Food

Business

Obituary: India’s God of Farming, MSS, is yet to be honored with Bharat Ratna

September 28, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: “If God appears to poor and hungry in the form of bread, as Mahatma Gandhi said, that God is Dr. MS Swaminathan who should be worshipped by every citizen while taking daily meals,” Dr. AK Singh, Director, Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) said as he paid glowing tributes to the […]

Business

Disease X: The next pandemic, already on the way, could kill 50 million people

September 25, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The next pandemic is ‘already on the way, and it could kill around 50 million people globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, according to the media reports on Monday. The global health monitor has dubbed the anticipated next pandemic as “Disease X”, stating that it might already be […]

Defence

Pakistan: Now, 40% of people under poverty, says World Bank

September 23, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: With poverty in Pakistan rising from 34.2 percent to 39.2 percent within a year, the World Bank has cautioned the nearly bankrupt South Asian country to take urgent steps to achieve financial stability as about 100 million people in a country of 240 million now live below the poverty line. […]

Business

Pakistan: Nawaz to return in Oct, take on army bosses; polls in January 2024

September 21, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: With three-time Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, who has been in self-exile in London since 2019, announcing his return home next month and making the bosses in the army and judiciary “accountable”, the stage is being set for yet another stormy General Elections to the National Assembly in Pakistan in […]

Business

G-20: China has the option to be a “spoiler” to the Summit, remarks the US

September 6, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: True to its customary behavior to grab headlines, China is blowing hot and cold on the Group of 20 (G-20) Summit India is hosting in the national capital on September 9 and 10. While President Xi Jinping is not attending the Summit, and Beijing has questioned host India using a […]

Business

Invasion of Ukraine: With renewed ‘grain deal’ Russia tries a face-saver

September 4, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: After relentlessly bombing Ukraine for nearly 18 months, with no signs of victory or even a ceasefire, Russia now seems to be trying to save its face, increasingly isolated as the former superpower finds itself in the international arena and dependent on an unreliable China and even North Korea. That […]

Business

Microfinance: Obama, Hillary, and over 160 others urge Dhaka to acquit Nobel Laureate M. Yunus

September 1, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Former US President Barack Obama, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and over 160 other global leaders have urged Bangladesh to suspend ongoing legal action against Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and the Father of Microfinance. Concerned over a string of court cases against Professor Muhammad Yunus, 83, these global leaders, in […]

Business

Weather: The driest August since 1901 causes concern for Indian agriculture

August 31, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The driest month of August since 1901 is causing worries in India’s agriculture sector, the backbone of the national economy, as many farmers have been forced to buy more seeds to sow them again as fresh monsoon rains are expected in September. These monsoon showers are vital for India’s nearly […]

Business

Fukushima: Chinese protest, abuse Japanese after release of ‘contaminated’ waters into the Pacific

August 28, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Water wars to control this elixir of life are common in several countries. But the Chinese are angry at their Japanese counterparts for releasing allegedly ‘contaminated’ waters from the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The Fukushima nuclear disaster was caused by a powerful earthquake and the […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Imprisoned, ex-Pak PM Imran now “satisfied” with jail facilities!

August 28, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Although they are multiple crisis-ridden, many people in Pakistan have never lost their sense of black humor. For example, when the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 landed on the southern pole of the Moon last week, a Pakistani man told a TV news channel with a straight face that Pakistan need not […]