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Tibet’s fate reflects a broader shift in China since 1949, as Beijing has centralized power and dismantled the freedoms once promised by the Republic. From Tibet and Xinjiang to Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Communist Party’s tightening grip reveals how enforced unity has replaced democracy, fueling division rather than harmony.

When Stand News shut down in 2021, arrests and raids dominated headlines. Less noticed was what vanished next: years of reporting erased from public access. The loss of its archive reshaped journalism in Hong Kong, thinning the historical record and narrowing space for accountability, an absence that still matters today.

The 2021 police raid on Stand News did more than shut down one newsroom; it quietly transformed how journalism works in Hong Kong. Years later, reporters describe a profession reshaped by uncertainty, where caution replaces confrontation, and self-restraint emerges without formal censorship.

Despite announcing February 12, 2026, as its next election date, Bangladesh has failed to restore public confidence. Ongoing unrest, contested reforms, questions over the Election Commission’s neutrality, and the exclusion of major political actors reveal that legitimacy depends not on dates, but on trust, inclusion, and credible institutions.

Bangladesh’s reconstituted Election Commission was presented as a reset after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. Six months on, critics say it has become an extension of interim power—delaying elections, echoing government positions, and excluding the Awami League, raising serious questions about independence, legitimacy, and the future of democratic rule.

As Bangladesh navigates political uncertainty, claims of “neutral leadership” face a critical test. This article examines how unresolved labor, financial, and regulatory cases surrounding Muhammad Yunus complicate assertions of moral authority, highlighting why legal clarity, not global reputation, ultimately determines credibility in democratic governance.

The Tk 252 crore welfare fund dispute has emerged as Bangladesh’s clearest accountability test. At its core is not ideology or reputation, but workers’ money, deducted from wages and allegedly not returned. For affected families, justice is measured not in narratives, but in restitution.

Microcredit promised empowerment in rural Bangladesh but often delivered discipline through debt. Rigid repayments, social pressure, and survival borrowing reshaped household power, intensified stress, and produced regional spillovers, revealing how development finance can enforce control rather than create opportunity.

External influence is often mistaken for direct control. In Bangladesh’s political churn, Pakistan’s role, where it exists, operates through aligned networks, shared narratives, and ideological convergence rather than command and coordination. Understanding this distinction is critical to crafting effective, resilient policy responses.

Aksai Chin, a desolate plateau between India and China, remains one of Asia’s most contested frontiers. Born from unresolved colonial boundaries, the region became the flashpoint of the 1962 war and continues to shape the geopolitics of the Himalayas. Decades later, military standoffs, infrastructure races, and competing territorial claims reveal that the conflict over Aksai Chin is far from over; it's an unfinished war still defining India-China relations.

The 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking spurred a multilateral maritime effort that turned the Gulf of Aden from a piracy hotspot into a corridor of safety. Today, Somalia’s growing web of bilateral defense pacts risks undoing that progress. Commodore Ranjit Rai (Retd) warns that while bilateral deals promise quick gains, they may fracture hard-won coordination, undermining security, sovereignty, and stability across vital sea lanes.

Mass protests in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (POJK) highlight growing resistance against Islamabad’s governance. Once a hub for Pakistan’s Kashmir strategy, POJK is now rebelling over political exclusion, economic marginalisation, and resource exploitation. Crackdowns have deepened local anger, exposing Pakistan’s governance crisis and weakening its Kashmir narrative, with far-reaching implications for South Asia’s stability.

Hong Kong’s swift passage of Article 23 marks the institutionalisation of repression. Once a city of defiance, it now enforces laws that criminalise dissent locally and abroad, targeting even the diaspora. With civil society dismantled and opposition silenced, Hong Kong has transformed from financial hub to authoritarian outpost, an ominous warning of how quickly freedoms can collapse under the guise of national security.

Somalia’s new defence cooperation MoU with Pakistan may look like routine training and support, but echoes of Hambantota raise concerns of sovereignty traded for dependency. With Chinese influence in the background, the pact could evolve from naval aid into strategic concessions, leaving Mogadishu vulnerable in a region of global maritime consequence.

In this episode, we dive deep into the complex web connecting US elections, geopolitics, and international relations, with a particular...

NOTE: Episode 80 is a follow-up of episode 79, so I kindly request you to first listen to episode 79 to connect with our discussion in...

In the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, where strategic maritime operations unfold, the Indian Navy has taken a significant stride...