Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today performed yoga asanas with more than a thousand participants at a mega event organised here as part of International Yoga Day celebrations. Javadekar inaugurated the yoga session at 7 am at the Forest Research Institute premises here along with IFS probationers, officers and faculty members and followed it up with another programme held by Patanjali Yogpeeth at the Rangers Ground where he was accompanied by state BJP chief Tirath Rawat and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Ajay Bhatt. In his brief speech, Javadekar appealed to people to embr

The defence secretary has defended the government’s military strategy and spending, saying that “no country in Europe is playing such a strong global role”. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph he said the UK was “in it for the long term” when it came to Nato and deterring Russia, also hailing British operations against Islamic State (Isis) and humanitarian missions. [...] In his Telegraph article, Fallon highlighted the role of soft power in tackling the causes of instability, while also highlighting areas of military spending, including aircraft carriers and submarines.

New Delhi: The heart of India's capital will transform into a sea of colourful mats on Sunday as thousands perform the camel, cobra and other postures for the first International Yoga Day championed by Narendra Modi.

Shortly after dawn on a New Delhi boulevard, some 35,000 bureaucrats, students, soldiers and others are to take part in the 35-minute mass outdoor yoga session, hopeful of qualifying for theGuinness Book of Records.

The 2015 Lowy Institute Poll launched this week, revealing some interesting results of Australian attitudes on foreign policy. Check out the Polls' accompanying interactive feature here, where you can look at the data over the last 11 years. Alex Oliver, the Lowy Institute's polling director wrote on this year's major findings:

Of all the Canadiana on display near his desk, few stir in Prof. Tomasz Soroka the same kind of animated pride that the Governor General's medallion does.

Last year, Gov. Gen. David Johnston, on an official visit to Krakow, presented the medallion himself to the Polish Association of Canadian Studies (in which Soroka is secretary and a very active member), for its "outstanding contribution to the Canada-Poland bilateral relationship."

June 21 will be celebrated worldwide as International Day of Yoga, the result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to highlight yoga as India's signature cultural export. An regular practitioner of the discipline himself, Modi set up a new ministry for yoga last year and persuaded the United Nations to celebrate this day internationally. "After the number zero this is India's biggest contribution to society," joint secretary Anil Ganeriwala told Reuters.

Last week the Lowy Institute hosted a speech by Australia's Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop. If you haven't already listened to it, you can do so here. It's worth staying tuned for the Q&A where Bishop skilfully handled a number of tough questions.