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November 8, is the sixth anniversary of Demonetisation, and yet the Indian economy is haunted by black money, counterfeit notes, and cash-economy. The decision of a five-judge bench hearing a bunch of petitions regarding Modi’s decision of Demonetisation to further examine the 2016 move has therefore greater relevance than we presume, especially when Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta repeatedly asserted that the issue has become academic in view of passage of 6 years after the decision.

The politics in Jharkhand has taken a curious turn with the chief minister, Hemant Soren trying to burnish his relation with the Governor and the judiciary consistently busy adopting an aggressive stance towards the BJP and Modi government.

Very recently the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, while addressing the two-day Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) on various internal security issues, for the State Home Ministers, Home Secretaries and Directors-General of Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), at Surajkund, Haryana, emphasised the need to formulate a common strategy to fight crime, which he claimed, is now becoming borderless. In particular, he referred to the three Cs, namely, Cooperation, Coordination and Collaboration between the Centre and the States, to make this a success.

For more than a month now, anti-government protests have been spreading throughout Iranian society — in the streets, on university campuses, at high schools and middle schools, in front of coffee shops, on the metro and other public transit, and most recently among workers in the oil and petrochemical industries. While it is always prudent to approach the Western coverage of these events with suspicion, it’s clear that the Islamic Republic is facing its worst crisis of legitimacy since its inception forty-three years ago.

Bharatiya Janata Party President Jagat Prakash Nadda must have hit bed Sunday evening with a satisfied smile, but not as wide as the one ‘K’ for King Chandrashekar Rao must have had on his lean face. Stand Nadda and Rao shoulder to shoulder and it will be Laurel & Hardy in desi colours though KCR will assert that his match is with that other ‘N’, Narendra Modi!

By the end of this century, planet earth may not be a liveable place, with the average temperature rising at least 2.5 Celsius higher than what it is now. This is according to the latest published UN Climate Change Report. With the climate change set to become worse, the world which is already experiencing a regular bout of deadly heat waves, floods and drought, hurricanes, may have to brace for potentially irreversible natural calamities, impacting the lives of at least 3.3 billion people. And all of these have to do with the dependence on fossil fuel and the resultant greenhouse emissions. In fact, there is another darker side. Control over fossil fuel is a reason for major wars, with a negative spill-over effect on the economies.

India, accounting for a meagre 2.4 percent of the world surface area, over 18 percent of the current world population and only three percent of global manufacturing output, should focus more on production than free trade agreements (FTA). The matter is relevant as the United Kingdom and European Union members are keen on inking such agreements with import dependent India to mainly expand the export of their products and services. In 2019, India had pulled out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, touted to be the world's largest trade protocol between China and 14 other Asian countries, even after being part of the negotiations for seven years. The reason was that India was concerned about the fact that RCEP would promptly reduce merchandise import duties by 80-90 percent. And, that would further raise India's large trade imbalances with China and expose domestic producers to greater foreign competition. It will hurt India’s manufacturing ambition.

New Delhi: Veteran diplomat Amit Dasgupta has been appointed as an Honorary Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM).

In a massive pre-election push to the November 8 midterm in USA, the Poor People’s campaign has contacted 5.5 million low-wealth and poor registered voters who could deliver the GOP a massive defeat on Election Day. The organization headed into the final weekend before Election Day intent on ensuring they get to the polls and that their votes are counted, too, despite voter repression in various states. The theme of this last drive: “If you ever needed to vote for democracy, the time to vote is right now.”

The Indian Journalists Union has expressed serious concern over persistent attacks on media and the shrinking space for independent media in the country.