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  • India’s Ambani no more the richest man in Asia. Who has grabbed the title?

    India’s Ambani no more the richest man in Asia. Who has grabbed the title?

    India’s Mukesh Ambani lost the title of Asia’s richest man after almost a year. He has been replaced by Gautam Adani who once again became Asia’s richest man after cracking a deal worth over half a billion dollars for the Adani group.


    It should be noted that in January 2023, American short-selling company Hindenburg said in a report that Adani Group has been involved in stock market manipulation and fraud accounting for decades. It called Gautam Adani the biggest fraudster in corporate history.


    Gautam Adani’s wealth declined after the report, pushing him to the bottom of the list of the world’s richest people in 2023, while Mukesh Ambani took the title of Asia’s richest person.


    But in recent days, the Supreme Court of India has issued an order that there is no need for a new investigation on Hindenburg’s allegations. Gautam Adani’s assets consequently increased and now he has once again become the richest man in Asia.


    According to a Bloomberg report on January 4, Gautam Adani’s net worth increased by $7.7 billion to $97.6 billion, after which he overtook Mukesh Ambani to become Asia’s richest man. Ambani currently owns $97 billion.


    Gautam Adani started 2023 as the third richest person in the world with $119 billion and then went down after a steady decline in wealth. Now, a year later, he has become the richest person in Asia and the 12th richest person in the world.


    Syed Mohammad Ali wrote in an article for The Express Tribune that the deal with the USA is part of the greater scheme of countering China’s growing influence in the region. Half a billion dollars is a sign of the restoration of confidence for the Adani conglomerate-backed Colombo seaport project in Sri Lanka.


    “This American deal with Adani seems compelled by growing great power competition across South Asia. The US government intends to use its International Development Finance Corporation to counter the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative in the Indo-Pacific, and its investment in Sri Lanka is part of that plan,” asserts Ali.
    Adani is closely linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he has long been accused of benefitting from this friendship for the growth of his business. Like Modi, Adani has emerged unscathed from a potentially devastating storm of alleged wrongdoings. And both these men have the US to thank for helping them not only survive but thrive, due to America’s own vested interests, Ali explains.

  • Iran blames Israel, US for deadly blasts near grave of Guards general Soleimani

    Iran blames Israel, US for deadly blasts near grave of Guards general Soleimani

    Iran blamed Israel and the United States on Wednesday for twin bomb blasts that killed more than 100 people in the country’s south, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qassem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike.

    The two explosions – labelled a “terrorist attack” by state media and regional authorities – came amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the killing of a Hamas senior leader in Lebanon on Tuesday.

    The unclaimed attacks, which sparked fears of a widening conflict in the region, rattled global markets, where oil prices jumped more than three percent and sparked global condemnation.

    “Washington says USA and Israel had no role in terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran. Really? A fox smells its own lair first,” the Iranian president’s political deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

    “Make no mistake. The responsibility for this crime lies with the US and Zionist regimes (Israel) and terrorism is just a tool,” he added.

    The United States had earlier rejected any suggestions that it or ally Israel were involved while Israel declined to comment.

    “The United States was not involved in any way … We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

    Asked about the blasts, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “We are focused on the combat with Hamas”.

    Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed “evil and criminal enemies” of the country for the attack and vowed a “harsh response”.

    President Ebrahim Raisi, who scrapped a visit to Turkey on Thursday, condemned the “heinous” crime as Iran declared Thursday a national day of mourning.

    The blasts, about 15 minutes apart, struck near the Martyrs Cemetery at the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown, as supporters gathered to mark his killing in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.

    Tehran’s official news agency IRNA quoted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying that “according to forensic statistics, the number of martyrs from this incident has been announced as 84 so far”.

    The death toll was also confirmed by the head of Iran’s emergency services, Jafar Miadfar, who said an earlier tally of 95 was due to the fact that some bodies had been dismembered and counted “several times”.

    Miadfar said 284 people had been injured and “195 are still hospitalised”.

    Three paramedics who rushed to the scene after the first explosion were among those killed, said Iran’s Red Crescent.

    IRNA said the first explosion took place around 700 metres from Soleimani’s grave while the other was around 1 kilometre away.

    Tasnim news agency, quoting what it called informed sources, said that “two bags carrying bombs went off” and “the perpetrators … apparently detonated the bombs by remote control”.

    Online footage showed panicked crowds scrambling to flee as security personnel cordoned off the area.

    ‘Shocking cruelty’ 

    State television showed bloodied victims lying on the ground and ambulances and rescue personnel racing to help them.

    “We were walking towards the cemetery when a car suddenly stopped behind us and a waste bin containing a bomb exploded,” an eyewitness was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

    “We only heard the explosion and saw people falling.”

    By nightfall, crowds returned to the Martyrs Cemetery in Kerman chanting: “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.

    In Tehran, thousands gathered at the Grand Mosalla Mosque to pay tribute to Soleimani.

    “We condemn today’s bitter terrorist incident … I hope the perpetrators of the crime will be identified and punished for their actions,” Soleimani’s daughter, Zeinab, said.

    Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, overseeing military operations across the Middle East.

    The United Nations, European Union, and several countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany and Iraq denounced the blasts.

    UN chief Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns” the blasts, his office said, and the EU said: “This act of terror has exacted a shocking toll of civilian deaths and injuries.”

    The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said that he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to “convey condolences” and “condemned this terrorist attack in the strongest terms and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people”.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote to Raisi and Khamenei that “the killing of peaceful people visiting the cemetery is shocking in its cruelty and cynicism”.

    Iran ally Hamas denounced the “criminal attack” while the Saudi foreign ministry in Riyadh voiced “solidarity with Iran in this painful event”.

    The blasts came a day after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri – an Iran ally – was killed in a strike, which Lebanese officials blamed on Israel, in a southern Beirut suburb that is a stronghold of Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

    Wednesday’s bomb blasts were Iran’s deadliest since a 1978 arson attack at the Cinema Rex in the southwestern city of Abadan, which killed at least 377 people, according to AFP archives.

    Previous plots 

    Iran has long fought a shadow war of killings and sabotage with archenemy Israel while also battling various jihadist and other militant groups.

    In September, the Fars news agency reported that a key “operative” affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, in charge of carrying out “terrorist operations” in Iran, had been arrested in Kerman.

    In July, Iran’s intelligence ministry said it had disbanded a network “linked to Israel’s spy organisation” that had been plotting “terrorist operations” across Iran, IRNA reported.

    The alleged plots included “planning an explosion at the grave” of Soleimani, it said.

    Soleimani, whom Khamenei years ago declared a “living martyr”, was widely regarded as a hero in Iran for his role in defeating IS in both Iraq and Syria.

    Long seen as a deadly adversary by the United States and its allies, Soleimani was one of the most important powerbrokers across the region, setting Iran’s political and military agenda in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

  • Imam shot dead outside mosque in New Jersey, suspect still at large

    Imam shot dead outside mosque in New Jersey, suspect still at large

    An imam who was shot Wednesday outside a mosque in New Jersey has died, the US state’s attorney general said, adding that the killing did not initially appear to be driven by “bias” or domestic terrorism.

    The shooting was reported at Masjid Muhammad-Newark at South Orange Avenue.

    Imam Hassan Sharif was shot multiple times near a mosque in Newark, just west of New York, before being taken to hospital where he later died, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.

    “We do not yet know the motivation for this crime (but) the evidence collected thus far does not indicate that this was an act motivated by bias, or an act of domestic terrorism,” said Platkin.

    He added that “in light of global events, and with a rise in bias that many communities are experiencing across our state — particularly the Muslim community — there are many in New Jersey right now who are feeling a heightened sense of fear.”

    The state is home to 300,000 Muslim Americans, he said.

    Since the outbreak of the War on Gaza, there has been an increase in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic attacks across the United States.

    The Essex County prosecutor, Ted Stephens, confirmed Sharif was shot more than once, and that “it does not appear the imam was the victim of a bias crime or that this is related to terrorism.”

    “We are dedicated to bringing justice for the imam’s family,” said Stephens, who called it a “dastardly crime.”

    Famous Muslim scholar Dr. Omar Suleiman posted about the death of the Imam and paid tribute to him as a beloved Imam of the Newark Community.

    The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) earlier confirmed that Sharif had worked as a security screener at Newark airport since 2016.

    “We are deeply saddened to learn of his passing and send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” said Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokeswoman.

    Images published by the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) showed police vehicles deployed outside the Masjid Muhammad-Newark, a two-story yellow and green complex.

    In a statement, CAIR described Sharif as “a beacon of leadership and excellence.”

    “As always, and irrespective of this specific incident, we advise all mosques to keep their doors open but remain cautious, especially given the recent spike in anti-Muslim bigotry,” the organization said.

  • Mjhe kiyon nikala now in USA: Court declares Donald Trump ineligible to contest elections

    Mjhe kiyon nikala now in USA: Court declares Donald Trump ineligible to contest elections


    Colorado’s Supreme Court has issued a verdict so sting that former United States President Donald Trump is ineligible to run for the White House because of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters, and should be removed from the state’s primary ballot.


    While the ruling only applies to Colorado, it is the first time in US history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars from public office anyone who “engaged in insurrection”, has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. It comes as courts in other states consider similar legal actions.


    “A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United State’s Constitution,” the Colorado high court wrote in its four-three majority decision.


    “Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.


    “We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” they added.


    Trump has claimed he is the victim of political persecution.


    “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us,” the Colorado justices said. “We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”


    A lower court earlier found that while Trump incited an insurrection, he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the 14th Amendment was intended to cover the presidency.

  • In rare Israel rebuke, US restricts visas on extremist settlers

    In rare Israel rebuke, US restricts visas on extremist settlers

    Washington (AFP) – The United States said Tuesday it would refuse visas for extremist Israeli settlers behind a wave of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as it also asked Israel to do more to spare civilians in Gaza.

    The visa measures amount to a rare concrete repercussion by the United States against Israelis in the nearly two-month-old war, in which President Joe Biden has nudged the US ally privately but also promised strong support.

    “We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more to hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

    “As President Biden has repeatedly said, those attacks are unacceptable,” he said.

    Blinken said the United States would refuse entry to anyone involved in “undermining peace, security or stability in the West Bank” or who takes actions that “unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities.”

    “Instability in the West Bank both harms the Israeli and Palestinian people and threatens Israel’s national security interests. Those responsible for it must be held accountable,” Blinken said.

    State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that dozens of settlers, who were not publicly named, would be affected. The visa ban also applies to their immediate family members.

    Restrictions on entering the United States will not apply to extremist settlers who are US citizens.

    Wave of violence

    Hamas militants stormed out of Gaza into Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

    In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and has carried out air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed around 15,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

    Even though Hamas does not control the West Bank, some 250 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli soldiers and settlers since October 7, according to a Palestinian government tally.

    The Palestinian Authority holds limited autonomy in the West Bank where Palestinians have complained of impunity over attacks and harassment carried out by settlers, some of whom have been serving in the Israeli military as forces are shifted to Gaza.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a coalition with far-right parties that strongly support Jewish settlement of lands seized in 1967, construction that is considered illegal under international law.

    Blinken visited both Israel and the West Bank last week just as a pause ended between Hamas and Israel.

    The State Department said that Israel has shown “improvement” in targeting its strikes in Gaza as it voiced concern about a repeat of the widespread bombing at the start of the war.

    “We will continue to monitor what’s happening and will continue to press them to do everything they can to minimize civilian harm,” said Miller, the State Department spokesman.

    The United States has also promised more than $100 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians but has faced strong criticism in much of the Arab world for its diplomatic and military support of Israel.

    J Street, the left-leaning pro-Israel US group that is frequently critical of Netanyahu, praised the visa restrictions as an “important first step.”

    It said that the Biden administration should specifically restrict two far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet, Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

    Before entering politics, Ben-Gvir hung a portrait in his living room of Baruch Goldstein, the US-born settler who killed 29 Palestinian worshippers at a mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron.

    The Biden administration has returned to the traditional US and international position of opposing settlements, although until now its stance has largely been rhetorical.

    Previous president Donald Trump switched course, with Blinken’s predecessor Mike Pompeo dropping objections to settlements and visiting one late in his term.

  • Indian man charged in plot to kill Sikh separatist on US soil

    Indian man charged in plot to kill Sikh separatist on US soil

    Washington (AFP) – An Indian national has been charged with plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on US soil, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, alleging an Indian government official was also involved in the planning.

    The Justice Department unsealed murder-for-hire charges against Nikhil Gupta, 52, “in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen” of Indian origin in New York City, it said in a statement.

    The man allegedly targeted in the killing “is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab,” a northern Indian state with a large population of Sikhs.

    An Indian government official, directing the plan from India, worked with Gupta and others based around the world, the US government said.

    Gupta, who lives in India, was arrested by authorities in the Czech Republic under US extradition orders.

    The news comes after the White House said last week it was treating an alleged plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil with “utmost seriousness,” and had raised the issue with the Indian government.

    The Financial Times reported that same day that US authorities had thwarted a conspiracy to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US and Canadian citizen.

    After Wednesday’s news broke, Pannun said in a statement that “the attempt on my life on American soil is the blatant case of India’s transnational terrorism which has become a challenge to America’s sovereignty and threat to freedom of speech and democracy.”

    The Justice Department, which did not identify the target of the alleged assassination attempt on Wednesday, said that Gupta was recruited into the effort in May 2023.

    Canada and India had a major diplomatic row after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September linked New Delhi to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, also a Sikh separatist, in June.

    New Delhi called the Canadian allegations “absurd.”

    But Trudeau said Wednesday that “the news coming out of the United States further underscores what we’ve been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously.”

    “The Indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we’re getting to the bottom of this,” he said.

    Pannun said that “first by assassinating Nijjar in Canada and then attempting to assassinate me on US soil, India under [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi has extended to the foreign soils its policy of violently crushing the Sikhs movement for right to self-determination.”

    The US Justice Department said that after Nijjar’s killing, Gupta told undercover US officials that there was “now no need to wait” on killing the New York City target.

    An Indian government spokesman on Wednesday said that the United States has “shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others.”

    “We had also indicated that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests,” the statement said, adding that a “high-level Enquiry Committee” was established on November 18 “to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter.”

  • 40 countries to hold elections in 2024, including Pakistan

    40 countries to hold elections in 2024, including Pakistan

    The new year is just over one month away and it is going to be the biggest election year in history yet.

    40 countries are scheduled to vote in 2024 across the globe which, as calculated by Bloomberg Economics, represent 41% of the world’s population and 42% of its global GDP.

    The marathon will begin with Taiwan in January and end with the US in November.

    Here are some of the prominent countries lined up for elections: Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gambia, and Libya in Africa; Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Venezuela in the Americas; Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Australia, and Pakistan in Asia and Oceania; Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in Europe.

    There are, however, four elections that the world has eyes on — elections that are expected to alter geopolitics in the next decade.

    Russia will elect the new president in March who will govern until 2030, putting Russia-NATO relations at the forefront.

    In April-May, India will hold elections and as per analysts, Modi’s loss can push back investors.

    The European Union will conduct bloc-wide polls in June to appoint members of the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 which will be pertinent for the increasing friction between right-wing and left-wing policymakers on issues like immigration and Ukraine.

    The United States will hold legislative and presidential elections in November for 2025-2028, while everyone curiously waits whether Republicans will return to the White House or not.

  • Fulbright scholarship: TOEFL replaced by Duolingo English Test for 2025

    Fulbright scholarship: TOEFL replaced by Duolingo English Test for 2025

    The United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) has announced an update in the language proficiency test for the Fulbright Scholarship Program for the year 2025.

    Applicants were previously required to pass TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), which will now be replaced by the Duolingo English Test.

    Fulbright scholarship program: Duolingo english test replaces TOEFL for 2025

    The eligibility criteria for the Fulbright Scholarship Program, however, is the same as before.

    A generously funded scholarship programme, Fulbright is open for all Pakistanis citizens with a strong academic background, who commit to return back and serve Pakistan.

    Preference is given to women, individuals with disabilities, and those hailing from specific regions such as Balochistan, Northern Sindh, Southern Punjab, KP, AJK, and GB.

    Application and documentation

    Prospective applicants are required to submit an application form along with three reference letters, a GRE score report, and scanned transcripts.

    Deadline and submission

    The deadline for applications for the 2025 Fulbright Scholarship Program is February 28, 2024, accessible through the USEFP’s website.

  • No ‘illegal alien’ sent back on Friday thanks to verification process installed by Afghan Consulate General

    For the first time since the start of the repatriation plan of undocumented immigrants early this month, not a single ‘illegal alien’ was sent home via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday as Afghan authorities has announced to link the acceptance of deportations with the verification of their status by the Afghan consulate-general here.

    The decision was made after multiple cases of Afghan-looking Pakistanis being deported to Afghanistan surfaced. “Multiple cases of Pakistanis being sent to Afghanistan as illegal migrants have been reported,” an official source in the Afghan Consulate told Dawn.

    Unfortunately, whenever Afghan authorities took such Pakistanis to the border, Pakistani officials refused to receive them.

    The other reason stated by Afghan consulate is the harassment Afghan deportees are facing at the hands of Pakistani authorities even though many of them are repatriating voluntarily.

    “Many illegal aliens are leaving Pakistan voluntarily but they’re stopped and taken into custody on their way before their repartition. They’re not given time to carry their belongings,” an official told Dawn.

    Afghan consulate expressed concern over the separation of families that has been observed over the month. They said in “many” cases, men from undocumented families were deported, leaving behind their female dependants.

    Pakistani authorities have said that they have not been informed about the deportation condition, claiming that all allegations leveled by Afghan consulate are “baseless”, delaying the process of deportation.

    “Only deportation is linked with the verification letter. The voluntary repatriation is still continuing without any hurdle,” Pakistan responded.

    However, around 119 illegal migrants were deported from Punjab to Afghanistan via the Torkham border crossing on Thursday, according to officials.

  • Former US diplomat charged with hate crime over Islamophobic comments

    Former US diplomat charged with hate crime over Islamophobic comments

    Security advisor to former president Barack Obama, Stuart Seldowitz, who was recorded on video spewing Islamophobic slurs at a halal food vendor in Manhattan, has now been arrested and is facing multiple charges.

    The New York Police Department has reportedly charged Seldowitz with “aggravated harassment in the second degree, harassment, hate crime/stalking, stalking to cause fear, and stalking at place of employment”, according to communication NYPD shared with Documented.

    The video has been circulating on social media where he can be seen calling the man “terrorist”.

    “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn’t enough”, he added while the vendor insists Seldowitz to leave.

    Seldowitz approached the food vendor twice after the first incident.

    In one of the videos, he alludes to his “friends in immigration” saying, “the Mukhabarat wants your picture,” apparently making reference to an Egyptian intelligence agency.

    “The Mukhabarat in Egypt will get your parents. Does your father like his fingernails? They’ll take them out one by one,” he continues.

    Since October 7, when Hamas allegedly attacked Israel which led to Israeli attacks on Gaza, islamophobia has reportedly increased in America.

    The New York Times reported that on Tuesday, the police said that no reports had been filed against Seldowitz, but they “confirmed that the commanding officer of the 19th Precinct was aware of the videos and that precinct personnel were monitoring the situation”.

    NYT also writes that Seldowitz gave a phone interview in which he claims to have not seen the viral videos and that it all started when he asked the vendor if he was Egyptian. According to Seldowitz, the man supported Hamas although no such claims are recorded on any of the videos circulating the internet.

    “At that point, I got rather upset and I’ve said things to him, that in retrospect, I probably regret, though — that I do regret,” Seldowitz said. “Instead of focusing in on him and what he said, I expanded into insulting his religion and so on.”

    He further said that he returned to the vendor to ask him whether he was “still a supporter of Hamas,” adding that “I was upset at the fact that he was selling food in a neighborhood in New York.”

    And while he is captured giving extremely offensive comments in relation to Islam, Seldowitz denies being Islamophobic.

    “I’ve worked with Muslims,” he said, stating that “I have many people who are Muslims and Arabs and so on, who know me very well and who know that I’m not prejudiced against them.”