US takes leap of faith toward Taliban, al-Qaeda

According to reports, the Taliban disclosed on Tuesday that five former Guantanamo inmates from their leadership hierarchy have joined their political office in Qatar. This dramatic development signals that the talks between the Taliban and the US are getting under way seriously in search of an Afghan settlement. The five former Guantanamo inmates were top …

Istanbul summit on Syria was successful but caveats remain

  The four-nation Turkey-Russia-Germany-France summit on Syria on October 27 in Istanbul had an impressive outcome. All participants – each with own interests – has some ‘takeaway’ from the summit, which itself is a measure of the success of the event. This is also important because the participants now have a reason to work together. …

Kerala makes history with large scale appointment of OBC, Dalit as temple priests

So, finally, Bharatiya Janata Party has identified the company it keeps in the Sabarimala issue and implicitly underscored its hidden agenda – Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Nair Service Society (NSS). The BJP president Amit Shah openly acknowledged this during a highly inflammatory public speech in Kannur, Kerala, yesterday. It is no big secret that …

‘Historic turning point’ in Japan-China relations overshadows Abe-Modi summit

  (A view of Mt. Fuji, Japan) Hyping up the forthcoming annual India-Japan summit in Tokyo on Monday is a thankless job. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale in his media briefing Friday performed optimally, even adding a touch of mystique to an informal lunch that Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will host for PM Modi at a …

What Trump’s pullout from INF treaty means

(Mikhail Gorbachev & Ronald Reagan signing INF treaty, Washington, December 8, 1987) President Donald Trump’s confirmation that the US is terminating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) with Russia will be regarded as a defining moment in international security. The INF, which was signed by then US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev …