Tillerson, 64, who was confirmed by the Senate in a 56-43 vote, was administered the oath of office by Vice President Mike Pence.
Meet the richest and poorest candidates contesting the election to the richest civic body in the country.
'This speech is going to be more of a punishment. I spoke too much this afternoon' A tireless Prime Minister Narendra Modi left over 700 notable luminaries in peals of laughter with his quick wit and sense of humour during a dinner and reception hosted by Indian Ambassador Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Taj-owned, The Pierre Hotel. In the presence of the who's who of desi Americans and US lawmakers, Modi once again thanked the Indian-Americans for their contributions and discussed his plans of developing India and the ties he hopes to nurture with America. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com presents a sneak-peak into the festive, grand dinner.
In the year since Modi cast the spotlight on Pakistan's human rights violations in Balochistan, India has not done much more than raise the issue at the UN a few times.
The @POTUS account, with its 13.2 million followers, moves from the Obama administration to the Trump administration. And, for now, Donald Trump intends to tweet as usual from both!
The issue of denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was fiercely debated by a key Congressional committee, with an influential Republican party lawmaker questioning the decision of the US government.
'If some Europeans do not allow Muslims to assimilate into European national cultures, some Muslims also refuse to try and adopt and assimilate.'
Narendra Modi represents a change that embraces efficient delivery mechanisms, integrity, innovative solutions to governance and a welcome discourse away from Hindutva and Pakistan, says Jaya Jaitly.
'Blocking Parliament brings attention to a party that has poor speakers like Rahul Gandhi. It is unlikely to shine in debates, assuming we were a nation that enjoyed listening to sparkling intellectual exchange, which we are not.'
This is the time when the US would need the conceptual strategic thinking of a Henry Kissinger, able to ally diplomatic skills with a well-conceived worldview of what the emergence of a new balance of forces will mean for a US whose ability to shape global events has definitely declined but still exists, says Claude Smadja.
'Forming cults around Lalus, Nitishes, Mulayams, Mayawatis and Mamatas will do as much harm to the Republic as the bhakti of the Hindus for Modi will do,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
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Apple had argued that the government request and the court order were a massive overreach.
Ninety-six years after women won the right to vote in the United States of America, a woman stands a chance of winning the US presidential race. Hillary Clinton -- former first lady, former US senator, and former secretary of state -- has become the first woman to capture a major-party nomination for president, taking another step in a journey that once seemed impossible, but over the last eight years has seemed inevitable. Like everything about her campaign, it was harder than expected.
'We were at war with the BJP in the 1990s. We were burning down each other's offices then. I don't want that to happen again.'
Bobby Jindal's tirade against Donald Trump -- like his performance in the polls -- hardly got any traction
'He needs to control his foot soldiers by taking either stern action against the over enthusiastic members of his group or convince them to stop causing him this embarrassment.' 'We know that most of these leaders are not going to be prosecuted by Indian authorities. So we are seeking alternate means to bring them to justice,' FIACONA President John Prabhudoss tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
The following is the full text of US President Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of the Congress on February 28, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House press office.
'It is imperative that all parties make a commitment that they shall abide by the final decision of the Supreme Court.' 'This will be the best way to bring a closure.' 'It is time India moves on to face several other challenges.'
The US is still a place for innovation and entrepreneurship, and it is good to see Indian Americans and immigrants contributing to this in a major way, says K V Seshasayee who visited the US after four years and found the gloom had dissipated.
The US president called Jim Acosta a 'rude, terrible person' after he refused to give up a microphone while trying to ask a question.
A host of United States lawmakers attended an event on Capitol Hill on Friday to hail India's election and the Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory, and to also invite Narendra Modi to Washington to discuss issues ranging from counter-terrorism to bilateral economic cooperation and investment.
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.
'His secretary of defence nominee, General James Mattis, says he expects Pakistan to take action against terrorists operating from its soil.' 'Any pressure the US can bring on the Pakistani regime terror-wise would pay dividends for India.'
A top aide of embattled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday said a military coup was underway in the country, with a travel ban being slapped on the Islamist leader after he refused to quit following the end of a 48-hour army deadline for him to meet people's demands.
United States President Barack Obama made a forceful case for presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, offering a portrait of a tenacious public servant uniquely prepared to continue his work and while painting Donald Trump as a candidate of cynicism and fear unfit for the office.
'This is a new phenomenon,' says Shekhar Gupta. 'Does it point to the rise of egomania, and could it also be a reason our politics is broken and Parliament non-functional? Where our biggest leaders talk not to, but at each other.'
United States President Barack Obama has said Russia was on the "wrong side of history" and its invasion in Ukraine was an attack on sovereignty of a nation, warning that he was considering economic and diplomatic options to punish Moscow if it didn't reverse course quickly.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is a fraud, a liar and a hypocrite, top Democratic leaders and speakers at the party's national convention said as they lashed out at the billionaire from New York.
Incoming US President Donald Trump has assembled a core team that is -- not surprisingly -- overwhelmingly white and male.
The processes that create a seven per cent-plus GDP growth rate without a similar growth in jobs are far from fully understood, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Shobhaa De's remarks are an insult to Maharashtra, Marathi language and culture, said Sena's Sanjay Raut.
The US foreign and security policy establishment, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, apprehends that Trump may compel them to exorcise the 'unipolar predicament', and bring foreign and security policies to reflect the desires and priorities of the American public.
Reaffirming his commitment to destroy the Islamic State, United States President Barack Obama said America will destroy any militant organisation that tried to harm its people but ruled out sending large scale troops on the ground as done in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq.
As India celebrates its 70th Independence day, Rediff.com pays homage to millions who laid their lives for the country's freedom.
T P Sreenivasan was India's high commissioner in Fiji in 1987, when Sitiveni Rabuka toppled the Indian-dominated government there. Ambassador Sreenivasan stayed on for two years after the coup, fighting for the rights of the people of Indian origin before he was expelled by Rabuka. 'Meeting Sitiveni Rabuka, who had overthrown a democratically elected government, discriminated against the Fiji Indians, brought untold humiliation and suffering to them, tried to disenfranchise them, ordered me out of Fiji and closed down the Indian high commission was a difficult decision to take even after 25 years,' notes Ambassador Sreenivasan who eventually caught up with Rabuka over a game of golf.
'Bandaru Dattatreya shouldn't have blindly accepted what the ABVP told him.'
Even as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif headed to the United States for the 70th session of the UNGA and for bilateral meetings to be held on the sidelines of the multilateral summit, back home all that is expected of him is to internationalise the Kashmir issue, or as Pakistan puts it, the 'Kashmir dispute'.
'Unlike in other states, minorities form a significant number in Kerala. They have money and political power. In such a society, the emergence of a new communal power is not a healthy thing.'
'Competence, experience, matter, did you say?' 'No music was sweeter than the mash of xenophobia, jingoism, racism, misogyny.' 'And the master busker to play the tune was round the corner to capture an eager audience just in the nick of time.' Shreekant Sambrani on the Trump Triumph a week after his upset victory.
He, however, acknowledged that Russia and some other countries were behind the hacking of Democratic Party computers.
