Obama was unforgiving, even though Romney agreed with him again and again, says Aziz Haniffa
Romney may not have scored a knock-out, but like Joe Frazier in the first of smoking Joe's fights with Ali, he was the clear winner on points, says Aziz Haniffa
'Can India forever respond with restraint to attacks like Mumbai, the attack on the Indian Parliament? Maybe. But I wouldn't bet the future of the world on that,' former CIA veteran Bruce Riedel tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Tuesday given a rousing welcome at the White House where he was received by President Barack Obama before they sat down for bilateral talks during which the two countries are expected to take their strategic ties to a new level.
On October 15, Rediff.com's Washington Editor AZIZ HANIFFA broke this story on how US officials wanted President Obama to support India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, telling him it could make his India visit truly historic. On November 8, President Obama told Parliament that the US supported India's membership of the UN Security Council.
India is solely responsible for prompting Pakistan to pursue a nuclear weapons capability, says Retired Pakistani Brigadier General Feroz Khan, erstwhile insider in Islamabad's nuclear weapons establishment. Aziz Haniffa reports.
United States President Barack Obama, who pledged that enacting comprehensive immigration reform would be a priority in his second term, has rejected a Republican-sponsored immigration bill that would have created a new green card category for foreign students, reports Aziz Haniffa.
Noted American experts and analysts argue that Foreign Terrorist Organisation designation of the Haqqani Network is meaningless unless Pakistan's intelligence agency is reined it. Aziz Haniffa reports
Renowned terror expert and author Stephen Tankel believes Indian intelligence agencies know more about Pak-based terror groups than it knows about indigenous Indian Mujahiddin. Also, LeT and other outfits might revive their terrorism against India post-2014. Aziz Haniffa reports.
Katrina Lantos Swett, chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that the USCIRF will be uncompromising about denying Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi entry into the US.
The first-ever Congressional Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening was a spectacular event by any measure, with the House of Representatives Rayburn Building lobby overflowing with over 500 members of the Indian American community, scores of United States lawmakers, administration officials and well-wishers ranging from leading American business and industry and policy wonks and think tank heads from some of Washington's premier institutions. Aziz Haniffa reports
Credit owes in large measure to Indian American Gopal TK Krishna for the Republican Party's amended platform acknowledging India's importance to the US as never before, reports Aziz Haniffa from Washington, DC
Lack of understanding, sense of belonging, trust, and probably misinterpretation of scripture are causes of religious extremism, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at an interaction organised by a neo-conservative American think tank. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC
'When one speaks to Indian intelligence officials, they will tell you "We actually have a better understanding of Pakistani groups than we have of our own indigenous networks".'
'Certainly it could embolden some Hindu extremists. It could also embolden some fundamental extremists. Probably elements on both sides would seek to capitalise and one would worry about the potential tit-for-tat escalation of violence.' Aziz Haniffa listens to concerns at a Washington, DC think-tank about Narendra Modi's possible rise as India's prime minister.
'Certainly it could embolden some Hindu extremists. It could also embolden some fundamental extremists. Probably elements on both sides would seek to capitalise and one would worry about the potential tit-for-tat escalation of violence.' Aziz Haniffa listens to concerns at a Washington, DC think-tank about Narendra Modi's possible rise as India's prime minister.
Indian American physicians and entrepreneurs, who invested an estimated $25 million in Dr Akshay Desai's Universal Health Care Group Inc, are seething in anger after the company filed for bankruptcy. "The crook", as the investors and friends call Dr Desai today, has gone underground. Aziz Haniffa reports
US Principal Deputy Solicitor General Srikanth 'Sri' Srinivasan on Wednesday moved a step closer to creating history, reports Aziz Haniffa.
The Washington, DC Chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs recently honoured three pioneers in information technology, the restaurant business and mobile technology.
Aziz Haniffa walks through Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, an exhibition that explores the 'American Dream' as lived by the community stretching far behind the stereotypes such as saris and temples and sadhus, at the Smithsonian, with curator Masum Momaya.
Whistle-blower Dinesh Thakur tells briefing on US Capitol Hill: 'One in five medicines manufactured and distributed in India are spurious.' Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
The latest fan of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi seems to be the American Samoan delegate, Eni Faleomavaega, the ranking Democrat on the house foreign affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, which has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to South Asia. Aziz Haniffa reports.
If the political system and the economy of Pakistan continue to go down the tubes, nuclear weapons will not be able to save it, says Retired Brigadier General Feroz Khan. Aziz Haniffa reports
Barack Obama's re-election reflects how much the Republican Party, held hostage by the Tea Party, has alienated minorities and women. Aziz Haniffa reports
Democrat Tulsi Gabbard who won the race for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District said that she hoped to play some small role in increasing people's respect, understanding, and love for one another despite differences. Aziz Haniffa reports
Vijaya Emani, who worked among domestic abuse victims, will receive the nation's second highest civilian honor posthumously by President Barack Obama on October 20 at a White House ceremony. Aziz Haniffa reports.
Leading South Asia experts, who have interacted closely with Senator John F Kerry, the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have hailed his appointment as the new secretary of state to succeed Hillary Clinton. Aziz Haniffa reports.
Stalwarts come together to harness the power of the Indian-American community. Aziz Haniffa reports.
The hardest part of my job continues to be this federal government, this administration, this president, says South Carolina Governor, Nimrata Randhawa Haley in a prime time speech at GOP Convention. Aziz Haniffa reports.
Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao visited families of victims of the Wisconsin grudwara shootout and said that the incident should not define ties with the larger American community. Aziz Haniffa reports
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets President Obama at the White House on Friday, September 27, former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, the man who set the ball rolling in transforming the United States-India relationship, tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa why he believes US-India ties are 'alive and healthy.'
Condemning the shootout at a gurudwara in Wisconsin that killed six worshippers, US lawmakers said that the government should take action to protect Sikhs and prosecute hate crimes. Aziz Haniffa reports
The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee is divided on the usefulness of continuing US aid to Pakistan, reports Aziz Haniffa.
Akhil Rekulapelli, 13, winner of National Geographic Bee 2014 spoke with Aziz Haniffa about his preparation and future plans
In what could be yet another historic appointment in the annals of the Indian-American community's immigrant experience, senior administration sources have told rediff.com that Nisha Desai Biswal is strongly tipped to be appointed the new assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs
Democracy will remain central to India's national identity, but will not be a conscious axis of its foreign policy, reports Aziz Haniffa
The viability of the envisaged United States-India strategic partnership is once again under the microscope. Aziz Haniffa reports
'Many in Pakistan were thinking about taking Saeed from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and making him the pole around which they would bring in and demilitarise militants and turn them into a political entity in Pakistan.'
At a conference on the future of Afghanistan, tough-talking former Indian diplomat Kanwal Sibal tears into Washington's policies and Pakistan's betrayal of trust. Aziz Haniffa reports
Virginia Commonwealth University's India Chair in Democracy and Civil Society a first in the United States. Aziz Haniffa reports