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Minority governments have two major concerns. Clearing votes of no-confidence and passing legislation. The first, remaining in office for five years, requires meeting a threshold number of MPs for the ruling party. Meaning, having a sufficiently large mass at the centre of the coalition to...

Kerala’s power couple just made history in the most unexpected way! Dr V. Venu, the outgoing Chief Secretary, handed over the reins to his wife, Sarada Murlidharan, in a formal ceremony at the Thiruvananthapuram secretariat. Yes, you read that right—one Chief Secretary passing the baton...

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit on 2 September to Mongolia, a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that has issued an arrest warrant against him since 2023, is yet another example of the waning influence of international institutions that were set up with...

Massive protests swept through Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other Israeli cities Sunday night as tens of thousands vented their anger after the bodies of six hostages captured by Hamas on 7 October, last year were discovered in Gaza over the weekend. The huge scale of...

A disconcerting new report has revealed that student suicides in India have now surpassed the country’s population growth rate. The report titled “Student suicides: An epidemic sweeping India” has been compiled by the IC3 Institute, a volunteer-based organisation that provides support to high schools around...

Like many of you I have avoided social media content produced by those referred to as “right wing influencers,” more colloquially called “bhakts,” but referred to in this column as RWIs. There was no occasion to do so in the period after 2014, because we...

As if the Railways didn’t have enough problems following a spate of deadly accidents and mishaps, the Railway Ministry has hit the pause button on filling top positions, including Chairman/Member, Railway Board, and General Managers. The decision stems from growing discontent among officers who entered...

The medieval darkness that descended on Afghanistan three years ago due to the hasty withdrawal of US forces that resulted in the reinstallation of the Taliban government is now complete so far as its women population is concerned. Women there are virtually enchained and shut...

In the second sign of disunity between the BJP-led NDA government and one of its key allies, a senior Janata Dal (United) functionary on 25 August joined leaders of Opposition parties – the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - to prevail...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to war-ravaged Ukraine, about six weeks after his visit to Russia came under severe flak from some quarters in the US-led West, seen as it is by many as a balancing act. The nine-hour tour to Ukraine, the first by...