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211549: Under Secretary Burns meets Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

In a June 11 meeting, Prime Minister Singh assured Under Secretary Burns of his strong personal commitment to strengthening further India's ties to the United States.




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214563: NSA Jones' June 25 meeting with President Zardari

Zardari made repeated pleas for drones to be "put in Pakistan's hands" so that Pakistan would own the issue and drone attacks (including collateral damage) would not provoke anti-americanism.




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236332: US saw "additional opportunities" to embed own troops in Pakistan military’s FATA operations




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226157: Pakistan accepted U.S. military role in counter-insurgency operations




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204652: US. "boots on the ground" were to accompany Pakistan Frontier Corps for a joint operation, but were "denied deployment" at the last minute




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Pakistan's Punjab turning into hotbed of extremism, U.S. had warned




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178082: Extremist recruitment on the rise in southern Punjab

During recent trips to southern Punjab, Principal Officer was repeatedly told that a sophisticated jihadi recruitment network had been developed in the Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan Divisions.




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208236: Punjab Home Secretary fears Hafiz Saeed's release

Admitting that they are "facing a tough time in the courts," Asif related that the LHC has asked for the evidence that the Home Department used to extend the detention. "There has never been a case against them," he noted, "and we have no criminal record of these gentlemen."




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230969: Extremism in Southern Punjab and Northern Sindh

Though the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) continue to grab headlines for terrorist violence, poor and underdeveloped regions in the rest of "settled" Pakistan are increasingly the recruiting and training ground for extremism and militancy.




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Maran called Karunanidhi's October 2008 resignation threat a diversionary ‘drama'

Spoke of DMK leader's attempted ‘blackmail' on Sri Lanka, warned that the Congress ‘will carry this grudge and retaliate at the right time'




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153464: Pakistan campaigning for seat on UN Human Rights Council

Pakistan concern that freedom of expression be balanced with respect for religion as "we are not as advanced as you are" in terms of respect for freedom of religion and could not always control the reactions of sometimes ignorant crowds.




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‘Pakistan's actions at the UN may embolden other member states to oppose U.S. positions'

U.S. Mission in New York raised concerns about Pakistan's voting on key issues such as counterterrorism and human rights




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114010: monitoring Pakistan's coalition support funds

Pending post verification are claims that total $279 million for the March-May 2007 period. The areas of greatest concern to us include costs for helicopter operations ($83 million annually), radar maintenance ($65 million annually) and Joint Staff operations ($5 million annually).




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233602: Finance minister Tarin on budgets, CSF dollar fund, and Pakistan's improving economic outlook

Tarin requested that an additional $500 million of U.S. assistance flow through the GOP - in addition to the $174 million already committed - to bolster GOP credibility and allow the GOP to more adequately support its priorities.




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134295: fixing coalition support funding to Pakistan

Between August 2006 and July 2007, we received a claim for 26 million USD in barbed wire and pickets. While these items are no doubt helpful in protecting outposts, the claim figures are highly suspect.




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244326: China requested to drop UN 1267 hold on Makki, Cheema and Azhar Alvi

Political Officer requested that the People's Republic of China not place a new hold on these three listings.




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213853: China thanked for support of nominations of 3 Pakistan-based individuals for UNSCR 1267 designation

Deputy Director Shen acknowledged the message but offered no further comment.




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Data | How election fund was spent during 2021 State polls

The AIADMK spent the highest share in spreading the party’s propaganda (99.5%) and relied only on media and advertisements




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Data | How regional parties in India are funded?

Total income for the selected regional parties in FY20 amounted to ₹803.24 crore, of which 55% was from unknown sources




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Data | Unknown sources of political income spiked after electoral bond entry, BJP cornered lion’s share

National parties’ unknown income rose from 66% to 71% in the three years before and after the scheme’s introduction




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66% of councillors elected to MCD in 41-70 age group, 53% women: Report

Polling was held on December 4 and the results were announced on Wednesday.




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Data | MLAs in poll-bound Karnataka have average assets worth ₹34.6 crore, highest among all States

MLAs in Karnataka have on average assets worth ₹34.6 crore, the highest among all the States




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'China Marching with India': India's Cold War Advocacy for the People's Republic of China at the United Nations, 1949–1971

Recent scholarship on Sino-Indian relations in the 1950s has emphasized cooperation, revising previous narratives of an inexorable march towards the 1962 border war. This article reassesses that cooperation by focusing on India's role as an intermediary between the unrecognized government in Beijing and the United Nations (UN). Chinese sources reveal that Sino-Indian cooperation over UN affairs was complicated by competing conceptions of how the decolonizing world should fit into the international system and who should be at the helm. Despite such disagreements, the Cold War UN provided a setting where divergent post-colonial visions could be sublimated into meaningful international cooperation.




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Navigating China’s Opportunistic Approach to Overseas Naval Base Acquisition

This report, by Maxwell Simon (MPP '23) and Jayaram Ravi (MPP '23), explores the drivers of setback and success that China has encountered in the process of developing dual-use and military-dedicated naval installations abroad. It looks at cases where China has considered or actively pursued military-dedicated installations to characterize Beijing’s general approach to overseas naval base acquisition.




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State Department’s Learning Agenda Launch

The Learning Agenda is an unprecedented effort by the Department to institutionalize evidence-based learning and implement the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (“Evidence Act”). The Evidence Act requires federal agencies to develop a “learning agenda” – a systematic plan to answer a set of policy-relevant questions critical to achieving the agency’s strategic objectives. It will guide the Department’s efforts over the next four years across eight questions to increase the impact of U.S. foreign policy and bolster the Secretary of State’s modernization efforts.

This event featured a keynote address followed by a panel of foreign policy and evidence-building experts for a thoughtful discussion on addressing Learning Agenda Questions 1 and 2: How can the State Department improve the effectiveness of its diplomatic interventions to better advance foreign policy objectives? How can the Department improve the effectiveness and sustainability of its foreign assistance efforts?




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Legal Experts Discuss Accountability Measures Against Russia at HLS Event

The speakers included Yale Law School professor Harold H. Koh ’75, and Patrick W. Pearsall, Director of the International Claims and Reparations Project at Columbia Law School. Koh and Pearsall discussed their experiences representing Ukraine in legal proceedings against Russia before the International Court of Justice.




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Should the United States Normalize Relations with the Taliban?

Foreign Affairs has recently published a number of articles on how the United States should engage with the Taliban government in Afghanistanextremist forces within the regimehow the West can help ordinary Afghans, and the fate of the country’s women. To complement these essays, Foreign Affairs asked a broad pool of experts for their take. As with previous surveys, Foreign Affairs approached dozens of authorities with expertise relevant to the question at hand, along with leading generalists in the field. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level in their opinion. Two Belfer Center experts participated, International Security Executive Editor Jacqueline L. Hazelton and Future of Diplomacy Project Senior Fellow Paula Dobriansky.




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Putin’s Nagorno-Karabakh Calculus Can Undermine Russian Clout in FSU

Simon Saradzhyan writes that Russia’s decision not to employ leverage to stop the conflict in its early stages made a lasting impression on its allies.




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Salata Institute Launches Initiative to Reduce Global Methane Emissions

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University launched today a major research and outreach initiative to reduce global methane emissions. The initiative seeks meaningful and sustained progress in global methane-emissions reductions through research and effective engagement with government policymakers and with key stakeholders in business, nongovernmental organizations, and international institutions.




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HPCA Hosts COP 28 Side Event on the Challenges and Opportunities of Reducing Global Methane Emissions

The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA) assembled a panel of leading academics and government officials to discuss strategies for achieving significant methane emissions reductions at relatively low costs at an official COP 28 Side Event last Wednesday (Dec. 6). The event, titled “Reducing Global Methane Emissions: Imperatives, Opportunities, and Challenges,” was moderated by HPCA Director Robert Stavins.




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Tunisia Abandons Two-State Solution; Courts Iran, China, and Russia

The war in Gaza has accelerated a major shift in Tunisia’s foreign policy. One of the first Arab countries to advocate for a two-state solution, Tunisia has now abandoned it. That shift has left Tunisia more isolated geopolitically, prompting it to now court Iran, China, and Russia.




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Unraveling the Political Dynamics Shaping the U.S. Strategy for Technology Leadership

Although there is broad agreement between the two major parties on the desirability of technology leadership, significant sources of tension—and confusion—persist. By examining the political dynamics that led to the enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act, Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante and Douglass Vijay Calidas probe these tensions and seek to assess their likely impact on the federal technology strategy in the coming years.

















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Carbon intensity reg pivotal to biobunkers in 2025






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Transboundary Arctic Issues at Stake

Many issues in the Arctic are transboundary in nature and cannot be solved at the national level. A study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, examined several key Arctic issues - maritime safety and security, commercial fisheries, and climate change and energy - and the difficulties of addressing them without Russian involvement.




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Russia is Learning that Countries that live in Gas Houses Shouldn’t Throw Drones

Bystander video feeds show scenes of fire and destruction, flames engulfing pipelines and smoke billowing from oil tank farms. In one clip, a twin-tailed aircraft flies slowly over a burning refinery. It loiters, banks, and then plunges precisely into the top of a tall, hydrocarbon filled distillation tower followed by explosions and more fire.

Kyiv is turning the tables on Russia by striking at its hydrocarbon lifeblood. Ukraine’s justified and effective homegrown response to Putin’s two-year campaign of attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure shows Russia that what goes around comes around.