By Bidit L. Dey  Following Sheikh Hasina's removal from the position of Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of a non-partisan interim government. His strategy for political survival involved forming alliances with Islamist parties and cultivating strong connections with global neo-liberal forces. A notable early sign of the interim government’s inclination to accommodate religious fundamentalist elements was its decision to lift the ban on the controversial right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JIB).

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The American attack on Venezuela violates every principle of international law that the collective West claims to uphold. The response from the European Union—“we are monitoring the situation”—exposes the hollowness of these claims. WhatsApp gossipers may celebrate this as an act of “bravery,” but what kind of bravery is it to intimidate a neighbour that is neither large in size nor strong in military power? 

By Bharat Dogra    The January 3 attack by the USA on Venezuela , and the reported capture of its President, Nicolás Maduro , is a shocking violation of international law and the rules-based international order . Our already deeply troubled and threatened world suffered extreme harm to this order during 2025, particularly in the context of highly arbitrary decision-making by President Trump. Now, right at the beginning of the new year 2026, the rules-based order has been further devastated by the attack on Venezuela.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The unprovoked U.S. attack on Venezuela , carried out under the pretext of combating drug cartels and detaining its democratically elected president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, represents a grave escalation of imperial aggression. Such actions are neither unprecedented nor accidental. They reflect a long-standing pattern of violations of international law by the U.S. ruling establishment, driven by geopolitical dominance and the control of natural resources.

By Prof. Hemantkumar Shah  A newspaper report states that a grand convention of the Thakor community was held in Patan, a North Gujarat town , where it was claimed that a “new dawn of social reform” had arrived. According to the report, resolutions were passed declaring that, in the name of protecting children and preserving social honour , the community would not accept live-in relationships or marriages contracted by eloping couples. Along with these, other resolutions were adopted. Measures aimed at promoting education and curbing wasteful, showy expenditure are certainly welcome. But the resolutions opposing live-in relationships and marriages by choice are difficult to accept or justify.

By A Representative    The Hooghly-based rights group, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha ( MASUM ), has drawn the attention of the National Human Rights Commission to what it described as the illegal and unconstitutional detention of a young Rohingya woman, Ms. Amina , and her five-month-old infant daughter at Baharampur Central Correctional Home in Murshidabad , West Bengal . 

By A Representative   A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

By Vijay Prashad   On 19 January 2025, a ceasefire took effect to halt the Israeli bombing of Palestinians in Gaza. This ceasefire emerged from a mediation process by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, which had been sealed in June 2024 with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735 . However, the Israelis rejected the agreement and waited until Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election to proceed so that Trump could take credit for the deal.

By Taroa Zúñiga, Vijay Prashad   A little after 2am, Venezuela time, on 3 January 2026, in violation of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, the United States began an attack on several sites in the country, including Caracas, the capital. Residents awoke to loud noises and flashes, as well as large helicopters in the sky. Videos began to appear on social media, but without much context. Confusion and rumor flooded social media.