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Chinese president Xi Jinping came to India and had an “informal summit” (the second one after the Wuhan summit last year) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi down south in Mamallapuram (old Mahabalipuram) last Friday. Since it was an “informal” meeting, there was no agenda, no officials present, no minutes recorded and no joint statement issued after the summit. But the briefing given to the press by India’s External Affairs Ministry secretary gave the impression that the two leaders’ primary concern was the raging trade war waged by Donald Trump against China. Its fallout has affected many countries, India included.

Few countries in the world have seen a single political party, following a democratic succession system within, enjoying such a long uninterrupted power and political authority as the People’s Republic of China. Under the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) seven-decade rule since 1949, the country has evolved from an economic backwater into a world economic powerhouse. Since the success of the October revolution in 1917 by the Bolsheviks and Red Guards along with other Left groups, Russia was under a one-party rule till 1991. However, the political succession system was less comfortable in Russia than in China, under the Left rule. In fact, China learnt a lot from the evolution of Russia’s socialist system, its frequently interrupted pace of economic reform, especially during the cold war period against the United States and its West European allies, until the demise of its much cherished socialist political system in 1991.

Healthcare is a fundamental right of every citizen. Under no circumstances it should become victim particularly under politically made situation. There have been several reports about health care problems in the Kashmir valley after imposition of curbs on 5th August 2019.

The Modi government’s plan to make India an international hub of arbitration may be well-meaning and sincere, but it is too ambitious to be realistic. For, arbitration as a means of dispute resolution has not progressed beyond the rudimentary stage in the country. And it is not possible for any centre to become a hub without a certain context. And India scores very poorly on this count.

TORONTO: She’s the only woman who won the Nobel Prize in two scientific fields—physics and chemistry. And now she’s the subject of the first biopic by Iranian-born director, Marjane Satrapi, known for her award-winning animated history doc, Persepolis. The famed Polish-French physicist Marie Curie’s story is told in Radioactive, which covers the period from her arrival in France in 1891 to her death in 1934 from radiation exposure. It was a significant film for the Toronto International Film Festival that is making major efforts to feature women directors and women’s stories. The perfect subject, Marie Curie, was determined to fight the science establishment that not only rejected women but held back important scientific research that didn’t fit their criteria.

The downgrading of the credentials of India’s constitutional democracy has been a subject of severe domestic and global critique in recent times. Nevertheless, the Indian diplomatic positions in the global fora continue to emphasise upon its track record as a vital constitutional democracy with sound judicial safeguards to protect human rights. When this contradiction is analysed from a historical perspective, the warning signs for the sustenance of the constitutional democracy are notable.

At a time when the privatization of the central public sector enterprises, is sweeping the Modi Government, a number of PSEs are striving hard to retain their PSE character. Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals ltd (BCPL) is one which has performed a miracle by its turnaround in the last five years.

Poll campaigning is at its peak in two important states—Haryana and Maharashtra. After return of Narendra Modi government in 2019 elections, this is the first test of whether the Prime Minister’s popularity remains intact, or whether the Congress and regional parties have mustered the capability to challenge this. The polls will also determine the direction and state of politics in the days to come.

The October 27 Argentinian election, which will probably unseat current right-wing President Mauricio Macri, will have a big impact on workers and unions, Argentina’s former ambassador to the U.S. told a recent congressional briefing. That’s because the leading presidential candidate, who appears to have wide support and apparently leans towards a pro-worker platform, is Alberto Hernandez, former chief of staff to the late President Nestor Kirchner. Hernandez is the Justicialist Party nominee.

Bolivian President Evo Morales and Vice President Álvaro García Linera are presently campaigning for their fourth term in office. In elections set for October 20, Morales, candidate of the Movement to Socialism Party (MAS), is polling 15 points ahead of ex-President Carlos Mesa of the Citizen Community Party. Seven other presidential candidates are competing. The odds favor a first-round victory for Morales. The voting will also determine the make-up of Bolivia’s Congress.