General Ann Dunwoody has become the first woman in American history to be promoted to the rank of a four-star general, the highest rank in the US army. Dunwoody will head the Army Materiel Command, one of the Pentagon’s largest outfits that is responsible for worldwide logistical and supply operations. “Coming less than two weeks after Barack Obama became the first African American to win the White House, the promotion marked the steady trend of shattering racial and sexual barriers...

With the excitement, dust, heat and frenzy generated by the US presidential elections seemingly behind us, the recent developments in Asia and other parts of the world deserve attention. The Economist, as usual, leads other world publications in bringing to us news stories in an insightful and succinct manner. First, how Australia and China facing the global financial crisis? Well they seem to be joining hands… During my five-month stay in Australia, it was clear that Mr Kevin Rudd’s...

It is much more than celebration time in India. Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election has brought palpable relief among general public as well as political parties of all hues (Surprise…Surprise!!!…Including the Left parties). However, a few policy experts have some reservations about Obama. IANS writes: “Obama, 47, who has promised to renew American diplomacy to meet the challenges of the 21st century by rebuilding alliances and expressed a willingness...

Christina Lamb, of The Times of London, has provided one of the best assessments of the ground realities in Afghanistan. She should know as she has been reporting from Afghanistan for 20 years. I strongly recommend that her present analysis should be carefully read. One has to be patient as this is a longish report where she argues why the US and the NATO forces cannot beat the Taliban. Here are the excerpts from Lamb’s report: “Most alarming is the way Kabul has been encircled by the...

Aravind Adiga, 33, has emerged as the second novelist of Indian origin to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his debut novel The White Tiger – as Arundhati Roy did in 1997 with The God Of Small Things. The Independent reports: “Aravind Adiga, a first-time author from India, won the Man Booker Prize last night with his novel The White Tiger, which was praised by the judges for presenting the ‘dark side of India’ and likened to Shakespeare’s Macbeth ‘with a...

Time magazine deserves praise for bringing out a special edition devoted to the unsung heroes who are plodding on despite the climate of gloom and doom and, through personal example, carrying on a crusade to save the planet. The magazine states: “Because solutions do exist — and there are those who are leading us to them. Some are activists like Brazil’s Marina Silva, the godmother of the rain forest, and some are scientists like Germany’s Joachim Luther, the godfather of solar...

Recently I was served a kangaroo dish by my daughter at her home in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It so happens that the fascinating kangaroo is the national animal of Australia and finds a place of honour on the country’s coat of arms. On seeing my raised eyebrows, my son-in-law explained: “Don’t worry dad, we are also serving a national cause by opting for a kangaroo dish. It seems that the government would soon be encouraging Australians to have more kangaroo meat...

With the passing away of Marjorie Deane, financial journalism has lost one of its greats, reports The Economist. “Less a financial philosopher than a real reporter, she knew the numbers, knew the gossip and knew everyone who mattered, not least the former chairman of America’s Federal Reserve. “Bankers willingly opened their doors to her in the knowledge that they would be talking to someone almost as well-informed as they were themselves. She was trusted, respected and liked.”...

The ‘outback’ and the ‘bush’ have an iconic status in Australian life. A recent report for the Pew Environment Group and Nature Conservancy said that Australia had the highest number of endemic mammal and reptile species in the world. “Three million square kilometres (1.1 million sq miles) — an area 12 times the size of mainland Britain — have been left pristine. We were pleasantly surprised that there were still so many areas which came up in such good condition...

In view of the growing militant attacks, the United Nations has ordered children of its international staff to leave Pakistan. According to The Independent, the alert came as a suicide bomber killed himself and three others in north-west Pakistan in an attack aimed at a prominent politician. “Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) which is part of the coalition government, was not hurt in the blast in the north-western town of Charsadda, police said. Wali’s ANP...

Even with the global financial crisis looming large on the horizon, and its consequent crippling effects becoming clearer, the US media’s/blogs’ continued obsession with “what Obama/McCain/Palin/Biden said”, and then “what Obama/McCain/Palin/Biden replied” would appear myopic and tragic. The media/blogs have seemingly abdicated their traditional responsibility of explaining/warning about major/critical issues. In this theatre of the absurd, Playboy magazine...

I agree with the The Economist that in this global crisis the governments must work together. But no one talks of the world’s ordinary people who have to bear the additional burden in the wake of this and other crisis, which in the first place can be attributed to the callousness and greed of the governments/leaders and financial institutions themselves (especially the bankers). First the world leaders blow up trillions of dollars on unending “wars”, and then fail in their duty...

Today (October 2) is Mohandas K. Gandhi’s birth anniversary. While the votaries of non-violence in the violence-ridden world pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi’s memory, in this post I would like to recall Gandhi’s abiding friendship with a Pashtun leader, better known as “Frontier Gandhi”, and who belonged to the so-called ‘badlands’ in Pakistan on the border of Afghanistan. (Photo of the two leaders above.) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890–1988), a Sunni Muslim...

The Gurkhas, who originally hail from Nepal, enjoy a pride of place in the pantheon of the British and the Indian armed forces. They still serve with dedication and loyalty the army regiments in these two countries. So it was a well-deserved victory in a British court for these Gurkhas who earned the right to settle in Britain after their retirement. “For generations, they have shown great courage and loyalty, fighting for Britain in countless wars. Last night, the Gurkhas were celebrating...

After his fairly good performance in Iraq, General David Petraeus takes charge of his new post as the overall head of the U.S. forces in the Middle East (including Afghanistan) on October 31. But now General Petraeus needs to acquaint himself better with the history and ground realities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Central Asia. History tells us that even the best foreign soldiers, and great conquerors and diplomats, in the world have met their nemesis in Afghanistan. So it would do...

With plans for the biggest rescue of Wall Street since the Great Depression in tatters, the Dow Jones industrial average of shares dived almost 800 points, losing 7 per cent of its value, reports The Times. “It was the worst one-day points fall and the worst percentage fall since Black Monday in 1987. “American taxpayers, who will elect a new president in five weeks’ time, have hated the bailout from the beginning. Already struggling with rising unemployment, collapsing property prices...

Nalaka Gunawardene, the well-known Sri Lankan journalist, makes an interesting point as to why every banker should see Mary Poppins, the famous 1964 Walt Disney movie. As he says: “For it holds a very important and fundamental lesson for their profession: the need to win every customer’s trust and confidence… “The movie has many interesting scenes, but one that is directly relevant to bankers is when Mr Banks takes his daughter Jane and son Michael to his work place, the Dawes...

The US presidential elections have this time evoked great public interest worldwide. The Economist has invited the public to vote online for their favourite candidate. The voting has already begun. It is interesting to see the voting trend from Bangladesh to Australia…More here…

In the midst of the fear psychosis and frenzy created by the US/global economic meltdown, a grave and dramatic encounter between the US and the Pakistani troops went almost unnoticed. The Economist reports that although both the US and Pakistan deny it; “but it appears that on September 15th they fought a short war. “America started it. Local reports suggest that, under cover of darkness, two helicopter-loads of its soldiers crossed on foot from Afghanistan into the Pakistani tribal...

Although US President George Bush and Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary have stated that “Washington was committed to minimising the impact of the painful economic shifts of the present crisis”, the shock resulting from the abrupt demise of the Lehman Brothers investment bank sent the world share market into a nasty downward spin. A recent report says that “Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday amid growing fears of a global financial crisis as investors reacted to the demise...

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd recently unveiled his vision for making Australia the most “Asia-literate country” in the West. In continuation of this theme Rudd would be the keynote speaker at the fortnight-long OzAsia cultural festival at Adelaide that showcases arts, music and dances of Asia-Pacific region. A special symposium would be held on the occasion “to explore the challenges and opportunities for closer cultural engagement with Asia in the 21st Century.” According...

The US federal government’s takeover of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not only “exposes the worst possible face of capitalism, one where a taxpayer guarantee is substituted for the old adage of buyer beware”, but also indicates the tough financial challenges ahead for the new president of America. Whether it is Obama or McCain, whoever makes it to the White House at the end of this year would have to find ways to extricate the USA from the fiascoes that Iraq...

When Indira Gandhi (photo above) was a candidate for the post of prime minister in India she was harshly described as a “dumb doll’ by even the strong men in her powerful party. Later, when Gandhi ruled with an iron hand she was described by her detractors and admirers as the “only man in her Cabinet of Ministers”! The Times takes a look at the top women leaders with reputations for raising hackles. “It’s disgraceful what passes for controversy these days. From...

After three days of acrimonious debate, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting at Vienna lifted the 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India. “An India-specific exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was won only after a flurry of phone calls from President George W. Bush and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to leaders of a handful of countries opposed to the deal, reports The Tribune. “Given the time and energy it has invested into the civilian nuclear agreement,...

Asif Ali Zardari’s decisive victory in the Pakistan’s presidential election, despite media allegations about corruption and the state of his mental health, proves that the political leadership in Pakistan has clearly opted to hand over the reigns of power to the late Benazir Bhutto’s husband. Zardari won by a convincing 481 out of a possible 702 votes in the electoral college made up of members of the national and provincial parliaments. The Australian notes that “only Punjab,...