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In concluding his chapter on intelligence agencies and their manner of functioning, former RAW chief AS Dulat wrote in his recent book that RAW is ‘pretty good, better than the ISI’. He left it at that, without explaining in what way and it would be...

The Modi sarkar is devoting a lot of thought to the 100 years of independence in 2047, with several task forces charged with drawing up a roadmap for the future. Among these, the Group of Secretaries on Governance headed by I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra is...

In late November, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution met for the first time. The INC was established by the United Nations Environment Assembly with a well-defined mission: to create the first-ever legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution. The fact that delegates and...

Disturbing reports are coming from Israel, Afghanistan and Iran where new measures are being taken to deny freedom and gender equality to their women. In a significant development, Israel’s incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party gave its word in its coalition agreement with Far-Right...

A significant development in the Russia-Ukraine war raging since 24 February 2022 is the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Washington. Predictably, Russia has branded the exchanges between Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden as an exercise in perpetuating war rather than a peace...

The mystery surrounding the origin of coronavirus, supposed to have either leaked from a laboratory in China’s Wuhan or from sea food sold in the markets there, is yet to be unravelled due to China’s persistent denial and noncooperation. Now, it is China again that...

India’s spies and spymasters do not usually write their memoirs. This is in keeping with bureaucrats, judges, ministers and their like elsewhere on the subcontinent who, when they do write, usually put out works exculpating their actions while condemning their circumstances or their peers. AS...

The sudden repatriation of Punjab cadre IPS officer KS Chahal and his replacement by Haryana cadre IPS officer Manisha Chaudhary has triggered a Punjab vs Haryana turf battle. When Punjab Governor and Chandigarh administrator Banwari Lal Purohit appointed Chaudhary, objections from Punjab were expected given...

After four decades of fostering integration through trade and finance, the global economy has begun a painful process of fragmentation. Initially driven by wealthy countries – namely, the United States under former President Donald Trump and the United Kingdom following the Brexit referendum – several...

On 19 December 2022, Elon Musk tweeted “Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll” and held a Twitter based poll that offered a choice of Yes or No to Twitteratis. The results were not shocking....