'India committed to finding lasting solution to Russia's war in Ukraine'
India is among 40 countries which took part in the talks to seek a resolution to the war at a peace conference in Jeddah
By Sarwar AlamAug 09, 2023
INDIA will remain an “active and willing partner” to find a “lasting” solution to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the country’s national security advisor said, after attending a peace conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last Sunday (6).
Ajit Doval told delegates the responsibility to end the war was in the hands of both Russia and Ukraine.
India is among 40 countries – Russia did not attend – which took part in the talks to seek a resolution to the war. Representatives from China, the US and European countries were part of the conference in Jeddah.
New Delhi has refused to condemn Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine last year. At the same time, India has increased its trade with Russia driven by record-high oil purchases.
However, last year India’s prime minister Narendra Modi told Russia’s president Vladimir Putin this is "not an era of war".
Doval said, “The meeting confronts a two-fold challenge - resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this.”
He said peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a “just and enduring solution.”
India’s approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy.
“This is the only way forward for peace,” Doval added.
Delhi has a long-standing relationship with Russia dating back to the Soviet Union and its reluctance to outright condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is linked to the potential danger China possesses, an expert has said.
“When India needed support, it was always the Soviet Union that came to its aid, both during the war with China in 1962, providing weapons the West had refused to send, and during the war with Pakistan in 1971, when the [then] USSR vetoed all UN Security Council resolutions against India supported by the West,” Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, senior fellow for south and central Asian defence, strategy and diplomacy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), told Eastern Eye.
“There is a strong memory of these events in the Indian security establishment.”
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury
Roy-Chaudhury added, “New Delhi did not condemn or condone the invasion, a term that Indian officials have never used.
"India has no intention of undermining Western sanctions, but at the same time it wants to pursue its own national interest.
“In other words, it's in the best of the worst position. It does not support the West and does not weaken its position, because it does not provide aid to Russia as China and Iran are suspected of doing. And this allows it to keep diplomatic channels open with Russia without anyone talking about it," Roy-Chaudhury said.
“India is concerned about the strong relationship between Russia and China. India's dependency on Russia for advanced technology weapons is because they need these weapons to deter China.”
India and China share a 3,500 km (2,100 miles) border that has been disputed since the 1950s. The two sides went to war over it in 1962.
The dispute has resurfaced after at least 24 soldiers were killed in 2020 when both armies clashed in Ladakh, in the Himalayas, but tensions subsided but are yet to be completely resolved despite multiple rounds of talks.
Roy-Chaudhury said, “If Russia and China’s relationship becomes closer, and Russia gets weaker in that relationship overall because of the war in Ukraine, that will give China greater leverage to prevent the supply of weapons to India from Russia.
“Also, a weaker Russia means that you will not have a multi-polar world, a multi-polar Eurasian region. What India does not want is a Eurasian region under China's dominance.”
Narendra Modi (left) with Volodymyr Zelensky (centre) at the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May (Pic credit: ANI Photo)
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has promoted a set of ten principles that Kyiv wants to serve as the basis for peace to end the war. They include the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukraine's territory to its control.
The Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the Jeddah talks dealt a "huge blow" to Russia and added the participants agreed to hold another meeting of political advisers within about six weeks.
He said all the countries present at the talks in Jeddah “fully supported” Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.
The Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov hit back at the claim, calling the meeting "a reflection of the West's attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts to mobilise the international community, and more precisely, the global south, even if not entirely, in support of the so-called Zelenskiy formula, which is doomed and untenable from the outset."
Professor Anand Menon
Professor Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe, told Eastern Eye said India’s participation in Jeddah was a move aimed at enhancing its standing in the world, rather than Delhi taking sides in the conflict.
“India wants to underline the fact it's a serious diplomatic player that wants to have a role in world affairs,” said Menon, who teaches European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London.
“India aspires to a seat in the UN Security Council and to have a role in that, you need to be present in these conferences. Just showing diplomatic presence is quite good for (India prime minister Narendra) Modi and being a statesman on the international stage.”
According to him, it was important for countries from south Asia to play a leading role in world affairs.
“The conference wasn't about condemning. It was as much about the voice of these countries - the developing south as they call it - to be heard.
“It was also partly about symbolism, which is that the world and the West, in particular, have assumed for too long that they can sort out the affairs of the globe. And this was just those countries saying, ‘actually, we have a significant voice in world politics too.”
Modi and Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders’summit in Samarkand in September 2022 (Photo by ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked why India had not condemned Russia, Menon explained that the West’s decision to take a stand against some conflicts around the globe, but not others, was partly a reason.
“There's a degree of hypocrisy in the West, about the way they reacted to this (Ukraine war) compared to the way they reacted to other conflicts in the world,” he said. “There are other conflicts going on - in Yemen, for instance; the West is very quiet. I think the feeling in countries like India is that the West picks its outrage quite carefully, but it's certainly not based on general moral principles.”
“Russia is seen as a threat to everyone because they had a massive impact, immediately, in terms of energy prices.
“However, the West does have a tendency to sort of generalise what affects it, what affects the rest of the world. And there's been a lot of rhetoric about the future of world stability, with what’s happening in Ukraine. If you're over in Asia, you look at that and think, ‘the future European stability, perhaps, but not necessarily the future of world stability’.
“There is this perception in other parts of the world that Europeans don't really take note of sufficiently. The perspective of countries like India is that ‘if this was happening in Asia, you wouldn't care’.”
India will get the opportunity to take centrestage in the next step of potential peace talks around Russia and Ukraine. As the current president of the G20, India has invited leaders of all the nations in the forum for a final summit in September in New Delhi, with US presidents Joe Biden, Putin and Chian’s Xi Jinping expected to attend.
“This would have a worldwide echo, but also important implications domestically,” said Roy-Chaudhury.
“Let's not forget that India’s next elections are in 2024. Anything could happen, but for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party, it would be a major success to bring together the world's most important leaders at the same table.
“Only a country like India right now would be able to do such a thing.”
This week sees the release of Aamir Khan’s new film Sitare Zameen Par. Marketed as a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the multi-award-winning 2007 drama Taare Zameen Par, the film is in fact a remake of the 2018 Spanish movie Campeones — and it appears to be packed with copied moments from start to finish.
Social media users have already forensically compared the trailer with the original and pointed out identical scenes, alerting Hindi cinema fans to the 2023 American remake (Champions) and a 2022 German version (Weil wir Champions sind).
Unlike the many Bollywood productions that shamelessly steal storylines without credit, Sitare Zameen Par is an official adaptation. But it is arriving in an era where the remake formula no longer works — and now feels like a desperate, lazy shortcut.
Judging by the performance of most remakes in the past decade, the model is no longer viable. In today’s digital age, recycling someone else’s work is not just commercially risky — it is cultural suicide.
Aamir Khan
In the so-called golden age — or more accurately, the morally grey era — of Hindi cinema, producers routinely lifted entire plots from international films or South Indian blockbusters.
Streaming platforms did not exist, YouTube had not yet archived global cinema, and social media had not empowered legions of film detectives gleefully exposing plagiarism frame by frame. Bollywood operated in a vacuum — and in that silence, rip-offs flourished.
Aamir Khan, ironically now on the receiving end of backlash after the ill-fated Forrest Gump remake Laal Singh Chaddha, was once a master of the borrowed blockbuster.
Akele Hum Akele Tum was essentially Kramer vs. Kramer with playback singing. Mann was a musical version of An Affair to Remember. Ghulam borrowed heavily from On the Waterfront. Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was a near-copy of It Happened One Night, and Raja Hindustani drew inspiration from Jab Jab Phool Khile.
Even Ghajini was a remake of a Tamil film, which had itself stolen the core idea from Memento. These films succeeded because most of the audience had never seen the originals.
They were cinematic secrets whispered among cinephiles, not dissected in Instagram reels or exposed in viral X threads.
Back then, it was so easy to plagiarise without consequence that legendary screenwriting duo Salim–Javed regularly lifted scenes and story ideas from global cinema for their 1970s blockbusters.
In the following decade, Javed Akhtar reportedly pitched the story of Main Azaad Hoon (1989) to producers as an original concept — they only discovered after production began that it was lifted from the Hollywood classic Meet John Doe.
While occasional remakes like Kabir Singh and Drishyam have succeeded, most Hindi remakes in recent years have crashed and burned — especially in the age of social media, streamers, and video sharing sites.
The painful list of failures from just the last five years includes Bachchhan Paandey, Jersey, HIT: The First Case, Vikram Vedha, Thank God, Mili, Shehzada, Selfiee, Bholaa, Sarfira, Baby John and Deva.
These films have become redundant because the originals are often available online — and even if you are unaware of the source, someone in the comments section will be happy to point it out.
Hrithik Roshan
Now with Sitare Zameen Par, the cycle repeats. The original Taare Zameen Par worked because it was original and honest.
It was not borrowed from overseas or adapted from the South — it emerged from a sincere concern for children with dyslexia, a subject Bollywood had never explored before.
Trying to recreate that emotional impact through a tired remake formula risks tarnishing the very legacy Aamir Khan helped create.
This is not just another film — it is his third-layer adaptation of a story that has already been remade multiple times in other languages.
But this is not only about Aamir. The industry as a whole must confront the fact that today’s audience is smarter, more connected, and far less forgiving.
In what is arguably the worst creative slump in Hindi cinema history, original storytelling is no longer a luxury — it is a necessity.
Instead of spending crores (over £100,000 or ₹1 crore) on designer costumes, scenic locations and remake rights, Bollywood should be investing in screenwriters.
Remember them? The underpaid, under-credited creatives with actual ideas? They are the ones capable of pulling this industry out of its current rut.
There is a generation of hungry young filmmakers and writers eager to tell new stories. But their scripts are gathering dust while remake kings chase the faded echoes of past glory.
It is time to retire the remake — or at least cut them back drastically.
Audiences deserve better. Bollywood deserves better. Hindi cinema cannot keep indulging the egos of creatives who, frankly, have run out of creativity.
That includes even the so-called perfectionists like Aamir Khan, whose own last home production Laapataa Ladies was not spared plagiarism accusations.
A struggling industry cannot build a future by xeroxing the past. It is time to stop photocopying and start creating.
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Its appeal lies in its unpredictability, emotional expressiveness, and the thrill of collecting
A mischievous elf-like toy called Labubu has gone from niche collectable to global cultural phenomenon. Created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung and popularised by Chinese toy giant Pop Mart, Labubu has captured the imaginations of collectors from Beijing to London and beyond, with celebrity endorsements and long queues at retail stores fuelling its rapid rise.
The birth of Labubu
Labubu originated as a character in The Monsters, a picture book series by Lung. With its signature wide eyes, pointed ears and toothy grin, the figure was designed to be kind-hearted yet chaotic, charming in a deliberately imperfect way. The name “Labubu” itself doesn’t mean anything; it was invented for the character.
The toy first gained traction when Pop Mart acquired licensing rights in 2019. Pop Mart, founded by Wang Ning in 2010, had already found success with blind-box toys—sealed packages that keep the buyer unaware of which toy they’ve purchased until they open it. This model, combined with Labubu’s offbeat appeal, became a winning formula.
Global popularity and celebrity power
Although Labubu gained popularity in China early on, its international breakthrough came post-pandemic. Fans describe the toy as an “anti-cute” character that resonates with those tired of perfect aesthetics. Its appeal lies in its unpredictability, emotional expressiveness, and the thrill of collecting.
The Labubu frenzy went global in 2024, particularly after Thai K-pop star Lisa from BLACKPINK posted about the dolls. Soon after, global celebrities including Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, and David Beckham were seen with Labubu toys, turning the quirky character into a fashion accessory and internet talking point. Rihanna, for instance, was photographed with a Labubu clipped to her designer handbag, while Kardashian showed off her full collection online.
Booming sales and global reach
The celebrity exposure helped drive international demand. Pop Mart now operates over 2,000 vending machines—nicknamed "roboshops"—as well as more than 130 stores in over 30 countries. By the end of 2024, nearly 40% of its total revenue came from outside mainland China.
Sales have soared, and Pop Mart’s market value now surpasses that of Western toy giants like Mattel and Hasbro. In early 2025, the company reported a rise of nearly 500% in international revenue compared to the previous year.
The role of scarcity and surprise
A key part of Labubu’s success is its blind-box marketing strategy. Collectors never know exactly what version they’re getting; some are common, while rare “chaser” variants are far harder to find. This element of chance keeps consumers coming back for more. Some fans have even learned to weigh or shake boxes in hopes of guessing the contents.
Collector Desmond Tan, for example, says he often purchases multiple boxes in a single visit. He finds particular joy in identifying rare editions through feel alone, a practice now widespread among collectors.
Labubu dolls come in dozens of themed series, including “Exciting Macaron” and “Fall in Wild.” Limited editions and seasonal drops often sell out within minutes, both online and in-store. Prices range from £14 to £40 at retail, but rare items command much higher prices on resale markets.
Cultural soft power
The Chinese government has celebrated Labubu’s international popularity as a form of soft power. State media outlets like Xinhua have described the toy as an example of "Cool China"—a creative cultural product that resonates globally. This aligns with a wider push to promote Chinese intellectual property abroad, alongside video games and animated films.
Despite the success, the popularity has led to concerns over counterfeit products. Chinese customs officials recently confiscated over 70,000 fake Labubu toys, a sign of just how widespread the demand has become.
More than a toy
For many fans, Labubu represents more than just a collectable. It is an escape, a conversation piece, and in some cases, a personal symbol. Its curious charm, global reach, and viral appeal show how a character with no clear backstory can still capture hearts across continents.
What began as a quirky elf in a Hong Kong picture book has now become a cultural icon, equal parts weird, adorable and unstoppable.
A massive new cybersecurity report has revealed what experts are calling the largest data breach in history, involving over 16 billion login credentials. The records, uncovered by researchers at Cybernews, appear to come from a variety of sources and have raised alarm bells across the tech and cybersecurity industries.
Unprecedented scale of exposure
The data is spread across 30 different datasets, with individual troves containing between tens of millions and more than 3.5 billion credentials each. In total, the exposed records add up to 16 billion, a staggering number that equates to more than two credentials for every person on Earth.
Most of these credentials appear to have been collected through infostealer malware and other illicit methods. These tools typically capture usernames, passwords, tokens, cookies, and other metadata from compromised systems, packaging the data in a uniform structure, typically a URL followed by login details and passwords.
Not old data, but fresh and dangerous
What makes this breach especially concerning is the recency of the data. Researchers confirm that the datasets are not simply recycled from old breaches, but largely consist of new logs collected in recent months. Many include access credentials to services such as Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, Zoom, and Telegram.
Although some of the login pages referenced in the data are from popular global platforms, cybersecurity researcher Bob Diachenko clarified there was no centralised data breach at these tech giants. Instead, credentials linked to their login portals were likely captured via infostealers installed on individual users’ devices.
Multiple datasets, unclear ownership
The 30 datasets uncovered differ significantly in size and origin. The largest, containing over 3.5 billion records, is suspected to be linked to Portuguese-speaking regions. Other datasets hint at Russian sources or specific platforms like Telegram. Many have generic names such as “logins” or “credentials”, providing little insight into their exact source.
Despite the vast quantity of data, the researchers have been unable to identify a single entity behind the breach. It remains unclear whether the datasets were compiled by security researchers monitoring for leaks or by cybercriminal groups aggregating stolen information for exploitation.
While the datasets were only briefly exposed — typically via unsecured Elasticsearch or cloud storage instances — this short window was enough for experts to confirm their contents and raise concerns.
A blueprint for cybercrime
Experts warn that this is not merely a leak, but “a blueprint for mass exploitation.” The exposed credentials, which include sensitive data such as tokens and cookies, could be used for a range of attacks: from account takeovers and identity theft to ransomware campaigns and targeted phishing.
This kind of large-scale credential exposure is particularly dangerous for organisations lacking robust cybersecurity measures, including multi-factor authentication (MFA). Without these defences, hackers could easily use stolen credentials to breach systems and escalate attacks internally.
How users and organisations can respond
With the source of the leak uncertain and the extent of the damage unclear, there are few direct actions individuals can take. However, cybersecurity experts strongly recommend several key practices:
Use a password manager to generate and store strong, unique passwords for each service.
Regularly review accounts for unauthorised activity.
Run regular malware scans to detect and remove infostealers.
Diachenko, who contributed to the Cybernews report, stressed that while the breach doesn’t indicate failures at platforms like Facebook or Google, it still poses a widespread risk. “Credentials we’ve seen in infostealer logs contained login URLs to Apple, Facebook, and Google login pages,” he noted.
This implies that while the platforms themselves may be secure, any user who has been compromised by infostealer malware could unknowingly provide cybercriminals access to those services.
A reminder of growing data breach risks
This record-setting exposure is just the latest in a growing trend of large-scale data breaches. The fact that datasets of this size continue to emerge, often unnoticed for months, highlights the evolving nature of cybersecurity threats.
As digital services become more embedded in daily life, the potential fallout from data breaches expands. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the need for vigilant data hygiene, both for individual users and the organisations that serve them.
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Gill carved a niche for himself in the state’s cricketing history
Shubman Gill has become the first cricketer from Punjab to lead India in Test cricket, marking a historic milestone in his career. The 25-year-old was appointed as India’s Test captain on 24 May 2025 and officially led the team for the first time on 20 June in the opening match of the series against England at Headingley, Leeds.
Gill is the 37th player to captain India in the five-day format since the country’s debut in Test cricket in 1932. While players like Lala Amarnath, born in Kapurthala, Punjab, captained India in earlier years, he represented Southern Punjab in domestic cricket, a team based in what is now Pakistan. This makes Gill the first player from the Indian state of Punjab to take on the role in Test cricket.
Though Mohinder Amarnath previously captained India in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and Gill himself has already led India in five Twenty20 Internationals, this Test captaincy is a notable new chapter in his career.
India opt to bat first in Headingley Test
In Gill’s debut Test as captain, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to field first. This handed India the opportunity to bat on what appeared to be a favourable Leeds pitch. The match also featured several changes to the Indian line-up, including a long-awaited return and a fresh debut.
Sudharsan debuts, Karun and Shardul return
B Sai Sudharsan, the 22-year-old top-order batter from Tamil Nadu, was handed his Test debut. He slotted into the No. 3 position in the batting order. Sudharsan has impressed in white-ball formats and domestic red-ball cricket, earning praise for his temperament and shot selection.
Another significant inclusion was that of Karun Nair, who made a comeback to the Test side after more than seven years. The 33-year-old last played a Test match in March 2017 against Australia. He remains only the second Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket, having achieved the feat in 2016 against England. Nair is expected to bat at No. 6 in the current Test.
Shardul Thakur also returned to the playing XI after an 18-month absence. Known for his all-round capabilities, Thakur was picked ahead of Nitish Kumar Reddy to fill the fast-bowling all-rounder slot. His ability to contribute with both bat and ball gives India greater flexibility, especially on a pitch that may offer assistance to seamers in the early stages.
A new era begins
Gill’s elevation to Test captain follows a transitional phase in Indian cricket. He takes over leadership from a rotating cast of senior players, including Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul, all of whom have briefly captained the side in recent years. With India looking to groom a younger core, Gill’s appointment signifies a long-term vision for the team.
As he took the field at Headingley, Shubman Gill not only became part of an elite list of Indian Test captains but also carved a niche for himself in the state’s cricketing history. The series against England could now set the tone for his leadership journey in the longest format of the game.
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The leaders discussed the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the UK and Bahrain, aimed at deepening joint military training and naval ties.
PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer met Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, prime minister of Bahrain, at Downing Street on Thursday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders discussed the UK-Bahrain relationship and welcomed the UK becoming a full member of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), a trilateral pact with Bahrain and the United States focused on regional security.
They also welcomed the signing of the Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership, which aims to build on the two-way investment between the countries. According to the spokesperson, this would "unlock new investment, growth and jobs into the UK, delivering on the Plan for Change."
The leaders discussed the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the UK and Bahrain, aimed at deepening joint military training and naval ties.
The spokesperson said, “Highlighting the strength of the 200-year relationship between both nations, the leaders looked forward to further cooperation, including trade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.”
They also spoke about the situation in the Middle East, called for de-escalation, and agreed on the need for closer regional ties to support stability.
“The Prime Minister and Crown Prince looked forward to speaking again soon,” the spokesperson added.