The long standing feud between Israel and Iran was augmented to new levels this week after explosions occurred in New Delhi, India and Tbilisi, Georgia, while another bomb plot was foiled in Bangkok, Thailand. Three men have been arrested in the Thai capital and the country’s …
Amidst all that is happening in the Arab world (escalating violence in Syria, and nuclear brinkmanship by Iran) and the never-ending (epic) saga of the Greek sovereign debt crisis, comes the delayed EU-China summit in Beijing this week (February 14, 2012).
Held on Valentine’s Day, it was …
Here are the most recent updates from four of the eight SAARC nations. For news from the rest of the countries, please visit their respective national pages.
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MALDIVES – A top US diplomat arrived in the Maldives on February 11 to help resolve a deepening political crisis sparked by the ousting …
The International Monetary Fund said Japan should triple its consumption tax in order to cut the country’s massive public debt.
At 5 percent, Japan’s consumption tax rate is one of the lowest in the world.
Anoop Singh, IMF chief for Asia, said “It has been our sense… that raising the consumption tax …
The United States (US) Committee on Foreign Affairs is set to convene a congressional hearing on Wednesday (February 8), for an exclusive discussion on Balochistan.
The extraordinary event has generated great interest among followers of Pakistan-US relations, as the allies’ mutual relationship seems to be deteriorating. …
I arrived in Phnom Penh late last Saturday. This is the second time I’ve come to Cambodia and the country, more specifically its capital city, is just as seedy as I recall from last time I was here in 2008.
There is no delicate way of tip toeing around the issue …
I wish I had uploaded this back in mid-November, but here it is. S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University, presented his advice for American leadership in Central Asia.His presentation is a overview of US strategy and possibilities in a time of constrained resources …
It’s all-out war, and yes, South Indians plan to relish every minute of it.
After all, it is rather gratifying to see the dignified Hindu getting down and dirty with the more boisterous Times. In a recent series of much-discussed ads, The Hindu …
Salman Rushdie’s effigy is burned in Mumbai
Just in time for Republic Day, which commemorates the adoption of a post-colonial constitution on January 26, 1950, a series of events lays bare the limits on freedom of expression in India.
Foremost among these is the raging controversy surrounding Salman …
The return of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand appears to be a formality at this point; a question of when, not if. It was inevitable as soon as the polls closed in Thailand’s last election this past July which saw Thaksin’s reincarnated Pheu Thai party, headed by his …
It is the world’s largest Muslim country but remains for the most part secular. It is home to the eighteenth largest economy on the globe but more than sixteen percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day. Indonesia has long been considered the linchpin for Southeast Asia …
The number of suicides in Japan surpassed 30,000 for the 14th year in a row in 2011, according to the National Police Agency.
The numbers released this month show 30,513 people took their lives last year, down 1,177 from 2010.
At a suicide rate of 28.3 per 100,000, Japan ranks third among …
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda retreated Friday from the strong assurances given by Finance Minister Jun Azumi the day before that Tokyo would cut oil imports from Iran.
Noda said Azumi was expressing his “personal view” in supporting the U.S.’s attempt to isolate Iran over its nuclear program.
“Japan’s basic stance is …
Last year was the Year of the Rabbit for the Chinese – promising among other things good luck! However, China which came out of the global financial crisis almost unscathed (or at least better off than most major world economies) hit one too many ‘speed-bumps’ in …
This article originally appeared at Dissent Magazine.
Approximately 70 people sat outside the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh last week in the sweltering heat because, quite frankly, they had nowhere else to go. They were members of some 300 families who were forcibly evicted from their homes in …
