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India’s denial of its involvement in the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada has bitterly strained the relation between two countries, but more importantly, it has failed to convince its strategic partner USA of its stated position on the issue.

With the success of the G20 summit in Delhi, is Narendra Modi, making a mark globally as Jawaharlal Nehru did on the world stage after Independence? India’s first Prime Minister had carved out a niche for the country as the leader of the non-aligned movement even though it was at that time seen as poor and backward. Today, Modi strides on the global stage at the head of the world’s fifth largest economy.

One month has passed since the Bernardo Alevaro, the Leftwing supremo of Semilla coalition was elected as the President of the South American nation in the general elections held on August 20. The President-elect is to take over on January 14,2024 as per the constitution but the entrenched right wing establishment is doing everything possible to nullify the victory of the left coalition and restoring the status quo favouring the big business and the US multinational companies.

The current upsurge in prices in India is led by food prices. In July 2023 while retail inflation was 7.44 per cent (over July of the previous year), food price inflation, which covers all food items including foodgrains, vegetables, milk products and such like, was 11.5 per cent. Food price inflation came down a little in August to around 10 per cent, largely because of some supply management measures adopted by the government relating to vegetables like tomatoes, and this was responsible for bringing down the overall retail inflation rate to 6.83 per cent; but obviously food price inflation, and with it overall retail inflation, continues to remain a serious problem.

NEW YORK: When Brazil’s President LuízInacio “Lula” da Silva, replaced Jair Bolsinaro, the “Donald Trump of the Global South,” as president of his country, the Biden administration had high hopes of being able to work with the newly-elected president.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that only a strong government made possible 33 percent women's reservation has few takers. The reality is, but for the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the RSS wanted another Modi term to fulfill the Sangh Parivar agenda, the Modi government may not have rolled out the ‘Naari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ in such haste with a special session of Parliament to boot.

Canada’s position in the midst of tensions linked to the Khalistan movement, which advocates an ‘independent Sikh state in Punjab’, became highly prominent during the current week. This came to light after allegations that India might have played a role in the assassination of a prominent Sikh separatist in British Columbia, a province in Canada located on the west coast of the country.

Pakistan's next general election to elect new members to its National Assembly will be conducted in the last week of January 2024, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said Thursday. The preliminary list of constituencies will be out on September 27 while the final list will be released on November 30, the election body said. However, the exact dates for voting are yet to be announced.

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi has every reason to feel elated at the introduction of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, or Women’s Reservation Bill in parliament by Narendra Modi government, but the truth is the bill would not have seen the day-light if the Joint general secretary of RSS Manmohan Vaidya would not have expressed his disgust to the apathetic attitude of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards women’s problems, pulled him up for not reaching out to them and held him responsible for not doing enough for the women. PM was virtually forced by the RSS to go ahead before the Lok Sabha polls to which the PM complied and now the bill has been passed by both houses of Parliament in its special session.

At this time of year, all roads in Kolkata lead to Kumartuli in the northern part of the city’s old quarters. It’s where Bengal's most beloved goddess, Durga, is taking on her earthly avatar as potters work round the clock to bring her to life. In about four weeks, on October 20, the city will erupt in glittering festivities to celebrate the homecoming of the ten-armed warrior goddess. For four days after that, everything in Kolkata will revolve around Ma Durga, the celebrations getting grander, more imaginative and more extravagant every year.