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Whilst the US presidential polls are never about foreign policy issues, the 2016 elections would be markedly different and foreign policy is going to be central to the elections. And Marco Rubio's ability to articulate the message of America's international leadership will sustain him in the long race to the Oval Office.

India's Maritime Agenda may appear to be a major step forward, but unless translated into a time-bound action plan which is resolutely implemented and closely monitored, it may remain merely another document.

Resolution of the maritime dispute between India and Bangladesh has opened up a new horizon for cooperation between the two countries. They can now join together to exploit the natural sources in the Bay. Both countries should try to transform the Bay of Bengal region into a major hub for trade and commerce, bringing prosperity to the region.

Post-9/11, counter-terrorism experts all over the world have been focussing attention on three new aspects of counter-terrorism: counter-terrorism relating to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), maritime counter-terrorism and counter-terrorism relating to energy security. Each of these requires a new approach and a new thinking.

During a lecture on 'Japan's foreign policy: Strategy and practice', Japan's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Akitaka Saiki reiterated the Japanese position that the security issues in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and East China Sea cannot be treated separately.

Debate on whether Indian armed forces need a continental land defence strategy or a sea-based maritime strategy has gained currency in recent years, but there is yet a clear answer to emerge.

As part of the Maritime Security Programme which was launched by then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash on 19th May 2006 at ORF Chennai, Observer Research Foundation, the National Maritime Foundation and the College of Naval Warfare, ORF Mumbai joined hands to conduct an International seminar at ORF Mumbai on 11th and 12th January 2007.

I am not suggesting that public anger at CWG mismanagement is misplaced. Excess of it is, when the baby is thrown out with the bath water. Those awkward smile of anchors, a sort of disguised self denigration, is actually a function of acute inferiority complex which has deep roots in colonialism and beyond.

Massive migrations, triggered by natural calamities and the decade-long 'war on terror', are severely testing state's credibility and capability in Pakistan. Reeling under the cumulative effect of terrorism and economic meltdown, Pakistan, with a growing population.

There are quite a few things which are known about Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the banned Sunni extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), who was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad on October 6. What is not so well-known is that the Maulana and his organisation had a cosy working relationship with Pakistan's intelligence and security forces for more than a decade.

The growing US-India defence relationship would have been unthinkable in the past days of sanctions. Whether communication between the two countries' systems can be improved or not will be a key determinant in how far, and fast, it can go.

The South Asian region lacks a common plan of action to deal with the impact of climate change despite possessing common ecological habitat. Africa and Latin America fare a tad better on this front. India should take the lead to create elaborate policies for joint management of common resources and ecological preservation.

MDP's decision to call off the daily protest demonstrations, demanding early presidential polls, has revived the hopes of early resumption of the All-Party Roadmap Talks, initiated by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan at the instance of Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai in March.

Combined with the Maldives government's demonstrated preparations for a face-off, the tone and tenor of the Opposition's preparations for the May Day rally, and their call for the civil society to chip in, indicate a possible repeat of the 'December 23 movement' protests (2011-12) that led to President Nasheed's exit.

Any evaluation of Shia politics in West Asia would be flawed until it takes into account the considerable influence that the holy city of Najaf exerts on Baghdad, Teheran, the Hezbullah and the majority of Bahrainis.

A news report in the internet edition of Times of India, on March 16, 2004, said Naxalites of the People¿s War Group (PWG) possess Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers. It further claimed that, at a meeting of the Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zone Committee (AOBSZC), PWG leaders asked their cadres to disrupt the April 2004 parliamentary and Legislative elections process from the beginning.

In a fast paced novel or movie P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Swami Ramdev, Anna Hazare and the media, would all be found to be batting on the same side, heightening dramatic effect from their own vantage points in geometrical progression, filling the media's coffers with mysterious altruism.

The "old, new and the social media" in India are "swayed less by ideology and more by commercial interests," according to a senior media professor, Dr Maya Ranganathan.

Attributing activism by media to rapid decline in governance, economic scams, failings of Government agencies and religious heads, management and media consultant T.V. Krishnamurthy says the present media scenario in India is 'regulatable' but cannot be done by the government.

Participants at a seminar on "Media regulation: Is Status Quo the Option?" said India cannot afford to be an exception among democracies, with no regulation of cross-holdings in the media. Editorial independence is indispensable if the right to freedom of expression is to be effectively exercised.

Media Regulation: Is Status Quo the Answer? This was the topic of an interesting panel discussion organised by Observer Research Foundation and The Hammurabi & Solomon at the India International Centre on August 6.

While a combination of statutory regulation and self regulation is at work in the UK, India will find it very hard to improve the standard of its media industry through self regulation alone, according to panellists at a conference on "Perspectives on Media Regulation: Lessons from the UK".

If proof were required, the DMK-Congress spat on the Sri Lanka related vote at the UN Human Rights Council has once again provided it. Foreign Affairs will increasingly impinge on national politics.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev added some flair to the normally staid Indo-Russian diplomatic engagements by visiting the Taj Mahal and "rekindling Russia's Bollywood love affair" with a trip to a film studio in Mumbai.

Experts stress upon amending the Land Acquisition Act, Ask for making rehabilitation a duty of the State

The Indian railway is the largest passenger rail system in the world, yet it makes up just about 13% of India's transport sector

On May 25, four terrorists (initial reports suggested almost a dozen armed men) scaled the perimeter walls of PNS Mehran, Pakistan's only naval air base, located in Karachi. Guided by their commander through hi-tech wireless systems,

The armed assault and siege carried out by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Pakistan's highly secured Pakistan Navy's Mehran airbase in Karachi (May 22-23) has raised fundamental concerns about the continuing failure on the part of Pakistan's intelligence and security agencies,

The second Mekong-Ganga Dialogue, held in Laos and Thailand, effectively threw diverse and comparative insights into wide range of water issues plaguing both the regions and deliberated upon possibilities of cooperation and collective actions to sustainably manage water resources.

A three-day Mekong-Ganga Dialogue has stressed the need for shifting thinking around river-basin development and climate change issues from narrow national security concerns to a regional perspective with ecological and social concerns.

After 70 years of being constrained, following its defeat in two world wars and being partitioned into East and West Germany, a unified Germany is today poised to be a great power again, having overcome its historical legacy of militarism, and the Holocaust. And German Chancellor Merkel's visit underlines the changed dynamics of the relationship between India and Germany.

Corruption indulged in by late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh was allegedly phenomenal, and since he died in a helicopter crash and left behind a legend, all allegations against him are now forgotten.

Enrique Peña Nieto, the young and telegenic candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has been elected Mexico's next president with about 38% of the popular vote. His closest competitor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).

If efforts to dilute tensions between the West and Russia fail, Delhi will have to intensify its engagement with Moscow to develop the relationship as leverage against what is perceived to be India's primary strategic challenge - the rise of China. India and Russia will have to creatively use various forums to circumscribe Chinese power.

Talking on "Mystery of the missing MH-370" at ORF Chennai, former Airports Authority of India chairman and Air Vice Marshal H.M. Shahul argued the possibility of an electrical fire and the helplessness of the cabin crew in such a case.

With the Chinese navy's increasing ability to project power into the Indian Ocean, it is important for New Delhi to strengthen its strategic outpost in the Andaman and Nicobar territory and remain a security provider to the region.

The historical flaw on who controls Delhi Police has deepened into a crator. Can 80,000 cops remain unaccountable to the representative elected by the people of Delhi?

While it may be necessary to keep channels to Pakistan open, so long as the Pakistan military remains the arbiter of Pakistan's destiny, it may be prudent to keep in mind what may be in store for both India and Afghanistan.

The ministers in Baburam Bhattarai cabinet resigned en masse just before midnight on May 3 to pave the way for the formation of a new national consensus government.

There is no doubt that the roots of today's problems lie in the 2003 American invasion of Iraq. But the blame for what is happening today must be shared equally between the Americans and the Iraqis, primarily the Shia leadership of al Maliki.

Only a military approach is not enough to solve the problem of Islamic State. A crucial part of the overall strategy to deal with the IS should include creation of an inclusive state apparatus inside Iraq and Syria, felt speakers at a conference on "Transformations in West Asia: Regional Perspectives" organised at ORF.

At a time when India flaunts its 'arms card' to woo global arms suppliers, its attitude towards strengthening its R&D base has been pathetic. Indian spending on R&D (less than $2 bn) is one-fiftieth of that of the US ($96 bn) and one-fifteenth that of China ($32 bn).

While the defence of our motherland is the mandate of the toiling soldier, that soldier too needs to be shielded from unjust onslaughts. The defender must be defended. If we ignore this fundamental truth, we will do so at our own peril.

A million deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and heaven knows how many more to follow in Syria, and wherever else, is but small sacrifice to keep the flame of freedom burning eternally and all flames need fuel.

Following a tip off, the Colombian Police have chanced upon an indigenously built mini submarine in the port of Tumaco, near the Colombian border with Ecuador. Reportedly, the vessel can carry up to 10 tonnes of cocaine valued at about $US200 million in the international market. According to Eduardo Fernandez, head of the Administrative Security Department (DAS), a detective force, ¿They started building the submarine about six months ago, using

The controversy over the Lok Pal refuses to die down. Coupled with the Baba Ramdev's aborted fast over unearthing black money, particularly that which is stashed away in overseas tax havens, Anna Hazare's continuing call on a 'Jan Lok Pal bill'.