Author: Mohal Tusharkanti Chande

The US has hit Kyrgyzstan with sanctions as it ups the ante against third countries in Russia’s backyard said to be facilitating the re-export of substantial quantities of sanctioned goods that make their way to the Russian defence industry for use in the Kremlin’s war effort against Ukraine. US and European diplomats have spent months lobbying Kyrgyzstan’s Japarov administration for a significant crackdown on the shadowy trade, but the impact of that approach appears to have been minimal, meaning Washington has now turned to the sanctions stick. On July 20, the US Treasury Department listed 18 individuals and more than 120…

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When the U.S. announced its impending withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, many argued (or at least hoped) that it would be the final chapter in our 20-year engagement there and somehow insulate us from the threat that prompted our post-9/11 “war on terror.” But less than two years since the last soldier left Afghanistan, reality continues to dash that hope. Afghanistan is once again becoming a gathering place for terror groups to train, organize and launch attacks on the rest of the world. That’s the conclusion of a report released publicly in June by the United Nations committee overseeing U.N. sanctions against the Taliban. The…

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NEW DELHI — In a signal that India-Taiwan economic ties are on the rise, Taipei this week announced it will expand its presence in the country by opening a representative office in Mumbai. While New Delhi has maintained a low profile on political contacts with Taiwan, business ties between the two countries have been expanding in recent years. India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Arindam Bagchi, said Thursday that Taiwan’s plans to open the Mumbai center should be seen in the context of India’s policy, which “facilitates, promotes interactions with Taiwan in areas of trade, tourism, culture, education and other such people-to-people…

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Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has alleged that the Indian government threatened to shut the platform and raid employees’ houses in the country. In an interview with a US-based YouTube channel, Mr Dorsey said India requested removal of several tweets and accounts linked to the farmers’ protest in 2020. Twitter was also asked to censor journalists critical of the government, he alleged. India has denied the allegations and accused Twitter of violating laws. “This is an outright lie… Perhaps an attempt to brush out that very dubious period of Twitter’s history,” federal minister Rajeev Chandrashekar tweeted on Tuesday. “No one…

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Amritpal Singh is a wife-beater and may have a second wife in Thailand, an intelligence report said, as reported by news agency ANI. An intelligence report on Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh has claimed that the radical Sikh leader is no devout Sikh and has been leading a lavish lifestyle in Dubai with frequent trips to Thailand, news agency ANI reported. The report said Amritpal Singh used to beat Kirandeep Kaur whom he married in February this year. Kirandeep was kept in captivity, the report said doubting the Khalistan sympathiser’s relationship with other women. Kirandeep Kaur has been questioned by the…

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