By Satyaki Chakraborty China has finally responded to Cuba’s appeal to its friendly nations to send humanitarian assistance to take care of the immediate needs of the nation whose economy has been battered due to continuous economic blockade by the USA. On Saturday last Chinese ambassador to Cuba handed...
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers NEW YORK: The month-long ceasefire that followed the most dangerous phase of the U.S.-Iran conflict in decades is beginning to resemble an uneasy diplomatic intermission rather than a settled peace. Yet in the past 72 hours, a convergence of signals from Washington, Tehran, New Delhi...
By Ashis Biswas Even as Sri Lanka’s fragile economic recovery faces unexpected pressures owing to the continuing Iran/US-Israel conflict, a new and apparently helpful Chinese-aided low cost housing project that could have acted as a silver lining, has not brought much cheer among its hard pressed citizens. Sri Lankan...
By T N Ashok The march toward a nationwide Uniform Civil Code, once considered politically radioactive in India, is no longer theoretical. It is steadily becoming legislative reality. This week, Assam became the latest battleground in one of the country’s most polarizing constitutional and cultural debates after the government...
By Ben Chacko LONDON: A deal with Iran may be close, US leaders say: and nobody imagines that the war they began with such bombast and savagery three months ago has been a success. All talk of regime change is abandoned and Iran’s monarchist exiles are already accusing Donald...
By Nantoo Banerjee India’s economy is navigating severe stress. The impact of Persian Gulf war, high cost of imported crude oil, frequent upward adjustment of retail oil prices, rising commodity rates, soaring transportation costs, weakening Rupee and continuous exit of foreign portfolio investors (FPI) are posing a big challenge...
By R. Suryamurthy When Marco Rubio declared before arriving in India that the United States wanted to sell New Delhi “as much energy as they’ll buy,” the remark sounded, at first glance, like standard diplomatic salesmanship. In reality, it was something far more consequential. It was a blunt acknowledgement...
By Kalyani Shankar In the vibrant South Indian political landscape, movies have often been intertwined with politics. Few personalities exemplify this connection better than two film superstars, Vijay and N.T. Rama Rao (NTR). They both share a common link: they became chief ministers shortly after launching their parties. As...
By T N Ashok The comparison between the overseas engagements of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi often generates sharp political debate, but such comparisons also require an understanding of the vastly different global environments in which the two leaders operated. Dr. Singh, who led...
By Tirthankar Mitra India’s image abroad was tarred by a sharp exchange between an Indian diplomat and a Norwegian journalist last week at Oslo after a question was asked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Norwegian journalist Lyng Svendsen asked “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from...
By Ajitesh Singh, Ananya Gunjan On the evening of May 21, the Seminar Halls of the Kamaladevi Complex at the India International Centre filled to capacity with lawyers, academics, students and public intellectuals. The occasion was the launch of Senior Advocate Indira Jaising’s memoir, ‘The Constitution Is My Home’....
By Ashis Biswas KOLKATA: Indian Tea Board and Industry circles are not happy with the recent relaxation allowed by Union Commerce Ministry, to exempt mandatory testing for Nepalese tea imports into the country. The temporary relief has been heartily welcomed in Nepal by the fledgling industry, which expressed its...
By K Raveendran Cockroach Janta Party may have begun as satire, but its popularity has exposed something far more serious than a passing joke on the internet. The response it has drawn from government functionaries suggests that the ruling establishment is less disturbed by the humour itself than by...
By Dr. Gyan Pathak The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has finally concluded by 10 – 4 votes on May 21, 2026 that the worker’s right to strike is protected under the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 No....
By Ben Chacko LONDON: US threats to Cuban revolutionary leader Raul Castro reek of the extraterritorial arrogance of a thuggish imperial power. They indicate too that the extreme economic war Washington is waging to break the Cuban people could escalate to a direct military attack very soon. The charges...
By Dr. Arun Mitra After its victories in the elections in Assam, Puducherry, and West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become highly emboldened. Particularly in West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee had a strong government in place, few had expected the BJP to come to power with such...
By T N Ashok From the ethereal grace of Madhubala and the timeless magnetism of Hema Malini to the meteoric rise of Alia Bhatt and Rashmika Mandanna, Bollywood’s relationship with its heroines has changed dramatically. Once upon a time, leading ladies ruled the silver screen for decades. Today, the...
By L S Herdenia BHOPAL: Halfway through its term, the BJP Government of Madhya Pradesh has begun appointing chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of state-run corporations, boards, authorities, commissions and committees. Over the past one month, 60 such appointments have been made and more are in the pipeline. Chairpersons and vice-chairpersons...