Political

Business

Roving Periscope: Nearly 2 mn “excess deaths” in China in two months, says US study

August 26, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Has the Covid-19 pandemic really subsided or morphed into an endemic? Or it’s just going unreported? A new Covid variant called EG.5 or “Eris” has surfaced in the United Kingdom, and may have already killed two million in China, where it is dominant now, the reports said. Reports have now […]

Business

Countering Turkiye: India and Greece elevate ties to defense, “strategic partnership”

August 25, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: For years, Turkey (now Turkiye) has been supporting Pakistan on the defunct Kashmir issue. Despite New Delhi quickly sending humanitarian assistance in February 2023 following a massive earthquake, that claimed thousands of lives, Ankara continued to side with Islamabad on all international forums. Now, in a tit-for-tat, India has decided […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Trump arrested, released; now 2 IndAms fight to replace him!

August 25, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: While Donald Trump became the first US President to surrender, got arrested, and released, as officials even took his mugshot for police records on Thursday, two Indian-Americans vied to replace him as the Republican candidate in the next year’s presidential election. In a first, these candidates—former US Ambassador to the […]

Business

Economy: India to clock the highest growth among Top 5, says Somanathan

August 24, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Union Finance Secretary T V Somanathan on Thursday said India will continue to clock the highest growth rate among the top five economies in the world in the foreseeable future and urged the Indian diaspora to act as a catalyst and supplement government efforts in making India the biggest opportunity […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Prigozhin, who rebelled against Putin, dies in ‘plane crash’

August 24, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: “It took longer than I expected,” Elon Musk said, reacting to the PMC Wagner mercenary army chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s suspicious death in a ‘plane crash’ near Moscow on Wednesday. That sums up what many who know about Russia and its long-time President Vladimir Putin, already knew. Even Moscow merely announced […]

Business

BRICS Summit: Six new inducted members will strengthen the bloc, says PM Modi

August 24, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday welcomed the six new member countries invited to join as full members the five-nation bloc of emerging economies, BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The induction of Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will strengthen BRICS, he said […]

Business

BRICS Summit: PM Modi, SA President hold bilateral talks

August 23, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Johannesburg for the 15th BRICS Summit, on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the five-nation group’s first in-person event after 2020. The two leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral ties, and exchanged views on regional […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Mexico replaces China, Canada as the US’ top biz partner

August 22, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: How times change—and so rapidly! As China struggles to keep its nose above the financial maelstrom, Mexico has left the Dragon, as well as Canada, behind as the top business partner of the United States, the media reported on Tuesday. In the first four months of 2023, the US-Mexico trade […]

Business

Inflation: FinMin cautions about price pressures amid uncertainties

August 22, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Recent inflationary trends in prices of essential commodities, including tomatoes and onions, have prompted the Finance Ministry to caution the people that these pressures may remain in the months ahead and require greater vigilance. In its monthly Economy Review report for July 2023, released on Tuesday, the ministry said the […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Amid fears, India supports BRICS’ expansion

August 21, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Amid apprehensions that any expansion of the five-nation bloc of emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS)—by inducting new members could potentially turn it into an anti-West platform, New Delhi on Monday supported the move, on the eve of the group’s 15th Summit beginning in Johannesburg, South Africa. […]