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LONDON: The statement attributed to Mao: “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent” appears nowhere in his writings. And like many apocryphal aphorisms it only illuminates a small part of reality. Nevertheless it has been pressed into service to describe the turmoil arising from the split in the ruling class in the United States.

NEW YORK: “The bond market is very tricky. I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it’s beautiful.” These were the words with which President Donald Trump accompanied his surprising decision on April 9 to “pause” the previously announced “reciprocal tariffs” for ninety days. Instead of the spuriously calculated rates on imports from surplus trading partners, most goods, including previously exempt goods from Canada and Mexico compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, would be subject to a 10 percent base rate until further notice.

The game of political hunting, which is typically characterised in India by cases, raids, seizures, and arrests, which generally do not lead to conviction, but enable the government to pin its adversaries down for years without trial in cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), seems to be reaching its climax. The latest chargesheet alleging money laundering has been filed by ED against the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi the leader of the main opposition Congress, which has triggered a nationwide massive agitation of Congress rank and file outside ED offices on Wednesday April 16 across states terming action against Gandhis as ‘political vendetta’.

The euphoria surrounding the enactment of ten Tamil Nadu legislations without presidential assent may be short-lived. What initially seemed like a landmark assertion of state rights has now been complicated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s subsequent decision to form a three-member panel under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court Justice Kurian Joseph to study state autonomy. While the initial legislative move was celebrated as a bold stand against the overreach of the Centre and the governor’s discretionary powers, the decision to constitute a panel risks neutralising the very momentum that had been gained. In fact, it not only threatens to blunt the significance of the legislative assertion but also opens the door to a reimagining—perhaps even a restoration—of the governor’s role in ways that were recently curtailed.

India’s stock markets recovered smartly on Tuesday, emerging from the turmoil post Trump tariffs. The unprecedented tariffs declared by Donald Trump had roiled the global financial markets from which the major global centres have yet to recover. On Wednesday till the time of writing, the Indian stock markets had marginal fall taking into account the day before its bouncing back, but the signs were apparent that the Indian market is no panic mode. There is a feeling of restraint and control.

With Rahul Gandhi tightening his proverbial grip on the political neck of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the latter in his desperation has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to pounce upon Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and implicate them afresh in the long-drawn National Herald case. The case was filed in 2012, but incidentally since then the ED has not succeeded in collecting evidence to legally indict them.

Donald Trump’s latest economic fusillade against China - a staggering up to 145% tariff on Chinese imports, paired with a temporary 90-day reprieve for other trading partners - is less a coherent strategy than a theatrical flourish. The move, announced with typical bluster, appears calibrated for domestic political consumption: a show of strength against Beijing while offering superficial olive branches to allies he had alienated just days earlier. But beneath the campaign-trail posturing lies a perilous miscalculation. This is not merely another volley in the long-running U.S.-China trade war; it is a deliberate provocation, an attempt to force Beijing into economic submission while re-centering global trade around American dominance. The risks, however, far outweigh the potential rewards.

The novelty of Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, is wearing off. For no fault of the White House Correspondents' Corps which hangs on to Leavitt's every word and the odd Leavitt gesture. But with time running its scam, too many White House correspondents are beginning to slot Leavitt in President Donald Trump’s authoritarian block. Karoline Leavitt passes edicts in line with President Trump's executive orders and there is nothing Buddhist about Leavitt's edicts.

LUCKNOW: Is BJP unhappy with former chief minister and BSP national president Mayawati’s decision relating to induction of her nephew Akash Anand back in party fold? The manner in which security cover of Y plus of Akash Anand was removed within 24 hours of Mayawati's decision to take him back in party is an indication.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Supreme Court’s order fixing a time-frame for the President and the Governors to act in the case of bills passed by the State Legislatures in Tamil Nadu’s case has given Kerala a booster shot.