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✍️ Written by Saket Suman In Bihar’s never-ending political circus, the 2025 Assembly elections have descended into a theatre of implosion, betrayal, and tactical demolition. What was initially thought of as a contest over vision, governance, and employment has degenerated into a free-for-all -- dominated by muscle power, money, and managed failures. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Pic via the former. Let’s not sugarcoat it. The BJP has outsmarted, out-organised, and outmanoeuvred every other party in this election. But its biggest victory is not at the polling booths. It is in the boardrooms of Bihar’s collapsing political alliances -- especially the JDU. With surgical precision, BJP has allowed Nitish Kumar’s party to rot from within, offering just enough rope for it to hang itself. From baffling ticket distributions to social media optics that never translated on the ground, the JDU looks more like a party planning for defeat than one contesting for power. ...

Pakistan and the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan have agreed to a fresh immediate ceasefire, Qatar’s foreign ministry announced early Sunday, October 19, 2025. The breakthrough came during high-stakes talks in Doha, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, following over a week of deadly confrontations along the porous and disputed 1,600-mile border shared by the two nations. Image Source: Rafiullah Nizkad The agreement comes amid a surge in violence that had persisted despite previous temporary truces. According to the terms laid out in a statement from Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, both sides have committed to halting hostilities, refraining from targeting each other’s forces, civilians, and critical infrastructure. Crucially, Kabul has pledged not to allow Afghan territory to be used as a base for groups launching attacks against Pakistan -- a longstanding point of contention between the two neighbours. Fighting had erupted on October 10, when Afghanistan accused Pakistan of ca...

Millions of Americans took to the streets across all 50 states in one of the largest protest mobilizations in recent U.S. history, under the banner of the “No Kings” movement. With over 2,700 demonstrations recorded nationwide, organizers said the turnout surpassed seven million participants--an escalation from June’s initial wave of protests that drew around five million.  Image Source: Alex Cole Saturday’s action was largely peaceful, but undeniably potent, as it unfolded against a backdrop of mounting national tension: a protracted government shutdown, sweeping immigration raids, and growing alarm over the erosion of democratic norms. The demonstrations, spread from urban centers like New York City and Chicago to small-town squares in rural America, were a defiant stand against what many view as President Donald Trump’s consolidation of unchecked executive power.  Protesters--diverse in background and motive--voiced concern over perceived threats to the country’s founding ...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday addressed a press conference in New Delhi where both male and female journalists were present. This is a marked departure from the earlier controversy that erupted over the exclusion of women reporters from a similar event. Speaking at the presser, Muttaqi addressed the backlash over the earlier incident, saying the exclusion of women was not deliberate but rather a result of logistical constraints.  Women journalists at Taliban Presser. Image Via: Dr Pooja Tripathi “Regarding the press conference, it was due to the short notice. The participation list was prepared with specific journalists, and it was neither a technical issue nor any deliberate exclusion. It was not intended,” he said. The clarification came after significant condemnation from opposition leaders, press freedom bodies, and civil society.  The Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) had issued strong statem...

The newly appointed U.S. Ambassador-designate to India, Sergio Gor, began his diplomatic innings with a whirlwind tour of New Delhi’s power corridors, marking his arrival with high-profile meetings and a strong show of bilateral optimism.  His engagements included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and a closely watched sit-down with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.  External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with newly appointed U.S. Ambassador-designate to India. “We just finished an incredible meeting with Prime Minister Modi, where we discussed bilateral issues, including defence, trade, and technology,” Gor said. He underlined the alignment of strategic priorities between the world’s two largest democracies. His message, though carefully diplomatic, reflected the unmistakable imprimatur of the Trump administration.  “The U.S. values its relationship with India, and under the strong le...

In what could mark a turning point in one of the most intractable conflicts in modern history, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced that both Israel and Hamas have formally signed off on the first phase of his Middle East peace plan.  “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump posted on his social media platform, calling it a “Historic and Unprecedented Event.” Israel and Hamas have formally signed off on the first phase of his Middle East peace plan. According to Trump, the deal ensures that “ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon,” referencing the hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers held captive by Hamas since the October 7 attacks.  In return, “Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.” . @SecRubio at today's vigil for hostage families and survivors of Hamas’s heinous October 7 attacks: "Th...

Darjeeling and the wider North Bengal region have been brought to a standstill as torrential rains have triggered catastrophic landslides, washed away bridges, and left at least 18 people dead with many more feared missing.  The devastation spread rapidly across the hills and adjoining plains. It has severed access to multiple regions and stranding tourists, residents, and entire villages in a disaster that has exposed the region’s acute infrastructural vulnerability. Authorities say the death toll is likely to rise;  Image Source: Chat News Hub Heavy rainfall since Saturday night caused hill slopes to give way in key transit areas including Dilaram, Rohini, Whistle Khola, and Pulbazar, destroying homes and paralysing movement. One of the worst incidents occurred near Mirik, where the collapse of a bridge killed nine people and cut off entire clusters of villages.  Several other casualties were reported from Sukhiapokhri and isolated hill communities. In many locations, r...

In a rare national address that felt both deeply personal and politically resolute, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer confronted the country with a moral truth: Britain, in 2025, remains a place where people still live in fear -- and where religious violence is a modern, multiplying threat. File Photo Credit: Keir Starmer Starmer’s message came just hours after a deadly terrorist attack at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur . But his words were about more than an isolated act of violence. They were about Britain itself.  “Earlier today on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish community, a vile individual committed a terrorist attack… attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values.” This framing -- terrorism as an attack not just on lives but on values — is deliberate. Starmer positions the violence not only as a hate crime, but as an affront to the foundational idea of Britain as a pluralistic society: a sanctuary, a home, and a place where peo...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Mahatma Gandhi’s The Story of My Experiments with Truth is not the story of a perfect man as political heavyweights present themselves to be -- and that is perhaps precisely why it endures still today. It is a book filled with self-doubt, failures, confessions, and contradictions. But it remains one of the most powerful examples of a life devoted to truth, however painful, however incomplete that pursuit may be. Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize a few days before he was assassinated. There’s something profoundly disarming about the way Gandhi presents himself. He does not hide behind legacy, myth, or moral superiority. He does not edit out the parts of himself that might be mocked or misunderstood. Instead, he offers his life as a series of experiments -- some noble, some naive, but all of them are deeply personal. The tone is intimate, often vulnerable.  You feel, as a reader, that you are being let in. Attended a prayer meeting at Gandhi Sm...

In a brazen act of violence on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a man drove his car into worshippers outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, before launching a knife attack that left two civilians dead and three seriously injured.  Greater Manchester Police; Image Source: Mario Nawfal The attacker, identified by police but not publicly named, was shot dead by armed officers at the scene. Authorities have declared the incident a terrorist attack. We condemn the terror attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, during Yom Kippur services today. It is particularly saddening that this heinous act was committed on the International Day of Non-violence. This attack is yet another grim reminder of the challenge we… — Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 2, 2025 The Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom condems the attack carried out today on Yom Kippur at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester. That such an act of vi...