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Shadow Boxing Over USAID Funds

THE decision of US President Donald Trump to close the United States’ Agency for International Development (USAID) led to a slugfest between the two main ruling class parties – the BJP and Congress. Announcing the closure, a list of recipients of USAID was published. Quoting from this list, Trump claimed that $21 million was given for ‘voter turnout’ in India. Doubling down on this claim, Trump stated that this was intended to get ‘somebody else elected’.

WB: RG Kar Case: Oppose Fragmented Trial Based on Incomplete Investigation

THE verdict of the trial court in the RG Kar case has raised many questions about the role of the Kolkata Police, the state administration and the CBI. Although Sanjay Roy, one contractual policeman, was found guilty of the main crime of murder and rape and sentenced to life imprisonment, numerous loopholes in the CBI investigation are mentioned in the verdict. If Sanjay Roy is held to be the sole culprit, many questions remain unresolved.

TN: Anti-Heresy Pledge on the Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Assassination

THE Tamilnadu Platform for People's Unity (TNPPU) observes January 31 – the day Mahatma Gandhi was brutally assassinated in 1948 – as the Day of Anti-Heresy. This annual observance serves as a reminder of Gandhi’s unwavering commitment to India’s independence, communal harmony, and religious unity.This year, the Anti-Heresy Pledge was taken in over 27 districts across Tamil Nadu, with some districts extending the program to taluk headquarters.

Neoliberalism, Impoverishment and Welfare Schemes

THE capitals of the world seem to be sounding different. Apparently, there has been a shift from ‘methodological individualism’ to ‘methodological nationalism’. It is now less about free market and competition and more about protecting political and economic boundaries. Those both on the right and neo-left who were not able to see the State in the mystified neoclassical imagery of market are taken aback by the entry of Trump coming loud and clear talking about tariffs, illegal immigrants, jobs of their own workers and industrial policy.

AP: Vizag Steel Plant: Revival Package and Hidden Agenda

ON January 16, 2025, the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to allocate Rs 11,440 crore for the revival of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), popularly known as Vizag Steel. Minister of Steel and Mines, Kumara Swamy, visited Vizag Steel and announced the details of the revival package on January 29, 2025.The minister made it clear to trade union leaders in Visakhapatnam that the allocated amount would be used solely for debt repayment and not for the operation of Vizag Steel.

The Worldwide Assault on Working People

UNDER late capitalism, there is an assault on the working people that is reminiscent of early capitalism and this assault is worldwide, not just in the third world but in the advanced capitalist countries as well. This assault is at three levels, economic, political and ideological.The assault at the economic level has been much talked about, and is the outcome of both higher inflation and greatly enhanced unemployment that currently afflict the capitalist world.

Donald Trump’s Reverse Kissinger Strategy

US President Donald Trump called Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and told him that his government is committed to a peace process in Ukraine. As part of the deal, Trump’s administration made it clear that sections of eastern Ukraine and the Crimea would remain in Russian hands. Speaking at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Trump’s Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that it was ‘unrealistic’ to assume that Ukraine would return to its pre-2014 borders, which means that Crimea would not be part of any negotiations with Russia.

Why is India Going Back to Failed US Nuclear Suppliers

THE finance minister's recent budget discussed a significant focus on nuclear energy, particularly the use of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and the need to amend India's nuclear liability law: The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010. Though this has been a demand of the US nuclear industry for a long time, it has been on the back burner as the US nuclear industry has iteself been in a crisis for quite some time. Westinghouse emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection only in 2018 and commissioned the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, US, in 2023.

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