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After the court sentencing of former Maldives President Nasheed, India has expressed 'deep concern over the developments' and said that it was watching the situation. Yet, it may not be the best of time for Nasheed?s supporters in Maldives and sympathisers in India.

With much of the international fury directed at Russian President Putin for supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine, the suspects in shooting down the Malaysian airliner, Narendra Modi may soon find that there are costs associated with India's "privileged" partnership with Russia.

What impact the capture of Saddam Hussein by the US troops on the night of December 13,2003, would have on the ground situation in Iraq? Would it lead to a petering out of the resistance movement and the acts of terrorism against the coalition troops, their Iraqi collaborators and foreign organisations? Would it weaken the Iraqi opposition to the occupation of Iraq by the US and allied troops? Would it mark the beginning of the return of normalcy

China has been cracking down on US companies for a while and the pressure has intensified after revelations that many of them have collaborated with the NSA to spy on the Internet. Google is virtually persona non grata in China now, as are Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

The WTO has been considerably weakened.

Indian Navy requires at least 30 submarines to fulfil its commitments. But the Navy currently has only 13 subs - that too fairly old diesel electric conventional submarines . Shockingly, only half of them are operational at any given time.

Across Asia, there is a great demand for India to play a more active role, one befitting its size and interests. But, whenever push comes to shove, we run up against two problems-first, our economy that lacks heft and second, our military which unable to play a role outside our borders.

The successful Agni V test adds to the incremental steps that India has been taking to enhance its strategic deterrent capabilities. This has been marked earlier this year by the commencement of the sea trials of the Arihant, nuclear propelled ballistic missile firing submarine.

From Agra to air-link, it has been one long U-turn for the Pakistani leadership of President Pervez Musharaff. Today, he readily agrees to address peripheral issues affecting relations with India, and has even ¿unilaterally¿ announced the restoration of over-flights for Indian craft. Going a step further, he has mooted the conferment of Nishan-e-Pakistan, the nation¿s highest civilian title on Prime Minister Vajpayee, if and when the latter ma

India and Bangladesh relations got a major boost following the signing of two agreements, an extradition treaty and a liberalised visa agreement between the two neighbouring countries.

There are many obstacles for the US-China summit, such that the American side is simply not ready for a substantive negotiation. But there are also many areas of discussion, including North Korea, the One-China policy and trade.

A lot will depend on how the TNA and the NPC proceed during the upcoming fishers' talks in Colombo. For any fishers-negotiated solution to be effective, it has to have the cooperation of the Tamil Nadu and Northern Province Governments across the Palk Straits.

India-US defence ties are driven not only by business and commercial interests, but by the logic of geopolitics. Sustained bipartisan support in favour of burgeoning India-US ties is necessary.

The new foreign trade policy (2015-20) announced by the Commerce Minister recently is aimed at doubling India's exports from $465.9 billion in 2013-14 to $900 billion in 2020. However, for this, India has to gain the reputation of producing good quality, zero-defect products which can compete in international markets. To achieve this goal, much needs to be done.

The government should immediately stop this aviation pricing strategy if it wants to remain being seen as serious about raising investor confidence. One wonders, if the move by Air India has the prior approval and blessing from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

India and the US face a growing anti-access challenge. By working together to mitigate A2/AD threats, both the countries may come to a better mutual understanding on major security issues in Asia.

The al Qaeda video showing its current head Ayman al-Zawahari declaring a renewed bout of jihad in the Indian subcontinent has triggered widespread alarm in the region, especially in India. The alarm over a video may seem exaggerated but there are enough reasons for India to worry.

Remember the Kremlin Watchers of yore during the height of the cold war and their best-sellers on the Evil Empire? And the scary stories on communism they used to disseminate? And how the newspaper columns of those days were filled with their analyses? And the so-called classified documents of the Soviet State and Communist Party to which they managed to have access and which they used liberally in their writings and books?

Sections of the Spanish media, quoting the authorities investigating the Madrid blasts of March 11,2004, have reported that the terrorists, who orchestrated the blasts, had used the mobile telephones as timers for the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along with copper detonators, different from the aluminium detonators used in the past by the ETA, the Basque terrorist organisation. According to one report, the IEDs had the alarms set for 7-39

There are two epicentres of terrorism today. One is in the AfPak region, a byproduct of the Cold War. Another epicentre which has risen in the recent times is in West Asia, which in some ways represents the first post-Cold War conflict between various competing forces.

Following the ideology of global Jihadism and maintaining links with Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab is emerging as a lethal organisation in Africa, posing a strategic challenge to the United States besides Somalia and its neighbours.

Today the two biggest countries in the world - the US and China - are playing in the world arena on their own terms. Jobs are, indeed, something to be worried about because not only is there a threat of a deflationary spiral in the US but there is also a huge fiscal deficit. This means austerity (decline in demand) and job losses.

The visit demonstrated the diversified and comprehensive nature of the India-Australia partnership.

There are only two ways to look at the recent decision of the US administration to arm Pakistan with new weapons. First, as the Bush administration officials have been trying, rather hard, to convince the international community, particularly India, that the weapons they are selling to President Pervez Musharraf¿s Pakistan are meant to fight terrorism.

The tremors from the convulsions wracking the Arab world are being felt in India too, in the amplitude that the Hazare drama is acquiring. This may not be grasped immediately as independent India has an autonomous record of organising non-violent political and social protests

At the end of a French delegation's visit to Pakistan recently, the Pakistan Foreign Office put out its usual statement. It referred to Pakistan as an anchor of peace in the region and said that the leader of the French delegation, former Premier Senator (Francois) Poncet, had commended Pakistan's role in promoting peace and stability.

Japan’s ties with the US face uncertainty under Trump, with trade disputes, security tensions, and shifting global alliances. Concerns over US reliability are pushing Japan to strengthen regional partnerships, maintain economic ties with Washington, and cautiously re-engage with China

Even assuming that Gaddafi is gone for good, Libya's future still looks uncertain. If Libya becomes unstable, violent, or a fertile ground for radicals, it will raise questions about the wisdom of the entire enterprise.

Delhi must bite the bullet and make the political case for moving forward boldly with Islamabad and Dhaka. Nothing will demonstrate India's commitment to transforming its relations with its neighbours more than an early visit to Pakistan by the Prime Minister.

At first glance, the July 18 India-US joint statement promises a giant leap forward in bilateral relations and a paradigm shift in the US policy towards India. The agreement undoubtedly is a testimony to the growing trust and meaningful strategic partnership between New Delhi and Washington.

The US needs to have a more practical approach combating the Islamic State, and it needs to collaborate with partner countries to end Islamic radicalism, according to a scholar from the Center for American Progress.

One grieving mother camping outside the ranch where President Bush is on vacation has made her countrymen sit up and introspect about the war the US is waging in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan, mother of army specialist Casey Sheehan who died in the Sadr City section of Baghdad on April 4, 2004, and other family members who too have lost their loved ones, have become the new face of opposition to the war in Iraq.

Describing the US's 'Pivot to Asia' as "rhetoric without reassurance", Chatham House scholar on US foreign policy says it is a great strategy, but it has been badly implemented.

At a decisive meeting on the future of LAWS, countries such as Pakistan and Cuba have called for a pre-emptive ban, while others like US, Germany and Russia disagree.

The Al Qaeda in Iraq, headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is of Jordanian origin, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the blasts directed at three hotels in Amman on November 9,2005, in which about 60 innocent civilians, the majority of them Jordanian nationals, were killed. There is no valid reason for doubting the claim.

We can turn blue in the face discussing the importance of the rule of law but more than its imposition, isn’t it the responsibility of every citizen to follow the law, both in letter and spirit?

If the U.S. partners with India for more efficient industrialisation and supports an "India exception" in global climate talks, it could be the kind of investment that cements ties between these two countries. From the perspective of a stable international order, it would be a big deal; from the perspective of climate talks, it is the only realistic path forward.

By announcing the American decision to ¿nominate¿ Pakistan as a ¿major non-NATO ally¿, US Secretary of State Colin Powell may have done a calculated disservice to the ongoing peace process between Islamabad and New Delhi. His reference to greater military-to-military cooperation with Islamabad may have stirred,

While Kremlin may be playing to a Russian audience by blocking the West, broader interests, namely, geopolitics, multilateralism, regional stability, and doubts about the feasibility of UNSC resolutions drive its actions in Syria.

The Modi government should recognise the advantages of a defence diplomacy that mobilises external partnerships to accelerate India's defence modernisation, shapes its regional strategic environment and helps Delhi emerge as an indispensable element of a new balance of power system in the Indo-Pacific.

This shift in Germany’s strategic posture aligns well with India’s willingness to play a larger global role.

India should work more closely with the members of the US Congress in order to strengthen the strategic relationship between the two largest democracies in the world.