M. K. BHADRAKUMAR, Author at Indian Punchline (2024)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (L) received PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian and his cabinet ministers, Tehran, Aug. 27, 2024 Iran’s new foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Japan’s Kyodo news agency on August 22 set the foreign policy compass under President Masoud Pezeshkian in a new sequencing of priorities. Araghchi said as a crucial step …

Continue reading “Iran nuclear talks will be in new format”

Poland’s government announced last year the discovery of a mass burial pit in Ukraine containing remains of ethnic Poles murdered by pro-Nazi Ukrainian nationalists in waves ofWorld War 2massacres. A bizarre geopolitical thesis in the Indian media last week characterised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent 7-hour trip to Ukraine via Poland as part of an …

Continue reading “Ukraine’s complicated history with neighbours”

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian (forefront) secured vote of confidence from the parliament for the entire list of cabinet nominees, in a rare display of unity, Tehran, August 21, 2024 There is a Zen proverb — ‘If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.’ All the show of contrived enthusiasm by the US …

Continue reading “Iran will hit Israel, ball is in US-Israeli court”

War-displaced people receive humanitarian aid at a Russian Red Cross distribution point in Kursk, August 15, 2024 As the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region rolls on, war conditions have appeared in Russia for the first time since the Second World War. It is a stunning experience that an estimated 180,000 people have become internally …

Continue reading “US has Ukraine’s back in Kursk incursion”

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas appointed Yahya Sinwar (2nd from left) as its political bureau chief on August 6, 2024 .The latest Israeli spin has it that Iran cannot make up its mind whether to retaliate or not for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 28 while on a visit to Tehran …

Continue reading “Iran finesses its deterrence strategy”

Bangladeshi Hindus fleeing to India for safety gather at the international border,Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar, August 9, 2024 The exclusive report in today’s Economic Times carrying Sheikh Hasina’s first remarks after her ouster from power will come as a slap on the face of the nincompoops in our country who are waxing eloquently about developments in …

Continue reading “Sheikh Hasina speaks up on US plot”

The Hindu god Narayana (or, Vishnu)on the back of a Garuda (the mount of Vishnu), depicted on one of the pediments in Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand The curtain has come down on the abortive colour revolution in Thailand with the country’s Constitutional Court ordering the dissolution …

Continue reading “Thailand aborts the colour revolution”

Anti-government protestors in Dhaka, August 5, 2024 There is a problem, fundamentally, in viewing the regime change in Bangladesh as a ‘stand-alone’ event. The caveat must be added right at the outset that when it comes to processing situations, nothing happens for no reason at all. There is very little awareness in India, especially in …

Continue reading “Sheikh Hasina was a time-tested friend”

Mourners gathered at the Imam Muhammad Abd-al Wahhab Mosque for Friday prayers before the burial of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Doha, Qatar, August 2, 2024 Amidst the cascading tensions in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by Israel and vows of ‘revenge’ in Tehran, the new government under President Massoud …

Continue reading “Iran to hit Israel hard with smart power”

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) met Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Vientiane, Laos, July 25, 2024 There is an expectation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would prioritise a historic turnaround in India’s relations with China as a legacy of his 15 years …

Continue reading “Winds of change in India-China relations”