Earlier this month, news emerged of an American financier with ties to the US President Donald Trump’s family having reached an agreement with a Russian energy company in the fall of 2025 to explore mobile liquefied natural gas development in Alaska. The disclosure of this deal, shortly after the latest US-mediated Russia-Ukraine talks in Geneva, … Read more
Russia plans to raise freight tariffs by 1% starting March 1st to support state-run Russian Railways (RZD), facing severe financial issues due to declining cargo volumes and increasing debt. The rise in tariffs aims to bolster revenue while addressing transport security concerns amidst ongoing impacts from the Ukraine war and Western sanctions.
On February 15th, the United States’ Departments of Energy and War (DoE & DoW), completed the first-ever air transport of a fully integrated nuclear microreactor, highlighting Washington’s push to make small and quickly deployable nuclear power a strategic asset for military and civilian energy applications. The reactor, known as the Ward 250 microreactor and developed … Read more
Japan’s pledge to channel up to $550 billion into the US economy under its trade agreement with Washington is encountering early frictions, as officials on both sides work through differences over where the funds should be deployed. Japanese trade minister Ryosei Akazawa acknowledged on February 12th that “significant gaps” exist in priorities of the two … Read more
The recently announced interim trade deal framework between the United States and India is bound to garner a lot of traction for at least a week from now. However, in the past four months alone, there have been several substantial developments in India-US relations across various sectors, including defense, tech cooperation, and the critical mineral … Read more
While the news related to Greenland, Iran, and Venezuela have attracted a lot of eyeballs globally, what is going largely unnoticed is the United State’s behind the scenes engagement with Afghanistan, possibly in a bid to reassert its influence across South, West, and Central Asia. The former US Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation, Dr. Zalmay … Read more
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is facing considerable challenges to its legitimacy, which has historically been based on two foundational pillars: the promise of prosperity and the concept of ‘national rejuvenation’ (民族復興), which includes reunification of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland as a vital aspect. The first pillar is evidently faltering amid slowing economic growth … Read more
China’s belligerence against Taiwan has undergone a massive shift from occasional military exercises triggered by political developments in Taipei, to a sustained military presence around the island nation in a manner that impinges on Taiwan’s sovereignty but remains or appears far below the threshold of a conflict. At the beginning of this year, the Author … Read more
In what appears to be a dramatic shift in the US President Donald Trump’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war, he recently declared that with proper support Ukraine could retake all of its territory from the Russian military occupation and has agreed to provide the Ukrainian military with targeting intelligence for long-range strikes against Russia’s energy … Read more
Based on the 25 years of history of India-US relations, the recent tensions between India and the US can be safely described as a mere swing of the pendulum that was set in motion by the former Indian Prime Minister, Late Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji and the former US President Bill Clinton in the … Read more
