Logically, the frequency of occurrences of tropical cyclones (typhoons) or unexpected weather during the last quarter of each year would have accelerated some resolution of issues in the climate cauldron, especially loss and damage during UN-sponsored climate talks. Tropical cyclone Koppu (Lando) slammed the island nation Philippines just a day before the Bonn Climate Change Conference (October 19-23). Strom Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded at sea, though it receded on landfall, could have brought huge losses in Mexico a day after the Conference.

In India, attempts at reforming complicated sectors like national defence invariably start with the constitution of committees/task forces. Afterwards, the leadership battles conflicting positions on recommendations, leading to either shelving such reports or, at best, partial implementation that is more ad hoc than preferred solutions. A survey of committees constituted between 2002 and 2015 justifies this assessment.

"Accommodating corporate aspirations would be the biggest task before V K Atre Task Force on Strategic Partners"

‘There is no such thing as good or bad terrorism.’ This statement is often repeated easily but seldom put into practice by the western world in its fight against terrorism.  The policies to deal with the terrorist acts are different when one analyzes the strategies of the western countries and South Asia. Soon after the attacks of 9/11, the US declared war against Iraq and Afghanistan. Similarly, when Paris was attacked on 13/11, Francios Hollande declared that France is at war with ISIS.

India’s tryst with Saudi Arabia dates back to nearly five millennia when Indian sailors and merchants made regular forays into the Arabian peninsula and forged commercial, cultural and civilisational links. In recent times, the relationship between the two countries has been marked by an upswing in the strategic partnership.

The first ever comment to the First Draft- which can be termed the Paris Protocol- came from India as ‘lopsided’ to bring climate justice, ‘inadequate’ for developing countries and ‘lenient’ to developed countries. Usually, after the Bonn Intercessional Conference, which commences in June every year, the negotiation on climate change gets movement.

Seven years back, Nepal began writing an inclusive constitution to institutionalize the gains of the peace process, which took off in November 2006. Finally, the new Constitution was promulgated on September 20, 2015. Unfortunately, nearly half of the Nepali population has branded the new Constitution as regressive and protested against it. The anti-draft protests in Nepal, especially in the southern plains, started on August 9, immediately after the constitution-making process was initiated.

The issue is OROP (One Rank One Pension), and the question is: Has the time come to think differently in regards to the implementation of OROP?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a successful trip to Central Asia and Russia in the past few weeks. Various new collaborations -- from tourism to terrorism -- got formalized during these visits. One influential agenda of this visit was to acquire the uranium required for nuclear energy production. Mr. Modi successfully worked out various modalities with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia in this regard. A few months back, he also collaborated with Canada and Australia regarding uranium trade with India.

As described by critics all over the world, Afghanistan has become a very messy place to live in today. There are different views regarding the democratization process in this Islamic country. However, we cannot say that democracy is impossible in the Islamic countries of the world. First, it is wrong to pit the fortune of democracy in accordance with Islamism. A professor from Frankfurt Peace Research Institute argues that democracy is a full market with all kinds of products, and everybody can go and buy what they want.

Ahead of the much-anticipated union elections in Myanmar towards October-November 2015, the Rohingya community in the country have been stripped of their franchise early this year in February following large scale protests by nationalist monks and political leaders. A referendum held to amend the Constitution that gave the Rohingyas voting rights, probably an initiative taken after surmounting international pressure, had to be revoked after the widespread protests that brought back horrific memories of the bloody 2012 clashes.