Multi-party democracy in Maldives is facing a major crisis in the wake of a bitter political struggle between the president and the opposition-dominated national parliament.

In the aftermath of the disastrous meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan, there is an all-pervasive air of despondency if not frustration as India seems to be running out of options.

Recent arrests prove the close relationship between Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and extremist groups that have vowed to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic state.

While the economies of China and Taiwan are getting integrated and there has been increasing contact between the people across the strait, the two sides are maintaining a studied silence on unification.