THE big victory for the alliance of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) in the federal and provincial elections is a politically significant development for Nepal.  It will have its repercussions in South Asia too. The Communist alliance has won a decisive majority in the parliament elections held under the new constitution adopted in September 2015.

NEARLY four lakh people visited the 10-day Vizag Fest at the sprawling Andhra University Engineering College Exhibition Grounds in Visakhapatnam. People from all walks of life, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, visited the festival held between December 1 and December 10. There were many who visited the festival on all the days. In a way, the people of Visakhapatnam felt that it was their own. The fest was a mix of many progressive activities.A book fair with over 100 stalls from all over the country was the main attraction.

SEVEN year old Aadhya spent the last two weeks of her life at a ‘state of the art’ private medical facility, her survival dependant on an artificial ventilator. Her brain had probably stopped functioning several days before she died, but we will never know for sure. While a young child suffered silently, for she had lost the ability to cry, Fortis hospital in Gurgaon – a corporate run Frankenstein – was busy planning how they could extract more from Aadhya’s frantic parents.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau met in New Delhi on December 9-10, 2017. It has issued the following statement on December 10.CYCLONE OCKHI: CENTRAL GOVERNMENT MUST PROVIDE ADEQUATE RELIEFCyclone Ockhi has caused immense damage in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Kerala over a hundred people have been reported as dead and nearly a hundred are still missing. Thousands of houses, mechanised and country boats of fishermen have been damaged. In Tamil Nadu, thirty people have been reported killed while over a thousand are missing.

IN the recent past, a slew of elections were held in various countries. A study of these election results will help us in understanding the political developments.Recently, parliament elections were held in Nepal – the first after the republican constitution was adopted. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists-Centre) contested the election in alliance. Out of the 165 parliament seats, for which representatives were elected according to the first-past-post system, they had secured 116 seats. The Nepali Congress secured only 23 seats.