WHEN Boeing’s Starliner CST-100 spacecraft was successfully launched on June 5 earlier this year to the International Space Station (ISS), Boeing and NASA heaved a sigh of great relief. The launch was the first crewed flight test of Starliner, carrying two very experienced test-pilots and, one could say, veteran astronauts, Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore. Starliner was originally scheduled to launch its first crewed mission in 2017, but a long series of glitches and problems had seen multiple postponements, so the relief in early June was palpable.
THE law and order situation in Assam has rapidly deteriorated in recent weeks, marked by growing communal tensions. The BJP-led government, headed by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been fanning communal hatred and failing to provide adequate protection to minority communities and 'outsiders' (non-indigenous people).Under the current administration in Assam, there has been an increase in incidents of horrific crimes, including sexual assaults, rape, and murder across the state.
Amra Ram submitted a memorandum to the prime minister on the huge devastation caused by floods and landslides in Tripura. The memorandum recounted the huge devastation of houses, shops, crops, mainly paddy and vegetables, domestic animals, fisheries, roads, bridges, vehicles, and other infrastructure and the resultant miseries to the people, especially the farmers and rural workers due to the unprecedented floods and landslides in Tripura during August 19-24, 2024. The death toll was 32, mainly due to landslides at the above places.
THE situation in Assam has steadily deteriorated due to growing tensions between communities and certain incidents being used to divide people on communal and chauvinistic lines. The chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and the BJP-led government are solely responsible for the current state of affairs. Himanta Biswa Sarma has crossed all limits in his Muslim baiting campaign and his divisive rhetoric of ‘indigenous versus outsiders’.
“WE have to carry forward the legacy of S Sooryanarayana Rao in leading uncompromising, militant, united struggles of working class”, declared Tapan Sen, CITU general secretary and Polit Bureau member of CPI(M), while inaugurating the national seminar on ‘Working Class Movement and The Development of Karnataka” on August 24.
DURING Modi’s visit to Ukraine (why he visited Ukraine at all at the present time remains a mystery), Zelensky asked India not to purchase fuel from Russia in violation of western sanctions, that is, to fall in line with the “unilateral” western sanctions.
THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on August 25, denounced the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) approved by the union cabinet on August 24, 2024, as another dubious and desperate effort to deceive government employees of their rightful claim to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). CITU urges the restoration of the old pension scheme.The old pension scheme was non-contributory with an assured pension, as per the Central Civil Service Rules, 1972, and later, the 2021 rules.
MPOX, formerly known as monkeypox until the WHO renamed it in November 2022 to avoid stigma, is resurging, particularly in Africa. On August 14, 2024, WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) due to a sharp rise in cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. This is the second time in history (the first being in 2022 also for mpox) that a PHEIC has been declared for a DNA virus outbreak, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated global efforts to control the virus.
THE red flags have returned with renewed enthusiasm following the much-awaited announcement of elections in J&K, as people anticipate the restoration of democracy, especially after the events of 2019. MY Tarigami, CPI(M) leader and four-time MLA from Kulgam, filed his nomination papers on August 27.Before filing his nomination papers, he addressed several rallies in the Kulgam constituency. One such rally, dedicated to the ‘Youth of Kulgam,’ saw a large turnout at the CPI(M) office.
ISRAEL and Ben Gvir's police have just decided to shut the headquarters of the Communist Party in Haifa for ten hours starting at 19:00 this evening (August 26, 2024).
Earlier, the police summoned Comrade Reem Hazan for the second time this afternoon and conducted an investigation with her and decided to close the party's headquarters in order to prevent the screening of Muhammad Bakri's new film "Janein Jenin" and the launching of an activity against the aggressive war on Gaza.