Much to the surprise of Beijing, Nepal's Parliament on Sunday ratified the contentious US-funded $500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation compact along with an interpretive declaration a day ahead of the February 28 deadline set by Washington.
Trump said his victory three years ago was a 'defining moment in American history' and vowed to maintain his 'America First' policy as he touched the hallmarks of his 2016 campaign, hard-line immigration policies and defence spending.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce a host of initiatives for the health sector on Independence Day with the highlights being the 'Heal in India' and 'Heal by India' projects and a roadmap to eliminate sickle cell disease by 2047, official sources said.
Darryl D' Monte, the distinguished enviromental journalist, discusses how the media covers floods in Mumbai or Texas, but ignores Assam or Bangladesh.
'There are voters that may only come out to vote for him because he's speaking to their issues and they may not be Democrat or Republican'
The Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a bitter standoff at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for over eight weeks since May 5.
According to the Biden-Harris Transition, 'the president-elect noted that he looks forward to working closely with the prime minister on shared global challenges, including containing COVID-19 and defending against future health crises, tackling the threat of climate change, launching the global economic recovery, strengthening democracy at home and abroad, and maintaining a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region'.
This includes over $15 billion of proposed investment in the infrastructure sector in the Indo-Pacific and $9 billion for shoring up American defence in the region.
'It's really about rolling up your sleeves and implementing exactly what we said that we were going to do.' 'Our mission was to leave no one behind and that's exactly what we look at the next four years.'
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it welcomed consultations world governing body FIFA's plan to conduct a feasibility study into staging the World Cup every two years instead of every four.
China's Su Bingtian became the first Asian man to reach the Olympic 100 metres final for 89 years on Sunday, scorching to an Asian record of 9.83 in his semi-final, but pre-race favourite Trayvon Bromell failed to make it.
Pakistan will explore other options to meet its defence needs if the deal for F-16s did not materialise with the United States, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Tuesday said
Benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 160 points on Thursday in choppy trade following gains in select banking and auto counters amid mixed global cues. The 30-share index gained 160 points to settle at 62,570.68 as 13 of its components advanced while 17 declined. The barometer opened lower but later gained momentum to touch a high of 62,633.56 in the day's trade.
US President Barack Obama's plan to shield up to 4.7 million undocumented immigrants from deportation may be immensely significant, but only a comprehensive legislation from the Congress with a larger goal could do justice to immigrant expectations.
"Fifteen years ago, I was leading the efforts to approve the historic civil nuclear deal with India. I said that if the US and India became closer friends and partners, then the world will be a safer place," Biden, who was vice-president in the Obama administration, said while addressing the Indian-American community on India's Independence Day.
Miss World 2024 will be crowned in India soon. Long before Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra, Yukta Mukhey and Diana Hayden, a beautiful woman from Bombay was crowned Miss World. In 1966. Reita Faria was India's first Miss World. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/ Rediff.com met the 80 year old in Dublin recently, still as elegant, still as attractive as she was all those years ago.
China on Saturday began military exercises around Taiwan to test the capabilities of its forces to 'seize control of the sea, air and information', days after a meeting between the United States House Speaker and the President of the self-ruled island in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.
'Guruji inspired and indeed, changed the lives of so many for the better in the United States, in India, and elsewhere.' 'If you knew him, ever saw him teach, saw him dance, you would have thought that if anyone would live forever, if anyone could defy the inevitability of mortality, it would have been Pandit Chitresh Dasji.' Hours after renowned Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, 70, died of acute aortic dissection in his home in California, tributes poured in honouring the great dancer, and an even greater human being. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports
If ever her inspiring reality is adapted for reel, Sukanya Verma wonders if these Indian actors might do justice to the role.
Blackmail on one side and bullying on the other doesn't make for a constructive partnership, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Seeking class action status in a suit filed on August 1 in the US District Court in Wisconsin, Brenda Koehler said Infosys systematically discriminates against people of non-South Asian descent.
A coalition of over 150 US-based academicians back Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Silicon Valley next week and counter refute 130 US-based South Asian academics who oppose the Modi visit and his Digital India initiative.
A 33-year-old Indian-American woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the United States for female foeticide and child maltreatment of a dependent.
The United States has begun a new diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as the US withdrew its last troops from the country ending the 20-year war in the South Asian nation.
Ajay Banga will be a 'transformative leader', who will bring expertise, experience, and innovation to the position of World Bank President, United States President Joe Biden has said after the top Indian-American business executive was confirmed as the new head of the international lender.
Blinken will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping and will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Delhi.
Raj Mukherji, a rising young Indian-American political figure who won an election to the New Jersey state legislature, wants to see more people from the community getting involved in the United States government.
"We value our partnership with India, and we've been increasing it and doing a lot more, over time. They have the same security challenge, primary security challenger that we do, and it's real on their northern border," Admiral John Christopher Aquilino, commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Indo-Pacific National Security Challenges.
Blinken also underlined that diplomacy is the only way to definitively end the Russian conflict in Ukraine.
Israel needs to come terms with the new reality that they are no longer invincible or the dominant power in the West Asian region, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Defence is at the heart of the India-United relationship, so it is interesting that General Lloyd Austin, the US secretary for defense, was not among the officials present when Joe Biden met Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi for their first meeting since Biden became president in January.
'To be an immigrant, a South Asian immigrant of colour, a woman to be included in the Portrait Gallery... it really says that we are the country where people look for the people who make a positive impact and celebrate them,' Nooyi, 64, told reporters during the portrait gallery induction ceremony on Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
A 33-year-old Indian-American woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the United States for female foeticide and child maltreatment of a dependent.
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
My candidate for the best general of the last century hailed from a little, poor colonised Asian nation whose impact on world affairs rarely amounted to much, notes Shankar Acharya.
Puneet Talwar, one of the most respected Middle East policy specialists in administration and Congressional circles, has been nominated by United States President Barack Obama to a senior State Department position.
'Attacking his statues disregard his values, which as we know are most needed in the world today.'
Their favourite alternatives: Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Note, India is missing from that list. And this is despite an attractive financial incentive scheme for OSAT players. The reason, said a senior executive of a US chip company who had a meeting in Taiwan just a few weeks ago, is that "they want more predictability in government policy because they plan to put in big money."
The US gained one-day international status at the beginning of 2019 and beat Scotland in December. Higgins is eyeing Test status within the next decade.
