In TIME’s international editions, Jorge Castañeda, a former Mexican Foreign Minister, rates the “winners and losers” of the Libyan imbroglio, praising Western leaders like French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British P.M. David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama for pressing for intervention. Countries that abstained from action …
India
As Terror Attacks Continue, U.S. and India Step Up Cooperation
The U.S. State Department announced yesterday that it had “designated the Indian Mujahideen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” a decision that makes it illegal under U.S. law to provide material support or resources to the group, and freezes all its assets in the U.S. The new designation may not, by itself, make much difference in …
Ten Years After 9/11, Is It Now Time to be Afraid of China?
As the commentaries, retrospectives and meditations pile up ten years after 9/11, expect quite a few in their closing paragraphs to look toward the next grand geo-political challenge facing the U.S. A decade of costly adventurism in the Middle East and Afghanistan, many will argue, distracted U.S. policy making from the new realities …
Another Deadly Bomb Blast in New Delhi
Ten people were killed and 61 injured by a bomb blast inside the Delhi High Court Complex in the capital on Wednesday morning. The militant group Harkat ul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) took responsibility for the blasts in an email sent to several Indian news organizations. The attack seemed to have been calculated to maximize the loss of …
India and Bangladesh Erase a Bit of History
Of all the back-of-the-beyond places I’ve visited on the Subcontinent, the most unusual are the so-called “enclaves” along the India-Bangladesh border. They are little parcels of Indian or Bangladeshi territory that are wholly enclosed by the territory of the other country. A little bit of history on how they came into being:
The Raja
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China’s Security Chief Goes on Tour—How Is Asia Reacting?
Over the past week, as I’ve traveled across Asia, I’ve discovered an unlikely partner in my continental peregrinations: China’s security chief Zhou Yongkang. The senior Chinese envoy’s travels have taken him to Nepal, Laos, Cambodia and Tajikistan. The final stop is Mongolia, where Zhou is expected to head on Tuesday.
In …
Prime Minister Obama: Would the U.S. Be Better Served by a Parliament?
Over at the GPS Blog, Fareed Zakaria asks a pointed and valuable question: “Does America need a Prime Minister?” Given the paralysis and farce that has gripped Washington in recent months, it’s worth considering. As Zakaria observes, presidential systems never resolve the “basic contest for legitimacy” between the power of the …
Anna Hazare: How One Activist Brought the World’s Largest Democracy to Its Knees
The anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare agreed to step out of jail late last night, after reaching an agreement to hold a 15-day protest fast instead of the 30-day strike he originally planned. That compromise may not be enough, though, to restore the damaged credibility of the Indian government, which has struggled to answer …
No End in Sight for Nepal’s Political Dysfunction
Nepal’s difficult journey toward full democracy came through struggle, blood and tears: following a decade long civil war that claimed some 13,000 lives, a peace process initiated in 2006 sought to remake the Himalayan nation. But, five years later, things are lurching simply toward farce.
Current Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal …
Tibetans in Exile Mourn Monk Who Set Himself Aflame
The Tibetan National Martyrs’ Memorial is a black obelisk in Dharamsala, the Indian hill station that serves as the headquarters of exiled Tibetans who have fled their Chinese-ruled homeland. Usually the slender monument is surrounded by a colorful tangle of Tibetan prayer flags. But on August 16, the base of the memorial was …
Sonia Gandhi’s Illness and the Limits of Political Privacy
Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress Party and India’s most powerful politician, has been out of the country for more than 10 days, opening the door to political attacks and a fevered game of Rahul-watching. On Aug. 4, the Congress Party revealed — just barely — that its leader had gone abroad to have treatment for an undisclosed …
How a Late Bollywood Icon Saved This Correspondent’s Life
RIP Shammi Kapoor, Bollywood star of the 1960s. You danced, you sang, you romanced, you made movies fun. And although you didn’t know it, you saved my life.
Long before Indian song-and-dance movies became cool in the West, they were huge in the Middle East. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Bollywood stars like Raj Kapoor (Shammi’s older …
As the World Protests, Syria’s Isolated Regime Sticks to Its Guns
The embattled regime of Bashar Assad is losing foreign friends fast, but not the will to punish its enemies at home. The Syrian government has been circling the wagons, making hollow promises for reform while keeping up a sustained, brutal campaign against the country’s opposition. According to some counts, over 2,000 people have …