True to his reputation Richard Holbrooke is proving to be an insightful interlocutor. Other diplomats and commanders might have said it in passing but he is the first one to categorically say that India is part of the ‘AfPak’ problem, or puzzle, and also holds the key to its solution. Terrorism, both in Pakistan and […]
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan seems like a Molotov cocktail waiting for a match. Its ruling elite bickers over politics, while out on the streets Taliban insurgents step up their suicide attacks. Its military plays the role of national conciliator even as it worries about Muslim revolutionaries in its own ranks. Meanwhile, the United States, Pakistan’s historic […]
“Leave me for the moment — you can beat me again later,” a 17-year-old girl begs between sobs in a video airing on Pakistan’s private television networks and circulating on the Internet. But the local Taliban commander continues to flog her without mercy as a group of village men watch in silence. These images were […]
South African golf legend Gary Player has bid farewell to the Masters, at least as an active player. The three-time winner (1961, 1974, 1978) has logged the equivalent of a year’s time (52 years, a week per year) at the hallowed course at Augusta National.
Call me a cynic, but I am always skeptical of national elections: In which the winner emerges with 90% of the vote (and the largest opposition tally is below 5%); that are marred by violence and intimidation; in which most opposition leaders withdraw, stay away, or question the validity of the enterprise; that take place after […]
This week, Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon gave a speech on Canadian Arctic policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He outlined Canada’s interests in the Arctic, which include social and economic development for Northerners, energy exploitation, international collaboration with other Arctic states, defense and security, climate change, and the […]
Joseph Lelyveld is a respected ournalist, editor at The New York Times, and that paper’s one-time southern Africa correspondent based in South Africa. Nonetheless, I’m not sure I entirely embrace the argument expressed in the title of his (otherwise fine) New York Review of Books essay on Mark Gevisser’s A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future […]
Last week while attending a conference on Afghanistan at the Hague, Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two discussed their country’s Arctic policies, with Lavrov assuring Cannon that Russia would adhere to the U.N. Law of the Sea when resolving territorial claims. Cannon brought up the issue of […]
In advance of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea meeting in Almaty on April 28, Uzbekistan’s President, Islam Karimov, has been busy convincing Turkmenistan’s President, Gurbangly Berdymukhamedov, to ally with the downstream Central Asian states against the upstream ones. The Syr Darya and Amu Darya are the only sources for water in the […]
An integral factor in the growth of a stable and prosperous Afghanistan is a functional and legitimate police force. One that the population could depend on to bring order and justice. The attainment of this has been a goal for the nascent Afghan government and international community and President Obama’s announced Afghan strategy put great […]
Beijing authorities have announced that driving restrictions will be extended another year, as part of the city’s overall strategy to reduce airborne pollution and traffic congestion, according to reports from China’s state-run media. The plan hopes to take 930,000, or roughly 20%, of Beijing’s over 3.6 million vehicles off the road each weekday. Starting Monday, […]
President Obama signed a document permitting Palestine Liberation Organization offices in Washington, D.C. to remain in the nations capital. Legislation from 1987 forbids an official PLO bureau in D.C., however since 1994, presidents routinely legally waive the restriction.
Palestinian officials confirmed that the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas will resume April 26. The dialogue will focus on three core issues dividing the two groups- elections, the government, and the PLO and security. The discussions, to be held in Cairo, mark the third round of talks toward a unity government. According to some […]
… in today’s elections in Algeria. The current President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is hoping to garner more votes than he did in the last election (84.99%). Some Algerians are concerned that getting elected for a third term would situate Bouteflika as the next “President for life” in the tradition of Hosni Mubarak, Bashar al Asad, Zine […]
… at least with respect to US-Turkish relations. Never fear, this article does include the obligatory interview with a rug merchant in the bazaar.