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The Afghan Taliban leaders will join a two-day United Nations meeting about Afghanistan on June 30. They had missed the last two meetings. Their attendance shows progress and suggests that the global community may discover improved methods to engage with the unofficial leaders in Kabul. The main goal of the third round of talks is to boost international involvement with Afghanistan in a more organized and unified way, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Patna High Court striking down Bihar government's hike of reservation quota for Dalits, backward castes and tribals to 65% in jobs and education has certainly not come as a surprise nor has been shocking. It was well perceived that like any other affirmative action meant for the upper mobility of the Dalits and poor, this too would have to undergo strict legal scrutiny.

The 79th birthday of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San SuuKyi. Was observed throughout the country with the movement leaders taking solemn oath to remove the military Junta from power within shortest possible time. Her admirers and supporters observed the day as a flower strike across Myanmar. Toddlers holding flowers in their hands stood in protest outside their thatched kindergarten schools. Young men and women assembled in their hilly villages holding flowers in tribute to their beloved leader. Several embassies in Yangon changed their social media profiles to flowers. It was a solemn tribute to Suu Kyi, who always wore a flower in her hair as her distinctive style.

The Enforcement Directorate has managed to throw a spoke into the wheels of Aam Aadmi Party’s celebrations of leader Arvind Kejriwal coming out on bail by approaching the Delhi High Court post-haste even before it could lay hands on the court’s order. And with the high court granting a temporary stay on the ground of certain procedural issues. But it may be a pyrrhic victory as the stay remains in force only until the ED challenge is heard and disposed of by the court in the next 2-3 days.

Ajit Pawar’s waxing and waning is a matter of research. In the battle between two Pawars, Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar, Ajit is the loser. His clout in the Mahayuti has been waning. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP performed the worst among the Mahayuti in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, getting only one seat out of the four it contested. Ajit’s wife Sunetra lost from Baramati against Supriya Sule, who is Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Ajit’s cousin. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra and Ajit’s son Parth Pawar got defeated from Maval parliamentary constituency by the Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne.

The recent provocations by Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal have significantly escalated tensions between Myanmar and Bangladesh, threatening regional stability and security. Reports indicate that Myanmar has been engaging in aggressive actions against Bangladeshi vessels operating in the Teknaf and St Martin’s sea lanes. This article examines the current situation, its historical context, and the broader implications for regional security, while also addressing the critical issue of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

On January 15, 2024, president-elect Bernardo Arévalo of the Semilla Party was inaugurated after five tense months since he was elected on August 20, 2023. (Inauguration day in Guatemala is usually held on January 14 but constitutional challenges to president-elect Arévalo delayed the ceremony nine hours until shortly after midnight.) Guatemalans from all sectors (led by the Indigenous communities), international non-governmental organizations like Latin America Working Group (LAWG), and foreign governments mobilized to prevent corrupt public and private actors from overturning the people’s vote.

Donald Sutherland (1935–2024) who passed away on June 21 projected equal parts warmth, intelligence, and menace on the big screen. But he wasn’t just a brilliant actor — he was a man of the Left who never abandoned those values. There are some actors you can’t help loving. Not many, but the late Donald was definitely one.

For France, the national politics has never been so exciting in recent years as the French President Emanuel Macron announced the holding of snap polls in the country on June 30 and July 7 after the disastrous results of his party in the European Parliament elections on June 9 this year. At a time, when every political observer of the big media was forecasting far right take over of France, the quick understanding between the anti-Right parties in the country to fight the polls jointly has imparted a new dimension to the political battle in France.

The GST Council meeting on June 22 will be somewhat different from any previous ones because of the changed political situation in the country. Ever since the GST came not effect in the first Modi government, the opposition has been on the back foot. Now with the reinvigorated opposition and there being a coalition government at the centre, the state governments from varying political affiliations could be expected to have a stronger voice.