As a result, as per the House version of the Bill, the Obama administration must certify that Pakistan has met before releasing $450 million in aid.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday named Robert Destro, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, as the special coordinator for Tibetan issues. Destro will focus on advancing dialogue between the Communist-run government in Beijing and the Dalai Lama, protecting the distinct religious cultural and linguistic identity of Tibetans, improving respect for their human rights and much, much more, Pompeo said.
India and Indians can ignore Pakistan, but that cannot be said of other nations in the neighbourhood, where New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy constantly reverberates. Four of the eight SAARC member-nations are Muslim -- Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The rulers decide the nation's India or anti-India policy in the first two, and street-opinion contributes to the same in the latter two, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday stepped into the raging debate on intolerance by condemning the murders of dissenters and some on the basis of what they eat and said the nation is deeply concerned at the "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought, belief and speech by some violent extremist groups.
'I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism and other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there. Whether they're Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains'
'The feeling is growing that if India slips in the realms of liberal tenets, it will be a tragedy not only for the country, but also for the world because it will lose a remarkable role model,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
It is a difficult problem and will require the Union, state governments and civil society, meaning NGOs, to work together, points out Aakar Patel.
When Trump leaves India 36 hours after his arrival, there will be no signs of his visit on the soil of India, the Sena said.
India on Monday hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for its criticism of the country in the wake of the alleged derogatory remarks made against Prophet Mohammed by two Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries.
The bench asked the respondents to file their response to the petition which seeks the constitution of a committee to examine 'workable solutions' to ensure that a kirpan permitted to be carried on the flight is 'appropriately designed and crafted' and does not have a blade length beyond 4 cm.
Retired senior US diplomats Teresita and Howard Schaffer believe the 'US cannot afford to continue restricting its contacts with Narendra Modi.' Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
'On the international platform, the prime minister is talking about freedom of speech and he should be ashamed of it'
One unwanted fallout of Stan Swamy's death from the government's point of view will be the increased attention on those senior citizens who are still in jail on charges which are taking a long time to prove, believes Amulya Ganguli.
'Today, the BJP is using power in such a manner that they not only crush the Opposition, but even their own supporters can't rebel.'
Banned by basketball's governing body and a source of controversy at the Asian Games, hijabs were worn freely at the archery tournament in Incheon on Friday as athletes struggled to comprehend how a headscarf could cause such an uproar.
They all seem to forget that the Music Academy is as much an independent institution as T M Krishna is an individual musician. In drawing those red lines for the Academy management, they do not even seem to recognise that they too have crossed a red line themselves, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said in Amaravai on Friday that certain forces were conspiring to damage the sovereignty and integrity of India by provoking internal strife and expressed anguish over some recent incidents in different parts of the country.
Anti-conversion laws are needed since thrusting the idea of a competitive battlefield of religion onto India's pluralistic traditions can only lead to greater communal conflict, says Sankrant Sanu
Succumbing to the demands of a radical Islamist party, the Pakistan government has agreed to try blasphemy suspects under terrorism charges in addition to the other sections of the country's penal code.
Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes, 32 more than what was required to become leader of the House in the 336-member Parliament.
"Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration," Modi said while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'If we go in the same direction as them, we cannot expect a different result from them.' 'Our fall is going to be very swift.' 'Within a decade, we can expect the situation to change for the worse.'
The letter, to maintain the current policy of denying Narendra Modi a visa to the United States, was released just as the BJP president arrived in Washington DC for a round of meetings with US lawmakers. Aziz Haniffa reports
The nine-year American visa ban on Narendra Modi will automatically be lifted and he would enjoy diplomatic immunity if the Bharatiya Janata Party leader becomes the prime minister of India, according to a Congressional report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not taking along an industry delegation to the US but top representatives of India Inc are likely to travel to New York and Washington to be part of the power-packed business meetings and receptions being hosted for him.
'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'
The Supreme Court on Friday deferred the hearing for January 4 2024, of the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Nikhil Gupta, accused by the United States of conspiring to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a India designated terrorist, against his arrest and ongoing extradition proceedings in the Czech Republic.
'Many said his visit was very risky. But mercifully, Air Force One has taken off from Delhi without Mr Trump stepping on anybody's toes,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The temple authorities reportedly decided to withdraw the umbrella from display after leaders of the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist raised an objection.
Unlike Israeli company NSO, whose sale of Pegasus cyber tech grabbed worldwide attention, and other manufacturers of offensive-cyber products, Cellebrite operates in a grey area between security exports and civilian ones.
'Israel has received an extremely hard and rude reminder that it cannot go ahead and talk of normalisation of relations with other Arab countries without addressing the issues pertaining to Palestine.'
The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, introduced by Pakistan's ambassador Munir Akram under agenda item culture of peace, to proclaim March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
No nation is fully sovereign to do what it wants to do in the face of opposition from others, points out Aakar Patel.
"We have many relationships...they have a history. We will do what is in our national interest and part of that strategic partnership is the ability of each country to comprehend and appreciate the national interest of the other," Jaishankar said.
Samuel Stokes made India his home and participated in the freedom struggle. He was the only American to be imprisoned for sedition; the British CID maintained a special file on him.
Mercedes' seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, and now-retired four-times champion Sebastian Vettel, have been among those making political statements at races in recent seasons.
China on Thursday sharply criticised US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya's meeting with the Dalai Lama and her visit to Dharamshala, saying it violated Washington's commitment that Tibet is part of China and it does not support Tibetan separatists.
'What was predictable, but entirely missed by Modi's strident critics, is that the excessive and intemperate demonisation of Modi allowed him to assume his own metaphor -- the underdog, the martyr, the marginalised,' says Dr Aseem Shukla.
Hours before US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at the White House, China demanded its immediate cancellation, warning that the unjustified interference in its domestic affairs will cause "great damage" to bilateral ties.
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