Left, Right & Centre

Ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, the annual Global Risks Report 2024 is out. The report is a critical study that captures insights from nearly 1,500 global experts. The report indicates a deteriorating global outlook from a short- and long-term perspective.  We are joined by Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the WEF. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about China in London. He said that there is a greater understanding now in China that India is no longer weak and we have become a powerful nation. At a time when China continues its territorial aggression across the Himalayas, is India standing up to China after the 2020 setback?

The Congress today declared that it would skip the massive inauguration ceremony being planned for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, saying it was a "political project" of the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The party said its leaders -- party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi and the party's Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury -- who received the invitation, have declined. Is this political hara-kiri ahead of the general elections?

At a time when there is a social media trend asking people to boycott the Maldives after derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Maldivian leaders. The President of the Maldives, who is now in Beijing, has appealed to China to intensify efforts to send more tourists to his country. All this at a time when opposition leaders in the Maldives say they are opposed to the President and what is perceived to be his anti-India stance.

India's aviation regulator flags concern with the Boeing 737 Max aircraft in service with three Indian airlines at a time when there have been international headlines over an Alaska Airlines aircraft which had an explosive decompression on board during a flight which resulted in an emergency exit being blown off the aircraft. The incident in India is not related to the Alaska Airlines incident but the regulator, the DGCA, has said that in the course of inspections, a washer was missing in the critical tail assembly of one of the aircraft. Meanwhile, United Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the world, has said that they have found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft  - this is all bad news for Boeing amid concerns on the manufacturing standards of an aircraft that has had a poor safety reputation.

The Supreme Court today ruled that 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots but released early for "good behaviour" must return to jail. The convicts have to surrender within two weeks, the court said, cancelling Gujarat's decision to release them. Watch Left Right & Centre.  

At a time when the Maldivian President is in China and Beijing has already been making statements on how India needs to stay open-minded about China's cooperation with South Asian countries. Who stands to gain from tension between India and the Maldives? Watch Left Right and Centre.

The Supreme Court today ruled that 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots but released early for "good behaviour" must return to jail. Listen in to Bilkis Bano's lawyer Shobha Gupta's conversation with NDTV.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been skipping ED summons, addressed a press conference and asked why he is being summoned when the crucial general elections are just months away. The BJP said Mr Kejriwal is guilty and is hence running away from the investigation. Can Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren be arrested for failing to appear before the ED after receiving summons? Is the no-show a defiance of the rule of law? How is this optics helping AAP?  

Eighty-two people were killed when two blasts struck the city of Kerman in Iran on Wednesday. Thousands had gathered at a cemetery to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of senior military commander General Qassem Soleimani. The attack is one of the deadliest to have hit the country in over 50 years. Twelve nations led by the United States on Wednesday jointly warned Yemen's Houthi rebels of unspecified consequences unless they halt attacks on Red Sea shipping vessels.

A three-judge bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud has found that prison manuals in more than 10 states, including UP, Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, continue to have provisions that sanction discrimination and forced labour on the grounds of caste in prisons. The court has asked for a response from the states and the Union within four weeks.

In a huge victory for the Adani Group, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the report by the OCCRP - an organisation funded by billionaire George Soros, among others - can't be the basis for doubting the capital markets regulator SEBI's investigation into the Hindenburg case. Delivering the judgment, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said there were no grounds to transfer the probe to a special investigation team (SIT). The court also made several other key observations. Significantly, the court ruled that reliance on newspaper reports and third-party organisations to question the statutory regulator does not inspire confidence.  On Left Right and Centre we go through the judgement in the Supreme Court with some of the country's leading lawyers, ex-SEBI officials and market experts.

Five people aboard a Japan coast guard aircraft died Tuesday when it hit a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the ground in a fiery collision at Tokyo's Haneda airport. All 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger plane which burst into flames were safely evacuated, Japanese transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters. But five of the six crew members from the smaller plane -- bound for central Japan after Monday's huge earthquake -- died, Saito said. On Left Right & Centre, we take a look at what went wrong.

In Manipur after violence on the first day of the new year, another spell of violence was reported from Moreh on the Myanmar border today. In the last 24 hours at least 4 persons have died and at least 15 people are injured including seven security personnel who had to be airlifted from Moreh to Imphal. Once again raising the concerns over looted automatic weapons. Watch Left Right & Centre.  

As the country gears up for the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, invitations to attend the ceremony are being extended to several politicians, businessmen, sportspersons and prominent people from all walks of life. But the invites to political leaders seems to have once again led to a rift within the INDIA bloc. The dilemma of whether to attend or not has now taken the centrestage. Watch Left Right and Centre.

January 1, 2024, was about India starting a new mission to solve what is among the oldest mysteries of the universe - black holes. The 260-tonne rocket carries an advanced astronomy observatory meant to study black holes and neutron stars. With this, India has become the second country after the US to have such a specialised 'observatory' of this kind to study black holes. Watch Left Right and Centre.

The idea of Ram has become a central one in political discourse with the big battle for 2024 just months away. The huge crowds that came out on the streets of Ayodhya today to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit are the biggest testimony to the fact that this idea resonates with people. The symbolism, however, is much bigger: the BJP is pitching for a larger social and economic prosperity that the idea of Ram represents. Watch author and former MP and diplomat Pavan K Varma decode this.

Eight Navy veterans sentenced to death by a Qatar court in October - for charges not yet known - will now face commuted punishments. The Indian government has said it is in "close touch with the legal team, as well as family members, to decide on the next steps".  On Left, Right and Centre, we discuss the different possibilities that lie ahead in this case.

Indian cricket star KL Rahul says staying away from social media makes you happier. His comments may be stating the obvious, but how many of us listen? On Left, Right and Centre, we take on the question do we all need a digital detox?

Days after four soldiers were killed in action in an encounter, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delivered a strong message during his visit to Rajouri. His visit comes after three innocent civilians were picked up, tortured and killed. The Minister met civilians in hospital who survived the torture and are now recovering. On Left Right and Centre we take on the question: What's turning Rajouri into a terrorist hotbed and how can it be tackled?