Campaigning in the Maldives’ fourth multi-party parliamentary elections has entered the final stretch. Voting will take place on April 21. The fracturing of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and the fraying of old loyalties, have thrown traditional voter allegiances into question, injecting unpredictability into the contest. In … Read more
In March 2024, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held their 10th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Seoul, marking the first such gathering in almost six years. A week later, in their trilateral technology dialogue, the United States, South Korea, and India explored possibilities for collaboration in key … Read more
On August 5, 2019, the Narendra Modi government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which had guaranteed autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The state was bifurcated into two federally-governed union territories (UTs): Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and Ladakh. The upcoming elections to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian … Read more
The debate on which refugees qualify for Indian citizenship has intensified with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 and notifying the rules in March this year. The CAA 2019 amended the Citizenship Act of 1955. It uses religion to determine whose citizenship can be fast-tracked. The legislation provides … Read more
Relations between China and Japan have often been characterized as a “cold peace.” As such, they have been stormy enough to create a massive rejection of China in Japan’s public opinion, and a solidification of the Japan-U.S. alliance, which entered a new stage with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s state visit to the United States this … Read more
When the United States and other NATO nations left Afghanistan as the Taliban seized control in August 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans sought refuge in Pakistan. Almost three years later, many still remain, trapped in resettlement limbo – including roughly 20,000 Afghans awaiting promised visas to the United States. Now, these Afghans face the … Read more
Messages by two influential Taliban leaders in Afghanistan this week showed tensions between hardliners and more moderate elements who want to scrap harsher policies and attract more outside support, experts said Thursday. The messages for Eid al-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan were delivered by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who defended the imposition of Islamic … Read more
In an unprecedented show of assertiveness, the Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition party, released its election manifesto ‘Nyay Patra’ (justice document) in New Delhi on April 5 followed by a massive launch in the Congress-ruled southern state of Telangana, the next day. Addressing the public rally, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised burning issues like … Read more
India’s Kerala state is famous for its languid beauty, laidback lifestyle, and stunning beaches. But it’s what lies beneath that has the country’s nuclear industry excited. Kerala is also home to a massive amount of thorium, which India’s nuclear scientists see as the prospective mineral to help fuel an indigenous nuclear power program. Indeed, India has … Read more
Amid escalating climate concerns and pressing environmental challenges, South Asia stands at a critical juncture. Recent initiatives, such as commitments forged at COP28 and ongoing efforts to combat air pollution, underscore the region’s steadfast commitment to steering toward a sustainable future. Internationally, endeavors persist to ensure coherence between last year’s COP28, this year’s COP29 in … Read more