Category: South Asia

By Sugeeswara Senadhira* COLOMBO (IDN) — Following the recent visit to Delhi by Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, a four-point package agreed to with India to help overcome the island nation’s current economic problems, has put the traditionally close relations between the two South Asian neighbours back on rails. India acceded to Sri Lanka’s […]

By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has applauded India’s pledge of support for the WTO and a successful 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) that will take place from November 30 to December 3, 2021, in Geneva. The gathering was originally scheduled to take place from June 8 to June […]

By George Chakko The writer is former UN correspondent, now retiree in Vienna, Austria. VIENNA (IDN) — India PM took part on the White House Quad meeting on September 24. His relaxed face with smile and Biden’s hearty open smile in a WH photo can speak volumes. Or? The focussed Quad priorities on the rule […]

By Bernhard Schell CAIRO, Egypt (IDN) — The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to staying in Afghanistan and delivering critical health services, says Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and is calling on all parties to respect and protect civilians, health workers, patients and health facilities. “During this difficult time, […]

By Mahendra Ved, LOKMARG MUMBAI (IDN) — Buzkashi, the national game of the people of Afghanistan, has horsemen competing to possess the headless body of a goat. In one of the world’s most enduring ironies, the country has itself become the goat, being dragged and tossed around. A horrified world watches as an elected government […]

Musings on 75th Year of Independence Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani This article is the 16th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of […]

Viewpoint By Sugeeswara Senadhira With increasing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka, the Indian government is lately trying to use Sri Lanka’s “non-implementation” of the 13th amendment to the constitution to provide more autonomy to Tamil areas of the island as agreed 34 years ago, in the infamous Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement, to interfere in Sri Lanka’s […]

By Radwan Jakeen NEW YORK (IDN) — Nearly 18 million Afghans or half the population of the South Asian country require assistance. A third of the country is malnourished, while half of all children under five are experiencing acute malnutrition. In view of this critical situation, Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, […]

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani This article is the 14th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile […]

By Moumita Maji* SANTINIKETAN, India (IDN) — Different units of Visva-Bharati University have come together since the onset of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in an attempt to fight the virus and ensure the safety of the community with minimum expenses but maximum courage. The home-grown strategy developed is unique with an emphasis […]