Harvard University (AP image)

Harvard University has issued an apology after a social media post by its Department of South Asian Studies featuring artwork related to its Sanskrit programme sparked allegations of insensitivity and bias online.The controversy began after an image used to represent Harvard’s Elementary Sanskrit course drew criticism on social media. The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) accused the university of promoting what it described as “blatant Hinduphobia,” claiming the artwork portrayed Sanskrit and Hinduism in a dark and negative manner.Responding to the backlash, the Department of South Asian Studies issued a formal statement expressing regret. In its statement, the department said, “The South Asian Studies Department deeply regrets the posting of an insensitive image in relation to our Sanskrit program. As a department, we have a long and celebrated history of teaching Sanskrit, and we remain committed to teaching the language and the great intellectual and cultural tradition it carries.”The department further added that it is reviewing its internal processes. “We are reviewing our internal social media process to ensure future posts more accurately reflect the mission and values of the Department.” It also clarified that the post had no connection to another Harvard entity, stating, “We would also like to clarify that the social media post in question has no connection whatsoever with The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, which is a separate and distinct entity at Harvard.”CoHNA welcomed the apology and shared the statement on X. The organisation wrote that it was “one of the rare moments where a university department has formally apologized for their Hinduphobic insensitivity”. The organisation added that it was glad to see respect being shown toward Sanskrit, which it described as an ancient language that has influenced civilisations around the world.“We are glad to see the department showing respect and appreciation for an ancient language that has made a huge impact on civilizations around the world,” the organisation wrote. The debate erupted after CoHNA criticised an artwork featured on the department’s website for its Elementary Sanskrit course. The organisation alleged that the visual depicted a dark Hindu figure with a tilak holding what appeared to be a ghostly figurine and claimed it framed Sanskrit and Hinduism in an “oppressive” manner.Some users pointed out that the artwork, titled Master of Puppets, was reportedly created by Indian artist Anirudh Sainath under the brand Molee Art. According to online comments, the artwork was inspired by themes from the Mahabharata and depicted Krishna’s Ras Leela. Users also highlighted that the artist was known for creating devotional art based on Hindu themes.The organisation had also highlighted its concerns over how Sanskrit is being introduced to students.“This is how students are introduced to Sanskrit, one of most ancient languages that has given birth to classic literature, arts, music, and so much more. The mother of many languages around the world,” the organisation wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is “not happy” with the ongoing negotiations with Iran, asserting that Tehran must say it will not develop nuclear weapons.While addressing a gathering in Texas, Trump claimed that his administration has to “make a big decision,” adding that any deal with Tehran must be “meaningful.”

“Now we have a big decision to make. You know that. Not easy. We have a very big decision to make. We have a country that has, for 47 years, been blowing people’s legs off, arms off, the face. They’ve been knocking out ships, killing people — lots of people. Well, not only Americans, lots of people. It’s been terrible. 32,000 people killed over the last two, three months — protesters,” Trump said.“32,000. That’s a number of people. They want to make a deal, but you’ve got to make a deal that’s meaningful. I spoke with Ted Cruz, John, all of them on the way here. I said you’ve got to make a deal that’s meaningful. We hit them real hard, as you know, with those beautiful B-2 bombers recently, knocked out their nuclear capability. But I’d rather do it the peaceful way. But they’re very difficult people. I want to tell you that. They’re very dangerous people, very difficult people,” he added.This comes after the third round of negotiations between Iran and the United States was held in Geneva on Thursday.The latest round of talks comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington and against the backdrop of a significant US military build-up in the Middle East, as several countries advised their citizens to leave Iran amid concerns over potential US strikes.Earlier in the day, Trump said he is “not exactly happy” with Iran’s handling of negotiations over its nuclear programme, stressing that the country cannot possess nuclear weapons.“We haven’t made a final decision (on Iran). We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating. They cannot have nuclear weapons. And we’re not thrilled with the way they’re negotiating. So we’ll see how it all works,” Trump said.“I am not happy with the fact that they are not willing to give us what we have to have. I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens. We’ll have some additional talks today. But, no, I’m not happy with the way they’re going,” he added.

Trump Media & Technology Group is looking to reorganise its business, with plans to spin off its social media platform Truth Social into a separate publicly traded company. The company, founded by US President Donald Trump, on Friday, confirmed that it is in discussions with TAE Technologies and Texas Ventures Acquisition III about the proposed deal. The move would split TMTG’s social and digital media business from its recently announced fusion energy venture, creating two publicly traded companies with different strategies. Under the plan, as shared by Reuters, shares of the new company would be given to eligible TMTG shareholders, after which the entity would merge with a special purpose acquisition company. The parent of Truth Social reported that its net loss widened to $712.3 million in 2025, compared with $400.9 million a year earlier. The company said the increase mainly reflected unrealised losses from its purchase of bitcoin and Cronos.TMTG finished 2025 with about $2.5 billion in financial assets, more than triple the $776.8 million it held a year earlier. Net sales rose slightly to $3.68 million from $3.62 million in 2024, Reuters reported.Founded by Trump and known for its Truth Social platform aimed at conservative audiences, TMTG has faced challenges in expanding its media business due to competition from larger social networks and uneven user growth. The company is now trying to move beyond its core platform and attract investor interest in emerging energy technologies.TMTG said no definitive agreement has been reached on the spin-off and that talks are still ongoing.In December, the company agreed to merge with TAE in an all-stock deal valued at more than $6 billion, marking a shift toward fusion energy and the creation of a publicly traded company focused on developing utility-scale power plants to help meet rising electricity demand, including from AI data centres.TAE Technologies is a California-based private company developing advanced nuclear fusion technology and has raised more than $1 billion from investors, including Alphabet’s Google and Chevron.

India was closely monitoring the situation as Afghanistan and Pakistan seemed poised for a dangerous escalation, with Islamabad declaring that the two countries were in an “open war” following Pakistan’s airstrikes on “terrorist hideouts” in Afghanistan and the latter’s retaliatory action. The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has unravelled dramatically in the past few years. Pakistan has blamed Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) or Pakistan Taliban for terrorist attacks on its soil and on several occasions launched targeted strikes against TTP. According to Islamabad, Baloch insurgents also find sanctuary in Afghanistan. Kabul has mostly responded with what it calls necessary and measured military action.On this occasion though, Pakistan has directly targeted not just the terrorist infrastructure but also Afghanistan military facilities in Kabul and other cities.

India’s own ties with the Taliban have seen a stunning turnaround during this period, initially on the back of its large-scale humanitarian aid to Kabul and now the commitment to fulfil the development needs of the Afghan people, circumventing the lack of international recognition for the regime. India’s response so far to the Pakistan-Afghanistan crisis has been a manifestation of this new reality that Islamabad must contend with. India has continued to maintain that Pakistan’s cross-border adventurism resulting in civilian casualties is nothing but a ploy to deflect attention from its domestic failures. India also strongly backs Afghanistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. The Taliban reciprocated to these gestures as they endorsed, much to Pakistan’s chagrin, a mention of J&K as a part of India in a joint statement issued after Afghanistan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India last year in Oct.However, while an antagonistic relationship between the two countries allays fears about Pakistan’s longstanding policy of using Afghanistan for strategic depth, a major military escalation that would imperil regional stability is more than what India would bargain for. In fact, it would come at the least opportune time for India as New Delhi, after a period of relative peace, looks to resume development work in the country.Importantly, India is considering an offer from the Taliban to invest in the mining sector, something which China is already actively pursuing. India is also looking to work with Afghanistan on hydroelectric projects. For India, this is the time to reap the benefits of a strong working relationship it has built with the Taliban and a regional war, or its possible spillover effects like a humanitarian or refugee crisis, will likely stymie India’s nascent but expanding footprint in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

A viral photo from San Francisco has set social media abuzz — and no, it’s not AI generated. The image shows multiple pairs of shoes neatly lined up outside an office door. The location? Cursor, the AI startup founded in 2022 by four MIT alumni — Aman Sanger, Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif and Arvid Lunnemark.Yes, you read that right. Employees are being asked to leave their shoes outside before entering the office. And Cursor isn’t alone. Startups such as Replo, Spur, Speak, Flowhub and Composite are also encouraging staff to ditch their Vans and Uggs at the door. What sounds like a page out of an Indian household rulebook — “chappals bahar rakho” — is quietly becoming a trend in America’s tech capital.According to an NYT report, workers at Spur, which uses AI to check websites for bugs, are given slides to wear inside their office in Manhattan, and guests are asked to do the same. Sneha Sivakumar, a co-founder and the chief executive, told NYT the no-shoes policy “makes it feel like a second home” for her 10 employees and “disarms you in a positive way”. Growing up in an Indian family in Singapore, she often removed shoes in homes and temples to “show respect for a space.” That slippered employees don’t drag in dirt and mud from the street is a “plus point,” she said.Nick Bloom, a Stanford economist who studies work culture, said the shoes-off trend was partly “the pajama economy in action”. That is, now that people who worked from home during the pandemic are back in the office, they are bringing their home habits with them. Here’s the irony: while removing footwear is customary in Indian homes and temples, it’s rare — almost unheard of — in corporate offices. Even in Bengaluru’s startup corridors, no one expects you to park your sneakers outside the glass door.

NEW DEHI: “Congress will suffer,” cautioned Community Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby on the party’s decision to not fight the West Bengal assembly polls in alliance with the Left. The Congress leadership should have explored possibilities with the Left to bolster the fight to keep BJP-RSS out, he said. The Congress and Left Front had contested together in 2021. CPM, which has witnessed a decline in the state, is optimistic of improving its standing as CPI(ML) Liberation has come on board this time to fight the polls with the Left front and some smaller Left groups are expected to join. CPM general secretary felt together they will be able to put up a good fight.“CPM polit bureau has appealed to the people of West Bengal to defeat the authoritarian, anti-women and anti-poor rule of TMC and also the communal BJP by voting for the Left front,” the party said in a statement.Baby also rejected West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s statement that Kerala has been renamed as Keralam since there is an alliance growing between BJP and CPM. “The alliance is not unwritten any more after today,” Banerjee had said after the Union cabinet gave its nod to the name change.Baby said CPM and other Left parties were fighting hard in Kerala to keep out BJP. He went on to remind that it was Banerjee who had joined the BJP-led NDA govt in 1999 and had also held the railway minister’s portfolio.His remarks came at a briefing following the CPM polit bureau’s meeting where among various issues it resolved that alliances with INDIA bloc members must be explored wherever possible to defeat BJP. The leadership also reviewed the preparedness for the upcoming elections in Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.Baby said that in Kerala, where there is a CPM-led govt, the party’s poll campaign will be led by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The party also plans to take a decision on finalising the list of candidates by the end of first week of March. “In Kerala, despite the constant efforts of the BJP-led Union government to strangulate the LDF government, it had put up its best performance by focusing on the elimination of extreme poverty, the first state to do so in the country, improve public health and education, ensure the protection of the rights of the workers and regular supply of essential items through the PDS,” the CPM said in its statement. The Left party alleged that the Congress-led UDF is mobilising huge amounts of money and rallying various kinds of sectarian forces in its support. “It is playing a disruptive role inside the Assembly and outside by coordinating with the BJP. The BJP is also trying to expand in the state by promoting communal divisions. Both these forces have to be defeated,” it said. “We appeal to the people to re-elect the DMK alliance in order to defeat the communal machinations and strengthen the secular traditions of the state,” the party said.On Assam polls, the CPM alleged that the BJP is running a rabidly communal and divisive campaign and is hoping to benefit from it. “Considering the larger interests of the people of Assam, as the largest opposition party, it is upon the Congress to ensure that anti-BJP votes are not split and the BJP is defeated,” the Left party emphasised.