With the Taliban back in power in Afghanistan, Pakistan may have come closer to achieving its long-sought “strategic depth” with respect to its western neighbor, with a Pakistan-friendly government in Kabul. But the Taliban’s victory is also seriously testing Pakistan’s long fraught bilateral relationship with […]
In her address to the powerful Congress Working Committee on Saturday, October 16, 2021, Congress president Sonia Gandhi indulged in some plain speak, saying she is a “full-time and hands-on party president”. Reacting to comments by some G-23 leaders that the party needs an active president, Sonia […]
“India is fully democratic. Judiciary is independent. Media is free. There is no substance to the claims that the media is controlled by the government,” declared India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shri V. Muraleedharan on October 12th at the Mill River Hotel in […]
“I am here to listen to you. Want to make sure your suggestions are heard and implemented,” India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shri V. Muraleedharan during a Reception and Interactive session with the Indian Diaspora on October 12th at the Mill River Hotel […]
India’s economy is expected to grow by 8.3 per cent this fiscal year, according to the World Bank, making it the second-fastest-growing major economy. The Bank’s Regional Economic Update released on Thursday said that after the “deadly second wave” of Covid-19 in India “the pace […]
Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they would like to see former President Donald Trump continue to be a major political figure for many years to come, including 44% who say they would like him to run for president in 2024, according to a […]
(Reuters) - Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, who braved the wrath of the leaders of the Philippines and Russia to expose corruption and misrule, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, in an endorsement of free speech under fire worldwide. The two were awarded […]
When Max Pensky hosted courageous Philippine journalist Maria Ressa for a talk as part of Binghamton University's Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP), little did he know that he would wake up the next day to find out that Ressa had just been […]
Newswise — As the Supreme Court’s fall term begins, a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania finds that more than a third of Americans say they might be willing to abolish the Supreme Court or have Congress limit its jurisdiction […]
India’s Union Minister's son Ashish Mishra, accused of running over farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri triggering violence that claimed eight lives earlier this month, was sent to police custody for three days on Monday, October 11th Ashish Mishra, was arrested last week after nearly […]
‘I think we need regulation to protect people’s private data,’ influential Democrat says in wake of Frances Haugen revelations. Testimony in Congress this week by the whistleblower Frances Haugen should prompt action to implement meaningful oversight of Facebook and other tech giants, the influential California […]
The strong group of Progressives in the US House of Representatives, led by the lone Indian American Congresswoman wants assurances that the spending plan, is certain to be supported by the entire Democratic caucus both in the Senate and the House On Friday, October 1st, […]
A massive investigation from more than 600 journalists across the globe sheds new light into the shadowy world of offshore banking and the high-powered elites who use the system to their benefit. The exposé, dubbed the "Pandora Papers," shows how the world's wealthy hide their […]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States last month looked more like a goodwill gesture than a business trip, a number of experts told the media. Beyond the optics, they pointed out, there was much work to do to bring the two […]
Japan’s former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, a longtime stalwart of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is all set to become the country’s next prime minister after he was elected party president on Wednesday, last week. Kishida, 64, beat the head of Japan’s COVID-19 vaccination […]
Germany’s election on Sept. 26 ended without a clear winner, but one thing at least is certain: Angela Merkel will soon exit the political stage she has occupied for the past 16 years, kick starting much debate about her legacy for Germany, and for the […]
America’s white population is declining and aging, while the share of Latinos or Hispanics, Asians, and people who identify as two are more races is increasing. These are some of the findings in new analysis from Brookings Senior Fellow Bill Frey, who joins the Brookings […]
Though the United States and other countries talk of reforms in the United Nations, the world body’s reform movement has been at a snail’s pace. India has been in quest of a place at the UN high table for a long. The issue has arisen […]
India’s external debt for the quarter ended June 2021 increased on a year-on-year as well as on sequential basis, official data showed last week. The external debt during the period under review rose to $571.3 billion from $555.2 billion reported for the quarter ended June […]
India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar earlier this week tweeted about his separate meetings with his Australian and French counterparts. That hadn’t been the plan—there was supposed to be a meeting of their trilateral on the U.N. General Assembly sidelines. However, that meeting was an […]
The importance of the Indian diaspora has come to the fore in India-US relations with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden highlighting this factor as part of the strengthening relationship between the world’s largest and oldest democracies. President Biden during his […]
“I think that the relationship between India and the United States, the largest democracies in the world, is destined to be stronger, closer and tighter, and I think it can benefit the whole world,” President Joe Biden “I think that the relationship between India and […]
“India, of course, is a very important partner to the United States. Throughout our history, our nations have worked together, have stood together to make our world a safer and stronger world,” Harris said In what can be considered a historic moment, American Vice President […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders from US, Australia and Japan attended the first in-person summit of Quad leaders and said that the four democracies would act as a “force for global good” and ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific as well as the […]
Several separate protests were held outside the UN on Saturday, September 25th as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the United Nations General Assembly. The groups were separated from each other in enclosures put up with police barriers, advocating different causes. While observers said it was […]
United Nations– India and its three allies in the quest for Security Council reform have called for a determined push for the adoption of a text for conducting the negotiations and to set a time-frame for the changes.The foreign ministers of the G4 group “expressed […]
When the Taliban captured power back in 1996, one of its first political acts was to hang the ousted Afghan President Mohammed Najibullah in Ariana Square in Kabul. The newly-installed government played a triple role: judge, jury and hangman, all three rolled into one. Fast […]
Germany's center-left Social Democrats won the biggest share of the vote in a national election Sunday, narrowly beating outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel 's center-right Union bloc in a closely fought race that will determine who succeeds the long-time leader at the helm of Europe's biggest […]
It's been a very rough last two months for President Joe Biden, plagued by a disastrous end to the war in Afghanistan and the Delta variant of the coronavirus rampaging through the unvaccinated. Those twin developments have badly eroded Americans' view of the President, according […]
The onslaught on citizens of minority faith continues in Madhya Pradesh. Individuals claiming to be members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) say they are preparing to demolish churches in the Jhabua district on Sunday, 26thSeptember. Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya, of the Protestant Shalom Church in […]
The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) has expressed gratitude to Vice President Harris for telling Prime Minister Modi, “I know from personal experience and from my family, of the commitment of the Indian people to democracy and to freedom, and to the work […]
Biden called the next 10 years a "decisive decade for our world" that will determine the global community's future, and declared the planet stands at an "inflection point in history." Detailing his new approach to engage the world, Joe Biden, President of the United States […]
“We need to re-establish a functional relationship between the two powers,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Warning of a potential new Cold War, the head of the United Nations implored China and the United States to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship before problems between the two […]
Pressure keeps building on increasingly anxious world leaders to ratchet up efforts to fight climate change. There’s more of it coming this week in one of the highest-profile forums of all — the United Nations. For the second time in four days, this time out […]
Cementing bilateral ties, stabilization of Afghanistan, counterterrorism, Indo-Pacific and climate change are expected to be on the agenda when Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes on a three-day visit to the US this week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, during their bilateral […]
The Senate’s wonk-in-chief has once again shown who’s really in charge as lawmakers try to push $3.5 trillion in spending through an arcane budget rule. On Sunday, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough foiled Democrats’ efforts to include long-sought changes to immigration laws in the enormous spending […]
For centuries, oceans were the chessboard on which empires battled for dominance. But in the nuclear age, air power and missile systems dominated our worries about security, and for the United States, the economy was largely driven by domestic production, with trucking and railways that […]
Addressing a media briefing on the prevailing Covid situation in the country, the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Balram Bhargava, Sept. 16 termed a recent New York Times article on India's Covid response as "provocative" and "attention-seeking.” The article published in […]
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s gamble to seek a majority by calling a snap election did not pay off as he had expected, although he is returning to power in Canada as its Prime Minister after the elections were announced on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States from September 23 to 25 to participate in the Quad Summit and to address the United Nations General Assembly, reports here suggested. Modi, who will be making only his second visit abroad since the start of […]
The US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry congratulated India for its ambitious climate targets and said that India has demonstrated that economic development and clean energy can go hand-in hand. The US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on Monday, September 13th […]
Twenty years to the day after 9/11 terror attacks, Americans nationwide and the world reflected on the events that forever changed their country. Twenty years to the day after a pair of hijacked airliners destroyed the World Trade Center towers and another plane punched a […]
In the last 2 decades, US poured money and resources into protecting the U.S. from another terrorist attack, even as the nature of that threat continuously evolved. In the fall of 2001, Aaron Zebley was a 31-year-old FBI agent in New York. He had just […]
Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, call on the world population – “whatever their beliefs or worldview” – to “listen to the cry of the Earth and of people who are poor.” Global Christian leaders have joined forces to […]
The United Nations has condemned the Taliban for what its "increasingly violent response" to dissent, weeks after the group's rapid takeover of Afghanistan. Demonstrations have taken place across Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul on 15 August, demanding respect for women's rights and greater freedoms. […]
The 2021 high-level commemoration of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, organized ahead of the opening of the seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, provided an opportunity to discuss Southern solidarity in support of a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future while […]
Highlighting the importance of the UN peacekeeping missions, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi Sept. 8th informed the member states that India is the largest troop contributor to the peacekeeping operations since their inception. Addressing the UNSC Open Debate on “UN Peacekeeping […]
On the heels of the escalating Covid Delta variant crisis, President Joe Biden today announced the launch of a new aggressive six-pronged battle plan that will impact an estimated 100 million Americans and companies and organizations across the country. The New York Times noted that, […]
New Jersey’s Asian population has experienced remarkable growth within the last decade. According to census data released earlier this month, about 1.05 million New Jersey residents, slightly more than 11% of the state’s population, identified as either partially or entirely Asian. This striking 44% increase […]
That the Taliban is back is power in Afghanistan on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 is immensely painful to the United States, NATO, and many Afghans. In 2001, the U.S. overthrew the Taliban regime to defeat al-Qaida, a goal it largely accomplished. But the U.S. […]
Twenty years later, Jack Grandcolas still remembers waking up at 7:03 that morning. He looked at the clock, then out the window where an image in the sky caught his eye — a fleeting vision that looked like an angel ascending. He didn’t know it […]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Washington DC and New York in the United States around September end, reports said on Saturday. If the plan materialises, this will mark Modi's first official visit to the US ever since Biden took the […]
Yoshihide Suga is bowing out as prime minister of Japan, amid increasing anger over his government’s handling of COVID-19 in the wake of the Tokyo Olympics. He announced Friday that he will not seek re-election as leader of the Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) at the […]
“What happened in Vietnam?” - we had been hearing the question on different platforms for so many years. On U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam in 1975, many political analysts said China or the Russians would take it over; even now, we are blaming it as […]
The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie announced Monday, August 30th at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a fraught, chaotic and bloody exit from the United States' longest war."I'm here to announce the completion […]
India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is sometimes said to prioritize Hindu interests. Hindus were the religious group most likely to say they voted for the BJP in the country’s most recent parliamentary election, but there are vast differences in how Hindus from different […]
President Joe Biden's approval rating is at its lowest point in his presidency. In the average of polls, he stands at about 47%. That's a steady decline from the beginning of this month (51%), last month (52%) and beginning of June (54%). It would be easy […]
Unless you’re a die-hard political science nerd, the date of Aug. 16 probably means nothing to you. I know that I missed it as Kabul fell, Americans struggled to get fellow citizens and allies in the 20 years of war in Afghanistan out of the […]
A West Virginia University researcher who has worked with refugees and women in the Arab world believes the United States has a legal and moral obligation to aid the Afghan population after the Taliban’s takeover. The Taliban’s leadership has stated it would protect women’s rights, but Karen […]
The COVID-19 pandemic killed millions, infected hundreds of millions, and laid bare the deep vulnerabilities and inequalities of our interconnected world. The accompanying economic crash was the worst since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that it will cost over $22 trillion […]
Kathy Hochul was sworn in as New York's first-ever female governor of the state of New York, on August 25, 2021, as the state prepares to move on from the decade-long tenure of the embattled Andrew Cuomo. After Cuomo's resignation became official at 11:59 p.m.. […]
President Biden said on Tuesday that this week that he still expects to meet the August 31st deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. But that he was working with the Pentagon to develop contingency plans in the event that operations need to be extended. […]
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped by 7 points, to 46%, according to an August 16 Reuters/Ipsos poll—the lowest since he took office. Biden poll averages from two other trackers, 538 and Real Clear Politics, have also dropped below […]
Kamala Harris' first trip to Asia as vice president was meant to signal the United States' staunch commitment to partners. They are in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of a rising China. Instead, Harris' three-day stop in Singapore quickly turned into a platform for […]
In a big relief for Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, a Delhi court Aug. 18 discharged him in the Sunanda Pushkar death case. Special judge Geetanjali Goel said, "The accused is discharged.” The order was pronounced in the presence of Tharoor, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa appearing […]
The Taliban arose in 1994 amid the turmoil that followed the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. The group was rooted in rural areas of Kandahar province, in the country’s ethnic-Pashtun heartland in the south. It was surprising, because until taking up arms […]
Where did the Taliban find funds to sustain themselves over a two-decade war with the US? With the Americans gone and the Afghan opposition collapsed, what military assets do the Taliban have? In returning to power in Kabul over the weekend, the Taliban demonstrated both […]
“Many of these bureaucrats in Washington who are the true architects of these infamous wars have little in common with the folks who are sent to these godforsaken places to fight these unseen enemies. They are part of the elite society, mostly come with Ivy […]
India has called upon the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) not to “take a selective, tactical or complacent view” of terrorism saying groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Haqqani Network still operate with impunity. It said some countries continue to “undermine or subvert our […]
The final collapse of the 20-year western mission to Afghanistan took only a single day as Taliban gunmen entered the capital, Kabul, on Sunday, August 15th while President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and the US and other coalition countries abandoned their embassies in panic. […]
Democrats have passed a $3.5 trillion framework for bolstering family services, health, and environment programs through the Senate early Aug. 11, advancing President Joe Biden's expansive vision for reshaping federal priorities just hours after handing him a companion triumph on a hefty infrastructure package, according […]
India will soon launch a $1.35 trillion national infrastructure plan that will boost the country’s economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on August 15 as part of the Independence Day celebrations. Soon after he unfurled the national flag to mark nation's 75th Independence Day at […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first Indian PM to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on maritime security, which saw unprecedented high-level participation from other countries On August 9th. India decided to focus on all aspects of maritime security […]
The Union government is considering a super legislation for all traditional and digital media companies so as to ensure a level playing field and to give it an upper hand in controlling and supervising the media on all platforms. The idea is to have an […]
President Joe Biden has nominated Eric Garcetti, the current Los Angeles Mayor, to be the succeeding ambassador for India. The excitement in the Indian American community was undeniable, with news and celebrations circulating around Southern California and reaching social media platforms. Prior to his nomination’s […]
The India Day Parade held on August 8, 2021 by a local group in Hicksville in Long Island, New York, brought to the fore the issue of the Indian Farmers and their ongoing struggle. Hundreds of Indian Overseas Congress USA members joined by others raised […]
The United States is willing to work with the Taliban if they respect “basic rights” of its people - of women and girls, specifically - and do not harbor terrorists, secretary of state Antony Blinken said in an interview to CNN on Sunday. Missing from […]
Describing the allegations of surveillance through the use of the Pegasus spyware as “serious”, the Supreme Court on August 5th wondered why no one had filed an FIR if there was reason to believe that phones had been hacked. It also pointed out that the […]
The presence of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the inauguration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran this week might simply be a matter of protocol and an unremarkable expression of mutual goodwill. But as Afghanistan descends into crisis following the withdrawal of U.S. […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called upon wealthy nations to halt their plans for administering booster doses till at least end of September in order to ensure enough vaccine availability for the less developed and poor nations. The agency said the halt should last […]
The Twitter account of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was ‘temporarily’ locked on last week, a day after a photograph he had posted with the family of the nine-year-old Dalit rape victim was taken down by the microblogging site. The action came after the National […]
“It is a singular honor for us to be presiding over the Security Council the same month when we are celebrating our 75th Independence Day,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said here on August 1st. India on Sunday assumed the […]
The US Senate has voted to move forward on a bipartisan infrastructure bill after weeks of negotiations last week, clearing a key procedural hurdle on a bill that includes $550 billion in new spending for infrastructure projects around the country, media reports here said. In […]
Six months after seizing power from the elected government, Myanmar's military leader on Sunday, August 1st declared himself prime minister and said he would lead the country under the extended state of emergency until elections are held in about two years. "We must create conditions […]
It’s not often that a line-item foreign policy budget decision can be low-cost, high-impact, and send positive ripple effects throughout the international system. Fortunately, the Biden administration is currently facing just such an option, nested within debates over UN reform and the UN Development System. […]
President Joe Biden has nominated an Indian-American, Rashad Hussain, as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and if approved by the Senate he will be the first Muslim to head US diplomacy for advancing religious liberties. Making the announcement on Friday, the White House said […]
“The most remarkable democratic election in the world, in many ways , is here in India” Blinken told a press conference. As a pravasi Indian I wish these were true statements and I want India to be known this way among the nations of the […]
Veena Reddy, an Indian American United States Foreign Service officer with the US Agency for International Development has been named USAID India Mission Director. She was previously Cambodia Mission Director. “Today, Veena Reddy was sworn-in as our new Mission Director. She will be the first […]
From an international humanitarian perspective, the first half of 2021 has been disappointing. We’re no further ahead in ending the conflict in Syria and Yemen. From the fledgling democracy that it had become, Myanmar has descended into what most of its people had hoped was […]
“WhileIndian American physicians play a critical role, serving millions of patients in the United States, leading the policies and programs that impact the lives of millions today, it has been a long and arduous journey of struggles and hard work to be on the top […]
Democratic values and free citizenry define India, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkensaid in New Delhi, during his first ever visit to India after the Biden Administration was installed in Washington, DC. At a press conference after holding bilateral talks with his counterparts in India […]
President Joe Biden has decided to formally conclude the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year, another step toward winding down the two prolonged military engagements that began in the years following the September 11 terror attacks. Biden told reporters in […]
President Joe Biden's presidency is now six months old. You'd be forgiven if you didn't realize how long Biden has been in office because Biden doesn't generate anywhere near the same news interest (see Google searches) as his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, did. The […]
The centerpiece of the hearing opening a congressional investigation into the Capitol insurrection on July 27th was the emotional testimony given by four front-line police officers who were protecting lawmakers, staff members and visitors at the Capitol complex on Jan. 6 when an angry mob threatened […]
In the context of Modi government snooping on diplomats, activists, political opponents and the media, U.S. lawmakers are growing increasingly alarmed by reports that the Israeli firm NSO Group leased military-grade spyware to authoritarian regimes around the world, who allegedly used it to hack the […]
Most Republicans want former President Donald Trump to have at least some influence over their party's direction even as many who side with the GOP say they are uneasy about its future. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research captures […]
The theories vary widely in credibility and likelihood, but no one is really sure how COVID-19 became the world’s worst health crisis. But researchers should dig deeper into the origin of the virus that has caused the world pandemic to prepare for future viral outbreaks, […]
The current condition of the Democratic Party presents an apparent paradox. On the one hand, the party’s ideological composition has shifted to the left. In the quarter century since Bill Clinton’s first term, moderates’ share of the party has fallen from a plurality of 48% […]
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “treason”, called for the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and demanded a judicial probe into allegations of surveillance using Pegasus spyware. Gandhi's name has been featured in the list of potential targets. […]
A group ofacademicnsia in the United States — scholars, activists and students of South Asian studies and adjacent fields — have formed the South Asia Scholar Activist Collective to fight back against what they called the threat to academic freedom from Hindutva groups. The homepage […]
Newsletter Signup
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter below and never miss the latest news.
Visit Today : 574
Hits Today : 1979