Category : Premium

BENGALURU: The recent U.S.-Russia summit in Geneva came, to use a sporting metaphor, against the run of play. The two countries have recently been caught up in an escalating spiral of economic sanctions, mutual recriminations, and confrontations—directly or through proxies—in multiple geographies, across seas and continents. In the polarised politics of the U.S. today, the […]Read More

ZURICH: Pakistan does not sponsor terrorism against India because of the Kashmir issue. It sponsors terrorism because its own people cannot hope for a better future. Their destructive energies must be deflected outward rather than allowed to fester domestically, in snowballing resentment at the commercial depredations of a mafia-like military officer corps. Kashmir only helps […]Read More

NEW DELHI: Late last month, at memorial ceremonies in the United Nations for slain peacekeepers, it was a moment for India to remind the world of the 164 lives it had sacrificed in the service of UN missions worldwide. For Indian diplomats and military personnel, it was also time to reflect on an uncomfortable fact: […]Read More

NEW DELHI: As the seven member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) ready for the fifth summit in Sri Lanka in August, the major takeaway of a free trade area (FTA) appears elusive. Discussions over the last 15 years have got nowhere, and under the present Indian […]Read More

Date: May 31, 2020 Place: A non-descript restaurant in Karol Bagh, Delhi Two Pakistan High Commission staffers working in the visa section of the mission approach a man sitting alone on a table in a corner of the mid-sized restaurant. This is their first meeting with the man they think is a soldier in the […]Read More

NEW DELHI: Though the fighting in Gaza is yet to come up in the UN General Assembly, many countries have spelt out their stand among them China. Addressing the Security Council via video link, Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced a four-point programme to tackle the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thereby underscoring China’s willingness to embrace a […]Read More

NEW DELHI: The recent statement by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the Kingdom desires “good relations with Iran” has showcased just how much the desert Kingdom could be on the cusp of change. Apart from seeking compromises with its arch-rival Iran in West Asia, Riyadh’s bid to open talks with its once feuding […]Read More

NEW DELHI: In about four months from now, India faces a potentially crippling shortage of Helium gas due to falling levels of production in the United States. India imports around ₹55,000 crore ($733 million) of Helium from the U.S. every year for use in rockets and nuclear reactors to MRI scans and electronics. In fact, […]Read More

TAIPEI: Hong Kong is different from cities in mainland China because it still has elections. Therefore, in the logic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Hong Kong is implementing ‘one country, two systems’. China sees Hong Kong’s current governance model as a sharp contrast to the undemocratic colonial style governance under the British Empire. But […]Read More

NEW DELHI: Reports about China’s plan to build a super dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo, rivalling even the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze river, have a sense of inevitability. Typically, it would seem, giant projects in China are planned and carried out with little public discussion or debate and the results are there for […]Read More