'Nepal today is far more aware, self-confident, aspirational, and assertive.' 'India's policy so far has not been geared to this shift. It is time to redraw our Nepal strategy.'
'Even if the war ends tomorrow, which is unlikely, and we go back to the pre-war status quo, the world will still need some time to get over the sudden shock of oil price increases.'
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Khaleda Zia, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and a dominant figure in the country's politics, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness. Her career spanned decades and included periods of both power and controversy.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
'India is at a critical juncture in this century. I want to be a part of the diplomatic team that works to make India great.'
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
'Nor would it have serious implications in India's relations with Saudi Arabia that stand on their own and have improved significantly in recent times, including in defence and strategic affairs.'
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's sudden resignation after only a year in office has thrown Japan into political turmoil, raising doubts about how the country will handle economic and regional challenges, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
In the short run, the Trump presidency has already ensured one thing: The assumptions of the past can no longer guide the strategies of the future, points out Manish Dabhade.
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
Rutuja Warhade secured the first spot among girls and third in all India ranking. She will join the National Defence Academy in June and hopes to become an army pilot.
'He may respect others, but he is unlikely to admire them'
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
'The BJP think they are running an ideology machine in this country, and they have to convert everyone, from people to parties to party leaders.'
Eminent political scientist, writer and foreign affairs commentator Bhabani Sen Gupta died in New Delhi on Tuesday of prolonged illness.
'He had to change them because he recognises that even with his popularity....could lead to a problem. So, democracy has this way of offering corrections and telling the ruling party or the prime minister that you need to take some steps to compensate for excesses'
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
'But will there be matching action as far as tribals are concerned on the ground?'
In the first such initiative, the Bharatiya Janata Party has invited the ruling and Opposition parties from around the world to witness the Lok Sabha elections in India first-hand.
A Sikh professor at Columbia University was allegedly attacked by a group of men, who called him "Osama" and "terrorist", in an assault which police are investigating as a hate crime.
As the China factor enters the body politic of India with greater potency, its consequences will certainly be far-reaching, note Harsh V Pant and Vinay Kaura.
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
Two women are in contention to become prime minister for the first time in Japan's history -- a potential turning point for a country that ranks below Saudi Arabia in terms of female political representation, points out Rajaram Panda.
A group of eminent Indian-Americans has condemned the brazen hateful comments and a hostile environment against Hindus in Canada and asked Ottawa not to mix freedom of expression with freedom for terror and endorse hate crimes by being silent on the issue.
Speaking about the issue in India in March 2012 at a media conclave, Kissinger defended his use of unparliamentary language while referring to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Professor Deepa Ollapally said, "The way in which this was carried out, it does suggest that they needed some fairly sophisticated, coordinated planning. And, if the reports are true about their rounding up Americans and British, then it sounds like there is an Al Qaeda hand possibly, which again would be the most obvious difference between every other terrorist attack that has gone on before (in India)."
'Modi's visit is path breaking in the sense that India has come out of the closet and is prepared to deal with Israel openly and in a host of fields, military as well as civilian,' says P R Kumaraswamy, one of India's leading experts on the Middle-East, currently in Israel.
In 2017, a retired R&AW officer conveyed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was keen to get monarchy restored in Nepal and suggested that I support these efforts.
True, Azam Khan is being targeted rather disproportionately and also because of his Muslim identity. That must be protested and resisted. But to say that he is a big messiah, and his profit-making educational enterprise is an issue concerning all Muslims of India, is absolutely unjustified, assert Mohammad Sajjad and Md Mohammad Zeeshan Ahmad.
'There is only one common feature between Gorbachev and Putin.' 'They are both patriots, and both try to save Russia and make it great.' 'But in very, very, different ways.'
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
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