Ukrainian casualties in the conflict are running at a rate of somewhere between 600 and 1,000 a day, according to Guardian. The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations held a videoconference on May 31 titled Russia’s War in Ukraine: How does it end? The president of the think tank Richard Haas chaired the panel of …
Creating cold war conditions in Asia isn’t easy
Military equipment given by Japan to Ukraine being loaded in an aircraft at Yokota US Air Force Base, Japan (File photo) Only three weeks remain for the summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Madrid, which is expected to unveil a new Strategic Concept aimed at redefining “the security challenges facing the …
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An appalling slur on the civilisation state that is India
Prime Minister Modi (R) and Jordan’s King Abdullah addressed the conference ‘Islamic Heritage: Promoting Understanding and Moderation’ in New Delhi on February 28, 2018 The outrage in the Muslim world over the transgression of the red line in anti-Muslim politics in India is understandable, although the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party acted swiftly for damage control. …
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USCIRF report is a writing on the wall
Tapestry of India’s rich religious diversity Factually speaking, one must be a cynic to be dismissive about the findings of the annual 2022 report on India in the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In particular, the report recommends that India be designated as a Country of Particular Concern, a country that engages in …
Reports of OPEC+ death are greatly exaggerated
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud (R) met visiting Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Riyadh, May 31, 2022 The fact that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states held a joint ministerial meeting with their Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Saudi capital of Riyadh at this point in time in global …
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Biden tweaks Ukraine narrative
Yars ICBM launchers participated in drills of Russian Strategic Rocket Forces, Ivanovo region, northeast of Moscow, June 1, 2022 The US President Joe Biden’s op-Ed in the New York Times on Tuesday on the Ukraine war starts with a bluff. He says President Vladimir Putin had thought Russia’s special operation would only last days. How Biden …
Ukraine is a millstone around Europe’s neck
“Brotherly friends”: Ukrainian President Zelensky (R) and visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda, Kiev, May 22, 2022 The fallout of the war in Ukraine over Europe is largely seen in terms of the uncertainties over the continent’s heavy dependence on Russian energy and the impact of it on the economies of the 27 EU member countries. Imposing …
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Indo-Pacific power dynamic in radical shift
A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber takes off during a 13-hour joint air patrol with China in Asia-Pacific region, at an unidentified location (image released by Russian MOD on May 24, 2022) The joint air patrol over the waters of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea on Monday by an air task force …
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Ukraine after 90 days of war
Amidst intense fighting under way, Russian forces entered Severodonetsk city in Luhansk, Donbass region, May 24, 2022 The Western narrative that Russia is facing defeat at the hands of the Ukrainian military is falling apart. The contrived narrative that Ukraine was “winning” made Kiev delusional which in turn created conditions for Washington and London to …
IPEF will be a hard sell in Indo-Pacific
From L-R: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the launch of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity at Izumi Garden Gallery in Tokyo on May 23, 2022 A new economic bloc comprising twelve countries of the Indo-Pacific region and the United States was unveiled on Monday …