Podcasts about West Bengal

First, we talk to The Indian Express' Legal Affairs Editor Apurva Vishwanath about the concerns that have been raised by TMC MP Dola Sen regarding the Special Intensive Revision going on in West Bengal and what the Supreme Court had to say about it. Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Anonna Dutt about AI entering the medical sphere. She highlights how AI can be put to use in the healthcare sector, the benefits that it can have the challenges that medical professionals might face due to the same. (9:06)Lastly, we give you updates regarding the class 8 NCERT textbook controversy that arose because it had a section titled "Corruption in Judiciary". (19:35)Hosted by Niharika NandaProduced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

There have been reports of Muslim voters being targeted for deletion through fraudulent use of Form 7 across different states - Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Gujarat and West Bengal. But that's not the only way in which their right to vote is being attacked. The Quint narrates three ways in which this process is taking place and could expand across India. From exposing misinformation to delivering impactful human rights reporting, our newsroom has relentlessly pursued stories that drive change. We remain committed to asking the tough questions — and we'd love for you to be a part of our journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supreme Court का इशारा - President Rule Coming in West Bengal | Mamata Didi का क्या होगा?

Bongani Bingwa speaks to Adam Gilchrist about the global stories making headlines. They begin in the United States, where an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains has left eight backcountry skiers dead and one missing, marking one of the deadliest incidents of its kind in U.S. history.In France, nine people have been arrested following the fatal assault of 23-year-old Quentin Deranque, who died after being beaten in Lyon during an event linked to the left-wing party La France Insoumise, sparking national outrage and political debate. They also look at growing concern in India over a deadly outbreak of the Nipah virus in West Bengal, with several countries tightening airport screening to prevent further spread. 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station. Bongani makes sense of the news, interviews the key newsmakers of the day, and holds those in power to account on your behalf. The team bring you all you need to know to start your day Thank you for listening to a podcast from 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 06:00 and 09:00 (SA Time) to Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa broadcast on 702: https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/36edSLV or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/zEcM35T Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio7See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bongani Bingwa speaks to Adam Gilchrist about the global stories making headlines. They begin in the United States, where an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains has left eight backcountry skiers dead and one missing, marking one of the deadliest incidents of its kind in U.S. history.In France, nine people have been arrested following the fatal assault of 23-year-old Quentin Deranque, who died after being beaten in Lyon during an event linked to the left-wing party La France Insoumise, sparking national outrage and political debate. They also look at growing concern in India over a deadly outbreak of the Nipah virus in West Bengal, with several countries tightening airport screening to prevent further spread. 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station. Bongani makes sense of the news, interviews the key newsmakers of the day, and holds those in power to account on your behalf. The team bring you all you need to know to start your day Thank you for listening to a podcast from 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 06:00 and 09:00 (SA Time) to Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa broadcast on 702: https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/36edSLV or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/zEcM35T Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio7See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Operation Torchlight - West Bengal Election Opinion Poll | Abhishek Tiwari

 Oliver Foran is attempting the impossible: breaking the world record for the fastest human-powered journey from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest in just 60 days.Starting at the Bay of Bengal in India, Ollie will cycle 1,150 kilometers through West Bengal, then trek through the Makalu National Park before summiting the world's tallest mountain. The current record? 67 days. Ollie's aiming for 60.But this isn't just about breaking records.After losing his mother to cancer at 16, Ollie struggled with mental health for years before finding his path through adventure and community. Now he's raising funds to build youth mental health gyms across Australia - safe spaces where young people can access help before they reach crisis point. Check out Oliver and stay updated on his journey:

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you'll hear your fellow listeners from around the world offering their World Radio greetings. There's the answer to the question about France's voluntary military service, The Sound Kitchen Mailbag, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, and a tribute to our Magic Mixer Erwan Rome on “Music FOR Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you'll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you'll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There's Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you'll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week's quiz: On 17 January, I asked you a question about our article “France launches recruitment for 10-month voluntary national military service”. You were to send in the answer to these two questions: How many volunteers will be accepted into the 2026 program, and what will their jobs be?  The answer is, to quote our article: “From September, around 3,000 volunteers will join the army, navy, or air and space force for missions carried out exclusively on French soil. Tasks will range from helping out during natural disasters and providing support for counter-terrorism surveillance, to more specialized jobs such as drone operation, mechanics, electrical work, baking, or medical support.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is the most romantic thing that has ever been said to you? Or the most romantic action? Or the most romantic gift? Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Murshida Parveen Lata, who is the Co-Chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Murshida is also the winner of this week's bonus question Congratulations on your double win, Murshida. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ashraf Ali, a member of the International RFI DX Radio Listeners Club in West Bengal, India; Sumara Sabri, a member of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan; Sameen Riaz – also from Pakistan, this time from Sheikupura city – Sameen is a member of the RFI Listeners Club in that fair city, and last but not least, RFI Listeners Club member Sami Mossad from Giza, Egypt. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's programme: “Fast Bob” by Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg, played by the Rosenberg Ensemble; “La Marseillaise” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, arranged by Claude Bolling and performed by the Claude Bolling Big Band; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children's Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “You're the Top” by Cole Porter, sung by Ella Fitzgerald.   Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, re-read our article “Cambridge University Museum set to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 9 March to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 March podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

Amit Shah will be Real Dhurandhar of 2026 | Predictions on Modi, Yogi, Rahul Gandhi & West Bengal

First, we start with West Bengal, where the formation of a new political front is threatening the TMC's voter base and reshaping the Assembly poll dynamics. Ravik Bhattacharya, the Chief of Bureau at The Indian Express, Kolkata newsroom, explains how Mamata Banerjee's party is responding to pressure from the BJP, central agencies, and emerging minority-led parties. Next, we speak to The Indian Express' Raakhi Jagga about why Indian farmer unions are protesting the India-US interim trade deal. From fears about the dairy sector to worries over tariffs and American agribusiness, we break down what's at stake. (12:40)And finally, we look at Rahul Gandhi's sharp critique of the India-US deal in Parliament, where he accused the Modi government of signing an agreement that undermines national interest. (22:20)Hosted by Ichha SharmaProduced by Shashank Bhargava and Ichha SharmaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been confirmed in India's West Bengal state and at least 190 people have been quarantined. It's prompted multiple countries in Asia to step up airport screenings to prevent the spread of the infection, which at this stage has no vaccine or proven treatment. - Dua kasus virus Nipah yang mematikan telah dikonfirmasi di negara bagian Benggala Barat, India, dan setidaknya 190 orang telah dikarantina. Hal ini mendorong beberapa negara di Asia untuk meningkatkan pemeriksaan bandara guna mencegah penyebaran infeksi, yang pada tahap ini belum memiliki vaksin atau pengobatan yang terbukti efektif.

Dedicamos la primera parte del programa al repaso de los tres discos favoritos de Mundofonías de febrero del 2026, que nos traen los músicos malienses Neba Solo & Benego Diakité, el francés migratorio Jocelyn Mienniel y los italianos del Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. Continuamos en Italia, con un homenaje al músico y profesional de otros ámbitos de la música Erasmo Treglia, para desembocar en la crónica del festival Sur Jahan, en Bengala Occidental, en la India, escuchando músicas ibéricas, bengalíes, letonas y danesas que sonaron por allí. We devote the first part of the programme to a review of Mundofonías’ three favourite albums of February 2026, brought to us by the Malian musicians Neba Solo & Benego Diakité, the French migratory artist Jocelyn Mienniel and the Italian group Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. We continue in Italy with a tribute to the musician and professional in other areas of music Erasmo Treglia, before moving on to a chronicle of the Sur Jahan festival in West Bengal, in India, listening to Iberian, Bengali, Latvian and Danish music that was played there. Favoritos de febrero February favorites - Neba Solo & Benego Diakité - Kodonaw - A djinn and a hunter went walking - Jocelyn Mienniel - Mina zuki - Les instruments migrateurs - Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino - A mmera a Lecce - Il mito Erasmo Treglia y Sur Jahan Erasmo Treglia and Sur Jahan - Acquaragia Drom - Tammuriata del camafro - Mister Romanò - Vigüela - La tía Pitita (peretas) - We - Girish Mandal - Ami jar ghare bas kori - Baul vol. 1: a compilation of Baul songs [V.A.] - Saucējas - Prūjom juoīt, prūjom juoīt - Trīci, munu ustabeni! - Svøbsk - Den langfingrede - Sorgenfri - Zafir - Citywalk-women's talk - Klang i natten Crónica: Report: - Sur Jahan (IN) In memoriam: - Erasmo Treglia

The headlines of the day by The Indian Express

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you'll hear the answer to the question about the knockout tie in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. There's the Sound Kitchen Mailbag, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, Ollia Horton's “Happy Moment”, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome's “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you'll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you'll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There's Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you'll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week's quiz: On 13 December, I asked you a question about Paul Myers' article “Nigeria power past Mozambique into quarterfinals at Africa Cup of Nations”. Nigeria had just beaten Mozambique 4 to 0. Paul noted in his article that the win was the biggest winning margin in a Cup of Nations knockout tie since the Africa Cup in 2010. And that was one of your questions: you were to tell me which countries played in the Africa Cup semi-finals in 2010, and who won that knockout tie by 4 to 0. The second question was: In the Nigeria/Mozambique match, what is the name of the Nigerian player who scored the fourth goal? The answer is, to quote Paul's article: “Akor Adams, fed by Lookman, thrashed in Nigeria's fourth goal 15 minutes from time to notch up the biggest winning margin in a Cup of Nations knockout tie since Egypt battered Algeria 4-0 in the semi-finals at the 2010 tournament in Angola.” So, Egypt/Algeria, and Akor Adams are the correct answers. In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Basak from West Bengal, India: “How do you deal with jealousy when your friend achieves something you secretly wished for?” Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: Amir Jameel, the president of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan.  Amir is also the winner of this week's bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Amir. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sharifun Islam Nitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Faheem Noor, the president of the WULO RFI Club in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. There are also two RFI Listeners Club members: Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark, and S. J. Agboola from Ekiti State, Nigeria. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's programme: “Heer on Sarangi”, traditional music from Pakistan performed by Ustad Sultan Khan; “Water No Get Enemy” by Fela Kuti, performed by Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children's Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and the traditional Andalucian “La Saeta del Larios”, sung by Diana Navarro. Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, re-read our article “French DJ wins Grammy for Lady Gaga remix”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 2 March to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 March podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been confirmed in India's West Bengal state and at least 190 people have been quarantined. - インド・西ベンガル州で致死率の高い「ニパウイルス」の感染が２確認されてたことを受け、アジア諸国では水際対策を強化するなど対応を急いでいます。

E to'a lua tagata ua fa'amaonia le pesia i le vairusi le nipah virus i Initia i le itūmālō o West Bengal.

Modi & Yogi Both are Under Target | Secrets Behind UGC Drama | West Bengal | Abhishek T, Dhirendra P

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been confirmed in India's West Bengal state, and at least 190 people have been quarantined. It's prompted multiple countries in Asia to step up airport screenings to prevent the spread of the infection, which currently has no vaccine or proven treatment. Health Minister Mark Butler says the Australian government is closely monitoring the outbreak. Experts caution that while Nipah is a dangerous virus with a high fatality rate, it does not spread easily from person to person.

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been confirmed in India's West Bengal state and at least 190 people have been quarantined. It's prompted multiple countries in Asia to step up airport screenings to prevent the spread of the infection, which at this stage has no vaccine or proven treatment. However, experts say while it's a dangerous virus with a high fatality rate, it doesn't spread easily from person-to-person. - В индийском штате Западная Бенгалия подтверждены два случая заражения смертельно опасным вирусом Nipah, по меньшей мере 190 человек помещены на карантин. Многие страны Азии усилить проверку в аэропортах, чтобы предотвратить распространение инфекции, для которой на данном этапе нет вакцины или проверенного лечения. Однако эксперты говорят, что, хотя это опасный вирус с высокой смертностью, он нелегко передается от человека к человеку.

【欢迎订阅】每天早上5:30，准时更新。【阅读原文】标题：Health experts scramble to contain outbreak of deadly Nipah virusTwo nurses at a hospital in India are infected with the bat-borne pathogen that inspired the Hollywood film Contagion正文： Two cases of Nipah virus, a rare, bat-borne pathogen, have been confirmed in an Indian hospital, prompting a nationwide alert as well as local quarantine and surveillance measures. The cases, both in nurses working at the private Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in Barasat, West Bengal, 16 miles from the capital city Kolkata, have raised fears that the disease, which inspired the Hollywood film Contagion, could be spreading undetected.知识点：confirm v. /kənˈfɜːrm/to state or show that something is definitely true or correct. 确认；证实e.g. The manager called to confirm my interview appointment for next Monday. 经理打电话确认了我下周一面试的预约。获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！【节目介绍】《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。【适合谁听】1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等）【你将获得】1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been confirmed in India's West Bengal state and at least 190 people have been quarantined. It's prompted multiple countries in Asia to step up airport screenings to prevent the spread of the infection, which at this stage has no vaccine or proven treatment. However, experts say while it's a dangerous virus with a high fatality rate, it doesn't spread easily from person-to-person.

Several Asian countries, including Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, and Pakistan, have tightened border controls and health screenings following Nipah virus cases in India's West Bengal, a highly fatal virus causing fever and brain inflammation with no available vaccine.

This week I'm in conversation with the deep, strong and heartwarming partnership of Amir Chhetri and Priyanka Das, both part of the 2022 cohort of the Coexistence Fellowship.Amir hails from a forest village in northern West Bengal, and his indigenous knowledge on the biodiversity of the landscape and skills in community engagement are unparalleled. From a young age, Amir has worked with the Forest Department and as a safari guide for tourists, and later, has also worked with a range of research and conservation projects. On the other hand, Priyanka is trained in ecology and conservation science and has completed her M.Sc. from the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in Coimbatore. Besides working for various short-term projects in different capacities across India, she has been associated with their current project landscape since 2016. Together, they have worked on a series of projects for about a decade leading up to this Fellowship, and their is a partnership that inspires and keeps giving. Their present project addresses the underlying drivers of human-elephant negative interaction in northern West Bengal by providing technical assistance to the local forest department and monitoring ecological restoration in the degraded forest patches to ensure availability of forage species for elephants, unveiling further nuances of the coexistence world.Here it is now, The Thing About Old Bonds and Elephants with Priyanka and Amir from the Coexistence Fellowship.

Dr. Sanjeev Chopra is a distinguished retired IAS officer of the 1985 batch (West Bengal cadre), celebrated for his transition from a bureaucrat to a prominent historian, author, and literary curator.He is best known for his tenure as the Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, where he played a pivotal role in training India's civil servants. Over a career spanning 36 years, he held various significant portfolios, including Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal in the Department of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises.An alumnus of JNU with a PhD in Management and degrees in Law, History, and Literature, Dr. Chopra has authored influential books such as We, the People of the States of Bharat: The Making and Remaking of India's Internal Boundaries and The Great Conciliator: Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Transformation of India. Currently residing in Dehradun, he is the founder and curator of the "Valley of Words" International Literary and Arts Festival, continuing to bridge the worlds of governance and literature.

In this episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee is joined by Divya Banerjee, founder of Uttarayan Wildlife, for a deeply grounded conversation on elephants, people, and landscapes in eastern India. Drawing on years of frontline conservation experience, Divya shares how elephant conservation in human-dominated regions is inseparable from social justice, livelihoods, and long-term ecosystem recovery.The episode focuses on Asiatic elephants and the rapidly disappearing elephant corridors of southern West Bengal. These corridors once enabled seasonal movement between forests across Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bengal, but today they are heavily fragmented by deforestation, monocropping, and infrastructure expansion. As these wildlife corridors collapse, conflict escalates, placing immense pressure on both elephants and marginal farming communities. Divya explains why elephant corridor conservation is not simply about protecting space, but about restoring ecological functionality across entire landscapes.A major theme of the conversation is ecosystem degradation and its cascading effects. Loss of forest cover, depletion of topsoil, water scarcity, and chemical-intensive agriculture have transformed once-diverse habitats into arid, unproductive land. Divya outlines how ecosystem restoration begins from the ground up, starting with soil regeneration, water retention, and the reintroduction of native plant species. These efforts are critical not only for Asiatic Elephant conservation but also for rebuilding biodiversity and ecological resilience.The episode offers a rare, practical look at community-based conservation in action. Divya describes how local farmers are central to every stage of the work, from nursery management and plantation maintenance to alternative livelihoods such as vermicomposting and beekeeping. These initiatives strengthen local economies while supporting biodiversity conservation and biodiversity management, demonstrating that wildlife conservation is most effective when communities are genuine partners rather than passive stakeholders.This conversation highlights the realities of conserving elephants outside protected areas, the challenges of restoring wildlife corridors in working landscapes, and the long-term commitment required to reverse ecosystem degradation. It is essential listening for anyone interested in elephant conservation, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and people-centred approaches to conservation in India.#elephants #elephantcorridor #elephantcorridorconservation #elephantconservation #Asiaticelephants #asiaticelephantconservation #wildlifecorridor #wildlifeconservation #biodiversityconservation #biodiversitymanagement #biodiversity #ecosystemdegradation #ecosystemrestoration #communitybasedconservation Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

Modi की इस चाल से क्यों परेशान विपक्ष | West Bengal का खेला | BMC से शिव सेना का सफाया | Harsh Kumar

Sweet Excess: Crafting Mishti in Bengal (Routledge, 2025) by Ishita Dey is an ethnographic work on excess. Based on a decade-long fieldwork of a single food substance – sweets – it follows sweet-making in sweetshops, domestic spaces, fairs, festivals and its representation in recipe books to understand how caste, religion, science and law inform the life of a food item with an extremely short shelf life. It shows how food items of conspicuous consumption find a meaning in everyday lives of people through its socio-cultural meanings – ritual, pride of craftsmanship, heritage and cultural identity. It also shows how sweets continue to be a ubiquitous part of ‘Bengali' diet in a geography that has been witness to acute hunger, starvation, food movements and social welfare programmes to ensure food security. As a multi-sited ethnography on sweetness in diverse settings and its associated meanings in West Bengal and Bangladesh, this book explores everyday workplace hierarchies between artisans that reveal how caste and religion inform the choice of who is hired into this line of work. It also highlights how discourses on food safety and the overpowering presence of World Trade Organization have affected the life of the Bengali mishti. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of ethnography, sociology, history and South Asian studies. And if you, dear reader, love mishti, you will love this, too!Satyaki Barua is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Hyderabad. His research focuses on party organisation, party institutionalisation, and political mobilisation, particularly examining the interactions between the state, society, and political parties in India and South Asia. Outside of academia, Satyaki enjoys watching and discussing movies, as well as practising Hindustani classical music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Sweet Excess: Crafting Mishti in Bengal (Routledge, 2025) by Ishita Dey is an ethnographic work on excess. Based on a decade-long fieldwork of a single food substance – sweets – it follows sweet-making in sweetshops, domestic spaces, fairs, festivals and its representation in recipe books to understand how caste, religion, science and law inform the life of a food item with an extremely short shelf life. It shows how food items of conspicuous consumption find a meaning in everyday lives of people through its socio-cultural meanings – ritual, pride of craftsmanship, heritage and cultural identity. It also shows how sweets continue to be a ubiquitous part of ‘Bengali' diet in a geography that has been witness to acute hunger, starvation, food movements and social welfare programmes to ensure food security. As a multi-sited ethnography on sweetness in diverse settings and its associated meanings in West Bengal and Bangladesh, this book explores everyday workplace hierarchies between artisans that reveal how caste and religion inform the choice of who is hired into this line of work. It also highlights how discourses on food safety and the overpowering presence of World Trade Organization have affected the life of the Bengali mishti. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of ethnography, sociology, history and South Asian studies. And if you, dear reader, love mishti, you will love this, too!Satyaki Barua is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Hyderabad. His research focuses on party organisation, party institutionalisation, and political mobilisation, particularly examining the interactions between the state, society, and political parties in India and South Asia. Outside of academia, Satyaki enjoys watching and discussing movies, as well as practising Hindustani classical music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/food

Sweet Excess: Crafting Mishti in Bengal (Routledge, 2025) by Ishita Dey is an ethnographic work on excess. Based on a decade-long fieldwork of a single food substance – sweets – it follows sweet-making in sweetshops, domestic spaces, fairs, festivals and its representation in recipe books to understand how caste, religion, science and law inform the life of a food item with an extremely short shelf life. It shows how food items of conspicuous consumption find a meaning in everyday lives of people through its socio-cultural meanings – ritual, pride of craftsmanship, heritage and cultural identity. It also shows how sweets continue to be a ubiquitous part of ‘Bengali' diet in a geography that has been witness to acute hunger, starvation, food movements and social welfare programmes to ensure food security. As a multi-sited ethnography on sweetness in diverse settings and its associated meanings in West Bengal and Bangladesh, this book explores everyday workplace hierarchies between artisans that reveal how caste and religion inform the choice of who is hired into this line of work. It also highlights how discourses on food safety and the overpowering presence of World Trade Organization have affected the life of the Bengali mishti. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of ethnography, sociology, history and South Asian studies. And if you, dear reader, love mishti, you will love this, too!Satyaki Barua is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Hyderabad. His research focuses on party organisation, party institutionalisation, and political mobilisation, particularly examining the interactions between the state, society, and political parties in India and South Asia. Outside of academia, Satyaki enjoys watching and discussing movies, as well as practising Hindustani classical music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

Fadnavis ने मारा तीर - Shiv Sena 10-20 Corporators Missing| Yogi & Manikarnika Ghat | West Bengal

Mamata Didi Fears Losing West Bengal? | UGC, NEET, Govt on Backfoot | BMC Elections | AR Rehman

President Rule Possible in West Bengal?  | BMC Wipeout, Muslim Seats & AIMIM | Abhishek Tiwari

How farmers and scientists in eastern India are using ancient rice seeds to fight the growing impact of flooding, soil salinity and drought.The BBC's William Kremer tells Graihagh Jackson about his visit to the Sundarbans in West Bengal, where cyclones and rising sea levels have devastated crops. William meets the rice growers drawing on the skills of their forefathers to feed their families. Graihagh also gets a global overview from Dr Rafal Gutaker, rice expert at Kew Gardens, London. This programme was first broadcast in 2025.Reporter in India: William Kremer Production Team: Diane Richardson, Graihagh Jackson, Octavia Woodward Sound Mix: Neil Churchill and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon WattsIf you have a question for the team, email: TheClimateQuestion@BBC.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721 Image credit: Reuters

The Left has lost power in India over the 100 years since the Communist Party of India (CPI) was founded in 1925 in Kanpur. #CutTheClutter Episode 1785 looks at the decline & self-destruction of India's Left - how it ruled West Bengal & Tripura for over 30 years to now being wiped out. ThePrint Editor-In-Chief Shekhar Gupta also explains how the Left's economic ideology still rules India.----more----Watch 2024 Punjab Writings on the Wall here: https://youtu.be/ZL0g2IBXjl0

Mamata on Backfoot, Supreme Court Big Jolt to West Bengal | President Rule की राह कठिन? |SanjayDixit

Mamata on Backfoot, Supreme Court Big Jolt to West Bengal | President Rule की राह कठिन? |SanjayDixit

Mamata's Bid to Game High Court Fails | BJP Displaying Weak Resolve in West Bengal | Voter Miffed

Part 1 of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-trumps-huge-venezuela-gamble/20260114.htmPart 2 of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-was-maduros-capture-a-warning-shot-to-china/20260124.htmIt is hard to judge whether the US regime-change operation in Venezuela is a stroke of genius or an act of pure recklessness. This is completely orthogonal to the questions of morality and legality involved in such, well, coups, to put it bluntly. The real issue at hand is twofold: why did they do it? And what is the long-term fallout from it?I consider several perspectives below: the moral/legal angle, the alleged oil bonanza, the alleged drug trafficking, geo-politics and geo-economics. In sum, I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure may not be an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness. To someone like me who is deeply supportive of the US (especially in opposition to China, the G2 condominium notwithstanding), this is a disheartening conclusion.The morality and legality angleLet us summarily dispose of the entire morality-legality question. At the end of the day, international relations, despite flowery marketing language, is essentially Chanakyan matsya-nyaya, i.e. the big fish eat the little fish, the law of the jungle. Might is right, and that's just the way realpolitik is, let us accept that and move on. The United Nations and the so-called ‘liberal rules-based international order' are syntactic sugar hiding this bitter fact of life. There are a few implications for the little or medium-sized fish: deter the big fish. 1. Bulk up, build up your military and economic strength, including your ability to produce lots of military hardware, 2. Build your economic leverage, so that you are an indispensable trading partner nobody can afford to alienate, 3. Build a nuclear arsenal.This last is significant. Let us consider all the recent (and near-future) invasions by big fish. Iraq. Libya. Iran. Panama. Vietnam. Afghanistan. Ukraine. And soon, alas, Taiwan. Ok, I may have missed some here, but none of them have nukes. If you have working nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them (such as nuclear-capable missiles, submarines lurking in the ocean depths with nuclear warheads), then it is risky for the invading big fish. No big fish likes body bags, and they certainly don't like mushroom clouds over their cities.In addition, there was the stunning silence from the European Union and Britain, which have been moralizing to everybody about how wicked it was for Russia to invade Ukraine. No clutching pearls this time, eh, Eurocrats in Brussels? In fact, EU leaders were positively ecstatic about Trump's intervention in Venezuela. It is indeed the end of the European century.Ditto with the United Nations, which, by the way, is pretty much on its last legs so far as I can tell: on 7th January President Trump exited 31 UN agencies and a grand total of 66 multilateral entities.This of course hurts the UN's budget, not to mention its relevance.In January the US will formally exit the Paris Climate Agreement and the WHO, and it has already exited the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA. The newly announced exits include the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Women's Fund, the UN Population Fund, the International Solar Alliance, the International Renewable Energy Alliance, and so on.All this fits in with the ‘Fortress America' part of the National Security Strategy, which I wrote about at some length recently. In my opinion, it is not in the US' long-term interests. The post-WW II “liberal, rules-based international order” with America as its center was good for the US, and its precipitous end will erode pre-eminence, Manifest Destiny notwithstanding. The problem is that the dollar, sanctions, SWIFT and US Treasury debt are losing their clout. Pax Americana too.Summary: Nobody is bothered about morality or legality.The oil colony: is it for real?It could be argued that the unabashed Trump statements about Venezuela's oil are exactly like the British and other European colonization of many lands in the 19th century. It can be summarized as: “we have the guns, we're going to take your butter”. That may well be true, although it is not discussed in genteel circles, where they pretend the Euros were on an, um… civilizing mission.Trump, to his credit, makes no bones about it: he says in so many words that he will henceforth consider Venezuela's oil to be his, and that it will be used for the benefit of both Venezuelans and Americans. To be honest, there is some rationale behind this: the infamous Resource Curse, where resource-rich countries end up with the riches being grabbed by both foreigners and kleptocratic local elites, and miserable citizens get virtually nothing.I am not quite sure how Arab OPEC countries managed to keep their money, and spend it on their own nationals: possibly because their populations were low, and they were used to authoritarian rulers anyway. The same with Norway. But the Resource Curse is a fairly universal phenomenon. I bet the global money managers are laughing all the way to the bank.When I first went to the US in the late 1970s, I had a graduate student friend, a woman from Venezuela. She was there on a generous scholarship funded by oil revenues, just like the Iranians who had studied with me in India. At least some of the money was going to actual citizens, and wasn't disappearing into tax havens. I guess socialism did Venezuela in over decades, as we have seen in West Bengal and Kerala.The country's finances are an absolute mess, through years of economic collapse, US sanctions, and a sovereign default in 2017. There are enormous debts owed by Venezuela to foreign investors, add up to more than $150 billion, or twice GDP; this includes interest, penalties for default, and arbitration awards for the expropriation (nationalization) of oil infrastructure. Venezuelan assets abroad (e.g. the CITGO oil retailer) are at risk.So far as I can tell, the country owes the following:* Bond default in 2017 (sovereign and state oil company PDVSA bonds): face value $60 billion, now up to $100 billion with accrued interest and penalties. Owed mostly to international asset managers such as Fidelity, Greylock, T Rowe Price (often US based)* Oil-backed loans of about $15 billion, to be paid off in oil shipments (China and Russia)* Arbitration awards often based on nationalization/expropriation of (especially oil-related) assets: around $30 billion (US and Canada based creditors such as ConocoPhillips and Crystallex owed around $8-10 billion)This means there's a lot of issues that needs to be settled before Venezuela becomes a normal and substantial player in the world oil market. Besides, despite the exertions of Chevron, an American oil major that still has operations in Venezuela, I don't think it will be easy to ramp up production there, which has collapsed due to a variety of factors, including the non-availability of naphtha to make the very viscous, heavy crude from the Orinoco Belt more easily transportable.It is said, however, that a number of US refineries can indeed handle this heavy crude (incidentally Indian refineries such as Reliance's Jamnagar can as well) and so, over time, the oil will begin to flow, although it is going to cost quite a bit to get there. Their production was of the order of 3.5 million barrels per day in the 2010s, but it has fallen to about 1.1 million barrels now, as the result of infrastructure decay, mismanagement, corruption, and US sanctions.I have read estimates that it might take as much as $180 billion in investments over the next 10-15 years to bring Venezuela back online at scale. This means that any dreams of the US tapping Venezuela's vast oil reserves any time soon are unrealistic. Besides, that could lead to an oil glut, depressing global prices even below the current $50-60 levels, which has the side effect of making America's own shale-based oil production unviable.There is one good outcome, though: for neighboring Guyana. Venezuela had been threatening to go to war over Guyana's oil fields. Given that Guyana has a large Indian origin population, I am glad that at least some diaspora people are becoming oil rich. But then again, Trump may feel free to claim their oil too, who knows?All this suggests that, despite all the talk of seizing the largest oil reserves in the world, this is not the real reason behind the regime change.Summary: The oil issue is overblown, and nothing dramatic will happen short-term.What about the drug-running?There was a lot of noise about how Venezuelan gangs pushing drugs in the US was a major threat, and how that needs to be taken care of. However, on closer scrutiny, Venezuela is not a major producer of cocaine (production is almost entirely in Colombia, with smaller amounts from Peru and Bolivia). It serves as a minor transit country for some cocaine, mostly headed to Europe or the Caribbean rather than directly to the streets of America.Data from the UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) and the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) show no significant direct sea routes from Venezuela to the US; the only known direct route is limited air trafficking.DEA reports (including the 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment) and UNODC (World Drug Report 2025) consistently show Colombia as the overwhelming source of cocaine entering the US (around 84%+ of samples). Venezuela ranks low in direct contributions, with most US-bound cocaine transiting through Mexico/Central America via Pacific routes.Fentanyl trafficking into the United States follows a distinct supply chain, very different from plant-based drugs like cocaine. The overwhelming consensus from US authorities is that Mexico is the primary source of finished illicit fentanyl reaching the US, while China remains the main origin for the precursor chemicals needed to produce it.The fentanyl crisis is overwhelmingly a China to Mexico to US southwest border pipeline not linked to Venezuela or South America in any substantial way, per DEA, State Department, and congressional reporting.Summary: The talk about Venezuela's drug-running is a smoke-screen.Is it geopolitics then?The most interesting thing about the extraction of former Venezuelan President Maduro was not the dramatic flair with which it was done, though that was indeed very Youtube-ready. The helicopter gunships, the silenced air defences, the Cuban bodyguard eliminated (by a sonic weapon?): all the elements of a pretty exciting Hollywood film. I'm sure one is coming up soon.What was even more interesting, though, was that a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party had met him just a few hours before. China has been rather chummy with a fellow-socialist, and has been a good customer as an oil buyer. The fact that Maduro was extricated while the Chinese were still in Venezuela was a warning shot: besides, it suggests that they had no clue what was going to happenIn effect, it was a slap on the face of China, and it goes back to my belief that the US is investing in a G2 condominium with them. Stick and carrot, maybe? Collaborate in general in the spheres of influence concept, but hey, you better keep out of my sphere, ok? As I said earlier, China has made serious inroads into Latin America, which the US may now be hinting is simply not ok: stay in your lane, Xi! In simple terms, China will no longer have access to Venezuelan oil.The prognosis is grim: Russia and the EU are mired in the Ukraine mess, China is rampant (certainly in Asia, with their declared intent of invading Taiwan by 2027), the QUAD is more or less defunct. Trump refused to support Japanese premier Takaichi Sanae when she was bullied by the Chinese over her remark that if Taiwan were to be attacked by China, this would create a survival-threatening situation for Japan, which is literally true as Taiwan is only 70 miles away.Parenthetically, India has also realized the same about the US – that it is on its own – after what was quite likely a US-supported regime-change operation in Bangladesh has put the Hindu minority there in real danger of genocide and ethnic cleansing, with daily incidents of burning alive, murder, rape and abduction and threats of capturing Indian territory.The emerging situation in Iran is also likely to be a blow to China: they would lose one more source of cheap oil. But then, they do have buyer power: in other words, major oil producers do have to sell their stuff to somebody, and as China demonstrated in the case of soybeans from the US, its refusal to buy the stuff has severe consequences for the seller.So it is true that the US and China in general have to respect each other and trade with each other. This is perfectly feasible under the G2 condominium, the principal role of which is to give each of them a ‘playpen' if you will, and prevent a new power, e.g. India, from forcing its way into a G3. It appears they both are applying the Thucydides Trap to India.The US is still ahead of China in the geopolitical game, but if it continues to burn its bridges with its erstwhile allies and partners (such as the EU and Quad members) it will accelerate its relative decline. This is hardly the time to alienate potential partners, especially now that a belligerent NATO has pushed a reluctant Russia into the dhritarashtra-alinganam of China.Unfortunately, in geo-politics America is becoming less exceptional, and Henry Kissinger's quip that “it is dangerous to be America's enemy, but fatal to be its friend” is taking on a new urgency. The action in Venezuela (and possibly in Cuba before long) does not encourage other nations to look to the US for partnerships.Summary: The geopolitical fallout is not particularly good for America's image as an ally.It may well be economics, and a desperate fin-de-siecle lungeThe final issue is that of economics and economic history. Over the past several centuries, we have seen how those countries that hold the global reserve currency have prospered and have been financial hegemons to begin with, based on some substantial competitive advantage, but then a strange malady (“the Dutch disease”) sets in, and over time their financial clout diminishes, until at one point they become major debtors and then, they become irrelevant.This has happened several times in the past 800 or so years, and the patterns are strikingly similar, so there is a fair chance that it is happening again. The countries in question are:* Spain in the 16th century onwards* The Netherlands in the 17th century onwards* Britain in the 19th century onwards* And alas, the US in the 20th century onwardsNow, I would dearly wish the US could avoid this vicious cycle, partly because it is a continent-sized nation with immense resources, but I believe that economic profligacy, wasting money on unnecessary things like wars, and complacency fostered by easy money is leading to a mountain of debt, which usually is a bad place to be in. In each of these European examples, initial success inevitably led to collapse. I hope the US can avoid this fate, especially as warnings have been sounded for some time by experts such as Ray Dalio.Great economic powers, particularly those issuing the world's primary reserve currency, tend to follow a recurring historical cycle of rise, peak dominance, gradual (or sometimes rapid) decline, loss of competitiveness, mounting debt burdens, and eventual marginalization on the global stage. This pattern has repeated over the last 500+ years.The archetypal cycle often unfolds in phases:* Rise and dominance: Because of strong education, innovation, productivity, trade dominance, military power, and financial innovation create a virtuous cycle (this is the model that I have in mind of the US. But there is a second model: colonial loot. Spain stole trillions from Latin America, Britain from India. This too leads to (unearned) privilege). This leads to the currency becoming the preferred global medium for trade, reserves, and debt denomination.* Peak and overextension: Success breeds complacency, wealth inequality widens, debt accumulates (often to fund wars, welfare, or consumption), and costs rise relative to competitors. Besides, there is a form of the Resource Curse: the colonial loot or digging things out from a hole in a ground is so easy that all other industries wither away and die. We see this in Kerala today: remittances are easy money, so everybody wants to go to the Persian Gulf (skilled and unskilled labor) or Europe (nurses). Maybe the generativeAI bubble falls into the same category: the money is too easy.* Decline in competitiveness: Education and innovation lag, unit labor costs rise, trade shares erode, and emerging rivals catch up or surpass in productivity and technology. Too much by way of wokeness, social justice and related illnesses means the smart ones leave, and the dumb ones keep congratulating each other. Ruchir Sharma just wrote in the Financial Times about how the continuing exodus of skilled Indians is a big negative.* Debt buildup and financial strain: The “exorbitant privilege” of reserve status allows cheap borrowing, encouraging more debt. Deficits grow, and the currency is printed or devalued to manage burdens. Print, baby, print. But one day you have to pay the piper.* Marginalization: Confidence erodes (via inflation, devaluations, defaults, or crises), foreigners reduce holdings, and a new power's currency gains primacy. The reserve status lingers due to network effects and habit, but the issuing power loses geopolitical and economic centrality.Spain had its colonies in the Americas from which it extracted enormous amounts of gold and silver; the Dutch started the Amsterdam stock exchange and stepped into the vacuum of finance when Spain faltered; the British outcompeted the Dutch in colonization and in industrialization and defeated them in wars; and the US took over when Britain lost its colonies and had nowhere to dump its goods, and was in debt for its spending in World Wars I and II.Some of the symptoms of the “Dutch disease” are showing in the US: enormous debt, wars that have no clear benefit to the nation, loss of manufacturing, geopolitical challenges, loss of competitiveness and brand superiority in industry after industry.US investors are quietly moving their funds to other countries, while foreigners are quietly moving their money out of US treasuries (e.g. China has reduced its holdings from a high of $1.3 trillion in 2013 to $688 billion now) and into gold, the BRICS group is creating an alternative currency and a non-SWIFT settlement mechanism, and many countries are trading with each other bilaterally in local currencies. De-dollarization is a little far off but no longer implausible.Now, as a big supporter of the US, I do hope the dollar will continue to be supreme, but I am beginning to have my doubts. I have had faith in the US and its ability to re-invent itself on the brains of its immigrants, but I wonder if a post-MAGA US will be the beacon, the “City on the Hill”, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. Maybe not any more. Perhaps cyclical decline, and the rot, are already too deep.This, in my opinion, is the real reason for Trump's little adventure in Venezuela: to be relevant in global finance for a little longer. The petrodollar has been the lifeline allowing the US to run substantial deficits for a long time. Because all transactions for oil have traditionally been mandated to be in dollars, there has been constant demand for the dollar, despite the loss of manufacturing (in other words, nobody needs dollars to buy US goods except a few like weapons, aircraft, and Big Tech software). But everybody needs it to buy oil.Trump is ensuring that Venezuela's giant oil reserves (the largest in the world) will now be sold in dollars, contrary to Maduro's plans to trade in yuan. This is deja vu: when Iraq's President Saddam Hussein planned to trade his oil in Euros in 2000, he found himself deposed. When Libya's President Muammar Gaddafi planned to trade his oil in a new currency called the ‘gold dinar' around 2009, he found himself deposed. Coincidence? Perhaps.This is why I have had the feeling that the Venezuela adventure does not show American strength, but rather American weakness. The dollar is in trouble, and thus the US welfare state. This is an attempt to shore it up.Summary: The real rationale behind the Venezuela regime-change is to ensure that de-dollarization is postponed at least for a while.3450 words, Jan 12, 2026. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

Three Indian citizens are said to be aboard the Russian-flagged oil tanker seized by the US military on Wednesday which had a crew of 28 people. Student activist Sharjeel Imam on Thursday told a Delhi court that he had withdrawn from the protests against the CAA well before violence broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020, arguing that several co-accused had asked him to step away  The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted search operations at the office of the I-PAC, which does political consultancy for West Bengal ruling party TMC and also looks after its IT and media cell, apart from Pratik Jain's residence. Once home to their IPL matches, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has become a painful memory from the past for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Puducherry will go to polls in 2026. What's at stake for Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam, will BJP be able to counter Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, and why Tamil Nadu will be a test for DMK & Congress - #CutTheClutter with Shekhar Gupta looks at the significance of the 5 elections in the coming year. Political Editor DK Singh joins in to analyse the likely implications for BJP, Congress, DMK & the Left. Episode 1778.

Big Moves as ECI Starts 2nd Round of SIR in West Bengal | 1 Cr Deletions Make Mamata Didi Nervous

The headlines of the day by The Indian Express

Durgapur -West Bengal, December 21, 2025: Sant Samagam: West Bengal; Odisha; and North-Eastern States -Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj

Durgapur -West Bengal, December 20, 2025: NYS: West Bengal; Odisha; and North-Eastern States -Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj

West Bengal SIR में लोचा | Every Bangladeshi on Notice Has Fool Proof Documents | ECI Shocked!

First Opinion Poll of West Bengal | Dhurandhar की Dhoom | Nitish ने हिजाब क्यों उतारा | AnupamMishra

Lakhs of Muslims/Illegals Flee West Bengal - Mamata Didi in Tizzy | Amit Shah Big Plans | SIR Frenzy

Unstoppable Amit Shah - Action on Illegals | Rahul Gandhi Meltdown | West Bengal | Anupam Mishra

Waqf Failure and SIR - Mamata Loses Support of Muslims | West Bengal Illegals Run | Sanjay Dixit