OCTOBER 31st, marked the United Nation’s World Cities Day and the theme for this year is “Changing the world: innovations and better life for the future generations”.
AS many as 1,400 smartphones worldwide – including 140 of Indians – have been hacked. This hack used Pegasus, the software tools from the notorious hacker-for-hire Israeli company NSO or Q Cyber Technologies. The fundamental question for us, is who-dun-it? The simple question that the government refuses to answer.
FORMED twelve years ago, the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), a broad-based organisation, has since carried out many successful struggles and movements, increased its influence over various sections of the society and made quite an impact in the southern state. Trade unions, associations of farmers and farm labourers, mass organisations, dalit outfits, and some intellectuals have involved themselves in the functioning of this mass front over the years, making it a powerful agent of change.
AT the Oxford Union, in a prestigious head to head debate, Sitaram Yechury opposed the motion as an Indian patriot against the suspension of article 370, the impact of the suspension in Kashmir and the manner in which it was done. The debate was held on October 29.
The motion was defended by one of the vice presidents of the BJP, a former MP, Baijayant Panda.
MARCHING under the banner of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on November 3, about a hundred youngsters demanded that the government of Delhi, in coordination with that of Haryana and Punjab and with the required financial assistance from the union government, fulfill five demands to reduce air pollution.
THE state secretariat of the CPI(M) on November 5 issued a statement and stated that the anti government campaigns related to the arrest of two youths in Kozhikode is politically motivated. The CPI(M) has been opposing the imposition of UAPA act on the arrested youths. When the central government passed the UAPA bill, the CPI(M) had opposed it tooth and nail. The chief minister has already sought the report from the police on Kozhikode arrest. When LDF came to power, the CPI(M), has since then opposed the imposition of UAPA in every such incident.
THE 12th state conference of Bihar AIDWA was held on October 19-20 at Madehpura Town Hall. The conference called for launching struggles against patriarchy, communalism, for joint land titles to women, land for housing to the poor and against casteist and obscurantist ideologies prevalent in the country.
THE recent economic ‘stimulus package’ presented by the Modi government mainly to benefit the big business houses shall cost the exchequer of the country a huge amount Rs 1.45 lakh crore. More such stimulus packages are under consideration of the government. To make good the revenue loss, the government has resorted to selling out public sector undertakings (PSU) with huge physical and financial assets.