This craze for migration is going to have a huge detrimental effect on Sri Lanka as it will be left with very few skilled workers to develop and contribute to the Sri Lankan economy.
Taken together, these developments should ring alarm bells. The convergence of foreign military-industrial interests, Islamist political forces, and great-power rivalry risks turning Bangladesh into an epicenter of proxy competition and ideological confrontation. For a nation that has paid dearly for its independence and pluralistic identity, the cost of such entanglements may prove far higher than the short-term gains promised by arms deals and infrastructure projects.
Sri Lanka's case highlights the central weakness of the ICC’s complementarity principle. The Rome Statute grants jurisdiction only where states are unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution. Sri Lanka maintains functioning judicial institutions, conducts some prosecutions, and has established reparations frameworks, thereby technically satisfying the ability threshold while systematically failing to deliver accountability for conflict-related crimes.
If Davos had a clear centre of gravity this year, it was technology—not geopolitics. The tech industry arrived in force, underscored by high-profile appearances from Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The message was unmistakable: this is where attention, ambition, and capital are converging. With extraordinary sums being poured into artificial intelligence, unease among lenders and investors is understandable. Yet many executives were keen to reassure markets that fears of an AI bubble were overstated.
Strategically, these developments underscore the importance of regional counterterrorism cooperation and rigorous monitoring of cross-border arms flows. The proliferation of foreign-supplied weapons into Pakistan not only strengthens terrorist organizations but also threatens regional stability. Each attack executed with U.S.-origin rifles or advanced tactical gear reinforces the need for Pakistan’s zero-tolerance policy against militancy while exposing the organized external support networks that continue to embolden groups like the TTP.
This craze for migration is going to have a huge detrimental effect on Sri Lanka as it will be left with very few skilled workers to develop and contribute to the Sri Lankan economy.
Bhutan and Nepal would also benefit from the pipeline project. The two nations will have the chance to take part in the regional energy market and have access to a reliable energy source. The BBIN region’s economy will grow as the pipeline project fits in with the region’s overarching goal of enhancing integration and connectivity in South Asia.
Acting under international pressure, Myanmar has apparently made the decision to reintegrate persecuted Rohingya based on nationality verification - with the repatriated Rohingya being referred to as "Bengali foreigners" - under the active supervision of international organizations and China, the United States, and EU countries.
However, India, China, and other regional actors have yet to establish a firm position on the Rohingya repatriation process and peace talks to end the crisis in Myanmar. While the US is strongly supporting Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue, China and India’s geopolitical and geoeconomic interests in Myanmar have left Bangladesh to manage the Rohingya crisis alone.
Kolkata-based Bangladeshi environmental activist Natasha Ahmed spoke about her cross-border marriage and the challenges she faces living in India with her husband and children. Her sister is married to a man of Pakistani origin. They face many complications meeting each other’s families due to the visa restrictions between India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
The data for South Asia shows that Maldives is the most globally integrated country in the region followed by Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan in terms of the average percentage of exports that formed part of the global value chain during the period 2019-2021.
Women in Bangladesh often have limited access to financial services, which can make it difficult for them to cope with climate change impacts such as floods, droughts, or cyclones. Digital financial products such as mobile banking and digital savings accounts can help to overcome these barriers and increase financial inclusion among women.
This overbearing numbers-driven outlook has, so far, defined policy on international education. However, if India-Australia relations are to reflect a genuine partnership, the narrative needs to shift from transactional to transformational. This requires that the very purpose behind international education is dramatically rethought and altered.
Karachi was the first Pakistani city to benefit from nuclear energy after KANUPP was connected to the grid. The inauguration of K-2 and now K-3 is a milestone in Pakistan’s quest to increase the share of clean nuclear energy.
If US-Pakistan ties were to deteriorate further, Islamabad has limited options since Beijing in recent months has clearly shown that it will assist Pakistan in dealing with its economic problems only up to a point.
There has been an outpouring of support for ethnic minorities among protesters of the regime, particularly among the younger generation, who believe that a lasting peace in Myanmar can only be achieved if it includes all of Myanmar's citizens, regardless of class, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. This shift in empathy has also altered long-held perceptions of the Rohingya.
Such deliberations around the themes of interfaith harmony, pluralism, diversity, and solidarity bring hope, and perhaps signify the need and readiness among Indians to start reconsidering their nation’s pluralist legacy.
The first proactive approach for Pakistan should be to restore peaceful, friendly relations with India. Prime Minister Modi is fully focused on developing India industrially and economically and a war with Pakistan would be his last option. India and Pakistan are spending excessive resources on building their military warfare due to mutual suspicion. This helps neither India nor Pakistan.
India offers the opportunity to interconnect the Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal electricity supply industries. The possibility of using Indian power infrastructure for electricity trade between Nepal and Bangladesh is another facet of India's neighborhood engagement.
While the I2U2 – often referred to as the Middle Eastern Quad -- grouping is a strong illustration of changing landscape of the Middle East, and India's strong ties with all the other countries which are part of the grouping, the India-UAE-France trilateral is interesting because while all three countries have robust relations with the US, there are foreign policy divergences on a number of issues.