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NEW YORK: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has never faced a revolt like this before. The broad left has never pulled its punches when it comes to the eight-term senator, suspicious of his Wall Street ties and unhappy with willingness to strike deals with Donald Trump. But it’s not the Left that Schumer has to worry about these days. Over the past week, Schumer has faced an unprecedented barrage of often public criticism and rebuke from within his own party, longtime Democratic loyalists, and party-aligned media outlets.

Is the Bangladesh Army going to take over control of their politically turbulent country, either from front or behind, to precipitate the holding of early elections? This question is being raised by the seasoned political observers in Dhaka, as the whole of last week was dominated by highly controversial posts on Facebook, Instagram, interviews in YouTube channels and both formal and unofficial interventions by the country’s top army officials through statements and meetings.

Another maverick action by United States President Donald Trump, launching large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi pirates, who have made cargo movement through the Red Sea a high-risk exercise since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza broke out over a year ago. At a stake is nearly 12 percent of the global trade and 30 percent of global container traffic. The trade is worth over US$1 trillion annually between Asia and Europe, which transit through the Red Sea. Although the Indian Navy has been active in the region to frequently rescue vessels under Houthi attacks, it is not enough. The Houthi pirates are generally selective about their targets. They are mostly after US, UK and Israeli flag carriers or cargo vessels linked with the countries supporting Israel, directly or indirectly, against Hamas militants. Incidentally, a large portion of India’s sea trade engages foreign flag carriers.

Workers’ two-month campaign against the four controversial labour codes has just begun afresh, after the adoption of a declaration in this regard in the National Convention of Workers organised by the joint platform of the 10 Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations and Associations. The declaration has also called for a nationwide general strike of workers on May 20 on the day of culmination of the campaign.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, of Indian origin, is in the news these days. Her team has returned safely to Earth after spending nine months in space. They intended to be in space for eight days, but technical problems extended their mission. The spacecraft returned without them in September. This week, they landed in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov.

Will the RSS succeed in retaining its grip on the BJP? The three day Pratinidhi Sabha of the RSS which concluded in Bengaluru on Sunday threw this question in a very strong way. The delegates who had assembled in Bengaluru left disillusioned as the Sabha could not provide a fresh food for thought besides some usual rhetorics. The members returned to their states nurturing the feeling that RSS was faced with a decision making crisis.

The statement 'Comedian Kunal Kamra keeps me in splits' is not comedy. Neither is ‘Kunal lives in a room which is his surname!’ And if a child drops the line “Papa bought me a Kunal Kamra to take pictures”, it still isn’t a joke. What’s called ‘Stand-up Comedy’ is people paying money to listen to jokes at a comedy club in a hotel in Maximum City Mumbai!

On Wednesday, last week, the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor - the largest Turkish city- could be described as a watershed moment in the country’s continued shift away from democracy. Opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fear it is a move to sideline the sole challenger capable of defeating him in upcoming elections, expected before 2028.

NEW DELHI: The 59th Jnanpith Award for the year 2024 is being awarded to eminent Hindi litterateur Shri Vinod Kumar Shukla. He has been accorded this honour for his creativity, unique writing style and huge contribution to Hindi literature. This is the 12th time a Hindi writer is being awarded this honour. This is also the first time a writer from the state of Chhattisgarh is being given this award.

It would be an understatement that the discovery of a large stash of cash from the residence of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma has sent shockwaves. This unexpected incident has raised uncomfortable questions about corruption and integrity within the judiciary, often viewed as the guardian of justice and moral rectitude. While the discovery itself is scandalous, what looms even larger is the systemic rot it hints at—an entrenched and dangerous reality that has been ignored or glossed over for far too long. The hidden stockpiles of money that may never be unearthed, and the opaque corridors where justice is supposedly dispensed, point to a much deeper malaise. This incident is not just about one judge or one cache of ill-gotten wealth; it reflects the disturbing cracks in the very edifice of India’s judicial system.