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Egypt’s Iran Tightrope: Mediation or Marginalisation?
As fragile truces flicker across the Middle East in early June 2026, Egypt finds itself once again at the centre of a high-stakes diplomatic tightrope. With indirect US-Iran talks suspended and a partial Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holding only tenuously in Lebanon, Cairo is doubling down on back-channel mediation even as its Gulf benefactors grow impatient with what they see as insufficiently robust solidarity. The US-Israeli war with Iran, launched in late February, has tested Egypt’s long-standing “strategic balance” doctrine like never before, according to the International Crisis Group. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government wants the conflict to end swiftly, fearing a collapsed Iran would spawn prolonged regional instability, embolden Israel on Egypt’s north-eastern flank, and inflict further economic pain on an already strained nation. Intelligence sources say Cairo has leveraged diplomatic…
A Porous Frontier: India and Bangladesh Grapple with Border Anxieties
As the heads of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh’s Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) prepare to convene in New Delhi from June 8th to 11th for their 57th Director General-level coordination conference, the meeting carries more than routine diplomatic weight. It is the first such high-level encounter since Bangladesh’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) formed a government earlier this year, following a period of political transition. The agenda underscores persistent frictions along one of the world’s longest and most complex land borders: assaults on Indian personnel and civilians, fence breaching, trans-border crime, and the management of gaps in physical barriers. The meeting comes close after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed its government in West Bengal after inflicting a crushing defeat to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), ending…
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Turkiye’s Opposition: A Judicial Coup De Grâce?
On a recent Saturday in Ankara, tens of thousands of people marched through the city centre in support of Ozgur…
Hungary: A Resilient Magyar Heart in the Heart of Europe
To the casual outsider, Hungary—or Magyarország, the Land of the Magyars—might seem like just another Central European country, sandwiched between…
Editor's Choice
View AllIndia’s Dramatic Power Shift: New Stars, Old Bastions Fall
In a week that has reshaped India’s political map, assembly elections across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry…
Why Ancient Indian Philosophers Treated Sleep as a Window Into Consciousness
Sleep is usually framed as a biological necessity — a period of rest during which the brain resets, consolidates memory…
Divided on the Hill: How America Views Trump’s Handling of the West Asia Crisis
With a fragile ceasefire in the West Asia conflict hanging by a thread and US negotiators preparing for another round…
Government Decisions & Policy
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Southern drawl in the courtroom
A federal court in Alabama delivered an unexpected rebuff to Republican mapmakers on Tuesday, blocking a congressional redistricting plan that would have pared back Black…
India’s Sacred Cows and Shifting Sensitivities
As Eid-ul-Azha approaches, a festival centred on sacrifice and submission to God, Muslim leaders in several Indian states have issued an unusual plea: forgo the…
End of an Era in Lutyens’ Delhi: Iconic Gymkhana Club Ordered to Vacate for Defence and Security Needs
In the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, where power, history, and privilege have long intertwined, one of India’s most storied institutions faces an uncertain future. The…
Modi’s call for sacrifice
With crude oil prices elevated above $105 a barrel amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Narendra Modi has asked his 1.4bn fellow citizens to…
India & Neighbourhood
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The hidden cost of digital guardianship
In the rush to shield the young from the seductions and snares of social media, governments risk exposing everyone else to greater perils. Indonesia began…
Political Theatre
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Travel & Tourism
View AllIndian authorities warn travellers of harsh new drug penalties in Maldives, including possible death sentence
India's Narcotics Control Bureau has issued a strong advisory cautioning citizens travelling to the Maldives that even small quantities of…
A bumpy ride ahead
As summer 2026 looms, the travel industry is confronting an uncomfortable truth. Jet-fuel prices in America averaged $8.63 a gallon…
Trends
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A Porous Frontier: India and Bangladesh Grapple with Border Anxieties
As the heads of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh’s Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) prepare to convene in New Delhi from June 8th to…
States & Cities
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Saints of the flame: Rajasthan ascetics ready to renounce earthly life for a sacred grove
In the blistering heat of Rajasthan’s Dudu district, a group of Hindu seers have chosen fire and fasting over comfort.…
From Workshop to Encrypted Chat: How Four Ordinary Men Allegedly Built a Toy Car Bomb Plot Targeting India’s Heart
In the dim glow of a private automobile workshop on the outskirts of Thane, just north of Mumbai, Mosaib Ahmad…
India’s Digital Underworld: How Jailed Gangsters Run Transnational Crime Empires via WhatsApp and Instagram
In a brick-kiln office on the outskirts of Jind in Haryana, businessman Anup Chaudhary was reviewing accounts on the afternoon…
Ground mishap at Delhi airport leaves two Boeing 737s damaged as safety questions linger
A routine afternoon on the tarmac at one of the world’s busiest airports in New Delhi turned into an embarrassing…
Life & Culture
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Economy & Markets
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The Quiet Battle for the Heart of India’s Greatest Business Empire
In the polished corridors of Mumbai’s legal and philanthropic world, a discreet but intense struggle is unfolding over one of India’s most storied institutions. On…
