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KOLKATA: Political observers, bureaucrats – retired and serving – and employees’ unions in Manipur are intrigued at the prolonged indecision on the part of the Union government on the issue of appointment of advisors to aid and assist the Governor who is in command of the administration since February 13 when President’s rule was imposed on the state. Thus, almost 10 weeks have passed but there is no word yet on posting advisors.

ROME: There may come a time when we look back on the last decade as an anomaly in the modern history of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis — the figurehead of these years, and a radical by the standards of the Catholic hierarchy — is gone, and we are now likely to see a major shift in the political orientation of the Holy See. Ultimately, and ominously, the death of Francis could well mean that the papacy ends up finding itself aligned with the global far right.

President Trump knows what he wants from the rest of the world but it appears he may not have worked out how to achieve it. Since February 1 this year when new tariffs were announced, there have been rapid flip flops on policy.

Filmic conclusions can be happy and unhappy. This one is filmic because it began with an interview involving filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar and needs a grand opening: Will cousins Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray end estrangement and join hands against the BJP and the Shinde Sena? To Manjrekar, Raj Thackeray is the sort who will employ "anything for Maharashtra", a sentiment that tugs at the heart of every ‘Marathi’.

NEW YORK: U.S. Vice President JD Vance held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday as New Delhi looked to avoid the 27% American tariffs, but, negotiate a bilateral trade deal with Washington and strengthen ties with the Trump administration. Modi had established a personal rapport with Trump in his first term in 2017 when the Howdy Modi event took in place in Houston, and Trump’s spectacular show in Motera stadium in Ahmedabad subsequently named as Modi Stadium.

The visit of the US vice president, J.D. Vance beginning Monday indicates a subtle turn in the relations between the two countries, India and US. There is a personal note in this four day visit amidst the turmoil in global trade over Trump’s tariff war.. Vance is known as a hawk and bit abrasive also. But there is another side, his family- his wife Usha a lawyer of Indian origin who has pride in her Telugu ancestry. Through Usha, Vance is conversant with much of Indian culture and history.

India is in urgent need to save its cities, people, and economy from multiple crises. Politics in classification of urban and rural areas may not save it, rather it creates mismatch between the stark reality on the ground and the proper planning and effective action plan. There is no escape from urban transformation now, or else the country would fall into unprecedented crisis.

RSS had worked out an inclusive strategy to arouse majoritarian communal passion in Bengal and turn the state in an ethnic violence turf, but even before the mission could be accomplished the plot got exposed. After initial incidents of violence that took place on April 11, which claimed two lives, the Hindus and Muslims of Murshidabad had come to realise that they have been made to walk through minefield and quietly retreated.

The Bihar polls at the end of the year are pretty unpredictable. As of now, there will be no cakewalk for the BJP, RJD, Congress or the JD(U). The churning is quietly taking place in Bihar politics. There could be a potential shift in power dynamics. The BJP, playing second fiddle to the Janata Dal (United) for the past two decades, is eyeing a lead role. The RJD wants to form the head the government.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey was in his 'no holds barred' role Saturday, targeting the Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna and the Supreme Court for "taking sides" in the alleged “religious wars”, Dubey claimed was raging in India. Dubey accused CJI Khanna of being the kingpin.