Tag: The United States (US)

Voters in US’ Florida to decide whether to protect abortion rights

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ahead of the US presidential elections, the Florida Supreme Court cleared the way for a law, backed by Republicans, banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect. It further approved an initiative to let the voters decide on amendments in the state’s constitution to establish a right to an abortion.

In a pair of rulings on Monday, the top court upheld the existing law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and while doing it, it cleared the way for a six-week ban to take effect, Reuters reported.

However, it rejected an attempt by the Republican attorney general of the state to prevent an initiative off the November ballot, thereby allowing the voters to decide whether or not there should be a right to abortion.

“We decline to encroach on the prerogative to amend their constitution that the people have reserved to themselves,” Florida’s top court noted in one of its rulings.

In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law making abortion illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Two months before that, the US Supreme Court had overturned its landmark ‘1973 Roe v. Wade’ verdict that legalised the procedure across the country.

In April last year, DeSantis again signed an even stricter ban which was passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature and starts in the sixth week of pregnancy.

As per the report, that measure included ‘trigger’ language which enacted the near-total ban one month after Florida’s top court affirmed the earlier ban.

At six weeks, many women are unsure whether they are pregnant or not.

A lawsuit in this regard was filed by a group of Florida abortion providers, who challenged the 15-week ban stating that the measure violates the state’s constitution.

At present, access to abortion is almost non-existent in southern US states, with most of them having imposed restrictions, backed by the Republicans.

This might change on November 5 later this year, when voters in Florida will now decide on the abortion ballot initiative along with the US presidential election between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘States expected to be respectful…’: India objects to US remarks on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India on Wednesday strongly objected to the remarks of the US State Department on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest and stated that “in diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others.”

Earlier in the day, officials at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned US’ Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena to its office in the South Block in the national capital. The meeting lasted around 40 minutes.

“We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India. In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in the case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents,” read a statement from the MEA.

It further stated that the legal processes in India are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes.

“Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” it added.

The US Embassy’s response

“I can’t discuss our private diplomatic conversations,” the US Embassy Spokesperson said when asked about the MEA protest.

A US State Department official had stated that the country “encouraged a fair, transparent and timely legal process for Kejriwal”.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. We are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues. With respect to your first question, I’m not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don’t think anyone should object to that.”

The Enforcement Directorate arrested the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor last week in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. This comes weeks ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The case pertains to alleged money laundering and corruption in the formulating and execution of the AAP-led Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

This comes days after Georg Enzweiler, German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, was summoned by India to convey a strong protest regarding their Foreign Office Spokesperson’s comments on the country’s internal affairs.

“We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary. India is a vibrant and robust democracy with the rule of law. As in all legal cases in the country, and elsewhere in the democratic world, law will take its course in the instant matter. Biased assumptions made on this account are most unwarranted,” MEA said on March 23.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US says it is concerned about CAA and closely monitoring its implementation

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The United States on Thursday said it is concerned about the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India and is closely monitoring its implementation. “We are concerned about the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on March 11,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily briefing.

“We are closely monitoring how this act will be implemented. Respect for religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic principles,” Miller said in response to a question. The Indian government implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 on Monday, paving the way for the grant of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.

The government also came out with a press statement to say that Indian Muslims need not worry as the CAA will not impact their citizenship and has nothing to do with the community which enjoys equal rights as their Hindu counterparts. The Indian government has maintained that the CAA is about granting citizenship and that no citizen of the country will lose citizenship.

Also Read: India Implements Citizenship Amendment Act: Here’s a timeline of the CAA

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Total solar eclipse 2024: NASA reveals how it will be different from the 2017 eclipse

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Coming April, a cosmic spectacle will unfold across the skies in the West that promises to captivate millions. As it passes in front of the Sun, the Moon will cast its shadow upon Earth, plunging parts of the United States, Canada, and Mexico into an ethereal darkness.

For the ones who witnessed the magnificent total solar eclipse in August 2017, memories of the Moon’s passage through the Sun and the Earth still linger, a fleeting moment when day turned to twilight, and the Sun’s fiery corona blazed forth. However, this year, the stage is set for something even more extraordinary.

According to NASA, the eclipse on April 8, 2024, could be “even more exciting due to differences in the path, timing, and scientific research.”

Let us delve into the nuances that set the 2024 total solar eclipse apart.

Wider path

The forthcoming total solar eclipse will have a somewhat larger path of totality than the eclipse in 2017, which allows spectators to witness the Moon completely block the Sun and display the corona, the star’s outer atmosphere. The Moon’s distance from Earth varies as it revolves around the Earth.

In 2017, the Moon was a bit farther away from the Earth compared to this year’s total solar eclipse. Because of this, the path of that eclipse was a little skinnier. While the path ranged from about 62 to 71 miles wide in 2017, this time the path over North America is expected to be between 108 and 122 miles wide.

Also, the path of the total solar eclipse this year will pass over more cities and densely populated areas, making it easier for more people to see the totality. Compared with 12 million in 2017, around 31.6 million people live in the path of totality this time, while an additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality.

Longer duration in totality

This year, the totality is expected to last longer than it did in 2017. It will last up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds, in the area about 25 minutes northwest of Torreon, Mexico. On the other hand, the longest period of totality was experienced near Carbondale, Illinois, at 2 minutes and 42 seconds in 2017.

In Texas, it will last for about 4 minutes and 26 seconds at the centre of the eclipse’s path.

In parts of Canada, the total eclipse this year will last up to 3 minutes and 21 seconds.

“During any total solar eclipse, totality lasts the longest near the centre of the path, widthwise, and decreases toward the edge. But those seeking totality shouldn’t worry that they need to be exactly at the centre. The time in totality falls off pretty slowly until you get close to the edge,” read a statement by NASA.

Solar activity

In April, the Sun is expected to be in or near solar maximum, a position where the magnetic field is more like a tangled hairball. The Sun becomes more active during solar maximum.

This time, the streamers will likely be visible throughout the corona and viewers will have a better chance to see prominences – which appear as bright, pink curls or loops coming off the Sun, NASA stated.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Israel-Hamas hostage release deal is elusive, US National Security Advisor says

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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An agreement to pause the Israel-Hamas war and free civilian hostages captured by Hamas isn’t imminent and “the ball is in Hamas’s court,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

“Ultimately, that comes down to Hamas,” Sullivan said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, adding that there’s no guarantee a deal will come together. “Sitting here today, I cannot tell you it’s right around the corner.”

While seeking a deal with Hamas, the US and allies have been conducting air strikes against other Iranian-backed militants in the Middle East that have attacked American soldiers as well as commercial shipping in the Red Sea region.

President Joe Biden, asked by reporters during a campaign stop in Las Vegas on Sunday whether the strikes are working, said “yes.”

People familiar with the diplomacy said last week that the negotiations are advancing on a deal that those involved believe could be a major step to ending four months of war since Hamas attacks Israel on October 7 and Israel launched a military incursion into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in response.

But it’s unclear if Israel and Hamas are on board.

“We will not agree to every deal, and not at any price,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. “Many things that are being said in the media, as if we had agreed to them, such as regarding the release of terrorists, we will simply not agree to them.”

Hamas was expected to respond on Sunday evening, Haaretz reported, citing Saudi sources.

Spy chiefs and top officials from Qatar, Egypt, the US and Israel agreed on a framework in Paris last weekend. Qatar then presented Hamas with a proposal for a 45-day pause and the release of some Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all the women, children and elderly Israeli hostages, according to one official.

“Israel has in fact put forward a proposal. And as Qatar has indicated publicly, the ball is in the Hamas’ court at this time,” Sullivan said in an interview for CBS’s Face the Nation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is departing on another trip to the region on Sunday. He will pursue diplomatic efforts on a deal for a pause in the fighting that will allow increased delivery into Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages, the State Department said in a statement Friday.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US expresses concerns over Sri Lanka’s controversial internet regulation law

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The United States expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s online regulation bill Thursday, a day after it passed overwhelmingly in Parliament over protests by the media, opposition and rights activists.

The Online Safety Bill allows the government to set up a commission with a wide range of powers, including ordering people and internet service providers to remove online posts deemed “prohibited statements.” It can also legally pursue people who publish such posts.

Julie Chung, the US ambassador in Sri Lanka, said the United States has concerns about the potential impact of the legislation and urged “Sri Lanka to prioritise transparency and ensure any legislation does not stifle the voices of its people .”

“In addition to jeopardising democratic values, vague and overly restrictive legislation can hinder investment and the development of a digital economy, undermining the economic growth that Sri Lanka needs,” Chung said in a statement posted on her X account.

Critics say the law is an attempt by Sri Lanka’s governing coalition to stifle speech in an election year as the Indian Ocean island nation copes with an economic crisis that required an international bailout.

The media, opposition lawmakers, internet and civil rights groups say the measure would undermine human rights and freedom of expression.

Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that the bill would create a repressive law with broad and vague “speech-related offenses punishable by lengthy prison terms.”

The Asia Internet Coalition, which has Apple, Amazon, Google and Yahoo as members, warned that the bill could undermine potential growth and foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka’s digital economy.

The government said the legislation addresses problems related to online fraud, abuse and false statements that threaten national security and stability. It denied the bill was drafted to harass media or political opponents.

Sri Lanka is struggling to emerge from its worst economic crisis, which hit the island nation two years ago. The country declared bankruptcy in 2022, with more than $83 billion in debt, more than half of it owed to foreign creditors.

The crisis caused severe shortages of food, fuel and other necessities, which fed strident public protests that led to the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. After Rajapaksa fled, then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as president by parliament.

The IMF agreed last year to a $2.9 billion bailout package for the hard-hit country.

Shortages of necessities have since abated, but public dissatisfaction has intensified as the government imposed new taxes on professionals and businesses and raised energy bills.

Rights groups say that with the presidential election coming later this year, Wickremesinghe has sought to stifle dissent by cracking down on anti-government protests and arresting protestors and activists.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US spies want AI as a tool against China if tech can be trusted

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US intelligence agencies are grappling with a daunting new challenge: Making artificial intelligence safe for America’s spies.

An arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is tapping companies and colleges to help harness rapidly developing AI technology that could provide an edge against global competitors like China. The challenge is ensuring it doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.

“The intelligence community wants to avail itself of the large-language models out there, but there are a lot of unknowns,” said Tim McKinnon, a data scientist who manages one of the ODNI’s projects, known as Bengal. “The end goal is being able to work with a model with trust.”

The focus on reliability and security is part of a broader US military and intelligence campaign to harness the power of AI and compete with China, which is seeking to become the global leader in the field by 2030. It’s also helping drive a surge in AI-related hiring in the Washington area as the government and its contractors embrace the emerging technology.

The most pressing concerns center on large-language models, which use massive data sets to power tools such as OpenAI Inc.’s ChatGPT to provide detailed responses to user prompts and questions.

“The intelligence community views AI with healthy skepticism and a range of enthusiasm,” said Emily Harding, director of the Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, citing as an example the ability for analysts to process large amounts of information but doubts about the reliability of current models.

“It’s a tool in its earliest stages of usefulness,” she said.

The Central Intelligence Agency’s chief technology officer, Nand Mulchandani, sees AI potentially boosting productivity by digesting vast volumes of content and finding patterns that would be difficult or impossible for humans to discern. He also sees it as way to compete with China’s numerical advantage in intelligence staffing.

“Human beings are great but are hard to scale,” Mulchandani said in an interview. “Helping to scale human beings with tech is the smart business move.”

US spy agencies have already begun to experiment with AI programs of their own. The Central Intelligence Agency was preparing to roll out a feature akin to ChatGPT that will give analysts better access to open-source intelligence, Bloomberg News reported in September.

The appeal of AI to US intelligence stems partly from its potential to distinguish signals from noise among the troves of data collected every day, as well as to develop creative ways of looking at problems, according to an intelligence analyst who spoke on the condition that they not be identified discussing internal matters. Still, there are ways to influence and interfere with AI models that introduce new risks, the analyst said.

McKinnon said AI is vulnerable to both insider threats and outsider meddling. Those threats could be humans trying to trick the systems into divulging classified information — an attempt to “jailbreak” the model. Or the opposite: a compromised system “trying to elicit information from humans that it shouldn’t,” he said.

McKinnon’s Bengal program — short for Bias Effects and Notable Generative AI Limitations — is run by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, a little-known organization that’s under the ODNI. Bengal has gathered input from companies including a unit of Amazon.com Inc., but McKinnon declined to say if it was working with any specific firms.

The program aims to alleviate some of AI’s risks by developing ways to deal with potential biases or toxic outputs such as “hallucinations,” when a program fabricates information or delivers an incorrect result, which isn’t uncommon.

“Right now there are only a few models that are publicly available, but they’ll become more prevalent and the ways they’ll be trained could be biased,” McKinnon said. “If there’s a poisoned model, we want to be able to mitigate against that.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US strikes Iran-backed militia in Iraq after attack on base

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US forces carried out airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia in Iraq after the group had attacked an air base where American troops are stationed.

The three targets included the headquarters of Kataib Hebollah as well as a training facility and storage space for missiles and drones, US Central Command said in a statement on Tuesday evening. The facilities are also used by other militant outfits, Central Command added.

“These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

The operation occurred as the US and UK have been conducting an air campaign against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, which has disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea with a series of missile and drone attacks.

The military actions highlight the danger facing the US and other countries that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza will ignite a broader conflict in the Middle East.

“We do not seek to escalate conflict in the region,” Austin said in his statement. “We are fully prepared to take further measures to protect our people and our facilities.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ram Mandir consecration ceremony: Here is how devotees abroad are celebrating ‘pran-pratishtha’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indians in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries have come together to showcase unbridled enthusiasm and reverence as the grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya opens its doors for devotees on Monday. Ahead of the ‘pran-pratishtha’ or consecration ceremony at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya devotees of Lord Ram from Nepal to Mauritius to Australia were seen celebrating this momentous occasion.

The ‘pran-pratishtha’ or consecration ceremony of Lord Ram Lalla at the temple in Ayodhya will be held on Monday. The ceremony will start at 12:20 pm today and is expected to end by 1 pm.

The temple town in Uttar Pradesh has been decked up with lights, flowers, and saffron flags for the much-awaited ceremony, while stringent security measures have been put in place around the holy city. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the consecration ceremony, while around 7,000 dignitaries from India and abroad will also join.

Devotees of Lord Ram abroad have turned this special occasion into a global celebration that resonates with millions of hearts around the world.

Let’s take a look at how Indians abroad are celebrating the grand opening of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir:

United States

The members of the ‘Overseas Friends of Ram Mandir’ distributed ‘Laddoos’ at Times Square to mark the ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony at the temple.

#WATCH | New York, US: Laddoos distributed by the members of Overseas Friends of Ram Mandir at Times Square ahead of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony, later today. pic.twitter.com/FjRGCE7a91

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024

Besides the New York Times Square, dozens of events are also lined up in Boston, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In San Francisco, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the US organised a car rally at the Golden Gate Bridge.

#WATCH | Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the US, organised a car rally at Golden Gate Bridge, ahead of the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/MiluooawEn

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024

The Om Sri Sai Balaji Temple and Cultural Center in Monroe, New Jersey, has received a 25-foot single-stone idol of Lord Hanuman.

#WATCH | US: Om Sri Sai Balaji Temple and Cultural Center in Monroe, New Jersey received a 25-foot single-stone idol of Lord Hanuman. pic.twitter.com/F6GfX2McpZ

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024

The Indian diaspora in the US offered prayers at the temple for the ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony at Ram Mandir.

#WATCH | Indian diaspora in the United States offer prayers at Om Sri Sai Balaji Temple, Monroe in New Jersey ahead of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/8olC2juYOm

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024

Devotees also offered prayers at the Shree Siddhi Vinayak temple in New Jersey.

#WATCH | Indian diaspora in the United States offer prayers at Shree Siddhi Vinayak temple in New Jersey ahead of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/gCt2EZL7qL

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024

According to ANI, VHP, the US chapter, in association with members of the Hindu community has put up over 40 billboards across 10 states in the US, displaying the message around the grand consecration ceremony at the birthplace of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.

The Indian diaspora also offered prayers at the Shri Radha Krishna Temple in Northborough, Massachusetts.

#WATCH | Indian diaspora in the United States sing Ram Bhajan at the Shri Radha Krishna Temple, Northborough, MA ahead of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/8sjBmZiYIJ

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024

United Kingdom

In London, prayers were organised at the Brahmrishi Mission Ashram as Lord Ram devotees came together to celebrate the opening of the temple in Ayodhya.

#WATCH | UK: Celebration at the Bhramhrishi Mission Ashram in London, ahead of the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/Mahsu6AhDf

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024

Sadhvi Suryaprabha Devi, one of the head priests at the temple, said that the whole United Kingdom is decorated like Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony.

“The United Kingdom is looking like Ayodhya ahead of ‘pran-pratishtha’. Since January 14, every day some or the other programme is taking place… We are also distributing ‘akshat’. I don’t think we have been this excited for any other ceremony,” she told ANI.

The Slough Hindu Temple located in the heart of the UK, is also hosting a string of events as part of the celebrations. The ‘Mangal Kalash’ from Ayodhya that is touring the UK reached the temple on Sunday. Around 250 Hindu temples in the UK have been decked up for the grand celebrations.

Several events are taking place in the UK including car rallies, and a special ‘aarti’ to ‘Akhanda Ramayan’ recitation.

Trinidad and Tobago

The Ram Janmabhoomi Sthapna Samiti in Trinidad and Tobago in collaboration with the Overseas Friends of Ram Mandir and the Indian diaspora held an event to mark the ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya.

#WATCH | Ram Janmabhoomi Sthapna Samiti, Trinidad and Tobago in association with Overseas Friends of Ram Mandir and the Indian diaspora celebrate ahead of the Pran Prathishtha in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/jiEZmyUYyp

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024

Nepal

In Nepal too, multiple events are taking place to mark the grand opening of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

In Janakpur, the Janaki Temple has been illuminated with lights as people are keen to celebrate the ‘pran-pratistha’ of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.

#WATCH | Nepal: Janakpur lit up ahead of the Ram temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya, later today. (21.01)

(Drone visuals from Janakpur) pic.twitter.com/ePtdN2chqG

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024

Mexico

Queretaro, a city in Mexico, got its first temple of Lord Ram on Sunday.

The ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony at the temple was performed by an American priest, while the idols were specially brought from India.

“First Lord Ram temple in Mexico! On the eve of ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony at Ayodhya, the city of Queretaro in Mexico gets the first Lord Ram temple. Queretaro also hosts the first Lord Hanuman temple in Mexico,” the Indian Embassy in Mexico wrote on social media site X.

“The ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony was performed by an American Priest with Mexican hosts & the idols brought from India. The atmosphere was filled with divine energy as the hymns & songs sung by the Indian diaspora reverberated throughout the hall,” it added.

First Lord Ram temple in Mexico!

On the eve of ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at Ayodhya, city of Queretaro in Mexico 🇲🇽 gets the first Lord Ram temple. Queretaro also hosts the first Lord Hanuman temple in Mexico. 1/2#RamMandir pic.twitter.com/jBm5olGxVY

— India in México (@IndEmbMexico) January 21, 2024

Australia

Multiple events are being organised at hundreds of temples across Australia to mark the grand opening of Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.

On Saturday, the Indian diaspora in Sydney celebrated the occasion by organising a car rally. Hundreds of cars participated in the rally, attracting hundreds of ‘Ram Bhakts’ and passersby in the neighbourhood, ANI reported.

Taiwan

The Indian Association of Taiwan is organising a live stream of the ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony today.

Mauritius

The Indian diaspora in Mauritius has united to celebrate the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla. Devotees lit ‘diyas’ at several temples in the country and organised ‘Ramayan Path’.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth has called for a joyous celebration across the country.

“Let us rejoice as Shri Ram returns to Ayodhya. May his blessings and teachings continue to light our way towards peace and prosperity. Jai Hind! Jai Mauritius!” he wrote on X.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Third commercial ship in a week struck by a drone near Yemen

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Another commercial vessel was struck by a drone south of Yemen, the third such incident in as many days that’s underscoring the intensifying danger to vessels in one of the world’s most vital waterways.

The attack occurred about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Aden, Yemen, according to the UK Navy. The ship involved was a bulk commodity carrier, according to intelligence companies Ambrey Analytics and Diaplous, making it the third one of that kind to be struck this week.

US Central Command said a one-way attack drone launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen struck US-owned and operated M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden.

Since late last week, the US Navy and a key trade body have been advising merchant ships that security in the southern Red Sea remains unstable and that it is advisable to avoid the area. That follows US and UK strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been attacking merchant shipping in protest over Israel’s continued war with Hamas.

The result has been an ever-sprawling rupture in global shipping. Much of the world’s container fleet is sailing thousands of miles around Africa, rather than using the Red Sea.

In recent days, other types of ships, such as oil tankers, have also reduced the number of journeys they’re making through the region. A growing number are also taking the unusual step of flagging their lack of link to Israel, in a bid to gain safe passage through the waterway.

There was damage to its gangway as a result of the attack, Ambrey said, and it was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow