Ashish Kumar Sen

Egypt’s Islamist president presents challenge for U.S. The election of Egypt ’s first Islamist president poses a challenge for the Obama administration , which is grappling with the reality of embracing a leader whose worldview often has been at odds with Washington.

Maldives’ former president says he resigned in coup, urges elections Maldives ‘ first democratically elected president says the United States must acknowledge that he was ousted in a coup and press the current government of the Indian Ocean island nation to hold presidential elections this year.

D.C. peace group disinvites Syrian cleric for dialogue A Washington-based foundation has canceled a meeting with Syria ’s top Islamic cleric, a close ally of embattled President Bashar Assad who has vowed to unleash suicide bombers against the U.S. and Europe if the West attacks his country.

Extradition of Gadhafi crony reveals divide in Tunisian government The extradition of Libya ’s former prime minister from Tunis on Sunday has raised concern about his safety and created a rift between Tunisia ’s Islamist prime minister and its liberal president.

Islamist’s win in Egypt leaves U.S. uncertain Egyptians celebrated Sunday the election of their country’s first freely elected president - Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood , who becomes the first Islamist head of state of the Arab world’s most populous nation.

Pakistani court dismisses prime minister Pakistan ’s supreme court dismissed Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday, two months after it had convicted him of contempt for failing to reopen a corruption investigation against President Asif Ali Zardari . The court’s action has created uncertainty over the stability of the government in Islamabad.

McCain hits Russia’s support for Syria Russia has dispatched two warships and a unit of marines to secure its naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, and it is delivering anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles to help Syrian President Bashar Assad defend his regime, Sen. John McCain said Monday.

It doesn't pay to work at home The NRI’s India Dream fades. ‘Jobs don’t match up, life just don’t match up.’

Obama, Putin tiptoe on ‘Syrian affair’ In their first meeting following renewed tensions between the U.S. and Russia, President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin called Monday for an end to the violence in Syria and said there’s still time for diplomacy to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

‘Anyone With A Laptop Or Tablet Can Take Our Course. We Are Democratising Education.’  Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have recently teamed up to form edX, a not-for-profit online education initiative that aims to teach millions worldwide and reinvent campus-based learning. Anant Agarwal , edX president, told Washington correspondent Ashish Kumar Sen in a freewheeling phone interview that he is confident this partnership will transform education.

India, US resolve to take ties to next level The Obama administration’s decision to exempt India from sanctions for its oil imports from Iran and the signing of a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for a US firm to construct nuclear power plants in Gujarat helped lift the mood at the third US-India strategic dialogue in Washington.

Mubarak cronies try to take back Egypt power Egypt ’s top court plunged the country into turmoil Thursday when it ruled that the Islamist-dominated parliament must be dissolved and the last prime minister to serve under ousted President Hosni Mubarak can run as a candidate in this weekend’s presidential runoff election.

U.S., India discuss ways to enhance economic relationship The U.S. and India agreed Wednesday that there is room for growth in their economic relationship, which has been hampered by the slow pace of reform in New Delhi.

Both sides deny there’s civil war in Syria Syrian troops stormed a rebel-held area on the Mediterranean coast Wednesday, driving out opposition fighters and retaking the Haffa region as world leaders debated the mounting violence there and mulled how to quell it.

India-US ties on right track: Krishna US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna sought to dispel claims that the US-India relationship had run adrift as they chaired the third strategic dialogue in Washington on Wednesday.

Iranian oil, Afghanistan top agenda for U.S.-India talks The third U.S.- India strategic dialogue gets under way in Washington this week as the Obama administration considers imposing sanctions on the South Asian nation for importing oil from Iran .

U.S. pulls negotiators out of stalled talks with Pakistan The United States has pulled its negotiators from Pakistan after failing to reach a deal on reopening ground supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan .

U.S. seeks to iron out issues with India The U.S. wants India to end its dependence on Iranian oil and train Afghan security forces as it seeks to deepen its relationship with a nation it considers a linchpin of its new defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ease of militia takeover of Tripoli airport raises questions A senior Libyan official says a “miscommunication” was responsible for militia shutting down Tripoli's international airport on Monday, the latest challenge to the interim government’s authority.

U.S. official: Sudans engaging in mutual ‘suicide’   Sudan and South Sudan are committing “mutual economic suicide” in their dispute over oil, according to a top U.S. official.

Court gives Clinton four months to decide on MEK terror label A U.S. appeals court on Friday ordered Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to decide within four months on removing an Iranian dissident group from the State Department ’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.