Category: Lite Blogs
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HARD WORKERS HAVE HARD HEARTS!
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DAILY DOSE BY Bikram Vohra All you lazy sods in office. Now you have a real excuse to slouch off and not pull your weight. By working less you might live more. I can imagine so many people saying, woo, this is good stuff, this is the sort of research we want, now we have…
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TOP DOGS AND UNDERDOGS
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Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra Argument. Why does everyone always root for the underdog. Why knock the person or side that is closer to excellence? It seems so unfair considering how we exhaust our lives trying to get to the top. Then we kick the guy off the pedestal and hate him for winning. I…
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Scottish Referendum Opens Pandora’s Box
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Things are very strange in Britain nowadays. People are talking politics! Pubs, supermarkets, hospitals, offices …people are more engaged in political debate than gossiping…writes Kaliph Anaz Things are very strange in Britain nowadays. People are talking politics! Pubs, supermarkets, hospitals, offices …people are more engaged in political debate than gossiping! Thanks to Scottish referendum. A record…
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SPECIAL: Vikas Datta on James Michener
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History made readable: James Michener’s epic novels Can there be a better source of inspiration for novelists than the expansive and colourful pageant of history, though man’s magnificent achievements, raw heroism,inspiring progress and human resilience may frequently be offset by events more inglorious and tragic? One writer who utilised the past for engrossing but insightful…
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VOHRA AND THE SPOILS OF WAR
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Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra I once saw Andre Agassi play at Roland Garros (pronounced ‘orran gawo’, you uneducated slob) and after he had won the match he took off his shirt and flung it into the stands, thereby starting a mini-riot as a slew of lovely French ladies fought stalwartly to retrieve the trophy.…
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Veturi Srivatsa column on Acche Din for Sport
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Veturi Srivatsa says sportspersons should at least see acche din! Most well to do sportspersons complain of the lack of state patronage and insist they got to the top on their own. It is not all true, even those who can afford a holiday in the Swiss Alps are not graceful to acknowledge the amount…
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Modi’s Muslim Favour – Is it too late?
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Amulya Ganguli says Modi’s defence of Muslims – a little too late? If some of the recent statements of the saffron netizens and the actions threatened by Hindutva outfits are noted, then it can seem that the hardliners have learnt nothing from the setbacks suffered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recent by-elections.…
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VAT EES YAR PRABLUM?
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Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra Is it so difficult to laugh at ourselves? So Doordarshan, the official Indian TV station, sacked an anchor for addressing the Chinese President Xi Jinping as Eleven Jinping. No one told her how to pronounce Xi. Point is, she should have been briefed. By that token, most of us reading…
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Hawkish Yellen is what the Indian equity market needs
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Vatsal Srivatava in his weekly Currency Corner analyses Indian equity market On equity strategy, Currency Corner has maintained that we have reached a point where the risk-off move of the previous years (a slightly upbeat hawkish Fed leading to a fall in stock prices) is now working in just the opposite manner. As of today, the…
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10 million Americans on $2 a day
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Cristina Zabalaga says almost 10 mn people in the US live on less than $2 a day Almost ten million people in the US live on less than $2 a day and outside the money economy, surviving on food stamps, welfare and free meals provided by public schools and charities, Brookings Institution researcher Laurence Chandy…
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The rot that is India’s prison system
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By M.R. Narayan Swamy reviews The Bad Boys of Bokaro Jail; Author: Chetan Mahajan; Publisher: Blue Salt/Penguin Books; Pages: 213 What happens when a 42-year-old, overgrown yuppie, with one MBA degree from India and one from the US, and one who has lived in America for seven years, is sent to jail in notoriously corrupt Jharkhand…
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Active Voice by Amit Kapoor on India’s economy
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India crisis of competitiveness by Amit Kapoor & Sankalp Sharma The title of this article draws from a section in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15 that looks at the reasons for India’s Lucifer like fall from 48 in 2007-08 to 71. It is the worst rank in the BRICS economies (Brazil-57th, Russian Federation-53rd,…
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Currency Corner – Vatsal Srivastava on US Fed Reserve
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Vatsal Srivastava says US Federal Reserve finally sounds hawkish; rate hike in March/June 2015 The path to US monetary policy normalization is becoming clearer. Comments by Fed reserve chief Janet Yellen Sep 17 were arguably the most hawkish in recent times. To begin with, a story written by Jon Hilsenrath of the Wall Street Journal…
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REVIEW: India’s tie up with Japan
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FICCI President Sidharth Birla looks into Indo-Japan relations During their meeting on September 1, 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi further strengthened relations between the two sides by signing the Tokyo Declaration for Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership. The meeting has been termed as the ‘dawn of a new era in Japan-India…
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Call to release Alan Henning
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Britain’s Muslim community stands united with Alan Henning’s family and reject terrorism and extremism.” Here is the copy of the letter in today’s Independent newspaper We, the undersigned British Muslim Imams, organisations and individuals, wish to express our horror and revulsion at the senseless murder of David Haines and the threat to the life of our…
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US Strategy toward the Islamic State
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Jon B. Alterman says the new U.S. policy is more than merely a military strategy, it is much more military than it should be. Recalibrating the policy should be an immediate priority of the administration After trying hard to downplay policy in Syria and Iraq, the Obama White House has dived in. The recorded beheadings of…
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Britain and Foreign Students
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Mohammad Touseef looks in to the decline of the arrival of foreign students The past 14 years have witnessed the rise and fall of independent and further Private Education Industry in United Kingdom. The reports of Quality Education Agency and Independent Schools Inspectorate have played a major role in reshaping the current immigration policy and…
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Amulya Ganguli on Didi’s Decline
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Amulya Ganguli says it’s now Ma, Mati, Mafia in West Bengal Mamata Banerjee belongs to the dwindling tribe of regional politicians who look upon their profession through a partisan lens, which means that their focus is almost entirely on advancing the prospects of their parties. They have neither the ability nor the inclination to do anything…
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Saeed Naqvi on Arab coalition against ISIS
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Saeed Naqvi says Obama’s new coalition against the ISIS forces is willing to wound and yet afraid to strike As soon as President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced his intention to lead a Coalition of the Willing to “degrade and destroy” the ISIS, his core coalition partners began to fidget and reach out for the…
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Erdogan Needs A Spasm Of Lucidity
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU, comment on Erdogan’s elevation to new post to remain in power The ascendancy of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the presidency places Turkey on a trajectory that could usher in a new era unlike any other since the founding…
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Working yourself to death!
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The Funny Side by Nury Vittachi If they invited me on one of those radio shows where you choose your top 10 music tracks, I would choose the national anthem 10 times, so that everyone in the country would have to stand up for an hour. The fact that I would find this incredibly enjoyable is…
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Why do you want the clearance?
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Veturi Srivatsa says today athletes can go at no cost to government It was Margaret Alva as sports minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government who first said there is no such thing as “at no cost to government” for any athlete or an official to go to an international event representing the country when he…
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LOVE AND THE IPHONE 6
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YEA YEA YEA,IT HAS GROWN FROM 4.7 INCHES TO 5.5 INCHES LIFE IS A CABARET, OLD CHUM…writes Bikram Vohra I came home last night and my wife said, tell me, do you love me. I said, you have to ask after 35 years. She said, no, tell me the truth, do you really love me?…
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‘India needs electoral reforms’
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Dr Kailash Chand OBE and Prof Navdeep Singh Khaira seeking electoral reforms at world’s largest democracy – India. India needs the reformks if they want to become the BEST. Now that the din of the elections is over it is hoped that the parties and their supporters will come out of their blues of defeat and euphoria…
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Some facts on Kashmir
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Jas Uppal writes on some facts related to Kashmir in the backdrop of David Ward MP’s move to table a motion at British parliament David Ward the Member of Parliament for Bradford East recently tabled a motion to “debate” the political and humanitarian situation in Kashmir. This is scheduled to place in the British Parliament on Thursday…
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Planning for ‘The Future Commission’
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Rahul Singh, associate professor, Birla Institute of Management Technology, looks into Modi’s quest to replace Planning Commission As the Narendra Modi government completes 100 days in office, the prime minister seems keen to implement far-reaching changes, phasing out the old and ushering in the new. One of the first things he did was to question the…
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Currency Corner by Vatsal Srivastava
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Vatsal Srivastava says there is limited upside left for Indian rupee against dollar The Indian equity market party is showing no signs of losing steam with the benchmark indices closing at an all time high yet again Monday. However, the Indian Rupee will not be a guest at this party for long. This column believes that…
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People’s March to Save NHS
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Prof. Rajan Madhok walked 300 miles along 23 cities over 22 days as a member of the People’s March to Save NHS. He is sharing his experiences with Asian Lite readers. I, along with a group of people of all ages and all parts of the country, walked from Jarrow to London in support of the People’s…
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SPECIAL REPORT: Telugus in Sri Lanka
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Tuan M Zameer looks in to the affairs of an ethnic minority which is largely unknown and left un-noticed in Sri Lanka – the Lankan Telugus, popularly known as ‘Snake Charmers’ Sri Lanka is a land which is world renowned for its rich history, mouth-watering cuisine, awe inspiring nature, scintillating beaches and friendly locals. The Colonial…
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Aaron Kumar revisits the Tebbit Test
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Aaron Kumar analysing the Tebbit Test in the context of recent India-England series After winning the 4th One Day International against England and with it the series, India’s captain MS Dhoni observed that his team relish playing in Birmingham because “just like in the Champions Trophy final here last year, we enjoyed more support than…
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Special Report: The plight of Bahais
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Anando Bhakto looks in to the plight of Bahais. Persecuted in Iran, Baha’is worse off in Iraq While the rising tide of arrests of Baha’is in Iran and destruction of their cemetery in Shiraz continues to grab headlines, the community – best known in India for their magnificent lotus-shaped marble temple here that is visited…
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THE SAGA OF THE 6 STAR SHAVING CREAM
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Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra Let me hear it from all you folks who are globetrotters and keep putting your profiles on Facebook showing yourselves in airport lounges and reclining in first class cabins. Clearly, you stay in swank 6 star hotels. So tell me, their rooms have these amenities, right? and they are all…
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The Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
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Nury Vittachi on the science of superheroes Last week, my wife told me I “still had a lot of growing up to do”. I was so angry I refused to let her share this giant cardboard box I’d found. It had once contained some sort of giant TV, so was big enough for me, a pillow, the…
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Ashok Tandon on Modi’s 100 days
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Ashok Tandon says Modi govt is delivering tough messages and good policy directions The jury is still out whether Narendra Modi has ushered in “achhe din” (good days) in the first hundred days of his government. But one thing about which there are hardly two opinions among political analysts of all hues is that after…
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WHY THE BROWN IS THE NEW BLACK?
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Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra Back in 2006, Joe Biden, then a Senate candidate ran into trouble for a remark that “you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” Gaffe-prone Biden got away by explaining that it wasn’t a racial slur but “was meant as a…
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Special Report: Street theatre in Kashmir
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Sheikh Qayoom explorig the chances of the survival of street theatre in Kashmir Traditional Kashmiri street theatre, which once occupied centre stage as the most powerful medium of mass communication in Kashmiri society, seems to be dying a silent death. In ‘Bandh Pather’ artistes dressed in colourful attire move from village to village highlighting social, economic and…
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REVIEW: Modi’s Pied Piper act in Japan
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Biswajit Choudhury says Modi seen as Pied Piper for Japanese investments in India India Inc sees a big leap in Japan’s business interest in India, with the commitment of $35 billion in infrastructure a case in point, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home Wednesday after a five-day visit to this East Asian nation. This…
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Special Report: Indian Online Advert Market
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K Anantha Raman says online advertising market to touch Rs.3,575 crore by March 2015 With the rise in advertisement spending by the e-commerce, telecom, fast moving consumer goods and consumer durables sectors in India, the online advertising market is projected to touch Rs.3,575 crore by March 2015, a report said . The report ‘Digital Advertising…
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GOA: Lessons to learn from Bali
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Francisco de Braganca says Goa should look east, emulate Bali’s success Goa should look east and learn from the transformation of Indonesia’s Bali province from a backward region with poor infrastructure in 2001 to a beautiful, thriving beach tourism paradise. As things stand now, Bali, as a tourism destination, is far ahead of Goa. We…
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Family dinner – Stressful?
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Ishaq Mohin says even as benefits of home-cooked meals gain currency among parents, researchers have found that home cooking and family meals place a significant stress on many families – and are simply impossible for others “This idea of a home-cooked meal is appealing, but it is unrealistic for a lot of families,” said study…
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Currency Corner by Vatsal
Vatsal Srivastava in his weekly column Currency Corner says ECB has gone all out to fight Europe’s economic woes It’s official – the zero-interest rate policy (ZIRP) era is here to stay. After the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and the Bank of Japan, ECB president Mario Draghi made it clear that it too would undertake…
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A PLATEFUL OF NONSENSE?
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Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra How it all began was the other night we were invited to this swank restaurant (sometimes it does happen) where the stewards have fake accents and are better dressed than you are and the menus are the size of hoardings and you could covert them into tents for a family…
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir’s Special Report on Middle East
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU, comments on the latest developments on Israel-Palestine issue – Reckless Policies, Dire Consequences The Netanyahu-led government’s announcement of its decision to annex nearly 1,000 acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank between the Etzion settlement block and Jerusalem amounts to nothing less…
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WHY WERE THEY ASLEEP IN ROTHERHAM?
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What were they doing in Rotherham? Sleeping? Ignoring the agony whirling around them? How can you explain away 1400 cases of child molestation in a small town with 100 babies born from such sexual predators and enough whistle blowers whose whistles were not heard. Children were hurt and tortured over 10 years, they were raped…
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Active Voice – Fair Game in India
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Amit Kapoor says Competition commission proving to be efficient regulator Citizen control and takeover by companies is often pointed out as an Achilles’ heel in any capitalist society. People with leftist leanings, too often criticize free markets, citing market failure and greed as fundamental reasons for radical activism or resort to force. Not only does…
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Stress-free life? Here is a solution
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Close relationships the basis of stress-free life We all know that deep and meaningful relationships play a vital role in one’s overall well-being but still, most of us are bereft of emotional bonding in life. It is imperative, therefore, to listen to your heart and stay close to those who love you the most. According…
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Tips to tame water scarcity
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Curbing water scarcity possible by 2050: Study Despite what appears to be an insurmountable problem, researchers have found that it is possible to turn the situation around and significantly reduce water scarcity in just over 35 years. With strong commitment and strategic efforts such as increased water-recycling and improved irrigation techniques it is possible to…
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Environment & Development
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Global road mapping to balance development and conservation Did you know that over 25 million km of new roads will be built worldwide by 2050, encircling the earth more than 600 times? Keeping the above fact in mind, a study has created a global map for prioritising road building across the planet to balance the…
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Indian Market – Weekly Review
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Expectations of stable GDP growth figures coupled with an overall expectation of further reform and quick notifications for the hike in foreign capital limits in defense and railways led to positive investor sentiments in the Indian equities market which made gains in the week ended Aug 28. “Overall the markets have remained positive to the…
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Saeed Naqvi on ISIS
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Saeed Naqvi says terrorism a diplomatic asset: Fair is foul, foul is fair The ISIS threat has been around for months. Why was it not nipped in the bud? Obama’s response in the course of a conversation with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times is revealing. “We did not start airstrikes all across Iraq…