Food

Business

Conflict: The Hamas-Israeli clash may spur inflation, hamper growth, says IMF

October 12, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Until now, the five-day war between Israel and Sunni terror outfit Hamas is limited to the Jewish state and Gaza Strip, but, if it widens, it may trigger a significant rise in oil prices and hamper growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday. The global lender’s First […]

Business

Good news: Joblessness lowest in one year, says CMIE

October 2, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Contrary to the Opposition’s claims of rising unemployment, India’s joblessness rate dropped to a one-year low in September as unemployment in rural areas fell despite weak monsoon rains this year, the media reported on Monday. The overall joblessness rate slid to 7.09 percent in September, from 8.10 percent in August, […]

Business

Roving Periscope: After terror and donkeys, Pakistan now ‘exports’ beggars!

September 29, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: In an acute embarrassment to Pakistan, its co-religionist nations like Saudi Arabia, and Iraq have asked the nearly bankrupt South Asian country to stop ‘exporting’ beggars! Not surprising though because, according to reports, a tenth of the Pakistani population—25 million in a country of nearly 250 million–resorts to begging either […]

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 […]