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Within the span of this week, we have got two completely different and contrasting views of the Indian economy — one from the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, and the other from the leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi. Both could not be true at the same time; both could be false. They look like containing fragments of the truth.

An impression had gained ground that Uttar Pradesh is the stronghold of the rightist forces led by RSS and BJP and the saffron ecosystem intends to turn it into the Hindutva laboratory. While the results of the Lok Sabha have shattered this belief, the latest developments underline that the inability of the secular and socialist forces to fight for the cause of the Dalits and poor and their inability to take on the rightist forces head on have been primarily responsible for strengthening of the BJP in the state.

France is struggling with political gridlock, economic uncertainty and public discontent. The new prime minister, Francis Bayrou has to run an obstacle race in this scenario. Bayrou is a seasoned centrist with decades of political experience. It is pragmatic on the part of President Emanuel Macron choosing him to negotiate a political minefield. The ability of the new prime minister to negotiate a fractured parliament is likely to define his period in office. It would be a pointer to Macron's legacy too.

The twin bills introduced in the Lok Sabah on December 17 seeking ‘one nation and one election’ – ie simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of the States and Union Territories –contains provisions of too much centralization of the governance in India that has potential risks of making irreparable damage to the federal structure of the country and ultimately to democracy.

The Reserve Bank of India has accounted for nearly half of all gold purchases by central bank in October this year. According to the World Gold Council, RBI bought 48 percent of all the gold that the central banks bought that month, adding a whopping 27 tonne to its gold reserves, taking the total tonnage to 882. That gold buying by all central banks totalled only 60 tonne in October shows a certain strategy by the Indian central bank.

After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer to a ceasefire 14 months into Israel’s invasion of Gaza. So far 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war that began on October 7 last year. Earlier also reports came out about possible truce but this did not take place. This time, under the changed political environment, Donald Trump taking over the U.S. President on January 20 and the Syrian President Assad ousted as the President, both sides are trying to arrive at an early agreement to end the war.

Shoresh Ismail Abdulla is the Minister of Peshmerga affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Peshmergas are the military forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and one of the most capable forces in the region, which pushed back ISIS from its strongholds. Currently, Peshmerga is also playing a vital role in counter-terror operations against ISIS. In an interview, Abdulla speaks about the reemergence of ISIS in the context of developments in Syria, planned reforms of Peshmerga, and expectations from the incoming United States administration of President-Elect Donald Trump.

KOLKATA: A fountainhead of criticism and opposition to Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, Mamata Banerjee leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari is on a backfoot. And to make matters worse, it is in his own backyard Contai where the state's ruling dispensation’s most trenchant critic finds himself with his back to the wall.

Leftwing Democratic senator Bernie Sanders is a veteran self proclaimed socialist who has been consistently fighting for drastic cut in the budget of the U.S. military since his election as a young senator from Vermont decades ago. In the November elections, he won his seat for the fourth time for another six year term. The maverick senator has all through opposing the high allocations of the US funds to the war efforts supporting Israel and Ukraine. However, all his efforts failed and the massive funds inflows continued.

One of the rationales brought forward by the Union Government of India for its pro-gold policy measures in the Budget 2024-25 was to address the vulnerabilities of the Indian Rupee, but today on December 17, 2024 it fell to a record low of Rs 84.93 per dollar in the morning trade. Another reason given that the gold would become more affordable, but its rate reached a record high of Rs 77,600 per 10 gram. Moreover, import of gold soared over four times widening the trade deficit to a record high at $37.9 billion in November.