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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There seems to be no end to the problems plaguing the Congress in Kerala. The latest jolt to the party, already rocked by internecine factionalism, has come in the form of a flaming row over the suspected suicide of Wayanad District Congress Committee treasurer, N M Vijayan, and his son, Jijesh. The unfortunate deaths have put the Congress on the defensive.

“You reap what you sow” has been proven right in the context of recent escalation of violence between Afghanistan and Pakistan. For decades, Pakistan nurtured the Taliban for strategic reasons. So, what are the reasons behind this increased tension between two neighbours, threatening tenuous peace in the region?

The most significant judgment that I obtained this year was from the High Court of Bombay at Goa on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to halt the continuance of illegal sand mining from Goa’s rivers.

Whatever one might say about Jimmy Carter’s presidency, it was clear that the man himself meant for it to be transformational. From a subdued 1977 inauguration — Carter skipped the motorcade and black-tie balls in favor of business attire and an open-air stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue — to subsequent promises to restore American energy independence, reform welfare, and even transcend the “inordinate fear of communism” that had dominated US foreign policy since the 1940s, the thirty-ninth president put a lot on his plate.

Thirty-three years are half a lifetime. Thirty-three years ago, Dr Manmohan Singh stepped into a high-profile limelight, well after his formal retirement from a senior government job. When he died last Friday at the age of 92, he was considered India’s greatest finance minister and the architect of India’s modern economy.

The year 2024 marked a historic period for gold, perhaps fit to be called the ‘Year of Gold’ due to the yellow metal’s remarkable performance across various metrics. Total demand for God surpassed an unprecedented US $100 billion, underpinned by robust investment activity and a supportive macroeconomic backdrop.

India’s jobs market deterioration and failure of the government in decent job creation have sharply pushed up the number of jobs and enterprises in the informal sector, the technical term for which is 'Unincorporated Sector.' The Annual Survey of 'Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24' found an estimated 7.34 crore establishments with a growth rate of 12.84 percent having 12.06 crore workers with a rise of 10.01 percent.GVA was Rs 17,97,278 crore with a growth rate of 16.52 percent. It can be called a robust growth compared to the COVID-19 disruption years, but is an indication of failure in reaching decent job creation targets.

This was bound to happen: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy ganging up against President-elect Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters. The two technocrats have their egos hanging from the tips of their noses. Imagine if Vivek Ramaswamy had won the Republican presidential nomination instead of Donald Trump! Now, Trump supporters are fighting Musk and Ramaswamy with the Trumpers angry that both the foreign-origin tech-sters are calling the shots with Trump not having a say on, of all the things – immigration!

Election fever has begun to grip Delhi as the state prepares for its upcoming elections. Though small in size, Delhi holds significant political importance, influencing perceptions across the country. In recent years, it has drawn national attention due to the intense political rivalry between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alongside unprecedented controversies, such as the arrests of ministers, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, by the Enforcement Directorate over alleged irregularities in the excise policy and contract awards.

While on my recent visit to Iraqi Kurdistan, I visited several frontline positions of the Peshmerga forces, where they are facing the Iraqi Army and active ISIS cells. Firstly, I visited Brigade 14 headquarters near Dibak, approximately 60 km from the Kurdistan capital, Erbil. There, I met with Brigadier General Almi Mzuri; he is a seasoned soldier who worked in the Iraqi Army for a long time in different senior positions but, in 2014, joined Peshmerga forces to save Kurdistan from ISIS onslaught. General Mzuri fought on other fronts like Baghdad, Fallujah, and Mosul. He advised that his brigade is responsible for the Makhmour sector, including the Qarachoq mountains, and his units are very vigilant as there is constant movement of ISIS cells.