THE impact of the West’s encounter with the Americas was devastating for its people. The population of the Americas before Europe’s “discovery” has been estimated to be anything between 2 to 100 million people. The figures of genocide also depend not only on different estimates of the Indigenous population of the Americas but also on what numbers should be excluded in the counting of victims of genocide. Do we include those who died of diseases as their societies and the productive basis of their societies were destroyed?

A GOOD deal of analysis of the recent political upheaval in Bangladesh has focussed on the high-handedness and authoritarianism of Sheikh Hasina’s government; it has either missed altogether, or generally underplayed, the change that has occurred in the economic situation in that country. A country that was being hailed as an economic “miracle” just a few months ago is now mired in an economic crisis that has suddenly worsened the living conditions of vast numbers of people.

‘SOMETHING is rotten in the state of Denmark,’ is a famous line from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The same sentence perfectly fits West Bengal today under Mamata Banerjee’s TMC rule. The horrific incident of gang-rape and murder of a young female doctor, Abhaya, as named by her colleagues, within the premises of the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital (MCH) in Kolkata has stunned the sensibilities of all citizens of the country. The crude attempts by the state government led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee to hush up this gruesome crime are highly condemnable.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on August 19THE unprecedented and spontaneous mobilisation of doctors, particularly junior doctors in angry protests against the barbaric rape and murder of a young doctor in Bengal’s R G Kar hospital reflects not only the solidarity for the young woman victim but also the experience of doctors against unsafe and insecure conditions of work. This has received widespread people’s support.

The diplomatic efforts of US and Israel stand in sharp contradiction with Israel’s genocidal military operations on the ground, backed by the US.US secretary of state Antony Blinken stopped in Egypt on Tuesday, August 20, one day after visiting Tel Aviv as part of a tour in the West Asia region to continue intensive diplomatic efforts to achieve a Gaza ceasefire and prisoners-for captives swap deal.