Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman continues to dominate the headlines due to both his controversial comments as well as an ongoing investigation into his dealings that could result in fraud and money laundering convictions. Pro-peace American Jewish think tank Jstreet released a scathing video accusing Lieberman of racism and encouraging communities to protest the appointment. The […]
LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif has criticised the new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, telling the FT that it was only slightly different from the disastrous one pursued by George W Bush. “Mr Obama has now come up with a new policy with little changes, very minor changes as compared to the last policy,” said Nawaz. […]
It took a matter of days for the Obama administration to get baptized into the irregular and hard to define modern way of warfare we live in today and one of their first decisions appears to be under fire, at least mildly. In late February, Obama administration Justice officials, in a two sentence court filing, […]
Jobs and wages are being cut at state companies in Kazakhstan. Until now, economic troubles had been more or less confined to the private sector, but now the public sector must cut costs drastically. In the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan, official unemployment has nearly doubled, from 10,000 a year ago to 17,500 now. In addition, […]
A US drone attack in Orakzai agency has killed 12 recruits of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of Baitullah Mehsud, including one local leader. An Arab too has been killed while the family of the man providing them haven, Maulana Gul Nazir, was the only “collateral damage”. The press links the US attack to Baitullah […]
BEIJING: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help assist Pakistan in eliminating the tuberculosis disease, Secretary Health Khushnood Lashari said here Thursday, APP reports. The Secretary participated in an International Conference on Tuberculosis organized by World Health Organization in conjunction with Chinese Health Ministry and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The international software tycoon […]
NEW YORK: The top US military officer said Thursday he is ‘reasonably comfortable’ Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are secure amid a rising tide of insurgent violence aimed at the government. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a lunchtime audience at the Hudson Union Society, said the US has invested in […]
A recent story in the independent newspaper Al-Masri Al-Youm has the American University in Cairo up in arms after it insinuated that AUC was providing the US Department of Defense with “information about Egypt,” i.e. “spying,” through the US Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU – 3) program. From the Daily News Egypt: NAMRU-3, which was […]
Moody’s credit rating agency has increased Lebanon’s bond rating to B2 from B3. This means that the capacity for Lebanon to honor its debt obligation is stronger in the eyes of the ratings agency. A stronger rating enables a country to borrow money at lower interest rates because of the perception of lower risk. “Lebanon’s […]
Two headlines from today: ‘Israel unlikely to attack Iran this year’ AND ‘US general: Israel might choose strike Iran.’ Moral of the story: even the Pentagon has no idea. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates does not believe that Israel will launch an attack, a notion that reveals his disagreement with the generals. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad heightened his […]
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration plans to seek as much as $3 billion over the next five years to train and equip Pakistan’s military, and is considering sending 10,000 more troops to battle the Taliban in Afghanistan, defense officials said Wednesday. The money would include $500 million in an additional war budget request for the […]
I was not as bemused as some who stumbled across Treehugger‘s April 1st story on China’s plans to build a green city, by veteran contributor and colleague of mine, Alex Pasternack. Knowing well that wit is Pasternack’s forte, today is April Fool’s Day, and the Center for Urban Misuse does not exist, I drank in […]
With the installation of the new government in Israel, one statesmen appears to be getting all the attention, and its not Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The appointment of Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman to Foreign Minister led to international criticisms and domestic concern that one of the most polarizing local political figures would become the […]
ISLAMABAD – The son of a poor potato farmer who once worked as a fitness instructor has grown into one of the most powerful militant leaders along the Pakistan-Afghan border, his rise fueled by alliances with al-Qaida and fellow Pakistani militants. A day after Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud threatened to attack the White House, […]
When ‘death’ and ‘newspapers’ are mentioned in the same sentence these days, it is usually to describe the demise of a media company. In Russia, alas, the meaning is more often than not deadly literal. The London Times reported that local journalist “Sergei Protazanov, who was disabled and had a prosthetic arm, died after doctors […]