The California summit between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 7-8 came at a time when there was a heightened tension between the world’s two preeminent powers. But divisive issues ‘from computer hacking to America’s ‘pivot to Asia’ must not have claimed all of the attention. The next ten years will be characterized by major …

On 3 July 2013, General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, the incumbent Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Egypt removed President Mohamed Morsi and suspended the Egyptian constitution after ongoing public protests. Thus Egypt went again into the hands of army and the rise of the nascent democracy was curtailed. The Egyptian uprising of 2011 was about many things, but one …

Lambah and Khan now form a credible channel of communication between Singh and Sharif, thanks to their long experience in India-Pakistan negotiations. Lambah has been PM Singh’s back channel negotiator with General Pervez Musharraf and President Asif Ali Zardari since 2005. He was high commissioner to Pakistan and has known the Sharifs for more than a quarter of a century. …

The terrible floods in India’s tiny north Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, which killed more than 1,000 people, left 70,000 stranded for days and destroyed livelihoods, have been officially termed a natural calamity caused by cloudbursts and unprecedented heavy monsoon rainfall. However, the true causes of the epic tragedy lie in the grievous damage recently wrought on the region’s ecology by …

The Iranian President-elect, Dr Hassan Rowhani, himself went out of his way to signal his willingness for a new relationship with Riyadh. Even Saudis, who are usually sceptical about Iranian intentions, are encouraged by the new Iranian president. “Moderation in foreign policy means neither surrender nor confrontation but constructive and efficacious interaction with the world,” Mr Rowhani said in his …

We can’t address climate change without carbon reduction, but we also can’t afford to neglect a vital second option: carbon capture. Captured carbon needs to be stored, or converted into products, or even recycled into methanol and other fuels. Experience using carbon dioxide to recover oil shows that large volumes of the gas can be stored underground without significant leaks, …

Pakistani voters decisively repudiated the country’s outgoing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led government, which for five years served as a pliant instrument of US imperialism, extending the Af-Pak War across northwestern Pakistan and imposing IMF austerity measures. Results of elections held on May 11 for national and four provincial assemblies indicate that the PPP’s traditional electoral rival, the Pakistan Muslim League …

The armed conflicts in Syria are continuing unabatedly. Although the Syrian army has succeeded in precluding rebels’ military dominance plan in the city of Aleppo, the clashes have not tilted in favour of any side of the conflicts. The close distance between Aleppo and Turkish borders and Turkey’s generous logistic support to the anti-government rebels have impeded the total retreat …

Hassan Rouhani’s election victory can help ease tensions in the Middle East and with the United States Although Rouhani had been well ahead in the final pre-election polls, no one expected him or anyone else to receive enough votes to avoid a runoff. That he did so in a six-horse race is astonishing. The result confirms that Iran’s elections are …

In 2013 election, for the first time ever, the grip on power of the National Front (Barisan Nasional – BN), the coalition that has ruled the country for several decades, was on the brink of collapse. On the other hand, the Peoples’ Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat – PR) – a three-party coalition formed by the People’s Justice Party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic …