Nepal lawmakers urge govt to stop sending Nepalese students to KIIT, Odisha
They proposed denying No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to any student seeking enrolment at the institute, according to the Parliament Secretariat sources.
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Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
The Weekly Vine Edition 48: Trump's Hammer, Gill's Slip, and Zohran's Vibe
Nirmalya Dutta's political and economic views vacillate from woke Leninist to Rand-Marxist to Keynesian-Friedmanite. He doesn't know what any of those terms mean. Hello and welcome to another edition of the Weekly Vine. This week, we take stock of the winners and losers in the Middle East, examine India's chastening defeat in the first Test of the England series, explain why the U-2 bomber strike on Tehran felt straight out of Top Gun: Maverick, discuss the new king of New York, and reflect on the importance of speech and silence. The Trump Doctrine One has never seen Trump this angry—not even when he was shot at—as he unleashed a barrage of F-bombs at reporters after Israel violated his ceasefire. (To be fair, he now has a proper Chamberlain-like track record of announcing ceasefires that don't actually exist.) He lashed out, calling Israel and Iran 'two countries who have been fighting so long they don't know what the f*** they are doing.' But when one keeps score of the recent Middle East fracas, the biggest winners are clear: Donald Trump, the neocons, and the American military-industrial complex, who reminded the world that they still have the power to wipe out any nation, anytime they want. Another major winner is Benjamin Netanyahu, who has now undergone a full Churchillian redemption arc (starvation et al.) to emerge as the most powerful man in the Middle East—after decimating every single member of the Axis of (No?) Resistance. On the other hand, the biggest losers are undoubtedly Iran's allies: Hamas, who may now wonder whether their ill-advised October 7 incursion into Israel was worth losing everything over; Hezbollah, who may never look at pagers the same way again; and the Bashar regime, increasingly isolated. Add to that list Pakistan and General Asim Munir, who had to condemn Trump after nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize—and then, while his repast had barely made it past the bowel, condemned America for striking Iran. Ummah unity? What's that? Also conspicuously missing were the Chinese and Russians—two nations that mouthed homilies about restraint while silently absorbing the lesson that Uncle Sam still does what he wants, when he wants. So what is the Trump Doctrine? As an unnamed official once told Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic: 'The Trump Doctrine is: 'We're America, bi****.'' Read: Winners and Losers of the Middle East Conflict A New Hope Ten years from now, we might look back at the Headingley Test and see something different. A turning point, maybe. A lesson, definitely. But right now? Right now, every Indian fan is wondering how we lost a Test where four senior batters scored centuries, Jasprit Bumrah delivered a five-for, and Rishabh Pant was poetry on steroids. On paper, it should have been a win wrapped with a post-match selfie. Instead, the lower order folded like a Trump supporter when asked to explain how bombing Iran aligns with the MAGA promise of ending foreign wars. The slip cordon dropped more chances than your average teenager drops their Wi-Fi signal. The fielding? So village, it would make the Sunday League look like Premier League footballers. And yes, questions will be—and should be—asked of Shubman Gill's captaincy. For long stretches on the final day, Gill looked like a study in Sir Humphrey Appleby's favourite activity: masterless inaction. Mohammed Siraj, the best bowler on display, wasn't handed the ball for 39 overs. Jadeja was allowed to keep bowling into Ben Duckett's arc before finally adjusting his line. The bowling plans were hazy. The field placements reactive. The leadership felt uncertain. But let's also remember: Virat Kohli lost his first full series opener in Galle. MS Dhoni lost in Chennai. Gill's learning curve will be steep, but it's a curve nonetheless. This was only his sixth first-class game as captain. He's got a long way to go, but the tools are there. The real takeaway might be in what we didn't see. India didn't crumble. They didn't freeze. For much of the game, they dominated. They got themselves into winning positions twice. And even on the final day, despite everything, they still had England jittery. That's not nothing. The team is still carrying the steel that Kohli, Dhoni, and before them Ganguly instilled. And yes, the coach was the complete antithesis of Laughing Buddha post-match, which is fair, considering that's his actual name. But even in that scowl, there was a spark of something else. This loss hurt. But it also revealed that, flaws and all, India can still go toe to toe with England in England, even in transition. They made us believe. They lit a fire. Like the fourth episode of Star Wars, this was no triumph—but it was A New Hope. Gill isn't Luke yet, and this isn't the Death Star. But the Force is there. You Don't Mess with the Zohran My favourite anecdote about Zohran Mamdani, is the fact that he convinced his mother, Mira Nair, to cast Kal Penn as Gogol in The Namesake—based on the book by Jhumpa Lahiri, which is a whole genre of publishing based on Bengalis writing and reading about how it feels to be Bengali—after watching him in the stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Now, one can't forgive him for that, given the fact that Penn didn't sound Bengali by any stretch of the imagination, but Harold and Kumar definitely was a stellar moment of Indian representation in American culture. And now Zohran is on his way to creating a new sort of representation, if he can become the first Indian-origin mayor of New York City. Except this time, he's not doing it with a stoner comedy—but with lo-fi political cinema, socialist swag, and the kind of Gen Z zeitgeist that makes Chuck Schumer look like a rotary phone. He didn't just defeat former governor Andrew Cuomo, who treated the race like a comeback tour, or Brad Lander, who ran on earnest liberalism and old-school endorsements—he made them look like relics from a pre-Instagram era. From campaign posters that look like Bollywood teasers to rallies that double as Instagram moodboards, Zohran isn't asking voters to believe in hope—he's asking them to vibe. Read: How Zohran flipped the Trump playbook Top Gun Maverick Redux op Gun: Maverick wasn't just a blockbuster—it was a revival of Reagan-era masculinity, unapologetic patriotism, and practical spectacle. No identity politics, no green screen overload—just Tom Cruise, real jets, and raw nostalgia. Three years later, Donald Trump's stealth strike on Iran's Fordow nuclear facility—Operation Midnight Hammer—feels less like policy and more like a cinematic sequel. The parallels are uncanny. In Maverick, Cruise's team bombs a secret uranium facility tucked in a mountain. In real life, B-2 bombers flew halfway around the world to obliterate Iran's actual enrichment site near Qom. The mission briefing in both was the same: protect unnamed 'regional allies,' read: Israel. But while Maverick ended with high-fives and flags, Trump's version has stirred discontent within his MAGA base. What happened to 'no more endless wars'? Why are American bombers fighting someone else's battles again? Even Elon Musk criticised Trump for abandoning fiscal restraint in favour of Pentagon theatrics. The irony is rich. Trump once mocked past presidents for meddling abroad. Now he's orchestrated a strike straight out of Cold War playbook—with Hollywood flair. Top Gun: Maverick might have inspired enlistments; Trump's strike might inspire questions: Whose war was this really? In the end, the jets flew, the bunkers crumbled, and Tom Cruise probably grinned somewhere. But Washington is left with a more sobering afterburner: when your foreign policy looks like a movie script, don't be surprised if people forget who the director is. Read: How Trump's Operation Midnight Hammer was just like Top Gun: Maverick Post-Script: Every word has a consequence Some mornings, I wake up and feel like I've wandered into a Beckett play with bad lighting. The coffee's still bitter, the headlines still absurd, and the world still insists on its commitment to performative collapse. NASA, in its usual quietly panicked way, says droughts and floods have doubled. Not nudged, not nudging—doubled. It's the sort of data that should prompt emergency sessions, maybe a global reckoning or two. Instead, we get hashtags, panel discussions, and climate ministers giving interviews from fossil-fuel-sponsored lounges. Britain, meanwhile, is crisping. 32 degrees in southeast England. '100 times more likely,' say the models, thanks to climate change. One imagines Queen Victoria rising from the grave just to slap the thermostat. And yet, we carry on—browsing weekend getaways, debating air conditioner brands—while pretending this is normal. But what's truly deafening is the silence. The bureaucratic stillness. The studied inaction. Albert Camus wrote of the absurd as 'a confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.' But I'd argue the world is no longer silent. It's shrieking. The unreasonable silence now lies squarely on our end. Read: Every word has a consequence. Every silence too… Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Hans India
MLA Sindhura urges Irrigation Min to release pending land compensation for farmers
Vijayawada: Puttaparthi MLA Palle Sindhura Reddy, along with former minister Dr Palle Raghunatha Reddy, met Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu in Amaravati on Tuesday, urging him to sanction the pending land compensation for farmers who lost their lands under the 9th package of the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi project near Puttaparthi. The MLA brought to the Minister's notice that several farmers in Pedda Kammavaripalli village, under Ward 20 of Puttaparthi Municipality, had their lands acquired in 2017 during the previous TDP government for canal construction under Survey No. 374, but have not received any compensation to date. While some farmers under the same survey number were granted compensation at the rate of ₹23 lakhs per acre, others such as Mummaneni Venkata Narayana, Mummaneni Rammohan, and a few more are still awaiting their dues. The MLA emphasized that despite eight years passing, the affected farmers have not been compensated. They also pointed out that land prices have significantly increased since 2017, and urged the government to reassess and ensure appropriate compensation is paid in line with current land values. They appealed for immediate and fair resolution in favor of the affected farmers. In response, Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and assured that the government is committed to supporting the affected farming community. He promised to seek detailed reports from district officials regarding the pending compensation under the 9th package of the Handri-Neeva canal and take swift action to ensure justice is delivered. The minister also pledged to investigate the reasons for the delay in compensation and address the matter promptly.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Indian Express
Unease in Delhi Police: ‘If we have to manage law & order at these places, we must have a say'
The decision to withdraw powers from the Licensing unit of Delhi Police for obtaining permission or No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for hotels, eateries, discotheques, amusement parks, swimming pools, and auditoriums has created unease within the police brass. The Indian Express spoke to police officers, serving and retired, who said that since they are the first line of defence in tragedies, divorcing them from the process may not be the 'best move'. Former Delhi Police commissioner, S N Srivastava, said, 'While it is the government's prerogative to allocate responsibility to its departments, I do not subscribe to the view that the issue of licence for such places of gathering does not have law and order implications. If police have to manage law and order arising out of gathering at these places, it requires a say in such matters.' 'At present, most processes of issue of licence have been made online. Multiple agencies can offer their input on the issue of license in a time-bound manner. There is always scope for improvement. Transferring work from one to another is not always a solution,' Srivastava added. A senior police officer currently in the force said, 'There are several incidents that occur at such places – people get stuck in lifts or drown in swimming pools, incidents are even reported at amusement parks – which are investigated by us. Then why the power to assign these licences have been taken away from us?' Another officer said that even if the process had to be streamlined, inputs and suggestions on how to ensure compliance and safety should have been incorporated into the new process. 'If there is an issue regarding law and order at an amusement park, it very much falls in the domain of the Delhi Police, but if the police officers are kept out, what is the point?' another senior officer said. Sakshi Chand is working as an Assistant Editor with the Indian Express. She has over a decade of experience in covering crime, prisons, traffic and human interest stories. She has also covered the communal clashes in Kasganj, Aligarh, Trilokpuri riots as well as the North-East Delhi riots. Apart from being a journalist, she is also a National level basketball player and a coach. Before joining the Indian Express, she was working for The Times of India. ... Read More
