Washington’s top military officer in Asia-Pacific, Admiral Philip Davidson said that the move could be a part of China’s accelerating ambitions to supplant the United States. China could invade Taiwan within the next six years, as Beijing accelerates its moves to supplant American military power in Asia, a top U.S. commander said Tuesday.Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, whose leaders view the island as part of their territory and which they have vowed to one day take back.“I worry that they’re (China) accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership…
Author: Mike Harrison
The White House is expecting a range of issues to be discussed, including COVID, economic cooperation and the climate crisis. The scheduling of the first-ever Quad leaders’ summit-level meeting within fifty days of the Biden administration signified the importance the administration places on the Indo Pacific, the White House said on Tuesday.”That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo Pacific,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters about Friday’s virtual meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,…
Cong. leader cites Minister’s reply in LS on surge in revenues Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that the Narendra Modi government is resorting to “indiscriminate taxation” on petrol-diesel-liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) so that it can waive off the loans of its “friends”.“By collecting indiscriminate taxes on petrol-diesel-LPG from the common public, it is waiving off taxes and loans of its friends. The truth is clear,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted on a day when Opposition MPs protested in both the Houses of Parliament over high fuel prices.Mr. Gandhi also tagged a news report of Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s written…
In a Cabinet decision on February 1 this year, Sri Lanka booted India and Japan out of a 2019 deal to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port, as trade unions and sections of the Buddhist clergy vehemently opposed foreign involvement in the strategic national asset. Further, some raised questions about the possible conflict of interest, given that the Adani Group operates about a dozen ports in India.Also read: Sri Lanka, Japan, India sign deal to develop East Container Terminal at Colombo PortBoth India and Japan expressed displeasure at the Sri Lankan government’s “unilateral” decision, reneging on…
The statement also said that “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.” Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Tuesday, saying the family was “saddened” to learn of the struggles that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed this week — and that they would be taken very seriously.The statement is the first comment by the palace following Prince Harry and Ms. Markle’s two-hour television interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they alleged that Ms. Markle had experienced racism and callous treatment during her time in the royal family.Also read: Don’t think the royals are racist, says Meghan’s…
Principal Secretary to Prime Minister P.K. Misra on Tuesday chaired a high level review meeting by video conference on Tuesday to review the status and progress of COVID vaccination across States and UTs.He has directed States/UTs to expand the capacity of vaccine administration by operationalising as many health facilities as possible as vaccination centresHe also noted that administrations should ensure equitable and easy access to all.According to a release issued by the Health Ministry Dr. Misra noted that beneficiaries should have convenient registration and this should be done by maximizing available slots on Co-WIN with all vaccination centrespublishing sessions for…
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday started her campaign in Nandigram with a promise of making “model Nandigram”.Raising the slogan “Bhulte paari nijer naam, Bhulbo na Nandigram [Can forget my name but won’t forget Nandigram]”, she said she chose to contest from Nandigram because the constituency is symbol of struggle.“Tomorrow I will file nomination from Haldia… if you don’t want me contest then I will leave,” she said adding that she will file her nomination tomorrow (Wednesday). At the workers’ convention, Ms. Banerjee said she has decided to contest from Nandigram when the sitting MLAs had resigned. “I…
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained Suu Kyi last month, triggering daily protests around the country to demand the junta restore democracy People barricaded in a Yangon neighbourhood overnight said on Tuesday that Myanmar security forces searched their homes room by room for anti-coup protesters, targeting apartments flying the flag of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained Suu Kyi last month, triggering daily protests around the country to demand the junta restore democracy.The police and the Army have responded with an increasingly brutal crackdown and parts…
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that a “cyber volunteer” programme has been rolled out for “cyber hygiene promotion” and the services of volunteers would be utilised by the State police as per requirement.The MHA, through its cyber crime grievance portal cybercrime.gov.in, aims to raise a group of “cyber crime volunteers” to flag “unlawful content” on the Internet. Various groups, including the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), have expressed concern that the programme enables a culture of surveillance and could create potential social distrust by encouraging civilians to report the online activities of other citizens.…
At Exercise Dustlik-II between India and Uzbekistan from March 10-19, the Indian Army will showcase its Counter Insurgency (CI) and Counter Terrorism (CT) skills. The focus will be on people-centric intelligence based surgical operations, incorporating technological advancements to minimize collateral damage, a defence source said.The broad aim of the exercise is CI,CT operations in mountainous, rural and urban scenarios under United Nations (UN) mandate and the Army will share the experiences and lessons it has gained in Kashmir, an Army source said. A lot of technology has been incorporated in CI, CT operations and efficiency has considerably gone up in…