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Europe, which has always been vocal about its past history and civilization as well its contribution to the making of the modern world, has never faced such humiliation in the hands of its transatlantic ally the USA in the last eighty years since the end of the Second World War in 1945.The media leak on Tuesday of the confidential conversations between the high officials including the vice-president J D Vance revealed the extent of contempt the Trump 2.0 administration has for its NATO allies in Europe.

The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, Better known as the OECD, has produced its global debt survey for 2025, which paints a rather grim picture of overall indebtedness of countries across the development and income spectrum.

Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province in terms of area has been rocked by multiple massive attacks recently. These attacks by Baloch insurgents, especially the attack on the Jaffar Express by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have raised a very valid question: Is the Pakistani Army really in control of Balochistan?

KOLKATA: With international assistance to Bangladesh on account of its feeding and sheltering a million Rohingyas to be sharply reduced from next month (April), Bangladeshi interim caretaker regime is lobbying hard to secure more help from abroad.

NEW YORK: In a big win for senior citizens, federal workers, and anyone else Social Security covers or who pays payroll taxes, a federal judge in Greenbelt, Md., tossed Elon Musk—Donald Trump’s puppeteer—and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency out of Social Security’s offices and its files. Thousands also marched in 150 cities across the country yesterday demanding an end to Trump efforts to privatize the U.S. Postal Service.

NEW YORK: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has never faced a revolt like this before. The broad left has never pulled its punches when it comes to the eight-term senator, suspicious of his Wall Street ties and unhappy with willingness to strike deals with Donald Trump. But it’s not the Left that Schumer has to worry about these days. Over the past week, Schumer has faced an unprecedented barrage of often public criticism and rebuke from within his own party, longtime Democratic loyalists, and party-aligned media outlets.

Is the Bangladesh Army going to take over control of their politically turbulent country, either from front or behind, to precipitate the holding of early elections? This question is being raised by the seasoned political observers in Dhaka, as the whole of last week was dominated by highly controversial posts on Facebook, Instagram, interviews in YouTube channels and both formal and unofficial interventions by the country’s top army officials through statements and meetings.

Another maverick action by United States President Donald Trump, launching large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi pirates, who have made cargo movement through the Red Sea a high-risk exercise since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza broke out over a year ago. At a stake is nearly 12 percent of the global trade and 30 percent of global container traffic. The trade is worth over US$1 trillion annually between Asia and Europe, which transit through the Red Sea. Although the Indian Navy has been active in the region to frequently rescue vessels under Houthi attacks, it is not enough. The Houthi pirates are generally selective about their targets. They are mostly after US, UK and Israeli flag carriers or cargo vessels linked with the countries supporting Israel, directly or indirectly, against Hamas militants. Incidentally, a large portion of India’s sea trade engages foreign flag carriers.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, of Indian origin, is in the news these days. Her team has returned safely to Earth after spending nine months in space. They intended to be in space for eight days, but technical problems extended their mission. The spacecraft returned without them in September. This week, they landed in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov.

On Wednesday, last week, the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor - the largest Turkish city- could be described as a watershed moment in the country’s continued shift away from democracy. Opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fear it is a move to sideline the sole challenger capable of defeating him in upcoming elections, expected before 2028.