The winter months are a time of hardship and hunger for many Afghans, of whom an estimated 97 percent are threatened with poverty. This winter, 18.9 million Afghans are suffering from starvation. Meanwhile half the population are reliant on international humanitarian aid for survival. Making matters worse, this aid is now at risk after the Taliban banned NGOs from employing […]

The East Sea (also known as the South China Sea) has been a vital maritime route because of its strategic position linking the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. According to economists, around $5.3 trillion worth of global trade transit through this critical oceanic space..  Because of the strategic significance of the East Sea for East Asian, Southeast Asian and […]

Much is expected from the visits of Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar and Chinese Vice Minister Chen Zhou.  The Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar will be in Colombo on a two-day visit from January 19, All India Radio said on Friday. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan media reported that a Chinese Communist party delegation headed by the Vice Minister of […]

Religious exclusivity and hostility to non-Muslims are stressed in Grade 9 to 12 textbooks, says researcher Habib Qazi of Leicester University Pakistan is currently under siege on two fronts – the economic and the ideological. The challenge on the economic front can be tackled by ample foreign financial assistance and prudent local management. But the harder challenge is on the […]

The United States has a national interest in a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, where international laws, rules, and norms are respected, state sovereignty is secure, and nations pursue economic growth in an environment of fair competition. A free and open Indo-Pacific underpins the security of the American homeland and U.S. allies, continued U.S. economic growth, and preservation of […]

The signing of a multi-million-dollar deal between Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co and the Taliban in Kabul is being marketed by the latter as its first major economic win since the return of the Islamic Emirate in August 2021. The deal, estimated to be $540 million, gives Beijing access to the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan. Afghanistan has small […]

The alarm bells of the climate crisis have been ringing for years. There is an increasing consensus among climate scientists that it is indispensable to hold the increase in the global average temperature within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. But as the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and China have not cooperated to commit themselves to […]

The decision to invite President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of Egypt as the Chief Guest on Republic Day is an important gesture and should go a long way in imparting fresh momentum to India’s ties with the largest country in the Arab world. Egypt matters. With a population of almost 110 million, a location that straddles Africa and Asia, a […]