Political

Defence

Roving Periscope: Is it USSR-II, or ‘Tsar’ Putin’s Russian Empire-II?

February 25, 2022 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Make no mistake: Russian President Vladimir Putin is not revivifying the Soviet Union (1922-1991), in a new avatar. What he may do is to go further back and revive the Russian Empire ruled for three centuries by the Romanov dynasty, ousted by the Vladimir Lenin-led Communist Revolution in 1917. A […]

Business

Russia in Ukraine: Volatile markets soar again; Sensex up 1,300, Nifty 400

February 25, 2022 virendra pandit

New Delhi: With the Russian troops finally entering Ukraine on Friday and the West still reluctant to get directly involved, the world’s volatile stock markets seemed to return to normal and cut the losses as India’s Sensex soared over 1,300 points and Nifty recovered 410 points. Indian equities clocked a resounding comeback on Dalal Street […]

Business

Ukraine: Bloodbath on bourses, Sensex down by 2,700 points, Nifty loses 815

February 24, 2022 virendra pandit

New Delhi: Markets crashed and crude prices soared on Thursday after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and uncertainties panicked investors and businesses across the world, while Indian equities plummeted as benchmarks dropped as much as 5 percent. However, commodities markets surged with Brent oil extending gains above USD 100 a barrel for the first time since […]

Business

Bloodbath on bourses: Russia-Ukraine tiff shaves off over Rs. 5.15 lakh crores

February 14, 2022 virendra pandit

Mumbai: In the networked global economy, they expected it since the last weekend when a telephonic conversation between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin failed to dissuade Russia’s resolve to attack Ukraine. The geopolitical breakdown between NATO and Moscow was also reflected in global crude prices, which are now above the […]

Business

Roving Periscope: chief n-proliferators, the P-5 of UNSC turn peacenik!

January 4, 2022 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: It is an unhappy New Year in geopolitics: the year 2022 has begun with rank hypocrisy! “We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” they have just announced. All five permanent member nations of the UN Security Council, or P-5–China, Russia, Britain, the United […]

English

102 saal baad: Trying to avenge Jallianwala massacre, Sikh held in Britain

December 28, 2021 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Even after 102 years, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919) continues to influence strong emotions among Indians, including the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Several films have been made on this genocide. Last year, the Vicky Kaushal-starring Hindi film Sardar Udham attracted rave reviews. It was based on Sardar Udham Singh, who was […]

English

PM Modi inaugurates Hydro-Power Projects worth Rs. 11,000 cr. in Mandi, HP

December 27, 2021 Vinayak Barot

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the second Global Investor’s Meet for 287 investment projects worth over Rs 28,197 crores in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, and congratulated the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government on Monday, for completing four years in the State. He inaugurated and laid the foundation for projects worth Rs.11,000 crores, namely the […]

English

Roving Periscope: With funding curtailed, Xi’s BRI dream starts crumbling

December 14, 2021 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: It was no secret even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in January 2020 that the planet’s biggest-ever infrastructure project, worth USD 200 billion—China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—was facing rough weather. Now, this gargantuan dream project of China’s President-for-Life Xi Jinping is almost crashing down for want of […]

Defence

Roving Periscope: the US tightens screws with sanctions on China-plus

December 11, 2021 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: There already were straws in the wind. In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping had turned down his US counterpart Joe Biden’s appeal for an in-person Summit, ‘unless America first rescinded’ some of its ‘anti-China’ decisions. In November, the White House sent out invites for a virtual “Summit for Democracy” to […]

Defence

Me-too: China claims it-has its own-model and is the largest-democracy

December 11, 2021 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Peeved at being left out in the cold, and inviting India instead to rub salt in its wounds, the “People’s Republic of China” (PRC) concluded its week-long campaign condemning liberal democratic systems, and claiming that it is the “largest democracy” in the world. On the second and final day of […]