The two major parties offer the United States choices that are basically unacceptable and the bench strength, such as it is, is not entirely capable of winning popular acclaim, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week in images.
Trump paid an effective tax rate of 24 per cent and saved millions of dollars in additional taxes by claiming the losses, according to the document, the first two pages of which were obtained by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston and first shared on "The Rachel Maddow Show.
A look back at some moments from Thursday
United States President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron had a working dinner on Thursday night at the White House as Cameron began a two-day visit.
Serena Williams appeared to suggest last month that she would end her playing career at the U.S. Ope
The United States Senate took the historic decision by 53-47 votes after three Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney voted in her favour along with 50 members of the ruling Democratic Party.
United States President Barack Obama compared America's relations with Britain and France to his affection for his two wonderful daughters and said he could not choose a favourite between the two closest allies.
The issue will comprise a secondary share sale worth Rs 600 crore by private equity major Everstone Capital and fresh fundraising worth Rs 400 crore.
Heading G20 will give India a foreign affairs year like it has never had in history. You can trust Narendra Modi to exploit this to India's benefit. And, of course, to his own in his election year, explains Shekhar Gupta.
A partial United States government shutdown over President Donald Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the US-Mexico border entered its 23rd day on Sunday making it the longest shuttering of federal agencies in the country's history, with no end in sight. The closure, which began on December 22, broke a decades-old record by a 1995-1996 shutdown under former US President Bill Clinton that lasted 21 days.
American Abby Wambach, who tallied more goals in international competition than any other football player in history, male or female, said on Tuesday she was retiring at age 35.
Speaking from the Diplomatic Reception Room, the US president also announced he would visit Vegas on Wednesday to meet the victims and the families.
"A Biden administration will be mostly positive for India," said Rick Rossow from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "I expect most positive areas of cooperation -- notably defence -- to be maintained," he said.
The ruling Democratic Party will retain majority control of the United States Senate as two of its candidates are projected to win their pivotal races against Republican rivals, in a major boost to President Joe Biden in the second half of his term, both for his legislative agenda and his ability to appoint judges and other key officials.
Pyongyang on Sunday claimed it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb meant to be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile. It was Pyongyang's sixth, and most powerful, nuclear test, which was set to raise tension in the region.
Bush and Obama were kind; Trump couldn't care less.
The sought-after recipe is held in a safe at the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta.
We will destroy radical Islamic terrorism, Donald Trump declares after meeting Narendra Modi.
At a working luncheon with ambassadors from 15 member countries of the UNSC recently, Trump joked about 'replacing' Haley.
'Family is everything to me too. And I cannot wait for America to get to know my husband Doug and our amazing kids, Cole and Ella'
The United States-China Summit meeting concluded at a sprawling mansion in Woodside, California with Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreeing to work towards ensuring that the differences between the two countries remain manageable and the relations do not derail.
The coldest blast of arctic air has swept across some of United State's biggest cities. Schools were shut, public transport hit and office-goers delayed across the Midwest and New England because of below-zero temperatures.
Biden and Xi shook hands and greeted each other with smiles, standing in front of a row of US and Chinese flags.
Here are some inspirational women who just made history in the polls.
United States President Barack Obama has said that Russia's actions are in violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and suggested that there is a diplomatic solution that would protect the interest of both Russia and Ukraine and end the worst East-West stand-off since the Cold War.
Harris slammed President Donald Trump and pledged to 'rejoin' the Paris agreement on Climate Change and 'strengthen and re-enter' the Iran nuclear deal. "Joe Biden and our administration is gonna have a massive job to repair the damage done by Donald Trump and his administration, and to restore our place in the world," she said.
According to a top civic official in Ahmedabad, the total population of the city is only around 70 lakh.
During the meeting, the US said it will not add new tariffs on Chinese exports, China's state -run China Daily reported.
The awkward exchange came after France's President Emmanuel Macron and wife welcomed Trump and Melania to Paris on the eve of Bastille Day.
The change of heart in the US and India was propelled by the increased threat of China to both countries, explains Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Biden said he would follow the science. "I am not going to shut down the economy period. I am going to shut down the virus," he asserted.
In his first of the two election speeches on the eve of the November 3 elections, Biden asserted that he has a plan to successfully fight against COVD-19 if voted to power.
According to a media report, Trump's comments could create a predicament for him and his legal team.
Third time lucky is an apt phrase to describe the remarkable rise of Joe Biden, a veteran in US politics for around five decades, from being one of the youngest senators in history to the oldest American president-to-be.
A Texas man arrested for intruding into the White House was armed with a foldable knife, prompting a comprehensive review of security procedures after two attempted breaches in 24 hours at one of the world's most heavily protected buildings.
Harris recounted how she and her team got a call that Biden wanted to talk and then got another call where she was told Biden wanted to do a zoom call. She described how she went in "our little makeshift office" and then when the call started Biden immediately asked her to join the ticket. After referring to her mother, Harris also described how husband Doug Emhoff's ear was on the door outside the room listening in on the call. Eventually Jill Biden and Emhoff joined the call with Biden and Harris.
We bring you a collection of some of the best photographs taken this week by ace Reuters photographers.
From the protests in Belarus, to people in Beirut picking up the pieces after the deadly blast, to the Democratic National Convention held in Delaware in the United States, here are the top images from the week gone by.
As part of the scrutiny, I-T department will initially issue 700,000 letters to those who have indulged in such transactions
