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The decision announced by the Honduras Government on Saturday recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the only China and snapping all diplomatic ties with Taiwan signals the emergence of independent foreign policy by the left wing regime elected only early last year after decades of domination by the pro- American political parties in the country. The decision has also enthused the other pink regimes of the continent which have been under US pressure and threats to opt for measures suiting the interests of the respective countries.

There has been a sudden change in the political mood of the country, especially among the non-BJP opposition parties after the conviction of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Surat Court and consequent disqualification of Rahul as Lok Sabha member from Wayanad constituency of Kerala. If the conviction is not stayed by the higher court including the Supreme Court, the de facto Congress supremo will be debarred from contesting any election for the next eight years. This means that in the worst scenario for the Congress, Rahul Gandhi will be eligible to contest for elections only after March 23, 2031.

The punishment meted out to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him by a BJP MLA over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remarks may have been considered by many as disproportionate to his sin of verbally abusing the prime minister in a public meeting. However, few will disagree that the remarks were in poor taste. Notably, the punishment perfectly fits in the provision of the Representation of the People Act under which an MP or MLA or MLC sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified as a member of state legislature or parliament "from the date of such conviction" and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.

The day after, and the day before’s anger hadn’t ebbed. Everybody had something to comment about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification. And none of them had full knowledge of the law that resulted in Rahul Gandhi‘s disqualification. American politicians, like Ro Khanna, who tweeted his anger, could be excused, but what about Indian Members of Parliament like Shashi Tharoor, who endorsed the ignorance of foreigners and gloated at the foreign criticism directed at the Modi government?

Overshadowed by the news of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from parliament, March 24 witnessed another unique parliamentary episode.

If not people, BJP will make Rahul Gandhi a leader by persecuting him. History has shown whenever a leader is persecuted as Rahul Gandhi is being done, he gets people’s sympathy. Wayanad MP Rahul has lost his Lok Sabha seat after being convicted of a criminal defamation by a Surat court. What happens now— the best—and worst-scenarios for him will be of interest.

Incumbent ruling dispensations disfranchising former rulers and banning them for life from contesting elections is something that one often associates with countries with fragile democracies. Indians are used to news about politicians losing their seats in parliament and being debarred from contesting elections on account of corruption and other offences from across the border rather than in their own country, where such instances are rare if not non-existent. Rahul Gandhi losing his parliament seat and being disqualified from contesting elections for six years in view of his conviction in the defamation case has in the eyes of the world lowered India’s prestige as the world’s largest democracy.

A push by Arab allies of the United States to bring Syria in from the cold highlights the limits of a Chinese-mediated rapprochement between the Middle East’s archrivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Now that the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England have all raised their policy interest rates to fight inflation, there might be further flutters in the financial sector and several other banks might be nervous about the future.

The Union Ministry of Finance in its Monthly Economic Review of February 2023 has not only defended again the highly debatable criterion of ‘one hour per week’ engagement of a workers in an economic activity being classified as employed by the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the Union Minister of Labour and Employment, but also claimed that job market in India has been improving. However, the criterion misleads about the actual number of employments on the one hand, and the decelerating economic growth makes the claim of ‘improving labour market’ a suspect apart from on account of rising unemployment in the country from January 2023.