—Father Flynn, Doubt In John Patrick Shanley’s 2008 film Doubt, certainty and ambiguity collide in a moral thriller set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 New York. The story revolves around Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a strict headmistress convinced that Father Flynn, a charismatic parish priest, has engaged in inappropriate conduct with a young African-American student. But…
The term ‘new normal’ grew fashionable as a consequence of the covid pandemic. Looking ahead at that time, a Pew Survey showed that a plurality of experts believed that the pandemic would: 1) worsen inequality; 2) increase the influence and power of big tech firms; 3) multiply the spread of misinformation; and 4) fan the…
It’s the season for trade negotiations and deals, going by the pace and number of deals struck over the last fortnight alone. After the India-UK trade deal that was announced on 6 May, we had the US-UK pact and then an interim one between China and America. With a little luck, we are likely to…
Fast forward to 1989: the Berlin Wall crumbled and brought the Iron Curtain crashing down with it. America, it appeared, had emerged as the winner of the Cold War together with capitalism and liberal democracy. Communism as a political ideology was debunked and disparaged. Pieces of the Wall went on sale at huge prices in…
India on Monday informed the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it will impose $1.91 billion of levies on imports from the US in retaliation against Trump’s move but left a 30-day window for talks, showed a communication from New Delhi to the global trade body. The people cited above said American goods that could attract…
The agreement promises to enhance economic engagement and reshape global value chains. Indian industry contributes extensively to the UK’s economy. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) India meets Britain Tracker 2024 report, the number of Indian companies in the UK was estimated at more than 970, contributing about £1.17 billion to the UK’s…
United States President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ have been compared to the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the 1930s, which many say hastened the slide into the Great Depression. The difference between the 1930s and now is that we have the World Trade Organization (WTO) to oversee and enforce global trade rules. However, some argue that over…
Donald Trump has sought to dismiss Signalgate as “the only glitch” in his two months as US president for the second time. But this will not wash with others around the world. Indeed, not even in the US. Even more bizarre than the accidental inclusion of a publication’s editor in a Signal chat on a…
Although these are early days in the negotiations for a multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US, the final outcome is already being envisaged as the ‘mother of all deals’ and a ‘grand trade deal.’ Both countries are expected to negotiate hard for finalizing an agreement that maximizes benefits for their respective…
Never mind that applying selective tariffs violates the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). If someone raises an objection, WTO’s dispute resolution mechanism is expected to deal with it. But that mechanism is broken partly because the US has blocked appointments to its appellate body. If pushed further, it is…
