Bilateral business and financial engagement is growing between India and China, with India taking advantage of China's favorable financing terms.

India has tried to address the concerns of Sri Lankan Tamils through development projects, but now faces a political dilemma with regional consequences.

At upcoming multilateral summits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an opportunity to expand India's regional position and economic links, and address issues such as terrorism and a rising China.

Australia is a case study for how the West prioritizes fossil fuels and military intervention over developing alternative energy and regional accord.

In its recent defense technology deal with the U.S., India has laid the groundwork for creating a robust long-term defense industrial base.

The AIIB is a game changer for China in multilateral financial architecture. The Bank presents both a challenge and an opportunity for India.

The Trump administration is attempting to dial down the tension with Iran, lowering the risk of military conflict and pushing for diplomatic negotiations.

According to reports, Amir Nasr-Azadani, a soccer player from Iran may face execution for participating in ongoing anti-government protests in the country.

Throughout 2022, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan introduced and enforced some of the worst gender-based discriminatory policies seen anywhere in the world.

For 65 years China has been taking over Tibet, abusing Tibetans and destroying their culture, and no one's doing anything about it.

Germany has been acting as an international leader in reducing its carbon footprint, and India can learn a lot from the example Germany is setting.

Solar power is now priced competitively with traditional forms of energy, which makes new nuclear power plants financially unviable.

North Korea conducted its fourth hydrogen bomb test last week, and reactions from around the world have ranged from outrage and alarm to dismissiveness.

Village-scale solar-powered minigrids are the most promising path for India to meet its linked aims of GDP growth and access to electricity for all.

The elections are over and the transition towards a democratic government in Myanmar is currently underway. However, the sailing isn't smooth.

Taiwan accepts World Health Organization invitation despite political caveat from China

The Paris Agreement on climate change, was signed in New York on April 22 by world leaders of 175 countries at the largest, single-day signing ceremony in history. What once seemed unthinkable, is now unstoppable. Every nation has been encouraged to join the chorus of voices combating climate change. So why has Taiwan, who is ready and willing, with vast experience to share, been left on the sidelines?

Should North Korea ever have the capacity to launch a nuclear missile that could reach the U.S. mainland, Trump would have approximately ten minutes to react and make a decision to counterattack.

Nazir SiyalKARACHI: Jeroen Willems, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Mission to Pakistan, called upon Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Syed Awais Qadir Shah, here on Tuesday. CEU Mission to Pakistan leader Jeroen was accompanied by Ms. … read more

Nazir SiyalKARACHI: Sindh Government have posted Mr. Mehboob Ali Siyal, as Secretary (Revenue), Board of Revenue Sindh, against an existing vacancy here yesterday. Mr. Mehboob Ali Siyal will take charge as Secretary Revenue on Wednesday. A vibrant Officer of Sindh … read more

Mukhtiar Hussain KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh General Secretary Dr. Masroor Ali Siyal was arrested at Al-Asif Square on his way to the Swabi rally, along with MPA Raja Azhar, two other MPAs, and a large number of officials and … read more

Juan López was gunned down on 14 September. An environmental activist, community leader and member of the Municipal Committee in Defence of the Commons and Public Goods of Tocoa, he was the latest victim of extractive greed in Honduras. Communities protecting the rivers that flow through the Bajo Aguán region have seen several of their […]

Last month, world leaders gathered at the time of the UN General Assembly in New York and agreed on a pioneering Pact for the Future. This global accord has implications across a broad range of issues that affect every country. It offers much hope for the poorest and most vulnerable countries on the planet, known […]

Christian Tiambo has always wished to uplift local farmers’ communities through cutting-edge science. As climate change wreaked havoc on local agriculture, Tiambo, a livestock scientist at the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) and at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), focused on conserving and developing livestock that could withstand environmental stress. Genomics, […]

Anyone interested in unsolved murders and disappearances will find much to study in Sri Lanka. Fifteen to twenty years ago, the country made global headlines, not only for the government’s military offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas but also for the numerous murders of journalists. The newly elected president, Anura Kumara […]

At the end of the first week at the 16th Conference of Parties on Biodiversity (COP16), finance emerges as the biggest issue but also shrouded in controversies. On Saturday, as the COP moved closer to its most crucial phase of negotiations, resource mobilization—listed under Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)—took centerstage, with […]

The students and the common people of Bangladesh dared to do something in 36 days of July-August that was considered simply impossible by most people just days before August 5, 2024. They said ‘enough is enough’ to an old order that outraged their humanity, robbed their dignity and the rulers imagined that their citadel of […]

On October 28, the Israeli parliament voted to ban activity from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Israel. Two bills were passed by the Knesset, Israel’s house of representatives, one that barred all UNRWA efforts, and another that prevents interactions between Israeli authorities and UNRWA […]

A small incident in the mounting mayhem of the 2024 elections crystalized the state of the dark art of politics in these United States. In Springfield, Ohio, a small midwestern industrial city, a woman named Anna Kilgore noticed that her cat, Miss Sassy, had been missing for a few days. Kilgore notified the police that she […]

Over the coming month, the United States has a window of opportunity to lift a multi-billion-dollar burden from Ukraine, and other countries in financial distress, without costing the US taxpayer a dime. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently considering ending its controversial “surcharges” — punitive fees that it imposes on countries whose debt exceeds […]

Social protection systems are essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, social protection is insufficient across Asia and the Pacific, and the region is at risk from megatrends: climate change, demographic shifts and digitalization. Tens of millions of people have been pushed into extreme poverty since COVID-19, reversing past gains, and many […]

Everything is at stake. Everything is at stake with nuclear weapons. While working as a nuclear war planner for the Kennedy administration, Daniel Ellsberg was shown a document calculating that a U.S. nuclear attack on communist countries would result in 600 million dead. As he put it later: “A hundred Holocausts.” That was in 1961. […]

The warnings from the United Nations and from anti-nuclear activists are increasingly ominous: the world is closer to a nuclear war—by design or by accident—more than ever before. The current conflicts—and the intense war of words—between nuclear and non-nuclear states—Russia vs. Ukraine, Israel vs. Palestine and North Korea vs. South Korea—are adding fuel to a […]

In recent years, the rhetoric, strategy and practice of nuclear deterrence has grown riskier, more urgent, more dangerous, less stable, and increasingly in the hands of deficient leaders and policymakers. Playing Nuclear Games The ten States that have manufactured and test detonated nuclear weapons since 1945, each have received and/or provided assistance to other States […]

How will Israel respond to Iran’s recent ballistic missiles barrage? “Strategic patience” is the best course. Israel has its hands full with Hamas and Hezbollah. Now is not the time to escalate a new major war with Iran, which could have nuclear implications. Israeli intelligence is still chafing from its failure to preempt Hamas’ attack […]

Russia is pursuing, during these contemporary times, a new form of economic architecture, non-hegemonic policies and simultaneously portraying its first-class military power in the world. Russia’s development paradigm is distinctively different and largely oriented towards Global South. While Russia stands against Western hegemony and dominance, and against NATO, Israel maintains a complex relationship between the […]

The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres congratulated grassroots Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. “The atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as the hibakusha, are selfless, soul-bearing witnesses of the horrific human cost of nuclear weapons,” he said in a statement. “While their numbers grow smaller each […]

Information manipulation and misinformation are not new phenomena, but they have taken on exaggerated importance, especially with the massive use of social media. Hostile and stigmatizing narratives against civil society and civic activism, whether intentional or not, especially when propagated by authorities, create undue restrictions and hinder the exercise of the rights to freedom of […]

The right to abortion is a human rights issue that no government agency, courts, local and state legislators, or anyone else has the right to violate or impede in any shape or form. It is a fundamental right that every woman must be free to exercise with impunity, in consultation with her doctor only, who […]

In a world where the fight for land rights often pits the powerful against the marginalized, Indigenous communities stand as resilient defenders of their ancestral lands. These communities, rich in culture and tradition, face numerous challenges, from encroachment and exploitation to climate change. Empowering Indigenous communities is not just a matter of justice; it is […]

Following the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants, Israel’s response has led to unprecedented high mortality levels in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian death toll over the twelve month period is believed to be among the highest such civilian casualty rates in the 21st century. During the first seven months of the […]

When Dr Gamani Corea, a former Secretary-General of the Geneva-based UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was holding court in the delegate’s lounge, I asked him what he thought of the bitter dispute between then Secretary-General (SG) Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996) and the United States over the Egyptian’s determination to win re-election for a second […]

In a vibrant display of culture and tradition, Kazakhstan recently hosted the 5th World Nomad Games in Astana, celebrating the enduring spirit of nomadic heritage against a backdrop of modernity and globalization. This biennial event, which drew competitors and spectators from around the globe, served not only as a showcase of traditional sports but also […]

At a recent media briefing, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, criticized the United States for its support of educational programs, media and NGOs in Africa. Zakharova argued that these efforts are part of a broader attempt by the U.S. to impose Western values and governance models on sovereign African states, framing it […]

New institutional economics (NIE) has received another so-called Nobel prize, ostensibly for again claiming that good institutions and democratic governance ensure growth, development, equity and democracy. Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson (AJR) are well known for their influential cliometric work. AJR have elaborated earlier laureate Douglass North’s claim that property rights have been […]

This month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had an opportunity to end one of its most reviled policies and lift billions of dollars of debt off the backs of crisis-stricken developing countries. It chose not to. The IMF’s ostensible mission is to promote financial stability by providing loans to countries facing economic challenges or crises. […]

Migration, trade, the defence of democracy, the confrontation with China and the collapse of multilateralism are issues that shed more doubts than certainties on Latin America’s expectations of the imminent presidential elections in the United States. Interest and tension have grown after dozens of polls and bookmakers have shown similar chances of victory for Democrat […]

In the coming decades, the Asia-Pacific region faces a series of challenges that threaten to exacerbate poverty. Among these, climate change, demographic shifts, particularly population ageing and the rise of digital technologies stand out as three interconnected global megatrends. A recent technical paper supporting the Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific 2024 explores various […]