Prime Minister Narendra Modi's utterances have demeaned India in the comity of nations, incited negative sentiments towards minorities, misrepresented the platform of the Congress, disrespected the intelligence of his audience, and revealed a surprising degree of nervousness, bordering on desperation, about his party’s election prospects.
From Iran's perspective, Israel breached a critical threshold by attacking its diplomatic mission, which Tehran deemed its sovereign territory.
The latest escalation between Israel and Iran marks a significant change in the adversarial relationship between the two antagonists. Not since the first Persian Gulf War of 1990-91, when the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein struck Israel with SCUD missiles, have the Israelis been subjected to a missile attack on the scale the Iranians executed. Tehran’s most recent salvo involved a combination of drones and missiles. The missile barrage consisted of a mixture of cruise and ballistic missiles. Israel’s missile defences intercepted an estimated 331 missiles launched by the Iranians.
We must choose not the least bad option but the option that allows us to develop new thinking without such thought being labelled deviant and being crushed.
Democracy
Many tend to make their choice of political party in much the same manner as in which they decide which team to support in the World Cup.
The likes and dislikes of friends and family play a large role. The impression created by a particular leader at the local or the national level makes a difference. Claims and counterclaims of what governments run by the parties seeking their vote have achieved matter.
The media plays a big role in making such considerations available to the voter, modifying the considerations en route. Most of the media hinders, rather than helps.
What will the complex calculus of the new Middle East crisis resolve into, and what will be the impact on India?
ISRAEL has succeeded in diverting world attention from Gaza and Hamas to Iran. This is similar to how Hamas, in October 2023, successfully short-circuited US efforts at normalising relations between the Arab states and Israel under the Abrahams Accord.
These moves and countermoves are ratcheting up the intensity of conflict in West Asia with serious global implications, including for India. The Indian approach seems to be similar to that in the case of the conflict in Ukraine— to play both sides.
China continues to warn regional players of negative consequences of their actions. Yet, it is Beijing’s own behaviour that is reshaping the Indo-Pacific landscape.
Escalating Tensions: Philippines Confronts China's Aggression in the South China Sea
The waters of the South China Sea are roiling again; this time, it is the Philippines that is at the heart of the turbulence. Although Manila and Beijing have been at loggerheads over submerged shoals in the South China Sea for decades, China has upped the ante in recent months with Chinese ships firing water cannons and ramming into Philippine ships. Beijing’s grey zone tactics have been evident to the wider world, with Manila hoping that perhaps this negative publicity would force China to back off. But that has not been the case so far.
Day 5 of the “Ending Gender-Based Violence Cohort 2:Awareness of Policies and Governance” focused on the history of the Women Rights Based Movements and Case studies in successful interventions.
Even though there are some views that India would be left out if AUKUS expands as its QUAD partners will all be integrated into this security arrangement, QUAD plus will still have the requisite capacity to jointly confront the challenges in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere as the convergences and interoperability become increasingly more salient and sustaining, observes former diplomat Amb. Anil Trigunayat.