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The rather surprise cut in the central tax on diesel and petrol by the Modi government has turned out to be a deft political move. The timing of the announcement itself has been political. The cut came within 24 hours of the by-elections results in 11 states, the results of which were not entirely to the liking of the ruling party. Although it brought some face saving wins in some seats, the unexpected loss in the Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh has rung alarm bells and already a blame game is on to fix responsibility.

New Delhi: "We have been totally focused and preparing hard for the Junior Hockey World Cup scheduled to be played at Bhubneshwar from 24 November to 5 December," said Indian goalkeeper Pawan adding that "the team is looking to work through the final stage of their preparation before the marquee competition."

New Delhi: Akash Kumar's bid for a place in the final was thwarted by Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan and India had to be content with only a bronze medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

The big defeat of the Democratic Party in the latest Governor’s elections in Virginia and the erosion of its base in the strongholds of New Jersey and New York have ominous portent for the President Joe Biden and his party colleagues for the coming midterm elections in November 2022.President’s popularity is now at lower level compared to Trump in the latest opinion polls. The Republicans are charged as their propaganda machinery has succeeded in confusing a good section of supporters of the base of their rivals in the Virginia polls.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan may have averted for now further violence by caving in to demands of a militant, supremacist religious group. But in doing so, Khan is allowing radical ultra-conservatism to fester, undermining social cohesion, threatening economic development, and giving militants a say in foreign policy.

LUCKNOW: Much significance is being attached to the statement of Samajwadi Party national president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav that he would not contest assembly polls. Akhilesh Yadav, who is MP from Azamgarh, will now concentrate on campaigning for his party rather than looking after his own election for the assembly. There is a general perception in UP now that the Samajwadi Party is emerging as the main opposition party giving a challenge to the ruling BJP.

Last week, Zuckerberg at Connect 2021 launched a new company brand Meta. According to Facebook, "...brings together our apps and technologies under one new company brand. Meta's focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses."

Even the festival season has failed to brighten the labour market. Employment rate fell to 37.3 per cent in October as against 37.9 per cent in September, the labour participation rate (LPR) to 40.4 per cent from 40.7 per cent, while unemployment rate rose to 7.8 per cent from 6.9 per cent. The workforce shrank by 1.75 million and employment fell by 5.5 million in October in comparison to September. All the indicators are baffling. The Modi government must open its eyes to see what is happening.

Global warming is the biggest challenge humanity faces today. No country can afford to ignore its impact on the national and international levels. The Kyoto protocol in 1997 was a landmark initiative where 84 countries came together to address the menace of global warming. In the backdrop of the Kyoto protocol, the world began to discuss global warming with utmost serious concern. This protocol sought to call the attention of the world with a sense of do or die. It impressed upon the people regarding the sword of Damocles that hung over the future of humankind.

There are a number of misconceptions about Indian agriculture which, if not removed forthwith, can have potentially adverse effects on the ongoing kisan agitation against the three farm laws. The first of these is the belief that corporate encroachment on peasant agriculture is a matter concerning only the corporate encroachers and the peasants. This is wrong: Corporate encroachment on peasant agriculture is a matter that affects the economy as a whole; it concerns everybody. This is not a rhetorical statement; it is literally true. In this sense the kisan agitation against corporate encroachment is not a bilateral issue like industrial action in a particular factory; in the process of fighting against corporate encroachment the kisans are fighting objectively for society as a whole, against subjecting India to “food imperialism”. The reason is the following.