THE space race was once between the Soviet Union and the United States. It is now – on the surface – between the three billionaires, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson. Two of them rode their sub-orbital flights, meaning that they cannot be considered as space flights as they did not reach a stable orbit around the earth. Branson’s ambitions are limited, more for a market for developing the exotica of space tourism. Elon Musk and his SpaceX have been playing for the long haul, with a series of rockets and launches including to the International Space Station.

THE National Committee for Solidarity with Cuba and the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) organised an all India webinar in solidarity with Cuba on July 26, 2021. July 26 is observed as ‘Moncada Day’, as it is on this day in 1953 that Fidel Castro and his compatriots stormed the Moncada garrisons, in an attempt to topple the dictatorship in Cuba. Though that attempt failed and Fidel Castro was captured and sentenced to imprisonment, the day has historic significance. The July 26 Movement played a significant role in the success of the Cuban revolution.

THE monsoon session of parliament began on a stormy note on July 19 as a united opposition protested over several issues, including farm laws, fuel price hike and Pegasus snooping controversy. Due to this, PM Narendra Modi was even unable to introduce his new ministers to parliament as is customary after a reshuffle.On July 20, the Rajya Sabha held a short duration discussion on management of Covid-19 pandemic, implementation of vaccination policy and challenges of likely third wave.

ON June 6, results began to come in from the second round of Peru’s presidential election. It appeared early on that the race was tight. Peru Libre’s Pedro Castillo held a slim lead over Fuerza Popular’s Keiko Fujimori. Castillo, a school teacher from a rural district of northern Peru, ran a door-to-door campaign amongst impoverished Peruvians, while Fujimori, the daughter of a former president who is now in prison, ran a television campaign that was lubricated with large amounts of money. This was a two-way fight between the Left (Castillo) and the Right (Fujimori).

THE All India Fishers and Fisheries Workers’ Federation (AIFFWF) expresses its serious concern at the thrust of the draft policy document on ‘Blue Economy’ announced by the Modi led BJP government.The draft policy aims to throw open our marine resources for unregulated exploration and exploitation including deep sea mining by the big corporations, domestic and foreign. The policy would have a devastating impact on the livelihood of the around four crore marine fishers, who traditionally depend upon the coast for their livelihood and income.