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Bangladesh isn’t a less economically developed country; its per capita income has recorded significant growth. — Hossain Toufique Imam

The US's plan of reducing troop strengths abroad would be counter balanced by the new kinds of deployments. The trend now is towards intelligence weapons systems with precise missions that are network centric, capable of swift decision and superior performance in all echelons with fewer casualties.

India and Pakistan held secretary level talks in Islamabad on the Tulbul Navigation Project/Wullar Barrage, after a hiatus of nearly three years, on May 12-13. The talks on the Wullar barrage-Tulbul navigation project are part of the bilateral dialogue process that was revived only recently, after a gap of over two years.

Rising nationalism and fortifications along the disputed China-India border make deadly clashes inevitable, and both sides should strive for border agreement

Just as Europe is beginning to look economically desperate, Turkey next door looks like the very picture of economic, political and strategic stability. The ultimate irony, ofcourse, is that after having prepared itself on every possible count for eligibility to enter Europe.

Turkey, which played a role in raising the stakes in Syria and now lowering it, deserves a close look. A mildly Islamised democratic Turkey ruled by its most charismatic Prime Minister ever, Tayyep Erdogan, was incorporated in the management of what had at one stage acquired the label of Arab Spring.

The general elections of 7 June 2015 were Turkey's last scheduled elections until the next one in 2019. Coming at a time when the country and its neighbours are on the brink of profound transformation, and given the increasing complexity of the socio-political situation in the Middle East, the elections results may well re-define the direction of West Asian politics for some time to come.

The Alevi issue in Turkey can be a potential de-stabilizing factor for the country's social and political integrity. The Alevis' common theme of Sunni hegemony with other minorities of the West Asian region is likely to perpetuate sectarianism and further polarise Turkey and neighbouring countries along this dimension.

November 2003 was a black month for Turkey, which has been grappling with problems arising out of its geo-strategic location in the Middle East and its Islamic identity and its close proximity to the Western world. Even before the country could recover from the terrorist blasts outside the Beit Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul that killed 25 innocent civilians and wounded

The Russian S-400 missile’s delivery to Turkey highlights the Turkish-American crisis and their ongoing rift with NATO.

Central Asia is the next favoured destination of radical Islamists and terrorist groups. Several terrorist networks are said to be already active in the region and recent suicide bombings in Uzbekistan in the cities of Tashkent and Bukhara, in March and July, 2004 suggest that al-Qaeda and its allies are looking for safer havens in the wake of the increasing pressure on their networks in the Middle-East and South East Asia from the security force

Trouble was brewing in this Central Asian Republic after the Bakiyev administration hiked the price of water, fuel and electricity late last year

After demonstrating a sharp sense of deeper engagement with the neighbours, from the day of the swearing in, it was widely expected that Modi would exercise a more muscular foreign policy. Surprisingly, our official response to events in Male has been timid and even that has been rebuffed by the Foreign Minister of Maldives.

The centre of gravity of India's foreign policy seems to rest in Pakistan. India has not been able to overcome this psychological vulnerability, despite the growing strategic separation between India and Pakistan. It gets a lot worse when it comes to Pakistan's relations with America.

At an ORF discussion on advertising regulation on television, while there seemed to be agreement that some regulation is necessary to prevent excessive advertising and harmful or offensive content from airing, the TRAI's notification was badly timed and not adequate to the needs of the industry.

It was not a big surprise that the Bill that came into force as the 'The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013' on April 3 retained the age of consent at 18, taking away from the teenagers the right to make their sexual choices; a right that they had actually possessed for the last three decades.

Countries in the Gulf region are facing a proverbial perfect storm: oil demand falling to its lowest levels in decades, disagreements within the group of oil-exporting nations on supply cuts, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The plummeting of oil prices is affecting these countries’ fiscal positions, business sentiments, and economic growth. India has stakes in all this; after all, the country has strong economic, commercial and diaspora ties with th

The electorate of two Indian states -- Maharashtra and Haryana -- is going to cast their votes on October15 to choose their government for the next five years. The big question is whether it is going to be government(s)

The world too has dealt with different forms of terror in the past from Black September to Baader Meinhof and Red Army Faction, none is more dangerous an adversary than the Islamic jihadist who goes beyond semantic aberration.

In the past few years, Twitter has served as a versatile form of political public square for domestic and world affairs. The use of Twitter, largely propelled by the prominence of social media in the current environment for the discharge of diplomatic functions, has become an integral part of contemporary international relations. Indeed, Twitter has created its own form of diplomacy by incorporating itself to augment traditional diplomatic functi

The months of March and April 2019 marked two important anniversaries. The 30th anniversary of the passing away of a former General Secretary of the C

The latest terrorist attack on Mumbai and careless comments by an Indian minister on the scrapping of aids by the United States may set back ties with Pakistan.

Twenty years after the launch of economic reforms, India has visibly changed. But the 'common man' is still confused and struggling even though most people in the low income group can afford a TV, mobile phone, scooter and even a room or two in a poor residential area.

The changing distribution of power and the Chinese challenge to US primacy demands that countries like India and Australia bear larger responsibility for security. The future of the Indo-Pacific can't be tied solely to the twists and turns of the dynamic between Washington and Beijing.

The goal of Cashless India requires a comprehensive long-term strategy.

Instead of agonising over the failures of the Saarc, Delhi has recognised that two-speed regionalism is quite common around the world. Also, India has often looked beyond the Saarc to benefit from trans-regional cooperation, like BIMSTEC

Ohio remains the key for the Romney campaign. Without Ohio, Romney will likely lose. If Obama continues to hold on to Ohio, he can win reasonably comfortably. So, in the final stretch, Obama is ahead by a nose, but it is still too close to call.

There is a preponderance of storms around the Black Sea. Its ancient beaches are littered with shipwrecks from the classical world. Some American geologists insist the great Biblical flood occurred there.

बीते दो साल से यूएई सरकार की महामारी के खिलाफ़ बेहतरीन प्�

There are three major takeaways for India from the Ufa BRICS Declaration. First, the focus on increasing trade-ties amongst BRICS nations, second, strengthening cooperation amongst BRICS in areas of Information, Communication, and Technology (ICTs) and third, India's role at the United Nations.

The tussle between the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the National Population Register (NPR) is not about turf. It's about bureaucracy's control over us.

Going by Japan's response to the Ukraine crisis, it appears that Tokyo attaches more importance to its alliance with the US than to the prospects of a robust Russo-Japanese partnership. And, with President Obama scheduled to make a visit to Japan in April, Abe is keen to maintain full solidarity with the US.

For Ukraine, joining EU or NATO would not be prudent as well as joining the Eurasian Union as it would not serve Ukraine's national interest. A close association with Russia as well as special partnership with EU may be a better option.

Former Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr Goran Persson, feels that India should take an active role in negotiating between the European Union and Russia, who are fighting over Ukraine. He believes that new developments will mean that China-Russia relations will prosper at the cost of Russia-Europe relations.

President of Germany's Green Party affiliated Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Ralf Fuecks, thinks that Ukraine has to "return to sovereignty within certain safeguards" and that "an agreement with Russia is possible". He hinted this could be in the form of a free trade zone and a more comprehensive economic cooperation.

What Ukraine really needs at this point is for both the West and Russia to work towards Ukraine's political and economic stability. The solution should see the territorial integrity of Ukraine being upheld and a common solution acceptable to all the sections of that country.