India and the United States on Monday, September 9, began their 20th edition of joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas at Foreign Training Node in Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan and will continue till September 22.
The 14-day exercise will see the participation of around 600 troops from a battalion of the RAJPUT Regiment along with personnel from other arms and services, while the US side is being represented by the troops of the 1-24 Battalion of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division.
The US Department of State is partnering with the India Semiconductor Mission of the Union Electronics and IT Ministry to explore opportunities for growing and diversifying the global semiconductor ecosystem under the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, created by the CHIPS Act of 2022.
This partnership aims to create a more resilient, secure, and sustainable global semiconductor value chain.
The KP.3.1.1 Covid-19 variant, now the predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant circulating in the US, has been causing a surge in infections in the country, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed.
KP.3.1.1, of the Omicron family, is among many currently co-circulating JN.1-derived variants in the US, Xinhua news agency reported.
The United States Department of State strongly rejected the allegations of the government’s involvement in former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and the topping of her Awami League government earlier in August, terming them ‘laughable’ and ‘absolutely false’ claims.
“That’s laughable. Any implication that the United States was involved in Sheikh Hasina’s resignation is absolutely false,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Vedant Patel, said in a press briefing Tuesday, August 13.
Just hours after the Bangladesh Army chief announced that the country will form an interim government in the aftermath of a massive protest and the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina — who also fled the country — the United States on Monday, August 5, called for all decisions regarding the setting up of the interim government in Bangladesh to be made with “respect to democratic principles”, saying that it supports “an end to violence and need for accountability”.
The US’ focus on “democratic principles” should be seen against the backdrop of the history of military coups in Bangladesh.
United States and Japan on Sunday emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea amid China’s assertiveness in the region.
The two countries agreed Sunday to upgrade the command functions of the US forces in Japan for better coordination of the US-Japan bilateral alliance.
A top US aviation security official called for a one-stop security screening arrangement with India to reduce duplication of efforts at both ends for passengers, as part of a broader cooperation between the two countries in civil aviation.
“If we have a one-stop agreement with the government of India and with Delhi airport, we would not need to re-screen … passengers and their check bags would go from aircraft to aircraft in almost every situation,” David Pekoske, head of the US Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday, at the start of a three-day India-US civil aviation summit in Washington DC.
As people of Indian descent in the US who are shut out from voting observe India’s parliamentary elections with interest, supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been working to mobilise voter turnout back home and direct it to the party that aligns with their ideology — while invoking divine blessings.
Donald Lu, US State Department Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on Wednesday visited a Jain Temple in California and stressed that the Indian Americans are the backbone of strong relationship between the two countries. Following his visit, community leader Ajay Bhutoria welcomed State Department Assistant Secretary Donald Lu along with Senior Advisor for Domestic Outreach Jennifer Miller and Marissa Morales, Administrative Support Specialist to the Assistant Secretary.
The US-based American Tamil Entrepreneur Association (ATEA), a non-profit focusing tech and trade ties between the US and Tamil Nadu. has signed an MoU with India-based, the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI). A SICCI team with 17 delegates visited California recently to sign the deal on April 11.
The US has announced “ironclad” support for Israel as Iran launched scores of drones and cruise missiles against Israel in retaliation for the bombing of one of its diplomatic facilities in Damascus earlier this month.
The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) has appealed to government agencies, various universities across the country, as well as nationwide student organizations to come together and address the spike in the death of Indian-origin students in the United States. FIIDS said that over a span of four to five months, a spike in deaths of Indian students in the United States has raised significant concerns among the Indian American community as well as Indian population.
A meeting of the India-US Executive Steering Group (ESG) was held at the US Army Pacific Headquarters in Hawaii on Thursday. The Indian delegation led by Lt Gen TK Aich DCOAS (Strategy) was briefed on the capabilities of the Lightning Academy and Aviation Brigade, the Indian Army said in a statement posted on X.
Praising his host country’s developmental journey, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti said that anyone who wants to “see the future” should come to India. He called it a “great privilege” to head the US mission in India. In his address at the ‘Impact & Innovation: 25 Years of IPE Global Making Development a Ground Reality’ event in Delhi, Garcetti said that if anyone wants to work on the future, they should come to India.
Last week, India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned the acting deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in India Gloria Berbena and took strong objection to the US State Department’s remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking India for “a fair, transparent, and timely legal process” for the jailed leader.
Amit Kumar Sharma and his team are busy. This year, they processed 700,000 visa applications in the US alone. As the head of American operations at Visa Facilitation Services Global (VFS Global), Sharma’s responsibility is to keep the wheels of visa protocols and processes running smoothly. It’s not easy, of course, considering VFS is one of the world’s largest organizations in its category, working with 67 partner governments across 140 countries.
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, on Monday extended Holi wishes to the people of India. In a video message shared on X, the US envoy Garcetti expressed warm wishes to all celebrating the festival of Holi. “I want to wish everybody a very happy Holi. We have this amazing gujiyas, which has a little bit of an American twist with some pistachios in here, beautiful rose water. There’s no better way than to celebrate Holi across the Indo-Pacific together,” Garcetti said in a video message while showcasing special Gujiyas adorned with an American twist.
Amid a spike in recent incidents involving Indian students in the US, the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, has advised Indian students to be cautious and said that it is up to them how they ensure their safety. Sharing some pieces of advice through a video, in order to improve the situation and the ease of integration of the Indian students as they come to the US, she stated that the country is very friendly to foreigners, especially Indians, however, it is a big country and there are different cultures.
A student from Hyderabad, India has gone missing in the US while his family here has received a ransom call. Mohammed Abdul Arfath, 25, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Information Technology at Cleveland University, Ohio, has not been in touch with the family since March 7. His parents, who live in Malkajgiri district near Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana, received a call demanding a ransom of $12,000. The unidentified caller informed them their son had been kidnapped and threatened to sell his kidney.
US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said India and America are paving the way for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific as he hailed the ongoing joint exercise between the two nations, on Tuesday. A bilateral tri-service Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise between India and the US — ‘Tiger Triumph-24’ — commenced on Monday and will continue on India’s Eastern Seaboard till March 31.
Former Indian envoy to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Tuesday, ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. On February 1, Taranjit Singh Sandhu was relieved of his duties after he retired as the Indian envoy to the US.
Shankaranarayanan Nandakumar, a maestro of the Mridangam, a percussion instrument that is a primary rhythmic accompaniment in Carnatic music ensembles, is an ambassador of Indian culture and music in the US.
As the United States is deepening sanctions on tankers carrying petroleum above western price caps, it is also trying to help India negotiate lower prices for Russian oil, Reuters reported citing the Biden administration’s energy envoy on Tuesday. Last month, on the second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US imposed sanctions on Russia’s leading tanker group Sovcomflot. It also designated 14 crude oil tankers as property in which Sovcomflot had an interest.
Calling the Indian government’s decision on March 11 to offer citizenship to persecuted minorities a “big win for human rights”, Hindu organizations across the US, the UK, and Canada hailed the announcement of the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
India said on Friday that its consulates in the US have reached out to its nationals studying there and assured them of all possible cooperation and assistance in case of any trouble following the recent deaths of Indian students in the US.
