As the 14th Dalai Lama celebrates his 90th birthday on July 6, all eyes are on his expected announcement on his reincarnation. He, himself, stated that the 15th Dalai Lama would be found in the ‘free world’. China, which ‘liberated’ Tibet in 1951 with a military invasion, on the other hand, declared its intention to select the next Dalai Lama through a ‘golden urn’ lottery process.
Cesarean delivery, when required for medical reasons, is crucial in protecting the health of both mother and baby. But the sharp increase in planned C-sections, those chosen without urgent medical need, is subtly transforming how childbirth happens in India.
The bombing of Iran represents the return of old-style imperialism, making the point that might is right with the biggest bang possible without exploding an atomic bomb. Which cat got the tongue of India, leader of the Global South, when the US bombed Iran? Why did the tongue of India, leader of the BRICS, turn mute, when the world called on Israel, at the UN, to end its genocide in Gaza? Cat, Cat burning bright, in the forests of Mt Zion and Washington DC, why this appetite for India’s respect among nations?
After more than three years, China’s top diplomat and Politburo member Wang Yi visited New Delhi this week for the 24th round of India-China Special Representative talks.
The last round took place in December 2019, but the Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020 brought the dialogue to a halt. Talks resumed only in December 2024 in Beijing, following a Narendra Modi–Xi Jinping meeting in Kazan, Russia, in October that year.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month, imposing an additional 25% tariff on India for its imports from Russia, thereby raising the total tariff level to 50%. This World Trade Organization (WTO)-inconsistent tariff, whose implementation was notified by the Trump administration on Tuesday, is going to heavily affect India’s $48.2-billion merchandise exports to the US. The merchandise exports account for almost 60% of India’s export to the US. The US has already raised the tariffs for all other trade partners with a variation between 10% to 50%.
When a husband dies due to an accident, natural causes or illness, widows of ex-servicemen (ESM) are left in financial distress and social isolation. To support these women, RMEWF launched a scheme in August 2023 to provide financial assistance for vocational training. This scheme under the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) is for widows of ESM up to the rank of Havildar or equivalent in the Army, Navy or Air Force.