DOHA: Qatar has suspended its role as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until Hamas and Israel show “seriousness” in talks, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at … Read more
While critics allege so, I have tried to believe that the Election Commission of India (EC) is not partial and discriminatory in implementing its constitutional obligation of conducting elections freely and fairly. However, recently — and much to my own disillusionment — I found that the allegations appear to be true. I tried to reach … Read more
I’m not a ditherer like Hamlet. Nor do I have mood swings, but it’s been almost two decades since the Kindle was launched, and I’m still not quite sure what deserves more votes: physical books or e-readers. It’s just that as I grow older, my needs constantly change. I confess that when the Kindle made … Read more
Though relations between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have recently improved after a brief period of tension, there is considerable speculation about Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s recent disclosure that he has sought the Sangh’s help in the upcoming Assembly elections. Different interpretations are being offered by … Read more
The devil is in the details and, if you happen to be in politics, the fine print can end up being the devil. Appearing to have to contend with this is K.T. Rama Rao, BRS working president, now in the Opposition, and wearing a new protector-of-the-bureaucratic-conscience hat. KTR recently advised bureaucrats, IAS babus to be … Read more
Every single Indian following the news knows who won the Presidential election in the United States of America last week. But the same people may draw a blank if asked to identify the top honchos of neighbouring Nepal or Sri Lanka, nations with which India has cultural links. Why does the politics of a country … Read more
Hyderabad: A two-panel bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao will continue to hear a batch of writ appeals filed by the state against an order passed to direct the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to expedite decisions on the petitions of disqualification of MLAs. The … Read more
America’s once and future President appears to have outdone himself in his latest and most spectacular achievement. The experienced leader that he is, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to hit the ground running, especially on his favourite subject: the avoidance of war. There are two areas in which much of the strategic community is immediately … Read more
Hyderabad: “My government, unlike the previous BRS regime, did not sell an inch of land to mobilise resources in the last 11 months but managed to meet the expenditure of thousands of crores of rupees for welfare and development,” asserted Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. In an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle, the Chief Minister … Read more
The world of civil services, in my experience, is a peculiar one, often misunderstood, trapped within the narrow corridors of perception, where reality rarely pierces through. I am reminded of a time, many years ago, in 1989, when I was a probationer at the LBSNAA Academy, Mussoorie and heard a joke that has since lingered … Read more