The much-delayed Fourth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee met in Beijing from October 20-23. Of the seven plenary sessions during a CCP congress, the fourth typically focuses on strengthening the party and governance. At this meeting, the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026–2030, personnel appointments and policy changes took precedence over other matters.
Transit-oriented Development can curb India's urban dysfunctions by integrating land use with transport, but fragmented governance, weak execution, and poor planning hinder its transformative potential.
It was excellent journalism on the part of Pranshu Verma and Ravi Nair to do the Washington Post story on the government having persuaded LIC to invest in Adani at a time when global investors were hesitant in the wake of an American case against Adani for having bribed officials in India and for having raised funds from American investors on false pretences. Kudos to the two, and to WaPo for publishing the story that Indian publications would have been reluctant to.
From the exploitative moneylender of iconic movies like Mother India to the factory owner who employs goons to beat up workers who dare to stand up against exploitation, the protagonist of business has tended to be portrayed, in the public discourse, as being deficient in ethics. Of late, a subspecies of the immoral tycoon has grownlarger than life: the crony capitalist.
Even as Hurricane Melissa ripped off roofs in Jamaica, killed dozens in Haiti, and wreaked damage in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, another kind of whirlwind swept through South-East and East Asia. US president Donald Trump visited Malaysia, Japan and South Korea in rapid succession, taking home trade deals, a gold medal and a gold crown, the latter two artefacts being gifts — bribes, say the uncharitable — from South Korea.
The most momentous event of the last week has been the Gaza ceasefire. It has brought respite for Palestinians from genocidal slaughter and famine, and brought 20 hostages back home to Israel. The peace deal is still fragile, and could unravel.
The Arctic region is emerging as a strategic arena for geopolitical competition among both Arctic and non-Arctic superpowers. It comprises the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States, Canada, Greenland (Denmark’s autonomous territory), and Iceland. The once largely ice-covered Arctic ocean is melting due to the accelerating effects of climate change, thereby opening up new opportunities for energy exploration and potential transit routes which are significantly shorter than the traditional Suez canal route.