Commodore Lalit Kapur(Retd): The Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council held at Iqualuit on 24 April 2015 saw Canada handing over Chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a two-year term to USA. Indian interests in the Arctic pertain to scientific research to enable understanding of climate change and weather.
Geopolitics - 39. page
Pakistan’s Place in the Chinese Silk Route Idea
MH Rajesh wonders when it comes to China’s New Silk Route why Pakistan was originally not projected in the Silk Route plans and that China chose another vehicle for investments in Pakistan — the CPEC. However, during Chinese Permier Xi’s recent visit to Pakistan one could glean the overlaps in the CPEC and the Silk Route.
Will ISIS’ Caliphate Die with its ‘Big Daddy’?
Dr Adil Rasheed, Senior Research Fellow at the USI, writes: As there is no Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark, then perversely can there be an ISIS Caliphate without its Caliph Ibrahim? That is the question. As ISIS is losing ground in war and its interim head Abu Alaa Al Afri is said to favor close relations with Al-Qaeda, will ISIS think of foregoing its claim to a Caliphate. In order to come closer to its parent organization, ISIS may have to reconsider asking Al-Qaeda leaders to swear the mandatory allegiance to its new leader-cum-Caliph.
Islamic State: The Money Behind the Monstrosity
In an Op-Ed article for the newspaper ‘Economic Times’, Dr Adil Rasheed (Senior Research Scholar of the USI) has written how the Islamic State or the ISIS has developed a “hybrid form of funding” that relies on a mafia-inspired business model that feeds on extortion, looting, kidnapping, smuggling and racketeering.
US-Israel relations hit new low after Bibi’s re-election as Israeli prime minister
US President Barack Obama says prospects for a two-state solution in the Middle East are “dim” after the Israeli prime minister vowed to oppose a Palestinian state. Mr Netanyahu’s statements angered the White House, even though he has since tried to soften his remark. Meanwhile, senior White House officials have learned Israel was spying on the closed-door talks between US and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program. US-Israel ties have hit a new low.
International Crisis Group Assesses Cost of Political Standoff, Violence in Bangladesh
The International Crisis Group in its Asia Report N°264 , titled ‘Mapping Bangladesh’s Political Crisis,’ released on 9 February 2015, provides an in-depth analysis of the ongoing political turmoil enveloping Bangladesh and its dangerous prospects for the country.