International

Bangladesh: A Grim Landscape of Bloodletting and Violence

THE world was shocked and outraged with the bloodletting and violence between October 13 and 16, in Bangladesh. This is unprecedented in terms of emotional damage; because this was a direct assault on the Durga puja celebrations in some parts of Bangladesh. The violence broke out in the Durga puja festivity in Comilla’s Nanuar Dighi. Later on, it spread to Chandpur, Noakhali and Chittagong.

Afghanistan: Caught between Poverty and Possibility

THE future of Afghanistan will be determined not only in Kabul, where the Taliban is now firmly in power but also in places such as the Wakhan Corridor. A narrow strip of land that runs along the northern fringe of Afghanistan, the Corridor was formed in 1893 as a buffer between the Tsarist empire of Russia and the British empire of India. It is sparsely populated, its roughly 15,000 Wakhi (Kyrgyz) residents reliant upon adventure tourism.

Venezuela and the Re-Emergence Of Sovereignty in the Americas

ON September 22, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appeared at the United Nations General Assembly via a pre-recorded speech. He appeared there after a month of successfully challenging the attempt by the United States of America to isolate Venezuela politically and suffocate it economically. “It is possible to confront imperial aggressions,” Maduro said in a measured tone.

All these Military Alliances in Indo-Pacific

THE impact of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is slowly being felt on geo-politics. NATO allies of the US, mostly from Europe, felt betrayed by the US decision, as they were not consulted. Rubbing salt over these injuries is the announcement of a new defence arrangement between the US, UK and Australia, termed as AUKUS. Coincidentally, within a day of the announcement of the AUKUS, the EU had come out with its own strategic document on the Indo-Pacific.

A War in Mozambique to Protect the Interests of Big Energy

ON February 18, 2010, Anadarko Moçambique – a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum (bought by Occidental Petroleum in 2019) – discovered a massive natural gas field in the Rovuma Basin off the coast of northern Mozambique. Over the next few years, some of the world’s largest energy corporations flocked to Cabo Delgado province, where the basin is located. These included corporations like France’s TotalEnergies SE (which bought Anadarko’s project) and the United States’ ExxonMobil.

The United States is the Greatest Scofflaw

THERE are 35 countries in the American hemisphere, from Canada – the largest by area – to St. Kitts and Nevis – the smallest by area. Almost one billion people live in the Americas, with the largest country by population being the United States (with 329 million people). Each of the countries in the Americas is a member of the United Nations (UN), 35 out of 193 countries, and all of them have ratified its charter; all 35 members have ratified the Charter of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

Afghanistan, the Great Game of Smashing Countries

AS a tsunami of crocodile tears engulfs Western politicians, history is suppressed. More than a generation ago, Afghanistan won its freedom, which the United States, Britain and their “allies” destroyed.

In 1978, a liberation movement led by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) overthrew the dictatorship of Mohammad Dawd, the cousin of King Zahir Shar. It was an immensely popular revolution that took the British and Americans by surprise.

The Fragility of US Imperialism

ON August 15, the Taliban seized Kabul with barely any gunfire. The Afghan National Army (ANA) – trained with $88 billion from the United States – faded into the byways, unwilling to fight the Taliban troops. Afghanistan’s president – the former World Bank official Ashraf Ghani – boarded a flight out of the country as soon as the Taliban stepped into greater Kabul; he was not going to lead any fight to defend his government.

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