They were blasts heard round the world, except on Russian TV. And in the wake of the Moscow bombs, many Russians have condemned “the near-silence of the state-controlled TV channels hours after the explosions”, according to the BBC. One blogger, Anton Nossik, noted that a full 3 hours after the attacks, “he found normal daytime […]
The Obama-Netanyahu scuttle continues, but the White House issued a clear statement on Iran that falls in line with the top Israeli priority. At a press conference today President Barack Obama said he would like to see new, tough sanctions on Iran “this spring,” meaning the administration is on the verge of implementing new sanctions […]
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir is using the possible unwillingness of a southern rebel group to participate in April’s elections as a pretext to threaten withholding the referendum on southern secession. This should come as a shock to absolutely no one who pays attention to Sudan. The odds have always been poor that al-Bashir would allow […]
The upcoming War Crimes trial is playing out domestically in expected and unexpected ways. It was altogether expected that the BNP would try to despoil the proceedings by alleging partisan motives–members of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a member of the previous ruling BNP coalition, stand to be accused of war crimes. Moreover, it was expected that […]
. . . A few stories from recent weeks that slipped through the cracks but warrant attention: At The New Republic’s new and exciting online endeavor, “The Book,” Ben Wallace-Wells, a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, reviews Bertrand Taithe’s The Killer Trail: A Colonial Scandal in […]
Thailand: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva not only kept his word to meet with opposition Red Shirt leaders, but also allowed the exchange to be carried live on state television. In regard to one of the Red Shirt’s central demands, Vejjajiva agreed to consider dissolving Parliament and calls for new elections, a move that many Red […]
The BNP has begun to stake a claim that it will overthrow the current government using country-wide mass protests. The Daily Star reports her as saying: “I will wage a movement and oust the government. I have done it in the past and am ready to take to the street again.” The last time she […]
Terrorism never happens in a vacuum, yet questions of motive remain largely taboo. We know that the female suicide bombers that killed at least 38 (hopefully this number will keep) innocent Moscow commuters came from the restive Caucasus region. We know that Medvedev and Putin, backed by Obama, have vowed to exact uncompromising revenge. But […]
Recently the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) proposed that GCC countries needed to be in direct discussion with Iran and Iraq to help develop a safe, secure and advanced nuclear energy program in the Gulf. The program would be a win-win situation for both the Gulf countries and Iran as this venture would provide Iran with […]
Tonight marks the beginning of the Passover holiday, with Jews in Israel and around the world sitting around a table for the annual Seder when the story of Moses leading the Exodus from Egypt is all but reenacted. A central, and defining, element of the Passover Seder involves the youngest child asking four questions on […]
It was a successful weekend for the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as they test fired the nuclear-capable Agni-I, Prithvi-II and Dhanush missile in quick succession. All three are indigenously developed missiles. On Saturday it first test fired Dhanush, a ship-based anti-surface missile, off INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal. Dhanush has a range of 350 […]
As was expected, the Arab league summit ended without any significant decisions to speak of. In fact, the summit was cut short when the leaders opted to give their statements to the assembly in writing. Most Arabs ordered their plane to be readied for take off Sunday early afternoon. The division between member states, between […]
This coming Monday Venezuelans will enjoy an entire week off to celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) instead of the normal Thursday-Friday break. One might think that in a country where more than 90% of the population is Catholic this would be cause for greater attendance at church. In reality, it will likely mean longer vacations […]
Official results for the Iraqi elections were announced, and Former prime minister Ayad Allawi’s secular Shia Iraqiya party has won a majority by two seats. However, just like the American elections of 2000, no clear winner and prime minister can be determined at this time. Current prime minister Al-Maliki has vowed to ask for a recount of the […]
Finally, China comes to the table on Iran. A few days ago Liu Zhenmin, a former deputy ambassador to the U.N. and lead Chinese negotiator on previous Iran sanctions, reportedly participated in a conference call about U.S.-proposed Security Council sanctions, ending months of disengagement on the issue. While this is a step in the right […]