A PECULIAR charade is being played out during the current US election campaign. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which is an economic agreement between the US and several Asian countries has been under negotiation for almost eight years now. For four of these eight years, Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state and hence directly supervising these negotiations; and even after she quit that job she has remained a prominent figure around the Obama administration, even if not part of it.

THE constitution of India under Article 14 guarantees each and every individual irrespective of any caste, class or gender differentiation the right to equality. Unfortunately, under the aegis of the current ruling dispensation there have been repeated attempts to curtail this fundamental right in case of certain groups including dalits and other marginalised sections of the society. To bring to light the everyday violation of this right as perceived by the dalits an evening of protest songs and music was held on September 15, 2016 at Mavalankar Hall, New Delhi.

IT has been more than 16 months since the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched a war on Yemen, the poorest nation in the Arabian peninsula. The other members of the military coalition are the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco and Kuwait. Most of the bombing raids are being conducted by Saudi planes these days. The UAE air force which was very active in the earlier phase of the campaign is now only playing a limited role. The UAE forces on the ground are concentrating their firepower on the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Daesh (Islamic State).

THE All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on September 20, has strongly condemned the killing of two farmers including a woman in Nagaon district of Assam near the Kaziranga National Park in a forced eviction drive. Anjuma Khatun and Fakhruddin have died and five farmers are seriously injured in the firing. It is the insensitive approach and total failure of the administration that led to this unfortunate incident. Hence the chief minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal must tender apology to the people.

A DELEGATION of CPI(M) comprising Sehba Farooqui, Asha Sharma and Maimoona Mollah visited the family of the victims of the recent violence in Delhi in the name of gau raksha in Prem Nagar phase II (West Delhi) on September 16. This happened two days after Bakrid when Qari Luqman’s son-in-law was taking the waste for disposal. (Qari Luqman runs a madrasa called Madrasa Rehmania in Prem Nagar.)  The people of the area seemed terror-stricken.