind pulp Salt How to make Typically, Sindhi Kadhi is made in a Sipri or Handi, which is a large, deep pot mostly used in Indian cooking. This pot is either made of clay, copper, or aluminium. However, if you don't have a Sipri, you can cook Sindhi Kadhi in a Kadahi, aka an Indian wok, or a stock pot. Ready with the gear? Let's get started! Set your wok on the stove with a high flame Add 4 tbsp of oil to it Once the oil gets hot, add 1 tbsp jeera (cumin seeds), 1 tbsp rai (mustard seeds), and ½ tbsp fenugreek seeds. Stir them well and let them crackle Now, add two ladles of gram flour or besan to the pot and stir well on a low flame until the color of the besan turns light golden (Note that it is important to continuously stir so that the besan doesn't burn) Toss 10-12 kadhi patta and mix Add 1 L of hot water (Drizzle the water slowly while stirring at the same time so that chunks of besan cannot be formed and the mix comes out smoother) Now add another litre of water Add salt to taste Add 1 tbsp turmeric powder Add 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder Toss in 2 tbsp grated ginger Add green chillis slit vertically Make a puree from three medium-sized tomatoes and add to the gravy On a high flame, stir the gravy well and bring it to a boil Once the gravy comes to a boil, add peeled and half-chopped drumsticks (Sahjan fali) Add one cup of cluster beans (Guar fali) Add 3 chopped potatoes (Cut the potatoes into quarters) Add half a cauliflower, chopped into pieces equal to the potato quarters Put a lid on the pot and let the curry simmer for a good 10 to 12 minutes, until it turns thick Now, for the remaining veggies, take a pan and set it on the stove on a high flame Add 1 tbsp of oil and let it heat up Now add 9 to 10 washed orcas (bhindi) and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. No need to cut them into smaller pieces, just remove the ends. Take out the bhindi in a bowl and the same pan, cook 2 quartered chopped brinjals (baingan) for 3 to 4 minutes. Once the color of the curry enriches, add the fried veggies to it Close the lid again and let it simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, on a medium-low flame After the curry is cooked and the veggies soften, add 2 tbsp of tamarind pulp (Imli ka gooda) Serve hot with steamed rice and your Sunday is set!
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pakistan's use of J-10C jets and missiles exposes potency of Chinese weaponry
As India and Pakistan traded missile strikes over the weekend, and the world watched with horror as the two nuclear-armed neighbours erupted into open conflict, military analysts spotted something curious. Pakistan, it seemed, had used Chinese jets to shoot down India's planes. Last week, India launched missiles at Pakistan, in retaliation for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed 26 people. The conflict escalated with mutual strikes and drone attacks. Pakistan claimed to have shot down several Indian air force fighter jets with Chinese-made missiles fired from Chinese-made J10-C jets. The Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar told parliament the Pakistani-flown fighters had taken down India's French-made Rafales. Dar said he had informed the Chinese and they were pleased. China's social media celebrated. Related: From missiles to ceasefire: how India and Pakistan pulled back from the brink The use of J-10Cs by Pakistan would mark the first time the Chinese planes – and the PL-15 missiles they were carrying – have been used in combat anywhere in the world, giving military analysts a rare glimpse of their capabilities, and China's military, the PLA, a crucial test case. 'Any state producing or buying weapons is keen to see how the product does in real conflict. Tests and exercises can tell most about capabilities of weapons, but the ultimate test is often combat,' said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). China is a crucial ally of Pakistan. Sipri estimates that it is Pakistan's biggest military weapons supplier, providing more than 80% of its stock from fighter jets to navy vessels and missiles. Andrew Small, a Berlin-based senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, said China gets particular benefit from seeing its weapons used against western equivalents. 'It gives them a chance to assess their performance under far more complex and challenging conditions than usual, and with Pakistan this is not just about the fighter jets themselves, it's about the missiles, the radar systems, and the whole technology spine of the Pakistani military, from electronic warfare capabilities to satellite systems.' It's not just western arms that China's planes are being tested against. India has the support of both China's biggest rival, the US, and its closest ally, Russia, which supplies 36% of India's arms imports. But analysts says it has provided a wake-up call about China's military capabilities as it threatens to annex Taiwan. 'We may need to reassess the PLA's air combat capabilities, which may be approaching or even surpassing the level of US air power deployments in east Asia,' Shu Hsiao-Huang, an associate research fellow at the Taiwan defence ministry-linked Institute of National Defense and Security Research, told Bloomberg. Under the rule of Xi Jinping, China's military has been modernising and expanding, with a goal to be capable of an air and land invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Hu Xijin, the former editor of the nationalistic Chinese state-linked tabloid Global Times, said the incident showed Taiwan should feel 'even more scared'. Part of China's contingency planning is an expectation that the US military and potentially others would be involved in defending Taiwan. Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Center, said the two combat theatres were not directly comparable, as a Taiwan invasion would probably involve more input from the navy, marines and army than this month's limited conflict between India and Pakistan. 'And technically, India did not use American weapon systems during this round,' Sun said. 'But the surprising victory of Chinese J-10 and PL-15 [missiles] will force people to reconsider the military balance of power in the event of a Taiwan contingency.' The apparent success of the J-10C against the Rafales also boosts China's reputation as a manufacturer and seller of weapons. While China is the world's fourth largest arms exporter, more than half goes to Pakistan and the rest is mostly to smaller developed nations. It must work around US sanctions. The share price of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, which makes the J-10Cs, soared on the news. Small said Pakistan was often seen as a showcase for Chinese weapons. 'A good performance demonstrates to others the benefits of maintaining a close partnership with Beijing as PLA capabilities advance, especially given the rumours that China provided Pakistan, one of its closest strategic partners, with versions of the PL-15 missiles that have a longer range than the usual export variant,' he said. Wezeman said the shooting was too limited to draw a lot of firm conclusions about the state of China's military, which has also been mired in corruption scandals in recent years. 'That said, the clash seems to support a general assessment that Chinese weapons are proving to have become a match for western weapons.' China's military and government have neither denied nor celebrated the J-10C claims. The foreign ministry said when asked that it was 'not familiar' with the J-10C situation. But on Tuesday China's vice-foreign minister Sun Weidong met with Pakistan's ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi. 'China welcomes and supports Pakistan and India achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire,' a foreign ministry statement said. 'China is ready to continue to play a constructive role in this regard.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How real is the risk of nuclear war between India and Pakistan?
In the latest India-Pakistan stand-off, there were no ultimatums, no red buttons. Yet the cycle of military retaliation, veiled signals and swift international mediation quietly evoked the region's most dangerous shadow. The crisis didn't spiral towards nuclear war, but it was a reminder of how quickly tensions here can summon that spectre. Even scientists have modelled how easily things could unravel. A 2019 study by a global team of scientists opened with a nightmare scenario where a terrorist attack on India's parliament in 2025 triggers a nuclear exchange with Pakistan. Six years later, a real-world stand-off - though contained by a US-brokered ceasefire on Saturday - stoked fears of a full-blown conflict. It also revived uneasy memories of how fragile stability in the region can be. As the crisis escalated, Pakistan sent "dual signals" - retaliating militarily while announcing a National Command Authority (NCA) meeting, a calculated reminder of its nuclear capability. The NCA oversees control and potential use of the country's nuclear arsenal. Whether this move was symbolic, strategic or a genuine alert, we may never know. It also came just as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly stepped in to defuse the spiral. President Trump said the US didn't just broker a ceasefire - it averted a "nuclear conflict". On Monday, in an address to the nation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "[There] is no tolerance for nuclear blackmail; India will not be intimidated by nuclear threats. "Any terrorist safe haven operating under this pretext will face precise and decisive strikes," Modi added. India and Pakistan each possess about 170 nuclear weapons, according to the think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). As of January 2024, Sipri estimated there were 12,121 nuclear warheads worldwide. Of these, about 9,585 were held in military stockpiles, with 3,904 actively deployed - 60 more than the previous year. The US and Russia together account for more than 8,000 nuclear weapons. The bulk of both India's and Pakistan's deployed arsenals lies in their land-based missile forces, though both are developing nuclear triads capable of delivering warheads by land, air and sea, according to Christopher Clary, a security affairs expert at the University at Albany in the US. "India likely has a larger air leg (aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons) than Pakistan. While we know the least of Pakistan's naval leg, it is reasonable to assess that India's naval leg is more advanced and more capable than Pakistan's sea-based nuclear force," he told the BBC. One reason, Mr Clary said, is that Pakistan has invested nowhere near the "time or money" that India has in building a nuclear-powered submarine, giving India a "clear qualitative" edge in naval nuclear capability. Since testing nuclear weapons in 1998, Pakistan has never formally declared an official nuclear doctrine. India, by contrast, adopted a no-first-use policy following its own 1998 tests. But this stance has shown signs of softening. In 2003, India reserved the right to use nuclear weapons in response to chemical or biological attacks - effectively allowing for first use under certain conditions. Further ambiguity emerged in 2016, when then–defence minister Manohar Parrikar suggested India shouldn't feel "bound" by the policy, raising questions about its long-term credibility. (Parrikar clarified that this was his own opinion.) The absence of a formal doctrine doesn't mean Pakistan lacks one - official statements, interviews and nuclear developments offer clear clues to its operational posture, according to Sadia Tasleem of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Pakistan's nuclear threshold remains vague, but in 2001, Khalid Kidwai - then head of the Strategic Plans Division of the NCA - outlined four red lines: major territorial loss, destruction of key military assets, economic strangulation or political destabilisation. In 2002, then-president Pervez Musharraf clarified that "nuclear weapons are aimed solely at India", and would only be used if "the very existence of Pakistan as a state" was at stake. In his memoir, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote that he was jolted awake at night to speak with an unnamed "Indian counterpart" who feared Pakistan was preparing to use nuclear weapons during the 2019 stand-off with India. Around the same time, Pakistani media quoted a senior official issuing a stark warning to India: "I hope you know what the [National Command Authority] means and what it constitutes. I said that we will surprise you. Wait for that surprise… You have chosen a path of war without knowing the consequences for the peace and security of the region." During the 1999 Kargil War, Pakistan's then-foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed warned that the country would not "hesitate to use any weapon" to defend its territory. Years later, US official Bruce Riedel revealed that intelligence indicated Pakistan was preparing its nuclear arsenal for possible deployment. But there is scepticism on both sides over such claims. Former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria wrote in his memoir that Pompeo overstated both the risk of nuclear escalation and the US role in calming the conflict in 2019. And during Kargil, Pakistan "knew the Indian Air Force wouldn't cross into its territory" - so there was no real trigger for even an implicit nuclear threat, insist Pakistani analysts. "Strategic signalling reminds the world that any conflict can spiral - and with India and Pakistan, the stakes are higher due to the nuclear overhang. But that doesn't mean either side is actively threatening nuclear use," Ejaz Haider, a Lahore-based defence analyst, told the BBC. But nuclear escalation can happen by accident too. "This could happen by human error, hackers, terrorists, computer failures, bad data from satellites and unstable leaders," Prof Alan Robock of Rutgers University, lead author of the landmark 2019 paper by a global team of scientists, told the BBC. In March 2022, India accidentally fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile which travelled 124km (77 miles) into Pakistani territory before crashing, reportedly damaging civilian property. Pakistan said India failed to use the military hotline or issue a public statement for two days. Had this occurred during heightened tensions, the incident could have spiralled into serious conflict, experts say. (Months later, India's government sacked three air force officers for the "accidental firing of a missile".) Yet, the danger of nuclear war remains "relatively small" between India and Pakistan, according to Mr Clary. "So long as there is not major ground combat along the border, the dangers of nuclear use remain relatively small and manageable," he said. "In ground combat, the 'use it or lose it' problem is propelled by the possibility that your ground positions will be overrun by the enemy." ('Use it or lose it' refers to the pressure a nuclear-armed country may feel to launch its weapons before they are destroyed in a first strike by an adversary.) Sumit Ganguly, a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, believes that "neither India nor Pakistan wants to be labelled as the first violator of the post-Hiroshima nuclear taboo". "Furthermore, any side that resorts to the use of nuclear weapons would face substantial retaliation and suffer unacceptable casualties," Mr Ganguly told the BBC. At the same time, both India and Pakistan appear to be beefing up their nuclear arsenal. With new delivery systems in development, four plutonium reactors and expanding uranium enrichment, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal could reach around 200 warheads by the late 2020s, according to The Nuclear Notebook, researched by the Federation of American Scientists' Nuclear Information Project. And as of early 2023, India was estimated to have about 680kg of weapons-grade plutonium - enough for roughly 130-210 nuclear warheads, according to the International Panel on Fissile Materials. Despite repeated crises and close calls, both sides have so far managed to avoid a catastrophic slide into nuclear conflict. "The deterrent is still holding. All Pakistanis did was to respond to conventional strikes with counter-conventional strikes of their own," writes Umer Farooq, an Islamabad-based analyst. Yet, the presence of nuclear weapons injects a constant undercurrent of risk - one that can never be entirely ruled out, no matter how experienced the leadership or how restrained the intentions. "When nuclear weapons can be involved, there is always an unacceptable level of danger,"John Erath, senior policy director at the non-profit Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told the BBC. "The Indian and Pakistani governments have navigated these situations in the past, so the risk is small. But with nuclear weapons, even a small risk is too large."
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Defence: India outspend Pakistan 9:1 in 2024, says new report
New Delhi : India's military spending in 2024 was nearly nine times that of Pakistan and the fifth highest in the world in a year that saw global spending on arms register the fastest increase since at least the end of the Cold War, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in a report published on Monday. New Delhi's military expenditure grew 1.6% annually to $86.1 billion last year, according to the report. In contrast, Pakistan spent $10.2 billion last year, the report noted. 'India… increased its spending… by 42% from 2015,' said the report titled 'Trends in World Military Expenditure 2024'. Globally, military expenditure reached $2718 billion in 2024, an increase of 9.4% in real terms from 2023 and the steepest year-on-year rise since at least 1988. Military spending increased in all world regions, with particularly rapid growth in both Europe and West Asia, both ravaged by war last year. The top five military spenders — the US, China, Russia, Germany and India—accounted for 60% of the global total, with combined spending of $1635 billion, the report added. 'Spending has increased every year for a full decade, going up by 37% between 2015 and 2024,' the report said. The findings come at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are rapidly spiking in the aftermath of the chilling terrorist attack last week near Pahalgam town in Kashmir that left 26 people dead and around 15 others injured. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack — the worst terrorist strike on civilians in the country since the 2008 Mumbai attacks — and has pointed to evidence such as signal intelligence, identification of three terrorists from across the border, and a statement by The Resistance Front, long considered a proxy for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, claiming responsibility for the deaths. Last week, New Delhi unfurled a bouquet of punitive diplomatic measures — suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading bilateral ties, and shutting down the Attari checkpost — as it hit back at Islamabad over the brazen attack. China's military expenditure increased by 7% to an estimated $314 billion, marking three decades of consecutive growth, the study noted. The communist nation accounted for 50% of all military spending in Asia and Oceania, investing in the continued modernisation of its military and expansion of its cyberwarfare capabilities and nuclear arsenal, it said. Sipri said military spending in Europe (including Russia) rose 17% to $693 billion and was the main contributor to the global increase in 2024. With the war in Ukraine in its third year, military expenditure kept rising across the continent, pushing European military spending beyond the level recorded at the end of the Cold War, it noted. Sipri said Russia's military expenditure reached an estimated $149 billion in 2024, a 38% increase from 2023 and double the level in 2015. This represented 7.1% of Russia's GDP and 19% of all Russian government spending. Ukraine's total military expenditure grew by 2.9% to reach $64.7 billion — equivalent to 43% of Russia's spending. At 34% of GDP, Ukraine had the largest military burden of any country in 2024, the report added. 'Russia once again significantly increased its military spending, widening the spending gap with Ukraine,' said Diego Lopes da Silva, senior researcher with the Sipri Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. 'Ukraine currently allocates all of its tax revenues to its military. In such a tight fiscal space, it will be challenging for Ukraine to keep increasing its military spending,' he said. Several countries in central and western Europe saw unprecedented rises in their military expenditure in 2024 as they implemented new spending pledges and large-scale procurement plans, Sipri said. It said Germany's military expenditure increased by 28% to reach $88.5 billion, making it the biggest spender in central and western Europe and the fourth biggest in the world. Poland's military spending grew by 31% to $38.0 billion in 2024, representing 4.2% of Poland's GDP, according to Sipri.
Telegraph
09-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
F-35 ‘kill switch' could allow Trump to disable European air force
Donald Trump could deactivate supplies of American F-35 fighter jets making their way to Germany at the push of a button known as a 'kill switch', officials fear. Germany is set to receive 35 of the world's most advanced fighter jets for €8.3 billion (£6.9 billion) next year in a deal made with the US. The ability of the US to flip a switch that would render them inoperable has long been the subject of speculation, but until now, it has not been proven. But concern is mounting that Mr Trump might employ the same drastic action to enforce his political objectives on Ukraine. This week, he froze military aid to Ukraine and paused intelligence-sharing to put pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, to convene peace talks with Russia and to sign a minerals deal with Washington. On Saturday, reports surfaced that US-supplied F-16s had stopped working in Ukraine. Though this was because of the suspension of critical support for radar systems rather than them being 'switched off', Joachim Schranzhofer, the head of communications at Hensoldt, the German arms company, told Germany's Bild newspaper the 'kill switch in the F-35 is more than just a rumour'. European leaders have continued to rally around Mr Zelensky as Mr Trump takes an increasingly hard line against Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Wolfgang Ischinger, the former chairman of the Munich Security Conference, told Bild Mr Trump's loss of support for Ukraine bodes ill for Germany's relationship with Washington on defence matters. Mr Ischinger said: 'If we should fear that the US would make the future German F-35 [jets] the same as they do in Ukraine now, then the issue of contract cancellation may be considered.' The prospect of the US turning on Germany after the deal is complete will embolden those who have voiced concern over Europe's growing reliance on the US for arms. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), around 55 per cent of arms imports by European states in 2019–23 were supplied by the US, up from 35 per cent in 2014–18. Dan Smith, the director of Sipri, said: 'More than half of arms imports by European states come from the USA. 'At the same time, Europe is responsible for about a third of global arms exports, including large volumes going outside the region, reflecting Europe's strong military–industrial capacity.'
