Opinion News - Page 28
The Donroe doctrine: How Trump’s Venezuela strike redefines US policy
Such actions replace a rules-based international order with one governed by power, increasing global mistrust and the long-term potential for conflict
Haunted by 2025, Pakistan enters 2026 in its own strategic illusions
With 2025 as the deadliest year in the recent past, Pakistan is fighting a losing battle. It seeks external relevance while struggling to stabilise its own frontiers
Maduro’s abduction exposes Western hypocrisy, mockery of international law
For India and the rest of the Global South, the outright abduction of a head of state is not troubling merely because of US action, but because it lays bare the complete helplessness of the rest of the world
Fake photos, real threats: Pakistan’s doctored imagery and the future of conflict
Future conflicts may be fought as much through fabricated visuals and engineered narratives as through missiles and manoeuvre. Nations that fail to prepare for this cognitive domain risk losing not battles—but belief
Ten global conflicts that make 2026 the year of uncertainty
From Trumpian volatility and Russian nuclear posturing to Chinese assertion: a deep dive into ten escalating global conflicts that make 2026 an uncertain year for humanity and world stability
Pakistan: After silencing civilian government and judiciary, Gen Munir is now after journalists
The real contest in Pakistan continues to be between Gen Asim Munir and Imran Khan. For the time being Munir holds all the cards, but Khan has shown spirit and resilience. Pakistan’s media is the latest casualty of this ongoing battle
Why western media acts more pious than the Pope on Venezuela raid when even Trump insists that it’s all about oil
Regardless of the immorality or illegality of Trump’s predatory foreign policy, it is evident that the western media will inevitably take on the role of the ‘guardians of the Empire’
How Khaleda Zia’s death and Rahman’s return may impact Bangladesh’s polls
The next general election in Bangladesh is likely to be held on February 12, and until that election takes place, it remains difficult to clearly discern the country’s political trajectory
The seduction of surgical strikes: Why history should temper today's applause
The applause surrounding Caracas should be restrained, not amplified. Strategic maturity lies not in celebrating capability, but in understanding its limits
Why Venezuela? The strategic logic behind Trump’s boldest gamble
The more the US interferes in Venezuela, the more the latter might drift into chaos. If it does, it would be a bigger threat to the US than it is today, as it lies in its backyard
Beyond regime change: Is Iran rewriting its civilisational story?
The latest season of this ‘Iranian Spring’ began on 28 December 2025, when highly influential merchants of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar revolted against the Iranian rial’s crash, hyperinflation, and a proposed 2026 budget featuring a 62 per cent tax hike.
America retreats, China cornered, Russia relieved: How Trump’s Venezuela raid may hand Bharat an opening
Donald Trump’s Venezuela raid, intended as a show of force, may instead mark a broader American retreat, reshaping China’s constraints, Russia’s calculations, and Bharat’s options
India’s semiconductor sector at a turning point: From vision to execution
India’s semiconductor strategy should be applauded not for its ambition alone, but for its evolving realism, a realism that blends policy focus, industrial pragmatism, ecosystem depth, and relentless execution
How Saudi-UAE fallout in Yemen raises fears of wider regional conflict
To allow any group to redraw borders through armed force and foreign patronage is to invite catastrophe at a critical connectivity chokepoint
How Venezuela is a moment of reckoning for Global South
For Brics nations and the larger Global South, the US attack on Venezuela is a warning of a coming world where sovereignty will be only rhetoric and multipolarity means hierarchy
How Saudi-UAE rivalry in Yemen could impact already fragile West Asia
In the context of Yemen, geography is both an asset and a liability, as its strategic location on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait offers control over critical maritime routes but also exposes it to regional conflicts and foreign interventions
India needs sharp pragmatism in Myanmar as elections set stage for Junta
After the elections, China will further expand its influence in Myanmar, which could affect India’s influence and regional security as well. India must have all its negotiating levers ready, even if it is through hard power
How Congress, Pentagon contain Potus overreach and how India should leverage it
Congress acts overtly through laws and funding, while the Pentagon uses threat assessments and signals. These serve as checks on presidential excesses and preserve strategic continuity, even if the White House moves toward ideological retrenchment
US attack on Venezuela and capture of Maduro: America’s way is the highway
America First is no longer a slogan; it is a doctrine, but the ledger of force rarely balances neatly
Bangladesh: How Yunus regime’s mobocracy has weaponised the persecution of minorities
By refusing to acknowledge the communal nature of the violence, the Yunus administration sent a clear signal: mobs would not be restrained
INSV Kaundinya: India’s push towards maritime decolonisation, reclaiming civilisational legacy
INSV Kaundinya’s maiden overseas voyage reclaims India’s centuries-old maritime legacy, challenging colonial narratives that painted the subcontinent as land-bound
Why New Delhi must master narrative warfare against US-China manoeuvres
External powers like the US and China are constantly trying to script India's relationships to fit their own visions of the world order, and this is the latest test of whether India can assert its own agency
Brotherhood under strain: How Saudi-UAE power play in Sudan, Yemen deepens regional instability
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have often diverged on several issues, from oil quotas to positions on various Afro-Arab conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war, the Abraham Accords, and increasing proximity to Israel
Sheikh Hasina’s trial: My argument was misread
At no point did I suggest that procedural criticism invalidates the moral or legal responsibility established by the tribunal’s findings
India and Bangladesh: Whose ‘chicken neck’, whose vulnerabilities?
As India plays mature diplomacy, subtle signals are being sent
Why US is so obsessed with Greenland
Resource rich Greenland is geographically part of North America, just off Canada’s coast, with its nearest European neighbour, Iceland, about 200 miles across the Denmark Strait—making it indispensable for the US
India’s Bangladesh policy must prioritise strategic restraint, diversified diplomacy
The coming months are critical for India to recalibrate its Bangladesh policy, emphasising engagement with moderate political actors and addressing security concerns to avert a deeper strategic setback
Parallel ambitions in the Gulf: Why Saudi-UAE equations demand a re-reading
In international politics, the most dangerous misjudgment is mistaking competition among partners for conflict among adversaries
Was Jeffrey Epstein untouched for years due to ‘ties’ with intel agencies?
The sex offender had unprecedented access and influence spanning several American presidencies
Ten global shocks that shaped 2025, and will define 2026
The year 2025 was marked by a series of shocks—from climate extremes and war to technological disruption and geopolitical instability—that reshaped the global order and will continue to define the world in 2026