Reconciling the U.S.’s current economic model with its democracy is a challenging task for Americans but to come up with a name to call what they want appears to be even more challenging. The crisis is more evident for the Democrats, as opposed to Republicans who generally think the only …
Read More »Monthly Archives: August 2018
Trade war brings old rivals closer together
China’s escalating trade war with the U.S. is drawing Beijing and Moscow closer to each other. China’s decision to curb soya bean imports from the U.S. as part of a tit-for-tat tariff spiral between the two countries is bringing Russia, especially its less developed but resource-rich ‘Far East’, into the …
Read More »No peace till occupation ends: Taliban
The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban said on Saturday there will be no peace in Afghanistan as long as the foreign “occupation” continues, reiterating the group’s position that the 17-year war can only be brought to an end through direct talks with the United States. In a message released in honour …
Read More »North Korea urges Trump to be ‘bold’ to break deadlock
North Korean state media blamed U.S. President Donald Trump’s political opponents for the “deadlock” over denuclearisation on Saturday, urging him to act boldly to make progress on the thorny issue. Mr. Trump and Kim Jong-un held a summit in Singapore in June, which the U.S. leader touted as a historic …
Read More »15-member Cabinet in Pak
After its leader Imran Khan was sworn in as Pakistan’s Prime Minister, the Tehreek-e-Insaf on Saturday announced a new 15-member Cabinet. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who previously served as Foreign Minister under a Pakistan Peoples Party government until 2011 when he switched to PTI, returns to the role. Pervez Khattak, the …
Read More »Dropout rate soaring after school mergers in tribal belts
Research by the Centre for Adivasi Research and Development has revealed that following the NITI Aayog recommendations in Jharkhand, 1,300 primary and middle schools were merged or closed and the government was targeting another 4,600 schools this year. In Karnataka, both government and aided schools located within 1 km from …
Read More »Cong. to seek JPC on Rafale deal
In an attempt to turn the alleged scam in the Rafale deal into the focal point of its campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Congress has decided to hold demonstrations from the district to State levels demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation. This was decided at a meeting …
Read More »‘Multiple PANs still a menace’
All the attention over the privacy aspects of Aadhaar has diverted the conversation from the legitimate uses of a biometric ID, such as weeding out multiple PAN cards linked to the same person, according to a number of lenders. The issue, they said, is that many unscrupulous people run up …
Read More »Revise trade laws, tariffs: U.S. Ambassador
Kenneth Juster says you can’t attract investment and build industry by creating higher duties or more regulation Calling upon India to rethink trade barriers, tariffs and regulations in order to become a “hub” for innovation and production, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Juster says that India and the U.S. need to see …
Read More »Indelible ink
Located in a narrow lane in Rajahmundry of Andhra Pradesh, the tiny, traditional home of K.V. Ratnam & Sons is the keeper of a precious legacy. It is from here that many handmade, ebonite fountain pens made their way into the hands of freedom fighters to script stories of independence …
Read More »NSCN-K purges ‘Indian’ elements
The Myanmar-based Shangnyu Shangwang Khaplang faction of the extremist National Socialist Council of Nagaland, or NSCN-K, has ousted the last of its ‘Indian’ leaders. Mr. Konyak, 70, is a Naga of Indian origin. A China-trained rebel, he had taken over as chairman of the NSCN-K after Khaplang died in June …
Read More »The dark underbelly of Guntur’s illegal mining
For years, the vast expanse of natural white limestone under the earth has been excavated by local people. The pulverised stone was used as an essential feed in poultry farms, as a component in paints and distemper, and as aggregate in floor tiles. In 1959, the A.P. government issued 20-year …
Read More »Rescue operation in final stages
The rescue operation for flood victims in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts continued on Saturday with response teams battling strong river currents and heavy rain to bring stranded citizens to safety, even as a parallel crisis unfolded in the Kuttanad region, where rising floodwaters inundated thousands of houses, forcing a mass …
Read More »Kerala’s trauma
The unprecedented deluge in Kerala unleashed by heavy rain, overflowing rivers, brimming dams and massive landslips has overwhelmed the State government and rescue agencies, as they struggle to make a complete assessment of the devastation. More than 160 people have died since August 8, and several are missing. The State …
Read More »Continental shifts
The Asian Games begin in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang on Saturday, providing Indian sport a bracing opportunity to prove its composite progress at the global level. While confined to competition from within Asia, the Asiad is keenly contested, involving some of the best sportspersons in their respective …
Read More »How the ‘deep state’ gamed the system
Uninterrupted democracy for the past decade has inspired hope that Pakistan is changing and that history might be a false guide to a new type of civil-military relationship inside Pakistan. The peaceful transition to a new electoral force represented by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is seen by some as further …
Read More »No child left behind
The urgency to address poor nutrition in India, especially among children, adolescent girls and women is compelling, and re-confirmed in virtually every survey — from NFHS-4 in 2015-16 (the latest available information), to the Global Nutrition Report 2016 and the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2017, which ranks India at 100 …
Read More »Trial by water
The last thing Varghese Thalikaparambil, 72, probably saw on that Thursday night of apocalyptic rain was water cascading into his house at Manikandanchal, on the banks of the Pooyamkutty river —a tributary of the mighty Periyar in Kuttampuzha panchayat along the eastern border of Kerala’s Ernakulam district. It was August …
Read More »‘India PC market rises 28% in April-June’
India’s PC shipments notched a healthy 28.1% growth in April-June 2018 to 2.25 million units, buoyed by strong notebook demand, research firm IDC India said. On the pecking order of vendors, IDC said, HP Inc. maintained its leadership with a market share of 31.6% during the quarter followed by Dell …
Read More »Payment operators must ensure cybersecurity: Patel
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel has urged payment system operators to ensure adequate attention is paid to ensuring cybersecurity and redressing customer grievances. “Operators should ensure that no corner is cut regarding cybersecurity — after all, in a network environment we are only as strong as the …
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