On February 18, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh. This was a dramatic reversal of the previous U.S. administration’s policy of not having peace talks with Russia since the beginning of Russia’s war with Ukraine in February 2022. The reversal took place because of Donald Trump’s election … Read more
An F-35 fighter jet, at the Aero India 2025 air show | Photo Credit: Reuters Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief and official working visit on February 13, 2025 to the United States has, rightfully, got a lot of attention. Among other things, it managed to give a push to the U.S.-India bilateral defence engagement. Defence … Read more
President Donald Trump has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington to sign a deal that would give Washington access to Ukraine’s rare earth mineral deposits, in exchange for the White House’s support in ending the three-year war there since the Russia invasion. While Mr. Trump has — to his domestic constituents — positioned the … Read more
‘The selection of the CEC and other ECs has a vital bearing on the conduct of free and fair elections and in maintaining the purity of the electoral process, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution’ | Photo Credit: THE HINDU/RITU RAJ KONWAR The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners … Read more
By calling for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the delimitation exercise, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has sought to stir up a national debate. Delimitation, as an exercise, has not seen any increase in the legislative seats since 1973, having been frozen as per the 1971 Census for parity in population … Read more
Delimitation and the South Instead of indulging in what looks to be verbal/statistical jugglery and dismissing the genuine concerns flagged leaders in the southern States — about the possibility of their losing out to the northern States in the delimitation exercise — the Centre needs to do more. It would do well to give an … Read more
I had just finished my first year at medical school, and was visiting Phuphee for the summer holidays. The days were hot but a constant breeze made the heat tolerable, even pleasurable at times. One such hot, breezy afternoon, an elderly gentleman and his wife arrived. When it was hot, Phuphee usually made ice cream. … Read more
Concerns about the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme refuse to die down in Andhra Pradesh, with scientists and farmers saying water resources are depleting and emissions from factories are polluting the air, water, and soil. Buoyed by the encouraging results of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, which was introduced in India as a pilot … Read more
Recently, two First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in Indore for violating the District Magistrate’s prohibitory orders issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). These Sections correspond to Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 144 of the Code … Read more
In the cacophony of religious fervour for a holy dip at the Kumbh, amidst bustling railway stations, jostling crowds, and ceaseless proclamations by Indian Railways about the number of train services and the passengers ferried to Prayagraj, lies an inconvenient truth: the approach to passenger safety and convenience is at best tragically outdated, and at … Read more