ViewsWeek Views from around the world
Nepal has two months to go for polls, India’s general elections are six months away, and bizarre things are happening as campaigning picks up. But even by subcontinental standards, nothing can quite surpass the spectacle of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) bringing to its rallies people sporting skullcaps and burqas and shepherding them into a reserved enclosure as happened …
September, 2013
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28 September
Bangladesh Cannot Survive Without the Sundarbans
Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is a living and most effective natural fence protecting the coastal belt areas. It indeed saved us from the devastation of cyclones Sidr and Aila in the recent past. Not only so, it is the forest that offers various sources of livelihood to more than five hundred thousand local inhabitants. Unfortunately, the …
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28 September
China Goes West, to Kazakhstan’s Benefit
It is no coincidence that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Kazakhstan accorded with the start of commercial output from the Kashagan field, arguably the biggest oil and gas field in Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region. At the Palace of Independence in Astana, President Xi and Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since independence, signed 22 trade …
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28 September
Iran to Unveil New Submarine, UAVs, Fighter Jets
Over the last few days Iranian defense and military leaders have announced that they will soon unveil a slew of new domestically built weapon systems, including submarines, advanced torpedoes, surveillance and possibly combat UAVs, fighter jets and various kinds of missiles. Shortly after taking over the Defense Ministry, for instance, Hossein Dehqan announced that Iran would be unveiling a …
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28 September
China Finds the Lost Kingdom
One of the most isolated regions in Asia, Mustang lies in the north of Nepal, nestled between the Chinese border on the Tibetan plateau and the Nepalese provinces of Dolop and Manang on the other. For centuries, this land has been closely linked by language and culture to Tibet. Indeed, many believe that Tibetan culture, region and traditions are …
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27 September
US and Chinese Interests Align in Pakistan
Although Barack Obama and Xi Jinping sported wide grins and open collars at a June summit in California, the forced collegial atmosphere didn’t pass the smell test. “There is enormous scope for future cooperation between China and the U.S.” President Xi told skeptical reporters at a press conference following the bilateral meeting. The cordial rhetoric proved unconvincing to the assembled press corps, …
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27 September
Worldwide Solar Power Installations to Overtake Wind
This article was published by the Center for American Progress Action. In 2013, more global solar photovoltaic capacity will be installed than wind power capacity — the first year that’s ever happened, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). There are several distinct forms of solar power — such as thermal solar, which is used to heat water, or concentrated solar, which augments thermal …
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27 September
Enforcing Peace in Pakistan’s Largest City
Having obtained consensus from all the political parties for a dialogue with those terrorists who are misusing religion as a platform, the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan turned its attention to the militant-infested crucially important city of Karachi. Law and order being a provincial subject, the federal government cannot deal directly with the problem without sending the provincial government …
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27 September
A Sugar Rush That Could Fuel The Indian Economy
The public and media were outraged recently after a suggestion that petrol (gas) stations could be closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. to curb consumption. Oil import is the heaviest burden on India’s foreign exchange, at $144 billion last year. The situation could get worse, given the potential for an increase in crude prices with further destabilization in …
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26 September
Obamacare Will Cost Much Less Than Expected
This article was published by the Center for American Progress Action. When uninsured Americans begin enrolling in Obamacare’s new health care exchanges on Oct. 1, the overwhelming majority — 95 percent — will face health care premiums that are 16 percent lower, on average, than the government had previously projected, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the Obama administration. …
