“It turns out societal fault lines, interpersonal rivalries, and long suppressed power centers do not move at Internet speeds,” Sarwar Kashmeri observes in a new article in the Huffington Post commemorating the first anniversary of Egypt’s uprisings. Americans and local revolutionaries must be patient about the revolution’s transition to governance in Egypt. In fact, Kashmeri […]
Last week Palestinian officials from Gaza and the West Bank met in Qatar to form a unity government. Since 2007, Hamas has ruled Gaza and Fatah the West Bank. While there have been several attempts in the past to form a unity government, none have been succssful. In this episode of Understanding Israel, Israeli Major (res.) […]
Guest Post by Artur Kluz, Guy Billauer The European Union is walking a thin line. Bloomberg News recently reported that European CEOs are actively considering the worst case scenario – namely, the end of the Euro. Spanish and Italian companies are increasingly moving funds to Germany in expectation of one or more Eurozone countries exiting the Eurozone. Germany’s Central Bank recorded […]
Boris Nemtsov, co-president of the opposition People’s Freedom Party in Russia, has spoken out against Putin’s stance in the Arctic – in Canada. He is currently crossing the True North Strong and Free on a speaking tour organized by the Central and Eastern European Council. Nemtsov has been an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Vladimir […]
The Chinese government has sentenced writer Li Tie to 10 years imprisonment for his online articles, in which he urged respect for ordinary citizens, called for democracy and political reform, and urged basic human rights. Journalists around the world have noted with sorrow — but not surprise — this incredibly harsh and hypocritical decision. That […]
Georgian authorities report today that a bomb planted in the car of an employee of the Israeli embassy was defused by police. The employee was, according to Georgian TV news station Rustavi 2, a Georgian citizen by the name of Roman Khachaturian, a driver for the embassy and the luckiest man in Tbilisi. Khachaturian told […]
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. … MALDIVES – A top US diplomat arrived in the Maldives on February 11 to help resolve a deepening political crisis sparked by the ousting of the Indian […]
Brazil has been affected in recent weeks by suggestions of a slow down in Brazil’s usually hot economy. Inflation in China also has received some attention. The result was that some market studies have been done on the BRICS and emerging economies showing that countries like Mexico, South Africa and Vietnam are doing quite well […]
As I write these words, demonstrations are unfolding in the public squares of Syrian cities and towns, as they have done every Friday for the last eleven months, since the people of Dir’a first took to the streets to manifest their discontent at the indignities imposed upon them by the Asad regime. Grainy scenes of […]
A couple of weeks shy of the scheduled presidential elections, Vice-President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi announced in an official ceremony that he would run for president, adding that he hoped Yemenis would entrust him with the responsibility of running the affairs of the state. On Tuesday, Yemenis across the country woke up to find that […]
As Europe suffers a severe a cold snap, EU-Russian relations are experiencing a proverbial chill. The diplomatic cooling is the result of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s criticism of Putin’s democratic credentials. The sharpness of Ashton’s critique was for many a somewhat surprising, yet desirable development. Indeed, the tough stance on the state of […]
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 gradually, not immediately, […]
S&P finally downgraded France’s credit rating several weeks ago, along with a few other EU Member States. The decision could undeniably cost Sarkozy the reelection in May 2012; many believe Sarkozy is solely responsible for the downgrade. But May 2012 is still far away from a political standpoint. Since his election in 2007, Sarkozy has […]
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. The powerful House of Representatives committee oversees America’s foreign assistance […]
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 of sex workers and […]