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NEW YORK: Wednesday at midnight, China faces 104% tariffs, perhaps the steepest in Sino-US trade in history, as President Trump decided to heave another 50% tariffs over the 54% tariffs announced earlier to total 104% in retaliation for China's imposition of 34% tariffs on US made goods.

Union government led by PM Narendra Modi has always been promoting privatization of education in the Country. The recent data reveals – the number of private schools rose by 14.9 per cent during 2014-15 to 2023-24, and they have increased their fees by 50-80 per cent just over the last three years. The data shows that during the decade the number of government schools have shrunk by 8 per cent in the country, most of them in the BJP ruled states. The controversy that has erupted in Delhi now over the exorbitant free hike by private schools gives additional frightening insight into the education system of the country.

Who is the more confused politician, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi or the BJP politicians who kowtow to every statement Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes? So, Prime Minister Modi said that “Bharat Ka Samvidhan 1949 mei likha gaya tha” and it should be the last word on the subject! But LoP Rahul Gandhi says the Indian Constitution is “thousands of years old” and the BJP-burg is fit to capsize!

Humanitarian crisis is at its peak as an aftermath of the wars in Middle East and between Russian & Ukraine. Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas there is no respite from the bombings on hapless citizens of Gaza. If we go by the larger estimates over 100,000 have already been killed, majority of them being women and children. This has in fact turned out to be a blatant aggression by the Zionist regime of Israel to annihilate the Palestinians. The recent killing of Para-medical workers proves the point. U S administration is fully supporting Israel with latest high-powered bombs and is at the back of Israel in all circumstances. It authorized the release of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in January 2025, a munition that had previously been held back.

The new generation will not experience the rhythmic ding dong bell of the tram as it trudges through the chaos of Kolkata roads. In the city’s symphony of sounds, the most pleasing to ears was ding dong bell. Besides its utility as a mode of mass city transport without polluting the air, tram through its long existence got intertwined with West Bengal’s political history. Legions of political and trade union battles were fought over tram.

In the wake of Trump’s tariffs and restrictive trade practices, a global economic warfare has been sparked off, with all major economies working up stringent measures to teach the newly elected US prescient, Donald Trump, a lesson: Tariffs are a two way instrument. If you impose tariffs on others, others can impose similar or worse measures against you.

Household indebtedness in India and the suicides relating to it have been rising sharply since 2014, since the Modi government’s economic policy does not come to rescue the household borrowers, though it rescues businesses and corporates through write offs and relief under bankruptcy code. The data is alarming – household debt has increased from 32.6 per cent in June 2014 to 42.9 per cent as of June 2024, and estimated to have reached 43.5 per cent in the first half of 2024-25. Bankruptcy and indebtedness related suicides increased from 1.8 per cent in 2014 to 4.1 per cent this year.

Pressurising the alliance partner to accrue more political and electoral benefit has certainly not been an alien concept. It has been in vogue for pretty long time. Obviously to look at the frequent visit of Rahul Gandhi to Bihar from the perspective of pressuring RJD to concede more seats to Congress during the October assembly election would be a flawed analysis. A weak political party is always vulnerable and it cannot be supposed to dictate the terms. Congress is not an exception.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The appointment of M. A. Baby as the general secretary of the CPI(M) marks the beginning of a new phase in the party’s political history.

KOLKATA: Though happy that ultimately the warring Manipur groups – the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos – sat across the table with the Union government on April 5, Saturday in New Delhi yet the home ministry team led by advisor (North-East) A K Mishra has had its share of disappointment that its much-desired joint resolution as an outcome of the meeting did not fructify. In the words of political observers and civil society organization representatives who kept themselves informed on the proceedings, it was an intense disappointment which can be described as one “bordering on anger”.