In a crisis, data is not just numbers; it can save lives. It helps people plan ahead, respond faster, and make sure aid reaches those who need it most. But in places like the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, where data systems are fragmented or controlled by a few powerful actors, they can make things […]
India vs Pakistan, Two Nuclear Powers, in a Potentially Explosive Confrontation
By Thalif Deen* NEW YORK | 9 May 2025 (IDN) — Will the rising military tension between two of the world’s heavily-armed nuclear powers –India and Pakistan—lead to a full-scale war? The guessing game is on. The two South Asian countries have long remained locked in a bitter confrontation, mostly over the disputed territory of […]
Humanitarian Corridors: A Trojan Horse Threatening Bangladesh’s Sovereignty
By Tajul Islam* DHAKA, Bangladesh | 6 May 2025 (IDN) — In the ever-shifting terrain of global politics, ‘humanitarian corridors’ are increasingly wielded not as genuine lifelines for suffering populations but as instruments of foreign influence and domination. The recent decision to establish a United Nations-backed humanitarian corridor along the Chittagong–Rakhine route in Bangladesh is […]
Whither India’s Global Peace Making?
A New Cold War Weaponizes Religious Diasporas in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region By Darini Rajasingham Senanayake* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 2 May 2025 (IDN) — Several geopolitical developments have occurred in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. These include United States Vice President J.D Vance’s visit with his Indian-origin wife, Usha […]
It Is Time For Asia’s MAGA – A Non-Military Quad Alliance
By Kalinga Seneviratne* BANGKOK | 29 April 2025 (IDN) — The current international tariff saga based on a notion of “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) ideology promoted by President Donald Trump and supported by millions of Americans should, one would hope, trigger Asia’s own MAGA (Make Asia Great Again). The latter is shaping up more the […]
Does ISIS Target a Chinese Research Vessel? The Easter Attacks, Cover-up Investigations and Geopolitics
By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 21 April 2025 (IDN) — Leaders of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka have again called for a proper investigation into the Easter attacks of six years ago. Meanwhile, a local political blame game starring Pillayan has ramped up to conceal the foreign fingerprints and geopolitical motives of […]
Towards A New International Order? India, Sri Lanka and The New Cold War
By Dr. Asoka Bandarage* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 19 April 2025 (IDN) — Will a peaceful and sustainable multipolar world be born when the rising economic weight of emerging economies is matched with rising geopolitical weight, as argued by renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs in his recent Other News article?[1] There is no question that, as […]
UN Chief Visits World’s Largest Refugee Camp with Bad News from Trump
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK, Thailand | 22 March 2025 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Bangladesh from March 13 to 16. His visit came at a critical time as Bangladesh grapples with both internal and external challenges aimed at thwarting the historic reforms introduced by the interim government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. […]
Bhutan’s Growing Migration Wave Demands Better Planning
By Namdu Lhamo, Jelle J P Wouters, Binaya Pasakhala* THIMPU, Bhutan | 20 March 2025 (IDN) — Sonam and Pema migrated a decade ago from eastern Bhutan to the south-west Pasakha Industrial Estate, located on the border with India. The married couple were farmers, but Bhutan’s climate change impacts and interwoven rural crises, including escalating human-wildlife […]
Giving The Indo-US Nuclear Deal a New Lease of Life
By Kapil Patil* NEW DELHI, India | 17 March 2025 (IDN) — In a series of recent high-level meetings, India and the US have launched renewed efforts to infuse a new lease of life into the historic Indo-US nuclear deal brokered by then-US President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in May 2005. […]