Left, Right & Centre

A fresh stand-off between India and Maldives. After the island nation upgraded its ties with China, now Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has given a deadline to India to withdraw its troops from the island nation. The Maldivian President said the Indian military personnel should leave the nation by March 15.

On Left, Right and Centre, we look at the larger traffic landscape of Mumbai and the challenges of India's longest sea bridge.

At his annual press conference, the Army Chief made it clear that there is Pakistan's hand to the uptick in terrorism in Rajouri. He also made it clear that the conduct of Army jawans must always remain professional and that there are no two ways about that.

Ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, the annual Global Risks Report 2024 is out. The report is a critical study that captures insights from nearly 1,500 global experts. The report indicates a deteriorating global outlook from a short- and long-term perspective.  We are joined by Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the WEF. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about China in London. He said that there is a greater understanding now in China that India is no longer weak and we have become a powerful nation. At a time when China continues its territorial aggression across the Himalayas, is India standing up to China after the 2020 setback?

The Congress today declared that it would skip the massive inauguration ceremony being planned for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, saying it was a "political project" of the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The party said its leaders -- party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi and the party's Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury -- who received the invitation, have declined. Is this political hara-kiri ahead of the general elections?

At a time when there is a social media trend asking people to boycott the Maldives after derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Maldivian leaders. The President of the Maldives, who is now in Beijing, has appealed to China to intensify efforts to send more tourists to his country. All this at a time when opposition leaders in the Maldives say they are opposed to the President and what is perceived to be his anti-India stance.

India's aviation regulator flags concern with the Boeing 737 Max aircraft in service with three Indian airlines at a time when there have been international headlines over an Alaska Airlines aircraft which had an explosive decompression on board during a flight which resulted in an emergency exit being blown off the aircraft. The incident in India is not related to the Alaska Airlines incident but the regulator, the DGCA, has said that in the course of inspections, a washer was missing in the critical tail assembly of one of the aircraft. Meanwhile, United Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the world, has said that they have found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft  - this is all bad news for Boeing amid concerns on the manufacturing standards of an aircraft that has had a poor safety reputation.

The Supreme Court today ruled that 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots but released early for "good behaviour" must return to jail. The convicts have to surrender within two weeks, the court said, cancelling Gujarat's decision to release them. Watch Left Right & Centre.

 

At a time when the Maldivian President is in China and Beijing has already been making statements on how India needs to stay open-minded about China's cooperation with South Asian countries. Who stands to gain from tension between India and the Maldives? Watch Left Right and Centre.