International
Indian American women a powerhouse in US politics, business, society
New York, March 8 (IANS) Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley’s tenacious battle for the presidency of the US is a symbol of Indian American women’s emergence as a powerhouse in politics and society even though she dropped her sisyphean quest two days before International Women’s Day.
On the other side of the political divide, US Vice President Kamala Harris is set for another run for the vice presidency alongside President Joe Biden, having notched the record of the first woman elected to the position that is just a heartbeat away from the world’s most powerful job.
While the two women have the highest profiles in politics, many Indian American women shine across the spectrum of politics, government, business and beyond.
They have soared into space, headed multinational corporations, led universities, and showing their versatility, served undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and even took the Miss America crown.
Although overrun by former President Donald Trump, Nikki Haley made her mark by standing up to him while other competitors folded and she struck out a line of Republican politics that could have a wider appeal.
She put her stamp on politics by getting a significant chunk of votes – estimated at about 25 per cent of those cast in the Republican primaries till she quit – winning in one state, Vermont, and in Washington, the federal District of Columbia.
She also has the distinction of being elected twice as the governor of South Carolina, the first woman and the first non-White person to head the state, and the first Indian American to be a member of the US cabinet when she was the permanent representative to the United Nations, a post with cabinet rank.
Kamala Harris made her mark as California’s attorney general lofting her to the Senate where her work got her national recognition, paving the way to the second most powerful job in the US, the vice president.
She is the first woman to become vice president and she was also the first person of Indian descent elected to the US Senate.
Pramila Jayapal, who heads the Progressive Caucus in the House of Representatives, is the other politically powerful Indian American woman.
What helps them shatter glass ceilings despite their being women and, on top of that, women of colour with immigrant backgrounds is a society that values merit as it steadily tries to bring down barriers to women’s advancement.
And they are not dynasts or nepobabies, either, and they got to where they are through their own merit.
As Nikki Haley said on Wednesday while announcing she was ending her race, “Just last week, my mother, a first-generation immigrant, got to vote for her daughter for president – only in America”.
In business, Indra Nooyi created a legend of her own as the CEO of Pepsico, a multinational corporation with over 300,000 employees operating in over 200 countries having a revenue of $62 billion in her final year heading it.
By the time she left in 2018 after 12 years as CEO, she boosted its annual profits from $2.5 billion to $6.7 billion as she chartered a new, more diversified course for the company.
Revathi Advaithi is the CEO of Flex, a global diversified company that is the third-largest globally in electronics manufacturing services.
She also serves on the US government’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Padmasree Warrior, who blazed a trail as chief technology officer for marquee technology companies Motorola and Cisco and as the US CEO of the Chinese electric vehicle company Nio, is now the CEO of a startup Fable.
In academia, there are scores of Indian American Women heading departments and schools.
Among them are heads of large universities, Neeli Bendapudi, the president of Pennsylvania State University and Renu Khator, the chancellor of the University of Houston System.
Asha Rangappa, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent-turned-academic, has served as an associate dean of Yale University Law School.
Indian American women have soared into space as astronauts.
Kalpana Chawla, a mission specialist and robotic arms operator, was killed on her second mission when the space shuttle Columbia broke up as it reentered the earth’s atmosphere in 2003.
Sunita Williams has done a stint as the commander of the International Space Station (ISS), on one of her four missions at the multinational orbiting research facility.
The Bhagwad Gita and the Upanishad went to space with Williams, who said that for inspiration she took them along to the ISS, from where she conducted spacewalks.
On Earth as a Navy officer, Sunita Williams was deployed during the first Gulf War and later she became a test pilot.
While the other two were on NASA space missions, aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla went up on a spacecraft of the private venture by Virgin Galactic, where she is a vice president.
Geeta Gopinath is the first managing director of the International Monetary Fund, having made her mark as an economist in the Ivy League and as the organisation’s chief economist.
In the US judiciary, there are several Indian American women, among them Neomi Rao, a judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is considered the most influential court below the Supreme Court.
The Biden administration has deployed Indian American Women in senior positions across government.
The most visible of them on media after Kamala Harris is Defence Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh who often conducts the Pentagon’s media briefings laying out the administration’s strategic positions.
Also at that department, Radha Iyengar Plumb is the deputy under-secretary of defence.
At the White House, Neera Tanden, a veteran of Democratic Party campaigns, is an assistant to the president and domestic policy advisor.
Arati Prabhakar is the assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Science Advisor while heading the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and to the President.
Shanthi Kalathil is a deputy assistant to the President and the National Security Council’s coordinator for democracy and human rights.
At the State Department, Uzra Zeya is the under-secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights, and Rao Gupta is the ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.
And, in the other party, Harmeet Dhillon is a member Republican National Committee who ran an unsuccessful insurgent campaign to replace the chair, Ronna McDaniel.
She is a co-chair of Women for Trump and Lawyers for Trump, groups that advocate for Trump.
In an unusual occupation was Sabrina De Souza who had served in a senior role as an undercover Central Intelligence Agency agent.
Unfortunately, her cover was blown while she was on an anti-terrorism mission in Italy and that country has tried to prosecute her for capturing a terrorist who was taken to the US.
On the other side, showing the diversity of political views, Gitanjali S. Gutierrez worked as a lawyer defending an alleged terrorist held by the US detention centre on Guantanamo Bay.
On the trade unions front, Bhairavi Desai is the executive director of the Taxi Drivers’ Alliance, and Saru Jayaraman has organised restaurant workers in New York City.
In entertainment, Vera Mindy Chokalingam, better known as Mindy Kaling, made her mark with the sitcom, The Mindy Kaling Project, which she created, produced and starred in.
Biden awarded her the National Medal of the Arts in 2022.
And, further into the unexpected venues, Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America in 2014.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
–IANS
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International
Lee Hsien Yang seeks refuge in United Kingdom
Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of Singapore’s founding father, the late Lee Kuan Yew, announced on Tuesday that he is now a political refugee in the United Kingdom after seeking asylum from the British government “as a last resort.”
“I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that someday it will be safe to return home,” Lee stated in a Facebook post, as reported by Channel News Asia (CNA).
Citing what he described as the Singapore government’s “attacks” against him, Lee, who is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, revealed that he sought asylum protection in 2022.
Lee Hsien Yang and his late sister, Lee Wei Ling, who passed away earlier this month, have been in conflict with their brother Lee Hsien Loong over the fate of their father’s home following his death in 2015, resulting in a public dispute that has estranged the siblings.
In an interview with the UK-based newspaper The Guardian, Lee alleged that a “campaign of persecution” compelled him to seek asylum in Britain.
In response to his claims, the Singapore government stated that there is “no basis” for his allegations of “a campaign of persecution” or other assertions regarding political repression in the country.
“Singapore’s judiciary is impartial and makes decisions independently. This is why Singaporeans have a high level of trust in the judiciary,” a government spokesperson remarked.
The spokesperson added that there are no legal restrictions preventing Lee and his wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, from returning to Singapore. “They are and have always been free to return to Singapore,” the spokesperson said.
Lee and his wife have been outside of Singapore since 2022, having opted not to attend a scheduled police interview regarding potential offenses related to providing false evidence in judicial proceedings concerning their father’s will and the family home.
Lee and his late sister, who had been living at the property, alleged they felt threatened while trying to fulfill their father’s wish to demolish the house. They also accused their elder brother, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of abusing his governmental influence to advance his personal agenda.
International
Indo-Russian ties are stronger than ever before at BRICS
Kazan, Russia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit.
During the meeting, President Putin remarked, “I recall our meeting in July, where we had productive discussions on various issues. We’ve also spoken over the phone several times. I am very grateful you accepted the invitation to come to Kazan. Today, we will attend the BRICS Summit’s opening ceremony, followed by dinner.”
PM Modi responded by expressing his appreciation, saying, “I sincerely thank you for your friendship, warm welcome, and hospitality. It’s a great pleasure to visit such a beautiful city as Kazan for the BRICS Summit. India shares deep historical ties with this city, and the opening of our new embassy here will further strengthen these connections.”
International
Laos seeks to enhance nutrition amid climate change concerns
Vientiane (Laos), Aug 22 (IANS) Representatives from the Lao government and development partners have attended a conference here titled “Climate Change and Nutrition in Laos: Intersections and Interventions” to discuss the impact of climate change on nutrition in the Southeast Asia country and potential solutions.
Speaking at the conference, deputy director general of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health Viengkhan Phixay, said, “We gather to address a critical and interwoven issue: the impact of climate change on nutrition and how we can work together to tackle these challenges,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lao government is actively engaged in this endeavor, with numerous policies and initiatives aimed at addressing both climate change and nutrition, Lao National Television reported on Thursday.
“By leveraging the Scaling Up Nutrition network in Laos, which is led by the government, and supported by civil society, donors, and the United Nations, we have a robust platform to tackle the negative impacts of climate change while improving nutrition and overall health for everyone in Laos,” Viengkham said at the conference held on Monday.
The conference featured a series of presentations that not only detailed evidence-based research but also introduced innovative tools for measuring and enhancing nutrition under the impact of climate change.
The conference stressed the critical need for integrated approaches to tackle the intertwined challenges of climate change and nutrition, and setting the stage for impactful future collaborations.
–IANS
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International
One killed, seven injured in shootout in Iraq
Baghdad, Aug 22 (IANS) A civilian was killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a tribal shootout in Iraq’s holy Shiite province of Najaf, according to a local security source.
The shootout erupted in the early hours between armed men from the local tribe in the al-Zarga area in northern Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, a local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clash resulted in the killing of an Iraqi civilian and the injury of seven others, including three Iranian Shiite pilgrims, the source added.
A joint force from the Interior Ministry’s emergency response division and Najaf provincial police arrested 53 gunmen from both sides of the shootout and seized weapons and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that search operations are ongoing to locate additional gunmen and weapons, with more details to be released later.
The incident took place as numerous pilgrims traveled to the city of Karbala to observe Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Typically, these pilgrims also visit Najaf as part of their journey to Karbala.
–IANS
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International
Bangladesh seeks $1 billion budget support from World Bank
Dhaka, Aug 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government has sought $1 billion from the World Bank as budgetary support.
The call came from the country’s Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He made the plea as the ministry owes more than 2 billion dollars to suppliers in import costs of power and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Khan mentioned that the interim government, which was formed with many pressing mandates, is due to settle a $2 billion debt left by the previous government in the power sector.
He said they have already suspended activities under the much-criticized Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act 2010 and abolished the government’s power to set energy prices without any public hearing.
On August 5, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from her country and power, ending her rule since January 2009.
This event was seen as a massive escalation, with what initially started as student’s protests and resulted in a major crisis in Bangladesh.
Earlier on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
–IANS
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