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Monday, March 16, 2026
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Newsmaker of the Week

Ready smile & mild manner to ‘bowing before ruling party’—Om Birla’s evolution as Speaker

The extraordinary step by the Opposition to seek Birla’s removal has been a long time in the making—one bitter confrontation after another.

K-pop is on trial after Ghaziabad sisters’ deaths. Probe hints it was their only escape

What began as a local tragedy spiralled into a national debate about Korean content, its growing popularity among young people in India, and whether it had pushed the sisters over the edge.

Ajit Pawar’s death brings new churn to Maharashtra politics. Pawar family still holds the key

To carry forward Ajit Pawar’s political legacy, Sunetra Pawar would be given the mandate. It means power may remain in his family, and the other faction may have to wait longer.

The world’s issues took a back seat at Davos. WEF was all about satiating Trump

The main draw at this year’s summit was Trump’s appearance, his first since 2018. The US President spent an hour attacking and defending Europe in the same breath.

Iran now looks closer to rupture than reform. Foreign powers will try to seize opportunity

In power for 36 years, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has governed through a rigid adherence to a theological ideology and an absolute rejection of political reform.

Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’, the Western Hemisphere, and unravelling of the global order

The end of the Cold War in the 1990s brought an end to the ideological spheres of influence that had defined the post-World War II period, envisioned as a fight between the capitalist West and the communist East.

Attack on Hindus, Khaleda’s death & Jamaat—Bangladesh is grappling with crises on many fronts

As everyone welcomed the new year, a 50-year-old Hindu man was set on fire in Bangladesh—the fourth such attack in two weeks. The foothold of their version of the Far-Right is growing.

Is justice in Unnao case back on 2018 track? ‘Rights’ for Sengar, ‘kaal’ for victim

Delhi High Court did not question the rape or Kuldeep Sengar’s culpability in the crimes for which he is convicted, making the suspension of his sentence even more chilling.

With MGNREGA dismantled, Modi govt now has to prepare for upheaval in rural economy

That the Modi government would actually dismantle the architecture of one of the UPA era’s most significant rural welfare programmes, and remove MK Gandhi’s name, took the Opposition by surprise.

IndiGo chaos forces DGCA to look inward—spotlight is back on the regulator

The crisis also puts DGCA’s vacancies in the eye of the storm. Naidu told the Rajya Sabha in July this year that 190 out of 410 DGCA vacancies would be filled this year.

On Camera

Free gas to waivers, govt-owned gas firms roll out incentives to push households from LPG to PNG

IGL, MGL & other city gas distributors announce benefits to encourage LPG users to shift to piped natural gas as Centre flags concerns over LPG supply in the wake of Iran conflict.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba, the man Iran must keep alive & the secret force ‘tasked with it’—all about NOPO

The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.

Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies

Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.