A Taliban government delegation is taking part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, after a proposal by Russian ministries to remove the Islamic movement from the list of banned terrorist organizations. When a delegation of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government first visited the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2022, it was the topic of much talk — not just in […]

Russia’s economic problems and Moscow’s growing need for money and more industrial production to support its war effort in Ukraine are forcing the Kremlin to take a step that it has long avoided. The Kremlin has agreed to allow China to develop mines and processing facilities not in some distant part of the Russian Federation but in Moscow oblast, the […]

China’s military modernization efforts have transformed its Air Force and Navy into formidable forces, showcasing the country’s commitment to enhancing its defense capabilities and playing a more assertive role in regional security. Recent advancements in these areas have not only bolstered China’s ability to protect its sovereignty but also contributed to regional stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region. In […]

On June 2, 2024, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI), the largest religious organization in South Asia, organized a “Gaza Million March,” which was one of the largest anti-Israel rallies in Pakistan. The stated goal of the march was to support “the resistance movement Hamas” and “the inhabitants of Palestine” and to condemn the Israeli bombing on Rafah.[1] The rally was part of […]

Notwithstanding the hype raised about the so-called “Modi-wave,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has failed to win the needed number of seats to form the government on its own strength. At the same time, in all probability, if this party’s campaign didn’t rest primarily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “image,” BJP may not have won even 240 seats. This certainly suggests […]

The most important outcome of the results of the recent parliamentary elections in India is that the nightmare for Indian Muslims is over. Muslims in India are about 200 million i.e. about 15% of India’s total population of about 1400 million ( of which about 80% are Hindus ). Even before the right wing Hindu party, the BJP, came to […]

India has intensified with China “a silent war” focussed on challenging China’s renaming of places in India’s Arunachal Pradesh state to strengthen its territorial claim on it. The Indian Army’s information warfare division, backed by celebrated research institutes like the British-era Asiatic Society based in Kolkata, have swung into action to counter the Chinese nomenclature offensive. Already tweets by the […]

Modi’s Tough Stance Could Invite—Not Deter—Chinese Aggression High up in the mostly uninhabitable stretches of the Himalaya Mountains, the world’s two largest armies are facing off. The tensions at the disputed Chinese-Indian border, where around 100,000 troops are garrisoned at remote outposts, rarely makes international headlines. But it is one of the world’s most dangerous flash points. In 2020, clashes […]

Misperceptions of the Global Economy Are Driving Bad Policies Aconsensus is emerging that the world is cleaving into blocs—not only geopolitically but economically, too. In 2020, the economist Douglas Irwin wrote that “the COVID-19 pandemic is driving the world economy to retreat from global economic integration.” In the years since, how to manage this purported deglobalization has been a consistent […]

Iran seized control of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs several decades ago, though the United Arab Emirates has long claimed sovereignty over the islands, a claim backed by Gulf states and Russia. China reiterated on Monday its support for the United Arab Emirates regarding its dispute with Iran over several islands in the Gulf, setting up a […]