There are moments in the long march of international affairs when a summit, otherwise destined for the archives of routine diplomacy, acquires the resonance of a turning point. The BRICS Summit convened
In the last days of March, I was in China’s new city of Xiong’an, less than a two-hour drive from Beijing. The city is being built to relieve congestion in the capital,
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As the U.S.–China rivalry escalates, a new frontier quietly emerges: Balochistan. This Pakistani province has become a silent epicentre of global power struggles, with its vast reserves of copper, gold, and lithium—critical
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It is well known that the judgments delivered by courts at different levels are not always consistent, as they are often based on the perspectives of the judges regarding the interpretation of
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US President Donald Trump wasn’t joking. As promised, he has launched a dramatic overhaul of his country’s trade policy, introducing sweeping tariffs to force what he calls a rebalancing of imports and
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President Donald Trump wants to be a modern ‘Stupor Mundi or wonder of the world. The last ‘stupor mundi’ was the celebrated German Holy Roman Emperor and crusader, Federick II, known as
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The West has long cherished political correctness as though it were a core democratic value. This drive to ‘civilise’ public discourse has been especially aimed at illiberal democracies or post-socialist societies that are
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In my nearly 66 years of trekking and travelling in Nepal, from a Second Lieutenant to a General, in every rank, I have savoured Nepal at its best – from dawn to
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In January 2025, Indonesia – the world’s fourth-largest country by population (282 million) with the seventh-largest Gross Domestic Product by purchasing power parity – joined the BRICS+ bloc. Eleven countries are now in this
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Sri Lanka’s remittances from its overseas expatriate workers rose to a near-record high, increasing by 21.1 percent to $693.3 million in March 2025 compared to the same month last year, helped by
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We studied together at the Royal College. He was two batches senior to me, but we were in the same Royal College Cadet Platoon. He was our cadet Sergeant in 1978 Platoon.
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“When we contemplate the sufferings of Jesus, He grants us, according to the measure of our faith, the grace to practice the virtues He revealed during those sacred hours.” – St. Angela Merici.
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An April 10, 2025, report indicated that no suspect movement of any LWE (Left-Wing Extremist) cadres was noticed during a combing operation in the forest areas in Wayanad (Kerala). A three-day joint
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Late spring is full of vitality. As China and Vietnam celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, I will soon pay a state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Comrade To
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With the foreplay over and US-Iranian talks commencing in Muscat on Saturday, a constructive engagement has begun in right earnestness. The sure sign of it is that Iran’s currency rose nearly 6
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A version of this column originally appeared in The Daily Pioneer, New Delhi, on 12 April 2025 -Editors Less than twelve hours after proudly boasting at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)
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