THE verdict on Elizabeth Holmes, the CEO of Theranos, who was tried for fraud, was guilty. Theranos was a company set up by Holmes and her former partner Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani and had promised to revolutionise testing. Their advanced biotech equipment—they claimed—would provide results for a whole battery of tests with just a few drops of blood.In its heyday, Theranos was worth $9 billion, and Elizabeth Holmes was looked upon as the Steve Jobs of the coming Silicon Valley's biotech revolution.
THE 26th conference of the Andhra Pradesh committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was held from January 27-29 at Tadepalli in Guntur district in an enthusiastic atmosphere. The conference venue was named after departed leaders Comrades Jakka Venkaiah, T Narasimhaiah, Sunnam Rajaiah, Reddy Sriramamurty and T Shadrek. B R Tulasirao, senior leader of the Party hoisted the red flag marking the beginning. Tributes were paid at the Martyrs’ column.INAUGURAL SESSIONP Madhu, Party state secretary presided over the inaugural session.
THE four foundational pillars of our Constitution are facing constant attack under the BJP-led government at the centre. Under prime minister Modi's dispensation, every single foundational pillar of the Constitution has come under attack, CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, said in Guwahati on December 26.He was addressing a huge gathering to mark the conclusion of the birth centenary celebrations of renowned freedom fighter and one of the founders of the communist movement in Assam, Nandeswar Talukdar (1921-2003).
THE ongoing united farmers’ struggle in India has changed the political discourse in India and the world over. The success of the struggle at the Delhi borders marks a remarkable setback to the reform process under the imperialist globalisation in India. Thus, the main ruling party - the BJP and its prime minister, Narendra Modi have received strong criticism from the pro-imperialist media world over since they yielded to the united farmers’ struggle.The united farmers’ struggle was not spontaneous.
AT least 50 anxious people gathered near the village pond in Chotahi village, Samastipur district of Bihar. They had gathered to save their houses which were declared illegal as the area was developed as a green belt by the state government of Bihar under the project ‘Jal Jeevan Haryali’.Soon they will be forced to leave their houses; most of which are kutcha built with earthen mud and clay. They have spent decades in these dwellings. Almost all of them are agricultural workers belonging to schedules castes and economically deprived.This is not an isolated case.
ALL India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Sushila Gopalan Memorial Trust and India School of Women’s Studies and Development, jointly held the Sushila Gopalan memorial lecture on December 19, 2021, at Bhubaneswar in Odisha.Thomas Isaac, former Kerala finance minister delivered the memorial lecture on the subject ‘Addressing Challenges before Women in the Neo-liberal Era: The Kerala Experience’. He spoke about the extremely adverse impact of the Covid pandemic on women based on the report of a survey of 1,75,000 households in the country.
THE Samyukta Kisan Morcha(SKM) state coordination committee meeting was held on December 7, 2021, at Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu. In the meeting, it was decided that the historic struggle and its success at the Delhi borders would be celebrated at Thiruvarur since that location is the central point for delta farmers in Tamil Nadu.
IN the year gone by the dark clouds of Covid-19 continued to hover over our lives. And like in the preceding year the plans of families and individuals relating to leisure and work were disrupted once again. However, unlike 2020 a glimmer of hope was provided by vaccines in the year gone by. The relentless onslaught of the Covid virus on human lives was not the only issue that was in the limelight, 2021 was also a year when the farmers’ protests occupied the centre stage. The almost year-long agitation by the farmers forced the incumbent government to withdraw the three black laws.
IN October 2021, the United States won an election to serve a three-year term on the United Nations Human Rights Council. US president, Joe Biden welcomed the news, saying that the United States welcomes the opportunity to ‘lead the world toward a more peaceful, prosperous future, grounded in respect for human dignity’.
THE bi-monthly results released by the Reserve Bank of India of its Consumer Confidence Survey provides some indication of consumers’ perceptions on the current state of the economy as well as of future expectations. The latest round released on 8, December 2021, is based on the survey conducted during the period October 25 to November 3, 2021, covering 5310 households across 13 major states. The survey results provide two summary indicators namely, the current situation index (CSI) and future expectation index (FEI).