Global affairs | The Daily Star

  • Dysfunctional superpowers on both sides of the Atlantic

    The greatest spectacle in the life of the US president—the annual State of the Union Address before a joint congress—is now uncertain as the continued non-essential-services shutdown of the US government is currently the longest on record at nearly a month.

  • Alliance signal from ground zero of India's electoral battle

    Politics, so goes the old adage, is the art of the possible. More so when it is the election season in India. In the build-up to the parliamentary elections just about

  • The never-ending wall stalemate

    A nail-biting drama is unfolding over US President Donald Trump's inflexible demand for a wall on the US-Mexico border and the Democratic-led Congress's equally resolute refusal to give him the money.

  • Syria's Kurds: The new frontline in confronting Iran and Turkey

    US President Donald J Trump's threat to devastate Turkey's economy if Turkish troops attack Syrian Kurds allied with the United States in the wake of the announced withdrawal of American forces potentially serves his broader goal of letting regional forces fight for common goals like countering Iranian influence in Syria.

  • Why the BJP badly needs allies

    Is the BJP searching for new allies ahead of the 2019 polls? Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks in Chennai to his party workers give an indication that the saffron party is serious about alliances.

  • What does the future hold for Assam?

    It seems like “Yesterday Once More” in the political churn in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. First, it is the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to weed out

  • Quota politics in Indian election season

    Quota politics has taken the centre stage ahead of fresh parliamentary elections due in April-May of this year. The Lok Sabha, the lower House, and the Rajya Sabha, the upper

  • Rethinking free trade agreements in uncertain times

    After US President Donald Trump withdrew from Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), involving 12 countries on the Pacific rim, on his first day in office, Japan, Australia and their closest allies proposed and promoted the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to draw the US back into the region to counter China's fast-growing power and influence.

  • Delhi's psychedelic face masks

    I was in Delhi last month, partly for work and partly to devour the winter delicacies. Lately this city has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. One of them is air pollution—both the print and electronic media emphasising once more that it had again reached hazardous levels.

  • Rahul the politician comes of age

    In the last one year after taking over the reins of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi has gained in stature. His acceptability in the party is complete. A more confident and aggressive Gandhi has taken control of the organisation and is seen to be leading from the front.

  • 2018: The year of competing dangerously

    The year 2018 was not one of living dangerously, as most of us mere mortals want more than ever to live a quiet life. The year has also not been easy for any leader, as Theresa May knows all too well.

  • Farm loan waivers and political imperatives in India

    It is election season in India and it is raining sops for farmers, the most key segment of the electorate, in the form of farm loan waivers running into thousands of crores of Rupees.

  • India's bid for enhanced regional role

    Indian President Ram Nath Kovind's state visit to Myanmar (December 10-13) stood out among his other overseas forays in more ways than one. It brought out the full range of the strategic dimension of the ties between New Delhi and Naypyidaw that have slowly gathered in content over the years.

  • Modi's dilemma: Hindutva or Vikas?

    Hardline Hindutva or livelihood issues? Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is in the throes of an internal debate about which of the two issues should occupy a

  • Belt and Road Initiative: The hurdles along the way

    China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious programme which seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime network with six economic corridors.

  • Different corners of Modi's diplomacy

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended two separate trilateral summit meetings in quick succession on the side-lines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, underlining India's diplomatic efforts to position itself as a key player in the evolving international order, staying away from the pitfalls of strategic alliances caused by rivalry among leading powers.

  • Can religion decide Indian citizenship?

    The determination of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push through the controversial constitution amendment Bill in the coming winter session of parliament

  • The unique benefits of Asean's involvement

    At the end of the 33rd Asean summit in Singapore on November 15, Singapore formally handed over the symbolic gavel of Asean chairmanship to Thailand, which it last held in 2009. The one-year rotating term will officially begin on January 1, 2019.

  • Can a religious corridor end India-Pakistan deadlock?

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have a penchant for springing surprises when it comes to foreign policy, especially with Pakistan.

  • Crossing the Pacific by feeling the stones

    The Chinese have a saying that arose from the Long March—crossing the river by feeling the stones. In a situation of grave uncertainty—how deep the water is—you can only cross the river by slowly taking one step at a time, making sure that the next stone is firm enough for you to step on before you take the next step. If you are wrong, you change course and feel for the next stone.

  • Chinese consulate attack puts Pakistan between a rock and a hard place

    Two attacks in Pakistan, including a brazen assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, are likely to complicate Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts to renegotiate China's massive,

  • Significance of Modi's visit

    Resilience and renewal—these two words at the beginning of the joint statement issued after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dialogue with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in Male on November 17 succinctly captured the essence of relations between the two countries that had been under considerable strain in the last three years during the rule of former President Abdullah Yameen.

  • Trump and a tale of two Americas

    Midterms in America usually provide a perspective on how a president's first two years have impacted electoral sentiments. In 2018, Mr Trump energised his support base in the midterms, but he also inspired a large Democratic turnout. They have clawed back enough political leverage to create a situation in which he will have to tread carefully.

  • NRC back in political focus in Shah-Mamata battle

    After a brief hiatus, the issue of the NRC in Assam and “illegal migrants” from Bangladesh seems to have returned to the focus of political discourse in India.

  • The old demons are back

    In Paris, the ceremony to mark the centenary of the end of World War I was stately and moving. It featured such grace notes as students reading from letters written a hundred years ago, when the news about the armistice broke through.

  • The Afghan quagmire and India's challenge

    India's “non-official” participation in a multilateral conference in Moscow on November 9 on exploring the possibilities of a negotiated settlement of the crisis in terror-torn Afghanistan has set off a flutter in New Delhi.

  • US 2018 Midterm Elections: Why are the results so close and mixed?

    For most of 2018, the talk was there would be a Blue Democratic wave, sweeping the Democrats into power in both chambers of Congress. President Trump had unusually low approval rates over the last two years on average getting less than 40 percent approval ratings according to Gallup.

  • Battle for the Republic: Historic midterm elections in the US

    The US midterm elections on November 6, 2018 have been widely accepted as being among the most consequential in American history.

  • The changing dynamics of China-Bangladesh relations

    Right from the beginning of their diplomatic ties in October 1975, China and Bangladesh have been maintaining a close relationship, often entitled as “trusted friendship” or “all-weather friendship”.

  • BJP's bypoll blues continue

    By-elections continue to be the proverbial Achilles' heel for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. This has been the trend ever since it returned to power in May 2014.

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