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Opinion

Delayed Answers

One year after one of the worst aviation disasters in Indian history, the most unsettling reality is not that the final answer remains elusive. It is that, in the absence of definitive findings, competing certainties have rushed in to fill the void.

Cleanest Shirt

For much of the past year, economists have been waiting for the American economy to stumble. It has been hit by tariffs, labour disruptions, geopolitical tensions and renewed inflationary pressures.

A relationship redefined

Xi Jinping at his meeting with Donald Trump on 14-15 May 2026 in Beijing referred to the Thucydides Trap, a metaphor that refers to the inherent tensions and perils when an established power is challenged by a rising power.

Muslim world has met crises with rhetoric

When it comes to dealing with two of the biggest current crises in the Muslim world – the devastation of Gaza and the Taliban’s draconian rule in Afghanistan – Arab and Muslim states have been staggeringly ineffective. Their chief body, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in particular, has been strong on rhetoric but very short on serious, tangible action.

Tariffs and Tensions

In announcing a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports into the US ~ along with the threat of further penalties tied to India’s purchase of Russian oil and weapons ~ President Donald Trump has once again blurred the line between economic nationalism and geopolitical coercion.

Tremor and Restraint

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake is no ordinary event. It is the sort of seismic jolt that history remembers, one capable of reshaping coastlines and triggering tsunamis that level towns.

Strategic reset

The visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Maldives on 25-26 July 2025, marks a defining moment in the recalibration of India-Maldives relations.