It’s that time for raised hopes
Even without SAARC, India and Pakistan will have to engage with each other within the very framework of the SCO. So why not that bilateral meeting between South Asia’s midnight’s children to start afresh.
News & Views
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to visit Iran soon
Tokyo: Japan is arranging for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit Iran in the near future, Japan’s government spokesman said on Thursday, although details of the trip are being worked out.
Photo: Japan Times
Amidst air pollution crisis, humble bicycle back again in China
Cars have replaced bicycles as the primary means of transport in many Chinese cities but, with air pollution a major problem for the country, the bike is making a comeback, thanks to digital technology, and some 21st Century thinking.
Photo: Yimin Feng
Crafting an Indian response to Pakistan
It should not be impossible to think of creating another trade and communication-related entity to come up on the pattern of BIMSTEC with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran as its permanent members, and with an almost identical agenda as of the Bay of Bengal Initiative.
Photo: Representational Image: iStock)
Saudi Arabia hosts back-to-back summits amidst rising tensions with Iran, Iraq offers mediation
The summits are widely seen as a signal to Iran about the weight and clout that Saudi Arabia enjoys in the region and in the Muslim world.
Photo: Courtesy Al Arabiya
Uzbekistan allows return of its citizens from Middle East conflict zones
Uzbek citizens stranded in different conflict zones in the Middle East safely repatriated home, to be extended all facilities for rehabilitation and integration in society
Narendra Modi-led BJP returns to power in India with massive electoral win
With BJP winning 303 seats and NDA picking up 350 of total 542 seats, it is the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984
Libya about to descend into civil war, warns UN official
UNSMIL Chief war that unless fighting around the capital Tripoli stops, Libya risks ‘descending into a civil war which could lead to the permanent division of the country’.
Photo: UN/ Loey Felipe
The Game of Changes: The EU, China and the Middle East Investment Vortex
Vested interest groups in Arabic countries are not keen on opening up their borders to rival Arab businessmen. I would add that state actors in many Arab countries are also keen on monopolising transactions with the outside world, and specifically with the former colonial powers.
Photo: Getty Images/ Dan Kitwook
Kazakhstan’s repatriation of extremist fighters and families earns praise from UN expert
Kazakhstan’s repatriation of 231 of its citizens from conflict sites in Syria and Iraq, earlier this month has been welcomed by an independent UN expert
Photo: Wikimedia