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On June 25, 2026, the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (‘HRMI’) released its data tracking the human rights performance of 212 countries across the world with nearly 141 countries furnishing the requisite data either completely or partially. The countries were scored on three categories of Human Rights with the first being ‘Quality of Life’ comprising the rights to education, food, health, housing and work; followed by ‘Safety from the State’ which comprised the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance, death penalty, torture and ill treatment, extrajudicial execution and lastly ‘Empowerment’ which comprised the rights to assembly and association, opinion and expression, participation in government, religion and belief. The countries were distinctly divided on the basis of their recognition as a High Income, Low and Middle Income country.

Despite never qualifying for the FIFA (Federations of International Football Associations) World Cup, India has emerged as one of the largest global markets for the current tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with matches played across 16 official host cities. In the opening weekend alone, the tournament reached over 100 million viewers across Zee Entertainment’s platforms. The FIFA World Cup 2026 is officially broadcast in India in Hindi, English, Bengali, and Malayalam. These language feeds aim to cater to regional football strongholds in West Bengal and Kerala, as well as the broader national audience. India holds the second largest Instagram audience for FIFA globally. It is another matter that India's national men's football team is currently ranked 139th in the official FIFA World Rankings, placing them 26th among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) nations. Viewers in India are consuming the tournament through a variety of digital, television, and social platforms.

The latest data updated by the World Bank shows that India did not improve in income classification since 2007, and remains in lower middle income group. In 2025, according to the data, India’s GNI per capita was $2760. In 2007, India’s income classification was upgraded from low income group to lower middle income group.

Exactly a year ago of the 2026 Bengal assembly elections, in 2025, a section of the national media had written off Mamata Banerjee and had even predicted that she would be addressing the last Martyrs’ Day rally on July 21, that year, before the polls. They proved to be prophetic, though it is yet not clear what was the basis for their prediction, one thing they however could not comprehend at that stage was Mamata would observe the day with more vengeance, after her defeat.

The word democracy is derived from the ancient Greek words demos (people) and kratos (rule), literally meaning "rule by the people." Democracy signifies a system in which political power ultimately rests with the people and is exercised either directly, through citizens participating in decision-making, or indirectly, through representatives elected by them. Every adult citizen enjoys the right to vote, contest elections, question those in authority, and participate in public affairs.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Two hundred and fifty years after thirteen rebellious colonies declared that they would no longer submit to the British Crown, Americans marked the nation's semiquincentennial on July 4 with an extravaganza of fireworks, military flypasts, concerts, parades and remembrance that stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean.

Suddenly, there is a new twist in Bangladesh politics. For a change, it comes as a puzzle for the Turkiye-Pakistan axis that is playing an increasingly assertive anti-Indian role in Bangladesh. Bucking Bangladeshi' media's usually hostile coverage of India, analysts are asking critical questions about the past record and present motives of Turkiye in the context of its present engagement with hard core Islamists forces in Bangladesh.

KOLKATA: Availability of land to set up industries appears to be a stumbling block in the path of West Bengal's first BJP-run state government. This is an issue two previous state governments have found to be insoluble.

China’s newly enacted "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress" marks a definitive shift from managing diversity to enforcing homogeneity. By legally institutionalising the assimilation of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other minorities, Beijing aims to replace distinct cultural, linguistic and religious identities with a singular, state-defined consciousness loyal to the Communist Party.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The controversy over the proposed transfer of a 49% stake of the Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) has deepened with the Opposition deciding to challenge it legally and politically.