THERE is a myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when threatened. The United States is like the mythical ostrich in its response to the current Ebola outbreak. The hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship was like a dress rehearsal. It showed the consequences of dismantling global pandemic preparedness. That rehearsal is over. The far more dangerous Ebola act has begun, and the curtain has risen in Central Africa.

The Modi government at the centre has fully operationalised the four labour codes on May 8, 2026, notifying 30 central rules. Several state governments are also prepared to operationalise the codes in line with the central rules. BJP led state governments are eager to do it at the earliest as double engine sarkars.  The non-BJP led state governments are also prepared with the final drafts of state rules, even though they are opposing the central labour codes for public consumption.

Neo-liberal spokesmen have the remarkable quality that whenever an economy gets into a crisis through the pursuit of neo-liberalism, their standard panacea for it is to demand even more neo-liberal “reforms”.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to transfer ₹2,86,588.46 crore as surplus profit to the Union Government for the financial year 2025-26. This decision was taken on May 22, 2026, in a board meeting chaired by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra. This marks the largest surplus profit transfer in history. While the media used to give massive coverage to such large transfers by the Reserve Bank in the past, that was missing this time.

Bolivia faces a dangerous convergence of economic difficulties, political fragmentation, and renewed imperialist intervention. The immediate crisis is visible in fuel shortages, inflationary pressures, currency instability, and growing public frustration. Long queues at petrol stations have become symbols of a wider sense of uncertainty. Foreign currency reserves have declined, making imports more expensive and placing pressure on the government’s ability to manage the economy.