The Superstar turns 64 today, and his fans get a double birthday treat with Lingaa, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'I know how important the India-US partnership is, as evidenced by President Obama's planned visit in January. I can assure you we will work hard to realise his vision of India and the US becoming and remaining the closest of friends and strategic partners.'
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, has once again gone to bat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the immunity the Indian leader enjoys from lawsuits brought against him in the United States.
Professor Thomas Kailath was tickled that a phrase he had used -- that scientists are 'intrinsically hopeful' -- and which President Barack Obama had used thrice, had captured the people's imagination.
Not only did Barack Obama mention and quote Thomas Kailath in his remarks before presenting the Stanford University professor emeritus of engineering with the National Medal of Science, the President also cited Kailath as a shining example of the brilliant talent of immigrants who make invaluable contributions to the United States and the world.
'We have a common way of looking at the world, a common way of thinking, and a common set of values that predispose us to be partners. And our interests overlap greatly,' Dr Ashton B Carter, America's next defence secretary, told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
'President Obama will make a historic visit to India in January, becoming the first US head of State to attend India's Republic Day and the only sitting US president to visit India twice.' 'There's little doubt the relationship has been re-energised, with renewed enthusiasm to take our partnership to the next level.'
The spell that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast over US lawmakers nearly two months during his visit to the United States has still not worn off, as was manifest by the gushing nostalgia of the Modi magic by both Democratic and Republican party representatives at the Congressional Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The Indian-American Democrat edged out his competition Republic Doug Ose by a narrow margin of 1,432 votes to represent California's 7th Congressional District, reports Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
With fresh enrollments crossing 100,000 mark, the total number of Indian students studying in the US reported a sharp increase this year.
Tibet is not this desolate, god-forsaken land that you have imagined it to be, discovers Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
On Thursday, November 6, the Washington Post newspaper reported that controversial American diplomat, Ambassador Robin Raphel, had her office and home searched by the FBI. This most unusual development likely raised much cheer at India's ministry of external affairs, in whose flesh Raphel had been a thorn through much of her tenure in the first Bill Clinton administration in the early and mid-1990s by her anti-India and pro-Pakistan stand. Seventeen years ago, as she was about to step down as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Raphel granted an exclusive interview to Aziz Haniffa and India Abroad, the leading Indian-American weekly newspaper, which is now owned by Rediff.com The July 1997 interview, which provoked a raging controversy in both capitals, Washington, DC and New Delhi, is reproduced here...
Indian American Congressman Amerish 'Ami' Bera has no plans to throw in the towel just yet in his re-election election bid from California's 7th Congressional District where he narrowly trails his Republican opponent Doug Ose.
Iraq war veteran and Democrat Manan Trivedi tried his luck for the third time, but was trounced by Republican Ryan Costello, the Chester county commissioner for Pennsylvania's open seat in District 6
Hindu-American Congresswon Tulsi Gabbard coasts to a rollicking re-election victory in in Hawaii's 2nd District
'The impression I get is bread and butter matters more than freedom and choice. And China is providing bread and butter in plenty.' Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com takes the road less travelled -- to Tibet.
'As you take in the moment, soak it in, freeze it in your consciousness, realise the power of simple, stark nature that stands before and above you in all its majesty, and wonder how to savour the moment, your reverie is broken by a voice next to you.' "Excuse me please, can you please take my photograph?"
'The post office sells Base Camp certificates that serve as proof you were indeed at the spot, if doubting Firdauses ranked among your friends for whom a simple selfie from the spot is not enough.'
'The road from Zhangmu via Nyalam to Tingri is everything a Himalayan drive should be. With tall peaks as the backdrop, switchbacks yielding to roads that stretched into eternity, passing by some of the most scenic views on the planet.'
What does one do when one day, out of the blue, one is told to go on a road trip to the Everest Base Camp?