In Indian elections today, India's Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath says, "Muscle Power has been replaced by 'Money Power,'" adding that the Election Commission's greatest dilemma is worrying about how the media can be prevented from influencing the outcome in the coming general election.
Aziz Haniffa reports from Washignton, DC, on Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh's three-day visit to the US capital.
Both the Barack Obama administration and United States lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed concern over the Indian Supreme Court's decision to uphold a law that criminalises consensual homosexual conduct.
Two former senior United States diplomats, with more than 60 years experience in South Asia between them, have exhorted Washington to establish communication with Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi sooner than later.
Rahul's time is not now, only Sonia Gandhi can lead the Congress into the 2014 final, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Rahul's time is not now, only Sonia Gandhi can lead the Congress into the 2014 final, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal believes the India-US nuclear deal is not in limbo and it is for India and Pakistan to set the pace for conversations to resolve their issues. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
Longtime diplomatic observers feel that if Narendra Modi were to become prime minister or even a Cabinet official if the BJP captures power in the next election, there is no way the State Department would refuse him entry into the US, unless Washington wanted to risk the unravelling of the carefully nurtured US-India strategic partnership. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
Could this reluctance be tied to the family's projection of themselves as the last bastion of the aam-aadmi's interests? Do they fear that a full disclosure of their not-inconsiderable assets would go against their carefully-cultivated pro-poor image, wonders Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'We give them a lot of money and they turn that money around and that goes to the bad guys that kill not only folks in America and Afghanistan, but you in India,' says United States Congressman Ted Poe.
Providing military assistance in the hope that it will change Pakistan's worldview is wrong, says erstwhile ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani
Atul Keshap, a senior Indian American career diplomat and one of the rising stars in the United States foreign service, has been picked by Nisha Desai Biswal, the newly appointed assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, to be her deputy.
United States President Barack Obama has announced his intention to nominate Indian-American Dr Vivek Hallegere Murthy as his next Surgeon General.
Admiral Samuel J Locklear III, Commander of the US Pacific Command, has not ruled out militants fighting in Afghanistan today switching their attention back to Kashmir post-US and NATO withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, and expressed concern over the recent terrorist attacks across the Line of Control that has exacerbated tensions between India and Pakistan.
On her last day as India's envoy to the United States, Ambassador Nirupama Rao was felicitated by the Barck Obama administration at the State Department on Monday, with US Secretary of State John F Kerry thanking her for her service toward furthering the strategic partnership between the two nations.
The government of India has brought a property to house an Indian Cultural Centre in downtown Washington, DC for a whopping $5.7 million.
The jury is still out on whether the Obama-Sharif summit managed to repair the trust deficit and mutual suspicions. But if pleasantries and cordiality was the measure of this summit, it receives a resounding A+ grade, says Aziz Haniffa
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says improving ties with India is "my favourite subject" even as he once again sought America's intervention in the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz sharif warns that continuing US drone strikes will be a detriment to his country's efforts to eliminate terrorism; but the White House defends these strikes and vows to continue despite condemnation from the un and amnesty international too. Aziz Haniffa reports
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif continues his exhortation for US mediation in Kashmir, and harks back to his meeting with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when the latter had agreed to a resolution of Kashmir imbroglio; senior us officials assert there is 'absolutely no change in us policy' that Kashmir has to be resolved bilaterally. Aziz Haniffa reports.