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Mahmood Hasan

FROM A BYSTANDER

Former Ambassador and Secretary

OP 1.jpg

Aung San Suu Kyi at ICJ / Nobel peace laureate will defend genocide

The Myanmar military and the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi are literally between a rock and a hard place. Two cases of violation of the Genocide Convention filed against Myanmar have shaken its leaders.
9 December 2019, 18:00 PM
9 December 2019, 18:00 PM
Hongkongers.jpg

Hongkongers’ search for an identity

Protests and demonstrations are not new in Hong Kong. Even before returning to Chinese control in 1997, Hongkongers had demonstrated on different demands. When Chief Executive Carrie Lam wanted to push an extradition bill—that would allow both Hong Kong residents and visitors to be sent to China for trial—through the Legislative Council in March, it immediately triggered criticism and protests, particularly from the millennials of Hong Kong, demanding immediate withdrawal of the law. It is not surprising that the current protests that began in June continues with violent weekend street battles with the police.
13 October 2019, 18:00 PM
13 October 2019, 18:00 PM
B&W ED 2.jpg

Recounting the Brexit drama in five acts

It’s been more than three years that the Brexit drama is being enacted in Britain—dividing the country, its political parties and the parliament.
29 September 2019, 18:00 PM
29 September 2019, 18:00 PM
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Will the US-Iran relations ever normalise?

It is amazing that the United States and Iran have maintained an extremely bellicose relation for the past four decades, much to the anxiety of nations of the Middle East. It all began when the Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed under Imam Ayatollah Ruhollah
23 September 2019, 18:00 PM
23 September 2019, 18:00 PM
g7.jpg

G7 Summit: Semblance of unity

The two-day 45th G7 Summit concluded recently at the French resort in Biarritz. What was unusual this time was the fact that the summit ended without issuing a final communique, essentially because there was hardly any consensus on any of the major issues
28 August 2019, 18:00 PM
28 August 2019, 18:00 PM
HONG KONG PROTEST.jpg

Hong Kong Protest / Beijing’s Catch-22

It’s been just 22 years since Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, after 156 years of British colonial rule. Recent events in Hong Kong suggest that the long British rule has left considerable English influence on the ethnic Chinese of the region. Though the older English-speaking generation is on the wane, the young English-speaking millennials seem to be spearheading a political movement for democracy and social justice.
5 August 2019, 18:00 PM
5 August 2019, 18:00 PM
Rohingyas return Myanmar.jpg

Will the Rohingyas ever return to Myanmar?

Since the massive exodus of Rohingyas from Rakhine to Bangladesh in 2017, a lot has been written and said about the plight of these unfortunate people. After nearly two years, it appears that the outraged world community has forgotten about this persecuted ethnic minority.
23 May 2019, 18:00 PM
23 May 2019, 18:00 PM
arab spring.jpg

Dawn of the second phase of Arab Spring

The second phase of Arab Spring has dawned on the Arab world. It is not a surprise that people in Algeria and Sudan have risen to demand changes in the leadership in their countries, while Libya is also locked in serious conflict over who should rule the country.
24 April 2019, 18:00 PM
24 April 2019, 18:00 PM

Of Triumphs and Losses

State Assembly Elections were recently held in five states of India – Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. Let us look at West Bengal and Assam – two bordering states of Bangladesh.
28 May 2016, 18:00 PM
Dilma Rousseff

Political crisis in Brazil

Brazil's progressive centre-left government of Dilma Rousseff has come to an awful end. On May 12, 2016 Brazil's Senate
21 May 2016, 18:00 PM
Ahmet Davutoglu.png

Turkey's democracy on trial

The recent political developments in Turkey has not come as a surprise. On May 5, 2016, the popular Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that he will resign following serious rifts with the president.
14 May 2016, 18:00 PM

Shadow of Pathankot still hangs over Delhi and Islamabad

While the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in Delhi on April 26, 2016, the event went largely unnoticed, except for the media in India and Pakistan.
7 May 2016, 18:00 PM
Obama.jpg

Obama's fence mending trip to Saudi Arabia

President Barack Obama has undertaken the Riyadh visit (April 20-21) at a time when US–Saudi relations are in the doldrums. Saudi
30 April 2016, 18:00 PM

OIC Summit calls for unity

The Muslim world needs to develop a common denominator of issues over which no Muslim country will differ. Had the Muslim nations been united, the Palestinian issue would have been resolved long ago.
24 April 2016, 18:00 PM

GOP desperate to derail Donald Trump

The campaign to win the nomination for the US presidential election has become nasty. It has degenerated into
14 March 2016, 18:00 PM

The threat of a Brexit

What is amazing is that at a time when nation states are keen to form or join regional economic blocs, Britain wants to leave the largest powerful economic bloc in the world.
7 February 2016, 18:00 PM

Myanmar gets ready for NLD government

Clearly there is lack of confidence in the armed forces. The military is suspicious that the new civilian government may resort to vengeance and throw some of the generals behind bars.
31 January 2016, 18:00 PM

Iran's re-entrance in the global economy

One should not be surprised if Washington re-establishes diplomatic ties with Tehran before the end of President Barack Obama's term in November 2016. However, what will be the fate of the JCPOA after the November 2016 US presidential elections is anyone's guess, particularly if a Republican is elected to the White House.
24 January 2016, 18:00 PM

Saudi-Iran spat incites sectarianism

The Arab Spring had deeply destabilised the Middle East. A new dimension was added to the existing instability on January 4, 2016, when the (Sunni) Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) severed diplomatic ties with (Shia) Iran.
17 January 2016, 18:00 PM
Indo-Pak dialogue

Will Pathankot derail Indo-Pak dialogue?

No one had expected that the Modi-Sharif Lahore dialogue on December 25, 2015 would be challenged so soon.
10 January 2016, 18:00 PM

Nepal's economy in chokehold

It has become difficult to follow Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's style of diplomacy. He is seen as a darling to the West
3 January 2016, 18:00 PM
Modi's Christmas gift to Sharif.jpg

Modi's Christmas gift to Sharif

One is too familiar with the complicated love-hate relationship between India and Pakistan. But over the past three weeks, some dramatic developments have taken place between these two countries.
27 December 2015, 18:00 PM

War on Terrorism

On December 2, 14 people were massacred in San Bernardino,
13 December 2015, 18:00 PM

The Commonwealth needs to be reformed

The only time when members feel happy to project themselves as part of the Commonwealth is when the Commonwealth Games come up every four years.
6 December 2015, 18:00 PM

An ambiguous UN resolution and a downed warplane

Defeating ISIL will be an impossible task because of differences in the strategies of the players engaged in Syria. ISIL cannot be eliminated by bombs. It can be dismantled only by ground forces, which none of the western nations are willing to commit at this stage.
29 November 2015, 18:00 PM
G20 Simmit

G20 Summit overshadowed by Paris attacks

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hosted the tenth G20 Summit in Antalya from November 15-16, 2015. It was a gathering of leaders of 20 advanced ...
22 November 2015, 18:00 PM

BJP thrashed in Bihar

The Grand Alliance called Mahagatbandhan of three parties led by Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav humiliated the BJP-led NDA in the Bihar...
15 November 2015, 18:00 PM

Erdogan's election gamble pays off

Turkey, with strong institutions, became a model of democracy in the region when AKP won in a landslide victory in 2002. Many see Erdogan as a master politician for effectively purging the military of its meddling in politics.
8 November 2015, 18:00 PM

Pagination

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