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Indian-Americans are 'taking over the country', United States President Joe Biden said on Thursday, referring to the large number of 'incredible' professionals from the community holding key positions in his administration. IMAGE: US President Joe Biden. Photograph: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images In less than 50 days of his presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 Indian-Americans to key leadership positions in his administration ranging from his speech writer to the National Aeronautic Space Administration, to almost every wing of the government. "Indian-of-descent Americans (sic) are taking over the country. You (Swati Mohan), my Vice President (Kamala Harris), my speech writer (Vinay Reddy)," Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who were involved in the historic landing of Perseverance landing at Mars. Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan leads the guidance, navigation, and control operations of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. Biden, who was sworn in ... » Learn More about Indian-Americans taking over US, says Biden

Video Player Close by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Apart from working hard to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control, U.S. President Joe Biden is under pressure to take action on the country's "epidemic of gun violence." Biden called on Congress to enact "commonsense gun law reforms" last month on the third anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, southeastern state of Florida, which claimed 17 lives, including 14 students. "Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets," Biden said in a statement. Stressing there was no time to wait, Biden said his administration "will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer." Democratic-led ... » Learn More about World Insights: Biden under pressure to act on America’s gun violence

China is a nation with a true global vision and genuine desire to build a framework of international cooperation, according to experts. They were speaking as the two sessions, the nation's biggest annual political event, which will chart China's future course, take place in Beijing. The experts pointed to President Xi Jinping, who reiterated his commitment to a community with a shared destiny for mankind, and contrasted this with the US leader's concept of "extreme competition" between China and the United States. Xi restated his commitment in a speech to the World Economic Forum virtual event in January. John Ross, a senior fellow at Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said the contrast could not be starker. "Xi's concept of a common destiny is one in which he recognizes that societies and countries are interdependent and need to cooperate. This creates the possibility of mutual advantage and a win-win outcome," he said. Ross added that ... » Learn More about Xi’s vision of shared destiny draws applause

On March 1, India launched the second phase of its Covid-19 vaccination programme, targeting 27 million citizens above the age of 60 and those above 45 with co-morbidities. Looking back, how did the country perform in phase 1 of its vaccination drive that was launched in January for healthcare and frontline workers? With the country seeing a surge in cases after a few months of a decrease in numbers, do we need to accelerate the pace of our vaccine coverage. To speak to us about this and more, we have with us Dr. K. Srinath Reddy , president, Public Health Foundation of India ... » Learn More about Why India needs to accelerate its vaccine programme | The Hindu In Focus Podcast

The Congress may not be averse to exiting the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in Tamil Nadu, if the Dravidian party does not allot it a “respectable” number of seats for the Assembly elections. According to a section of senior leaders, the party is miffed at the DMK’s hardline offering of only 18 seats. Some leaders claim the DMK has not reached out to the Congress after the earlier talks failed. The Congress, multiple leaders confirmed to The Hindu, desired 40 seats but is willing to settle for a ‘respectable’ number of seats, which is being pegged at 30-31 seats. Failing such an offer, the Congress plans on exiting the front as it deems it an “insult”. “When the AIADMK is making all efforts to keep its allies intact, the DMK’s behaviour is not appropriate. From the way they have held the talks, ‘insulted’ the allies, it seems that they do not want us in the alliance. If two of the most powerful TN Ministers, Thangamani and Velumani, can go and meet DMDK chief ... » Learn More about Congress wants ‘respectable’ number of seats, mulls exiting DMK front

SIAM and ACMA on Friday recommended incentivising enhanced domestic value-addition and localisation to leverage on the $25 billion import substitution opportunity but said the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme should not cannibalise existing exporters by incentivising new players. In a presentation at the PLI event organised by the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) and Niti Aayog, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Kenichi Ayukawa and CII Manufacturing Council Chairperson Baba Kalyani stressed that PLI scheme is required for Indian auto component and the auto industry as the sector is not sufficiently globally competitive today. In their presentation, Ayukawa, who is also the MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Kalyani, the chairman & MD “Bharat Forge Ltd, said the aspiration of the sector is to achieve two-fold growth in exports by 2025-26 with automobile manufacturers achieving exports of $19 ... » Learn More about Auto industry bodies recommend incentivising enhanced domestic value-addition, localisation

Audio creators are a new kind of influencer , born of the meteoric rise of the audio-only chat app Clubhouse . Together, they are pulling in millions of weekly listeners and building online followings. Now, with Clubhouse booming and other social apps , like Twitter , taking cues from its success, they are banding together and working with big brands. Audio Collective is one outgrowth of the audio boom. The company, which announced its formation Thursday, will offer event planning, brand consulting, and support and community for creators working in the field. Its founders also plan to lobby Clubhouse for stronger moderation policies, better insights and performance metrics, and monetization tools. The company’s 40 founding members are creators themselves; they host talk shows, meet-ups, discussion groups and other high-profile events and command many millions of followers. Unlike podcasters, who produce edited shows, they perform for a live, interactive audience, much ... » Learn More about Meet the new influencers. The era of audio creators has arrived, thanks to Clubhouse

SINGAPORE/MELBOURNE: Oil prices jumped more than $1 a barrel on Friday, hitting their highest levels in nearly 14 months, after OPEC and its allies agreed not to increase supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude futures for May rose to as high as $68 a barrel on Friday, a level not seen since Jan. 8, 2020. The contract was up $1.09, or 1.6%, to $67.83 a barrel at 0730 GMT, and was on track for a near 3% gain in the week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 93 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.76 per barrel after hitting a high of $64.94 earlier in the session. Both contracts surged more than 4% on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, extended oil output curbs into April, granting small exemptions to Russia and Kazakhstan. "OPEC+ has kept output steady indicating that it wants to take a cautious approach in normalising ... » Learn More about Oil soars to near 14-month high as OPEC+ extends output cuts into April

Video Player Close RIYADH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition involved in a war in Yemen foiled on Friday an attack by Houthi militia toward the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a coalition spokesman. Turki Al Maliki, the coalition spokesman, said the coalition intercepted a bomb-laden drone launched toward Khamis Mushait city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. He revealed that the coalition destroyed at dawn four drones that targeted civilians and civilian sites. The spokesman accused Houthis of committing war crimes. The coalition will complete this month its sixth year of war in Yemen against the Houthi militia in support of the government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Enditem ... » Learn More about Saudi-led coalition says foils new drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Video Player Close BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China should step up guard against mutant COVID-19 strains as the pandemic continues to rage worldwide, a national political advisor has said. "We are still in the midst of a global pandemic, with the coronavirus rapidly mutating and evolving worldwide. Virus mutations may pose huge risks," said Wang Chen, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. Wang made the remarks on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, the country's top political advisory body, which opened in Beijing on Thursday. Noting that a science-based response is the fundamental way to control the pandemic, he said efforts should be made in various fields including early diagnosis and vaccine research and development. Enditem ... » Learn More about China should step up guard against mutant COVID-19 strains: political advisor