Padma Rao Sundarji
Could Trump do a Venezuela in the Indian Ocean?
The US president has slammed UK’s decision to hand control over Chagos archipelago — of which the military base of Diego Garcia is a part — to Mauritius. That has set off fears of an American intervention in the Indian Ocean. TOI traces the long and hard-fought route the islanders have had to take to reclaim their home and how geopolitics threatens to upend their lives again
Free Trading With Europe Won’t Be Easy
EU’s cumbersome procedures mean the deal will require ratification by all 28 members, some of whom have reservations on issues like India’s ties with Russia. Also, green rules for export can pose a big challenge
She Gets Headlines But Does She Have Answers?
Lanka’s PM is popular and was given a grand welcome by New Delhi. Knotty bilateral issues remain as difficult though
What In The Name Of Aid…
Western liberals compete in rushing aid to nations hit by natural disasters, only they try to rescue ‘democracy’ too while at it — it’s the same rulebook that’s playing out in Myanmar
How an island got free
UK handing over Chagos Islands to Mauritius was unfinished business. Having lost its empire long back, Britain, post-Brexit, needs trade as an economic multiplier. That’s why London became the good guy
On your Marx, Sri Lanka
In picking a China-leaning Marxist-Leninist, who also visited India earlier this year, as its next prez, Lankans have thrown all pundit calculations into the sea. Expect extremely interesting times
Can Sri Lanka really afford a regime change?
The island nation votes today. Wickremesinghe stabilised the country after 2022’s turmoil. But Lankans almost always vote out incumbents. Doing so this time, though, is inviting trouble
The Russia and China questions in India-Germany ties
The American and German defence ministers were in India recently; the contrast between the two visits couldn’t have been starker
The leaders Sri Lanka is looking up to in its biggest crisis
With President Gotabaya Rajapaksa having fled the country and protesters storming the PM’s office, a look at the few politicians who may be willing to don the mantle of responsibility in the middle of the country’s worst economic, social and political crisis
- Padma Rao Sundarji
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Is Ranil the man who can save Sri Lanka?
The return of Ranil Wickremesinghe to the prime minister’s post for the sixth time has fanned anti-government protests in Sri Lanka, which is facing a serious economic crisis. Here’s a profile of the canny politician who may prove the right man at the right time due to his governance experience as well as international appeal
- Padma Rao Sundarji
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
In Pakistan Aafia Siddiqui is a role model for people willing to take up jihad
She has been at the centre of many hostage situations, including the recent one at a Texas synagogue in the US. Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui explains why Aafia Siddiqui remains a jihadi icon