The Times recently published an Associated Press piece on the Rohingya, the Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar who are seeking refugee status in Bangladesh. As the AP piece emphasizes so heart-breakingly, succinctly, as ” Muslims, they were unwanted in Buddhist Myanmar. As foreigners, they are unwanted in Muslim Bangladesh.” The government seems to be capable of […]
War is a scary event which happens to destroy cities, lives and take everything a person would have in life. It is always difficult for children to understand what war is and why it happens. If children get affected by a frightening event like war, that affection would remain with them for the rest of […]
Sunday also marked another less grim anniversary: Twenty years ago Namibia gained its independence. At Pambazuka Henning Melber looks back on the last two decades and tries to figure out what it all has meant. Emphasizing social and economic inequality, Melber’s assessment is somber, perhaps excessively so. My own take is that while Melber is […]
Generally, meetings between high-level officials from allies involve joint statements and appearances. Well, the relationship between Israel and the United States is somewhat tense of late, particularly following Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region that coincided with Israeli approval of settlements in a contentious area of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to […]
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev renewed calls for Russia to drill its Arctic resources in a speech to the Russian Security Council, a directorate of the Presidential Executive Office which writes briefs on national security issues. He said, according to AP, “Regrettably, we have seen attempts to limit Russia’s access to the exploration and development of […]
The Arab League will convene next Saturday in Libya to discuss several issues facing Arab countries. The issue of the Palestinian reconciliation and Israel’s latest plans to take over Jerusalem will be the highest on their agenda. Iran, will also be among the talking points. The common denominator between all the attendees in the Arab […]
As Pakistan and the United States begin their week long Strategic Dialogue in Washington, Pakistan based militants have renewed their call for jihad against India. On the occasion of Pakistan Day, hundreds of militants gathered in Kotli and called for jihad against India. Hizbul Mujahideen, one of the top militant groups in Pakistan, also announced an increase […]
CAFTA: This site recently discussed the growing angst of citizens in several Southeast Asian nations in regard to CAFTA. Asia Times is currently running an article addressing some specific areas of contention in detail. Touted as the world’s biggest free-trade area, CAFTA will bring together 1.7 million consumers with a combined gross domestic product of […]
The government’s actions in shutting down the Drik Gallery show on the Rapid Action Battalion’s Crossfire killings was provocative. I’m quite certain, though that the move was not meant to provoke student protests and legal action against the sitting government. Indeed, the New York Times Len’s blog, where the news of the photographic exhibition was […]
As the American Israel Political Action Committee annual policy conference winds down, the group concluded a major show of force, all against the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and the United States and the rise of a rival lobbying shop more in line with the Obama administration. The group’s three main legislative thrusts are […]
“China’s involvement in the AfPak issue is, and will likely remain for some time, generally convergent with U.S. interests, given a basic continuity in China’s strategic outlook toward Washington,” concluded a recent think tank report by Michael Swaine, a China expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (follow the link for a pdf download). […]
The British government has expelled an Israeli diplomat in connection with the asasination of Al-Mahbouh. The British government claims to possess compelling evidence that Israel has misused at least one British Passport in the affair. Please read more here. Europe in general and especially Britain has long been a hotbed for the operations of various […]
Secretary of State Clinton leads an American delegation of cabinet officers, along with a few generals, to talks with their Mexican counterparts today. The meeting, slated for months, comes in the wake of the murder of three people in Juarez with employment ties to the American consulate there. US Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela, […]
“There really are only two choices confronting the international community – to invest and endure, or to improve conditions to a point that we can exit.” This is how India, in words of Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, expects the international community to deal with the challenges in Afghanistan. These expectations […]
For anyone interested in the Arctic who is currently in the San Francisco Bay Area, tomorrow (Tuesday, March 23 at 6:00 PM), the World Affairs Council will be hosting a lecture on the future of the Arctic by geopolitical expert Charles Emmerson. He will discuss his new book, “The Future History of the Arctic,” published […]